The rise and fall of K-Tel and the problem with their records
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- Опубликовано: 6 мар 2021
- I always remember K-Tel records being part of my life. Before the Internet, the company’s compilation albums were an affordable way to discover new music - and those albums used to be everywhere. But then the company seemingly disappeared overnight. Whatever became of K-Tel? You may be surprised. And were their records any good? In this video I trace the rise and fall of K-Tel.
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I worked for K-Tel in the distribution office at their UK HQ on Western Avenue, London NW10 and I remember they gave us an album for Christmas for all our hard work through the year. "Rhythm Of The Night" was a compilation that only had 7 tracks on each side and was released in 1987. The office closed soon after that, but I'm proud that I had become part of their history.
I went for a job with pinnacle records. In manchester. Didn't get it. Tossers.
Doesn’t matter how cheap and crap these were, its all part of nostalgia that makes you happy
Well said.
💯
My sister had a bunch of K Tel records and the one I took from her the most was Rock 80. When I started collecting dollar bin records a few years ago getting a replacement copy for my collection was one of my "holy grails." I finally found a copy and I got visibly excited when I found it. I took it up to the counter to buy it and the guys working were like okaaay glad you are happy you found a K Tel record. Lol good memories and I've since bought some others from that time period.
Great walk down memory lane. Those under 35 or so take it for granted how easy it is to get a song now. Back then, sometimes you would just want one song on an album, and if you could not find the single, you had to go to used record stores, try to find a friend that had the record so you could borrow it and copy it, or search for compilation albums like this.
For sure... the challenges of getting that one song! I also remember phoning radio station request lines, hoping they would play that one song, so I could tape it. Fun times!
You mean 'tape it' on cassette or 8-track (forget reel-to-reel, nobody could afford those bad-boys). That's how I got the good stuff from the big albums of the late 60s, 70s and early 80s, from a friend of mine who had a lot of brothers who were heavily into buying the great albums of the day.
K-Tel's popularity was in the marketing. Not only were the ads memorable, but you could buy the records anywhere. They were at record stores, drug stores, and convenience stores. You could get a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, and the new Power Jam K-Tel record all in one trip.
and really cheap at the time too , especially if there was a new compilation released , the priors went on sale , they were a staple at Woolco and Zellers stores , especially Woolco on $1.44 days
22 Explosive hits.
My brother and I would let side 1 play over and over, on an old Zenith console stereo, while playing with our trains and race cars.
Nearly 50 years later, when I hear any of the songs from that record, I see the train set in my mind, and as the song ends, I expect to hear the song that followed on the record.
Me too, played them so many times the track order is etched in my brain. I'm always surprised when I here the same song on the radio now and it goes on for an extra verse or chorus. Is that an extended version? No, K-tel shortened the one on the record.
I remember a green cover for that one?
@@johnspooner1403 I believe you are correct.
My brother had that "record stacker". It worked to a point. As the records flip forward on their own, you have to stop it with your hand before it reaches the last few albums. If you don't, once all the records have flipped forward, the weight will "throw" the whole thing (stacker and records) to the ground. That was a lesson to be learned only once.
lol in the usa, too good to be true is a true statement.
I remember that happening. lol
I doubt there was a single household in Australia in the 70s without at least one K-Tel product and a selection of their LPs, they were pretty much universal here.
@The Whore's Whisperer yes, they did sell originals. The problem in the '70s was that record companies were forced to sell Australian artists, so there were many covers of overseas hits, not just K-Tel. I worked in a record store in the late 70s. When K-Tel had a new release we would get a K-Tel-ogram!
There definitely was one house in the UK without one, my parents didn't buy one. I didn't buy compilations.
K-Tel records were made at the same pressing plants that the major record labels (Columbia, RCA, MCA, etc.) used, and the later ones with only 14 songs per record instead of 20 or 22 sound far better, and generally lack the editing to make them shorter. But as people moved from LPs to cassettes in the 1980s, K-Tel faced competition from being able to record anything you want on a tape, and making mixtapes of all your favorite music, rather than having to buy pre-recorded albums which may only have a few songs you really like on them.
I was going to ask what they did when 8-track, cassettes, CDs started appearing. I guess their modern equivalent is stuff like the “Now that’s...” series of compilations.
Yep. To me, it goes without saying.......
