The Dot Records Thread

[Bobberman]

THE LENNON SISTERS SING THE SEX PISTOLS SONGBOOK......

Or.........THE LENNON SISTERS SING THE ROLLING STONES SONGBOOK..... ( I'm remembering Robin Williams routine on his album "Reality what a concept" the track called "tank you boyce' where he does a Lawrence Welk routine introducing "The Lovely LENNON SISTERS singing "I can't get no Satisfaction " 😂 I couldn't stop laughing for quite awhile after that

 

[Moritat]

I think Mr. Hagerty needs some education regarding Dot Records as do any of you who are also stereotyping the label. Yes, I will certainly agree that the great majority of artists on Dot were bland and forgettable artists, most who have been previously mentioned here. No argument there! And I wasn’t a fan of Randy Wood who founded Dot. However, the label had an excellent jazz lineup, and this is a side of the label I doubt if Mr Hagerty (or many others here) have explored. Dot featured a group of excellent jazz piano lps from Eddie Costa, Larry Novak, Jan Johannson, Lorraine Geller and Murial Roberts. All 5 lps were outstanding, and The Costa and the Johannson lps received 5 stars and 4 stars in Downbeat. Steve Allen had an excellent jazz LP entitled “And All That Jazz.” There were big band lps by Count Basie, Sy Oliver and Manny Albam. Other lps were by Terry Gibbs, Red Norvo (vibes), Paul Horn (flute), Rusty Bryant & Russell Procope (sax), Don Bagley (bass), Luiz Bonfa, Herb Ellis (guitar), Jack Sheldon, Pete & Conte Candoli (trumpet) and even the great Lalo Schifrin. Dot also had some superb female jazz singers. Among them are Dori Howard, Jane Harvey, Jennie Smith & Marlene Cord. Male jazz singers include Michael Dees, Freddie Cole & Ike Cole (Nat’s brothers). And Ken Nordine’s Word Jazz lps were creative and entertaining backed by Fred Katz’s quintet. What I’ve laid out here is an impressive list of jazz artists, all who all recorded for Dot. I won’t deny the label was loaded with square artists and unlistenable fluff, but the jazz offerings were a totally different story. Bottom line… Dot was a fine jazz label!

 

[Harry]

One of my favorite Dot Records is the MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE album by Lalo Schifrin:

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I think Mr. Hagerty needs some education regarding Dot Records as do any of you who are also stereotyping the label. Yes, I will certainly agree that the great majority of artists on Dot were bland and forgettable artists, most who have been previously mentioned here. No argument there! And I wasn’t a fan of Randy Wood who founded Dot. However, the label had an excellent jazz lineup, and this is a side of the label I doubt if Mr Hagerty (or many others here) have explored. Dot featured a group of excellent jazz piano lps from Eddie Costa, Larry Novak, Jan Johannson, Lorraine Geller and Murial Roberts. All 5 lps were outstanding, and The Costa and the Johannson lps received 5 stars and 4 stars in Downbeat. Steve Allen had an excellent jazz LP entitled “And All That Jazz.” There were big band lps by Count Basie, Sy Oliver and Manny Albam. Other lps were by Terry Gibbs, Red Norvo (vibes), Paul Horn (flute), Rusty Bryant & Russell Procope (sax), Don Bagley (bass), Luiz Bonfa, Herb Ellis (guitar), Jack Sheldon, Pete & Conte Candoli (trumpet) and even the great Lalo Schifrin. Dot also had some superb female jazz singers. Among them are Dori Howard, Jane Harvey, Jennie Smith & Marlene Cord. Male jazz singers include Michael Dees, Freddie Cole & Ike Cole (Nat’s brothers). And Ken Nordine’s Word Jazz lps were creative and entertaining backed by Fred Katz’s quintet. What I’ve laid out here is an impressive list of jazz artists, all who all recorded for Dot. I won’t deny the label was loaded with square artists and unlistenable fluff, but the jazz offerings were a totally different story. Bottom line… Dot was a fine jazz label!

I knew some (by no means all) of that, Moritat.

But when your house is built on Pat Boone and Lawrence Welk, you're establishing an image.

And remember, as Gary Owens said:

"There's a whole Lalo Schifrin goin' on."

 

[bob knack]

Buddy Rich was on Harrys James band at that time.

 

[JOv2]

I knew some (by no means all) of that, Moritat.

