2003 NOVEMBER 24 #328
The Singing Mariners - Holly Holy
One of the late, lamented custom record labels that catered primarily to schools and churches was Recorded Publications Company of Camden, New Jersey. In 1968 or thereabouts, I was sitting on a couch at my piano teacher's home waiting my turn for another student to finish a lesson. I leafed through my teacher's music magazines and came across a little ad tucked away in the corner of one of them that proclaimed "Records From Your Tapes!!" In 1968, this was a novel idea to me but I was already a burgeoning experimentalist with miles of tape under my belt, so I sent for their catalog. They had about two dozen standard album cover designs that you could customize with your own text. You could choose acetates or vinyl pressings, depending on how many records you wanted. I had them cut a few records for me. RPC did a fine job, though the material must have awakened a few dozing engineers who were probably girding themselves for yet another lame school chorus' version of "The Eddystone Light". The company apparently has folded...I can find no trace of them on the web. In any case, I began to collect records on the RPC label, whenever I came across one. Here is one of those finds: The Singing Mariners of Hyde School & Endicott Jr. College with their fine version of a great Neil Diamond classic! (Note the insulting little disclaimer which appeared on all RPC releases: "Re-recorded from client's furnished tape")
- Stormy Hunter, http://tstormhunter.iuma.com/
TT-4:05 / 3.7MB / 128kbps 44.1khz
From "The Singing Mariners On Tour 1975-76"
RPC #Z 438171 (1976)
(Image courtesy of Stormy Hunter)