I could never understand the cassette thing. Between 81 and 83 I was in charge (?) of the cassette section of the record shop I worked in. I remember when stocktaking came around (twice a year) I had a sheet of the cassette stock I compiled in my first week working there an almost every single cassette was still there. Then the pre-runners to the Now... series arrived. You got 2 lp's or cassettes for the price of one (a Phil Spector best of + the Spector Christmas album was a huge seller) and suddenly cassettes took off. Prior to that, I was ordering extended edition cassettes as one off' special orders. Stuff like Simple Minds - Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call, Japan - Assemblage, Visage - Fade To Grey, the Best Of were very popular among the New Romantic/Futurist crowd. And when I was doing some home taping of an lp or boxset I didn't have, I always used metal bias cassettes by TDK. Apparently the best quality for consumers, even these suffered from tape hiss. It was a bloody awful format.
@@mickricksbsc, this makes sense because of portable cassette players. They really took off mid 80s. Portable CDs weren't really that big because of their size, then with the downturn of records, and CDs really came on in the late 80s, early 90s, that is when cassettes started to slow down.
@@mickricksbsc I essentially kept my LPs as an archive. Made tapes (TDK metal) to listen to in the car. They most certainly had a finite lifespan. Buying music on the format was foolish. Did the same with CDs later on. Never had a car with a CD player in it.
The worst part was getting a variety record, various artists, but weren’t sung by the original artists.
100%. Even K-Tel did this, re-releasing their old compilations with the same songs but re-recorded by other people.
@@kabongpope Yeah and most of it sucked in the worst way.
The 'top of the pops' records in the UK, none of the songs were by the original artists
@@briancross6726 Then you know exactly the disappointment I referred to?
@@brookswade5774 nope.... Mini-Pops Rocked!
"But wait! There's more!" 😆😆😆
LOL
K- TEL adds were the norm here in Australia in the 70s& 80s
Also in NZ.
Same here in England 🏴
*ads. Short for "advertisement." Add" is short for "addition."
When a classmate would invite you to their birthday party these were a safe-bet present.
Yes, good call!
@@Channel33RPM Yes...I forgot about that it was so true...as long as it was not the polka one
"25 Polka Greats" was given as a gag gift at my older brother's workplace. The first year it was given as a Secret Santa "gag" exchange and then managed to surface every year or two for the annual exchange. I remember the year my brother had it (1976). It had never even been opened and my brother treated it like a trophy; kept on the top shelf of his album collection. He put it back in circulation in 1977 and left the company a few years later. I've often wondered what happened to that album.
Ha ha I just bought a sealed copy on discogs for my ktel collection. Maybe I got it...mmmm
I still have a pile of K-Tel records at home, a few Ronco as well, and several 45's !
"If we're honest, those records really didn't sound very good..." Given that most Top 40 radio stations in the 70s were on AM, who honestly noticed? At least K-Tel records were in stereo.
True! For some of the "one hit" wonders, It was the ONLY way I even heard them in stereo!
It’s a dessert topping! No! It’s a floor wax! - Saturday Night Live tribute/parody along with the Bass-O-Matic.
And most of us were listening on a K-Mart combo record, 8 track, am fm with crap speakers
@@maxpayne2574 Yes, Yes we were. And since I worked at Kmart, I got my "system" REAL cheap! 😛 Edit: I just realized that K-Tel and K-Mart are a perfect match 🤔. I think 99% of my K-Tel records were FROM Kmart as well.
Yes, and a lot of us were poor then and had crappy cheap record players.
We had JUST ONE K-Tel record (or, as the announcer said, "REC-ORD") but it was a really good one: It was the 1972 compilation of the 20 biggest hits from that year. It included 2 songs by Elton John ("Rocket Man" which I still like and "Crocodile Rock" which I don't) and the absolutely insane "Hocus Pocus" by Focus (which I REALLY love today). The very first song on there was "There's Got To Be A Morning After (Theme From The Poseidon Adventure)" by Maureen McGovern, followed by "Lean On Me" by the late, great Bill Withers. 😊 It was great...for the most part. And yes, I do remember all of those extremely packed grooves. 😂
That sounds the 'Fantastic' album, which was marketed in mid 73. I finally bought it between Xmas and New Years 1973/ Still have it.
Bob Washington [Winnipeg disc jockey] was "The Voice of K-Tel" in their commercials.
Thank you for that stroll down memory lane.
Can confirm that k-tel was big in Australia in the '70,s , As a young lad and television enthusiast at that time i can remember the adverts and hooked on classics was in pretty much everyones home.
CORRECTION. In this video, I inaccurately state that the Pocket Fisherman was a K-Tel product. It's my understanding that Phil Kives was an early pitchman for the Pocket Fisherman, but it WAS NOT a K-Tel product. In fact, it was the Ron Popeil (Ronco) Pocket Fisherman. Sorry for any confusion this caused. Hope you enjoyed the video.