But when your house is built on Pat Boone and Lawrence Welk, you're establishing an image.

And remember, as Gary Owens said:

"There's a whole Lalo Schifrin goin' on."

Agreed. Dot had some decent '50s Jazz LPs, but, like most labels, was getting out of the jazz business by the mid '60s. More to the point: they didn't seen to understand the new pop music, which is really what sank them: they had no Buffalo Springfield or Kinks and for the most part they didn't seem very interested in checking out the new music (they didn't have a Jerry who was open to the new pop music). Colours ('68) is probably one of their first decent rock LPs.

 

[Moritat]

Agreed. Dot had some decent '50s Jazz LPs, but, like most labels, was getting out of the jazz business by the mid '60s. More to the point: they didn't seen to understand the new pop music, which is really what sank them: they had no Buffalo Springfield or Kinks and for the most part they didn't seem very interested in checking out the new music (they didn't have a Jerry who was open to the new pop music). Colours ('68) is probably one of their first decent rock LPs.

I don't disagree with the squareness of their main artists and I certainly agree with your comment as well (Randy Wood had no clue about rock or the current pop sound). But they did have a top notch lineup of jazz lps and absolutely no one made any comment about them. Why not? If it's fair to bash the label for their feeble and mundane artists, wouldn't it also be fair to praise them for the excellent jazz records they produced?

 

[Moritat]

I knew some (by no means all) of that, Moritat.

But when your house is built on Pat Boone and Lawrence Welk, you're establishing an image.

And remember, as Gary Owens said:

"There's a whole Lalo Schifrin goin' on."

I don't disagree about Dot's image... it's laughable! But is it unfair to also point out Dot's excellent jazz lineup? ...especially when no one else said one word about it? If your aunt & uncle owned lps by Eddie Costa, Luiz Bonfa, Jane Harvey, Lalo Schifrin, Pete Candoli & Count Basie instead of the Welk, Vaughn, Lennon Sisters variety, your take on the label would be very different.

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I don't disagree about Dot's image... it's laughable! But is it unfair to also point out Dot's excellent jazz lineup? ...especially when no one else said one word about it? If your aunt & uncle owned lps by Eddie Costa, Luiz Bonfa, Jane Harvey, Lalo Schifrin, Pete Candoli & Count Basie instead of the Welk, Vaughn, Lennon Sisters variety, your take on the label would be very different.

No one said you were unfair. My aunt and uncle had what they had, and Dot signed who they signed. If Randy Wood had wanted to go head-on after Verve and Impulse, he could have. He didn't. As a result, jazz on Dot is kind of a footnote---not unlike CTi to A&M, whose 60s image was the Tijuana Brass, Baja Marimba Band, The Sandpipers and Brasil '66. Dot just happened to be squarer than that---or Columbia, or RCA, or...

 

[Harry]

And now, for your listening pleasure on Dot Records, Dore Alpert.

 

[Michael Hagerty]

And now, for your listening pleasure on Dot Records, Dore Alpert.

So Dot licensed it from Carnival, which released it in July of '62. The date stamp at the bottom of the Dot label says September 1962 for their release, by which point Herb & Jerry had already founded A&M.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I only ever had one Dot 45rpm record in my life -- it was "Calcutta" by Lawrence Welk. I used to play that thing to death. I didn't mind when my parents or grandparents would have the Welk show on TV because I was hoping to see one of two things: Either a rendition of "Calcutta," or JoAnn Castle playing piano. She fascinated me the way she could play those complicated lightning-speed arrangements while looking at the camera with that huge smile on her face!

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I only ever had one Dot 45rpm record in my life -- it was "Calcutta" by Lawrence Welk. I used to play that thing to death. I didn't mind when my parents or grandparents would have the Welk show on TV because I was hoping to see one of two things: Either a rendition of "Calcutta," or JoAnn Castle playing piano. She fascinated me the way she could play those complicated lightning-speed arrangements while looking at the camera with that huge smile on her face!

As someone forced to endure the Lawrence Welk Show weekly at Grandma's house from age 9 on (that was the night we had dinner there), I do have to say, I had the same fascination with JoAnn. And Myron Floren had talent that could not be denied.

Still, especially as I entered my teens, it was kind of like spending an hour a week in an alternate universe:

 

[Rudy]

My mom used to have it on the kitchen TV for s#!ts and giggles. 😁

 

[Mike Blakesley]

And Myron Floren had talent that could not be denied.

