The BaDa's of Mr GUDER song

cam89

Well-Known Member
I've always been entranced by the CLOSE TO YOU album, my #1 fave (followed by Voice of the Heart and A Kind of Hush)....anyways on the BaDa part....Karen sings the first part or does Richard does the first Ba...and she responds with the DA part....I know he comes in later with his vocals stacked. I know with them being brother and sister they can blend their vocals beautifully....and the fact they were able to do this LIVE is beyond me.....
 
I've always been entranced by the CLOSE TO YOU album, my #1 fave (followed by Voice of the Heart and A Kind of Hush)....anyways on the BaDa part....Karen sings the first part or does Richard does the first Ba...and she responds with the DA part....I know he comes in later with his vocals stacked. I know with them being brother and sister they can blend their vocals beautifully....and the fact they were able to do this LIVE is beyond me.....

Richard comes in first with the standalone “ba…ba…ba…ba…” and Karen “finishes” each with the “ba-da-da” response.

Richard: “ba”
Karen: “ba da da”
(Repeat)

It’s the type of “call and response” technique similar to the one Richard used on Superstar (this time with the trumpet doing the “response”):

Don’t you remember you told me you loved me baby”
“Ba da da - da da - da da da da”


It’s also much faster live than on record, making it even more difficult to execute smoothly.
 


Here it is at 8:42. The actual video is aged a bit however the ba ba da da is pretty clear, This is from their variety series summer 1971.
 


Here it is at 8:42. The actual video is aged a bit however the ba ba da da is pretty clear, This is from their variety series summer 1971.

I have to wonder when Make Your Own Kind of Music was last aired, since from videos like that, it is clear that people have off-air VHS SLP/Betamax III recordings, which would have only been possible after 1975. There could have been off-air 3/4” U-Matic recordings from 1971 (however the cheapest machine marketed for home use in 71 was about $1,000 US in 1971 dollars or about $7,500 today), but U-matic was also just launched in 1971 (I’m not sure the date, some sources indicate a September 71 launch).
 
It's kind of funny how "Mr. Guder" is about Richard's experience working at Disneyland, and the stage setup for the song has a slight "Mickey Mouse ears" look to it. I highly doubt it was intentional that way, but who knows, maybe it was a subtle "clue."
 
I've always been entranced by the CLOSE TO YOU album, my #1 fave (followed by Voice of the Heart and A Kind of Hush)....anyways on the BaDa part....Karen sings the first part or does Richard does the first Ba...and she responds with the DA part....I know he comes in later with his vocals stacked. I know with them being brother and sister they can blend their vocals beautifully....and the fact they were able to do this LIVE is beyond me.....
Whether you were doing the ‘Ba’ part or the ‘da-da-da’ part, I think it would be very hard to stay in time, let alone in tune. Karen’s experience on the drums probably helped her keep the rhythm. I guess Richard’s mastery of the keyboards helped him also, with this.
 
I have to wonder when Make Your Own Kind of Music was last aired, since from videos like that, it is clear that people have off-air VHS SLP/Betamax III recordings, which would have only been possible after 1975. There could have been off-air 3/4” U-Matic recordings from 1971 (however the cheapest machine marketed for home use in 71 was about $1,000 US in 1971 dollars or about $7,500 today), but U-matic was also just launched in 1971 (I’m not sure the date, some sources indicate a September 71 launch).
I'm sure recordings like this were done years after the advent of home video recording. What likely happened was someone working at a TV station that had aired a show like this may have had a copy that was supposed to be either sent back to the network or destroyed. Not all network shows were aired at network time - many were tape-delayed by the local affiliates because of things like baseball game commitments, or even being a secondary affiliate carrying the programs on weekends and off-times.

So an enterprising employee looks through the video library deep in the bowels of the TV station and finds the shows with Carpenters. He brings in his Betamax or VHS recorder and manages to record it for his own purposes. Later, he runs into all sorts of fans who'd love to have copies, so Beta to Beta or VHS to VHS dubs are made - and they subsequently get dubbed again and again finally looking like the above.

Of course there also could be more nefarious reasons for making those original dubs. There have been collectors of TV shows for years and they will sometimes pay any amount for copies of what they want - and these TV station employees know that they can make a few bucks on the sides on what's still hanging around in the station's libraries.

The MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC shows did not air anywhere outside of its original run, as far as I know. With music rights and such, it would have been a nightmare to get clearances to air these anywhere at any time.
 
I'm sure recordings like this were done years after the advent of home video recording. What likely happened was someone working at a TV station that had aired a show like this may have had a copy that was supposed to be either sent back to the network or destroyed. Not all network shows were aired at network time - many were tape-delayed by the local affiliates because of things like baseball game commitments, or even being a secondary affiliate carrying the programs on weekends and off-times.

So an enterprising employee looks through the video library deep in the bowels of the TV station and finds the shows with Carpenters. He brings in his Betamax or VHS recorder and manages to record it for his own purposes. Later, he runs into all sorts of fans who'd love to have copies, so Beta to Beta or VHS to VHS dubs are made - and they subsequently get dubbed again and again finally looking like the above.

Of course there also could be more nefarious reasons for making those original dubs. There have been collectors of TV shows for years and they will sometimes pay any amount for copies of what they want - and these TV station employees know that they can make a few bucks on the sides on what's still hanging around in the station's libraries.

The MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC shows did not air anywhere outside of its original run, as far as I know. With music rights and such, it would have been a nightmare to get clearances to air these anywhere at any time.
In terms of TV music rights, for the US and Canada, even in the 70’s the majority of the national broadcast rights for music were in perpetuity, unlike the UK were they could only air shows twice. That’s why you can still see the Muppet Show & the Lawrence Welk show aired intact on traditional TV stations, but on home video and streaming there might be music cut, because the rights were only secured for traditional broadcast, not streaming or home video, just like what’s happened with the NTSC home video release of the 1987 “Muppet Family Christmas”. Sure some local programming may’ve had a specific time period for broadcast, however on the national level, some stations might’ve saved the series for airing over Christmas or one of the Sweepstakes months.

Of course it’s surprising that no kinescope copies have surfaced, since in 71 the videotape format in use prior to the introduction of U-Matic was the 2-inch Quad, and those were mostly being used by O&O stations in big markets, (and if U-Matic wasn’t released until September 71, then MYOKOM would’ve been distributed on 2-inch or film) whereas most affiliates were still using 35 & 16mm film.
 
The whole reason that summer variety shows even existed was because of performance rights over guest stars that had appeared. So, I believe that Carpenters show was a summer replacement for THE DON KNOTTS SHOW (If I'm wrong about that fact, pardon me, I don't feel like looking it up). Don's show had guest stars who would have to be paid for their performances if the show was rerun, so the networks arranged for a cheap summer series to replace it for the 13-15 weeks of the summer season.
 
The whole reason that summer variety shows even existed was because of performance rights over guest stars that had appeared. So, I believe that Carpenters show was a summer replacement for THE DON KNOTTS SHOW (If I'm wrong about that fact, pardon me, I don't feel like looking it up). Don's show had guest stars who would have to be paid for their performances if the show was rerun, so the networks arranged for a cheap summer series to replace it for the 13-15 weeks of the summer season.
With Kinescopes, there was the bicycle chain, where one kinescope copy was sent from station-to-station and then each week returned to a central location to ensure it was in good shape, otherwise a reprint would be ordered. Some stations may not have received their copies until nearly 2 or 3 months after the big market broadcast. ((Kinescope Stations - BroaDWcast) Up here in Canada the CBC used that setup with CBC Toronto being the central hub for Eastern Canada and Winnipeg for Western and Northern Canada, so if a new print was needed, then that might add an extra week or two for those smaller stations. So having a clause for only one month or one run would make no sense. Also, I think back then most guest stars signed actors contracts, not music contracts when they appeared on TV, so they would’ve had rerun fees already in the contract—-yeah the guest could’ve withdrawn their permission later, or who owns the show could refuse to license it, but those perpetuity clauses for traditional broadcast would still be in effect).
 
My point is, the MYOMOM could’ve been aired at anytime over the past 50 years and not just in the summer of 71. Any station in the US or Canada could have aired it. In the days of syndication, the smallest station in Saskatchewan, or a PBS station in Idaho, could’ve aired it in 1982 from either tape or kinoscope.

When I read Richard’s response to a fan’s question about a DVD release, he’s talking about the home video rights, however the way phrases it, the broadcast rights are still in place and if some station, like MeTV wanted to broadcast it today, they would just need to get the rights to it.
 
OK, I see your point, although I sincerely doubt that any broadcast entity would actually pick to run this. It would also have to be actually available on the syndication market and again, I just can't imagine that happening. I will say that I HAVE seen an outfit like "Get-TV" running old variety series. That's where I found the Carpenters playing on a Johnny Cash show.

The MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC show, while special to Carpenters fans, was in actuality, a dreadful summer replacement series on NBC, a network that has been known to erase and re-use video tape masters (see: JOHNNY CARSON).

I still think that the existing rough copies floating around on YouTube originated from some TV station library somewhere and has been duplicated again and again because of fandom.
 
With NBC, did they actually own the series, or was the series owned by A&M-now-Universal or the Carpenters themselves, and all that NBC used were copies from the masters supplied to them? From the YOM, Interpretations and Close To You videos, if all the masters and copies had been destroyed in the early 1970’s, then those clips would not have been available in 1985 and beyond (in 85 they may’ve been transferred to Betacam SP for easier access and storage). Plus the quality on DVD is broadcast level, not VHS level.
 
It was produced by NBC Television and Tomka Productions Inc. (who owned and produced the DON KNOTTS SHOW).

Just guessing here, but isn't it likely that Richard asked for and received his own copies of the shows or just the Carpenters performances? We knows he always hated the "shtick" and this show is full of it when not exhibiting music.
 
It was produced by NBC Television and Tomka Productions Inc. (who owned and produced the DON KNOTTS SHOW).

Just guessing here, but isn't it likely that Richard asked for and received his own copies of the shows or just the Carpenters performances? We knows he always hated the "shtick" and this show is full of it when not exhibiting music.
I was just on IMDB. Since 2014 the Worldwide rights have been owned by Retro Video. The list NBC as having the rights in 1971, but then it looks like NBC lost them, and theres nothing listed between 1972 and 2013.

Retro Video also has the rights to the Perry Como specials and shows, the Helen Reddy show and tons of other music/comedy shows from the 1940’s to 1990’s and the say that it’s all on videotape and film.
 
Now all you have to do is get Retro Video to release them.
 
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