He sure did, I enjoyed him too. He was actually supposed to be the main entertainer at our county fair one year, back when the fair booked mostly "geezer acts." Then at the last minute, he couldn't make it, but the agency sent a replacement - Larry Hooper, another Welk alumnus with a very deep voice. (To keep this thread on track -- I'm not sure if he recorded for Dot Records or not!)

 

[Harry]

Lawrence Welk still airs on PBS stations on Saturday nights.

The Lawrence Welk Show

The Lawrence Welk Show airs each week on 279 public television stations nationally and is seen by more than three million people each week.

www.oeta.tv

About The Lawrence Welk Show

Did you know The Lawrence Welk Show is celebrating over 60 years on national television? No other prime-time show can claim that distinction, and it's still in production!
The Lawrence Welk Show airs each week on 217 public television stations nationally, is seen by more than three million people each week and has more viewers than BET, MTV and VH-1 combined on Saturday nights. According to Nielsen Ratings, The Lawrence Welk Show is the highest-rated syndicated series airing on public television.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Hmm, I don't think it's "still in production," but it is definitely still being shown. Pretty amazing.

 

[Harry]

I believe they are still making new wrap-around framing pieces to introduce clips from old shows.

By the way, my copy of Calcutta is on Ranwood. Don't know where it came from. I never bought it.

 

[Harry]

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I remember when we got into the music business, the Welk records were all coming out on Ranwood by that time. I wonder if that Ranwood single is the same version I had? I'm not sure if I still have it now.

What's on the flipside of yours? Mine had "My Grandfather's Clock" sung by the aforementioned Larry Hooper.

I just looked it up on Discogs... that Dot single came out in 1960, so I was 3 or 4 years old at the time! The label features the same harpsichord player so I'll bet it's the same track.

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I remember when we got into the music business, the Welk records were all coming out on Ranwood by that time. I wonder if that Ranwood single is the same version I had? I'm not sure if I still have it now.

What's on the flipside of yours? Mine had "My Grandfather's Clock" sung by the aforementioned Larry Hooper.

I just looked it up on Discogs... that Dot single came out in 1960, so I was 3 or 4 years old at the time! The label features the same harpsichord player so I'll bet it's the same track.

I've read that Welk held the rights to all his masters and leased them to Dot. So when he and Randy founded Ranwood, he had catalog material ready for re-issue.

 

[Harry]

What's on the flipside of yours? Mine had "My Grandfather's Clock" sung by the aforementioned Larry Hooper.

Mine has "Gentle On My Mind" on the b-side.

Now I recall where this came from. It was packed in with a bunch of singles I ordered from Discogs, and both this and "Champagne Time" by Welk (on CORAL) were placed on the outside as packing material.

 

[AM Matt]

My late aunts where I used to visit in Pennsylvania had Lawrence Welk & His Orchestra "Plays The Music Of Jerome Kern" album (from either late 1970 or early 1971) on Ranwood (also had the "RIAA" logo)!!

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I don't disagree about Dot's image... it's laughable! But is it unfair to also point out Dot's excellent jazz lineup? ...especially when no one else said one word about it? If your aunt & uncle owned lps by Eddie Costa, Luiz Bonfa, Jane Harvey, Lalo Schifrin, Pete Candoli & Count Basie instead of the Welk, Vaughn, Lennon Sisters variety, your take on the label would be very different.

Was waiting for someone to mention this. They had no less than Count Basie on that label and other jazz artists as you mentioned. To reduce Dot to the other nonsense is to miss a large part of Dot's legacy.

Ed

 

[Bobberman]

I have a complete set of time life instrumental favorites which was produced between 1994 and 1996 and Lawrence Welk got a one whole compilation devoted to his hits and favored tracks including the rare Closing theme "Adios Au Revoir Auf Wiedersehn" Today that song has some sentimental meaning for me because my parents and Grandmother respectively had their TV sets tuned to the show every Saturday night and in a weird way it reminds me of my old home which sadly no no longer exists the aformentioned time life collection also included mixed various artists compilations and some other single artists such as Henry Mancini. Ray Conniff. Percy faith. Bert Kaempfert.Roger Williams. and Ferrante and Teicher. And others and much of the contents on those are currently either out of print or extremely rare im glad I held on to these