Frank
Thanks! I was a bit confused, there. BTW, you said you're from Winnipeg. Are you a fan of Phantom of the Paradise?
Weird Al Yankovic had song called Mr. Popeil that mentions the Pocket Fisherman. Ron Popeil's sister Lisa Popeil on backing vocals (Lisa a singer and vocal coach!). Ron later used this song in some of his infomercials. ETA: Actress Ashley Tisdale is Ron's cousin, btw
Don't worry we'll let you live!
it was actually called "The Popeil Pocket Fisherman", at least in east coast commercials of the usa.
The K-Tel one was the Fishin' Magician or at least it was in Australia and it was the better of the two products. Mind you, neither was that great at catching fish
"Hey, man, is that Freedom Rock?"
_"Yeah, man."_
"Well turn it up, man!"
"Aw, man! Turn it down!!"
That was Session Records.. but still.. good reference!
Haha Awsome!
I TOTALLY forgot about that one.
WOW --- Time sure has gone by.
That commercial was SSSOOOOOOOOOO CHEESY.
Well turn it up man !!! 🤣
My favourite (the only one I own) was called “Modern Dance” from 1981. It was a glimpse into early experimental electronic and new wave music starting at the time and has many greats including The Human League, OMD and John Foxx, Simple Minds, even The Cure got a track in there! It’s worth checking out, although I’m not sure if it was sold in the US or Canada
Interesting, I can't remember seeing that one sold in Canada albeit that particular record sounds like a compilation of mostly English bands.
My parents had both that "25 Polka Hits" record AND Hooked on Classics (on cassette for listening in the car). When my brother and I went to Mormon college together in the 90s, we took a World Geography class and we used the first track from Hooked On Classics to memorise the entire map of the world, east to west... We didn't have the recording with us, we just sang it from memory and filled in the country names...
We aced that test. :) Thanks, K-Tel!! :)
I think several Weird Al records from the early 80s were K-tel also... Weird Al in 3-D was one of our faves, but I think Polka Party! and some of those were K-tel too, weren't they?
Come on man! This guy was a Canadian legend! Think of all the television and radio spots he purchased flooding the industry with dollars! I was a teenager in the 70s! My Woodward‘s stereo, my black lights! My shag rug halfway up the walls and Parque dance floor! All in my parents basement! K Tel was with us all the way! Thanks for the memories! Cheers… Keith
You were livin' large homie.
RUclips recommended this video and I quite enjoyed it. I review mostly As Seen on TV gadgets, so this grabbed my attention. When I was a kid, it seemed like every family had at least a couple K-Tel records in their collection. You did a great job and packed a lot of info in 7 minutes. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
Been a fan of your reviews and just found this channel. Never knew K-Tel was from here either. Very cool.
Whoa, did not expect to see Freakin' Reviews pop up randomly in another video's comments...
"I review mostly As Seen on TV gadgets, so this grabbed my attention." ~ What you're really saying is; "I review mostly As Seen on TV gadgets, here's my channel because I want more attention.... " Otherwise you would have just said; "When I was a kid, it seemed like every family had at least a couple K-Tel records in their collection." And left it at that. Then you compliment bomb to make you look good. Umm hmm....
@@thecommentary21 Dang. Cynical much?
We had the K-Tel bottle cutter, turning beer bottles into drinking glasses. How stylish!
Yes we had one too. You would rotate the glass on a glass cutter wheel, heat it up with a candle, then put ice on it to crack the glass and remove the bottle neck. Then sand the sharp edge off. Worked most of the time.
Santa brought me 22 Explosive Hits for Christmas in 1972.
S A T U R D A Y NIGHTS. S A T U R D A Y NIGHTS.
Did you hunt him down and kill him, Gary?
My parents bought that too! That was my first introduction to pop music at the tender age of 6
@@notreallydavid Have you seen him around lately? :)
Nope. Thought it was because I have no chimney.
What Channel 33 didn't mention is that K-TEL was slowly replaced by TIME-LIFE inc. Their infomercials are everywhere.
Now and then I scoop up K-tel records at thrift stores to accumulate lots of rock or disco songs very cheaply, particularly if they were by one-hit-wonders where I'd be wasting my time buying entire albums by those artists versus having K-tel records packed with hits.
That was the allure of K-tel & Ronco records.
Why you wouldn't buy the individual track from iTunes or the like in 2021 is pretty shocking.
@@TraneFrancks It's hardly shocking, but certainly, in terms of a lot of pop stars and new bands today, they rarely create full albums worth buying. Most of the time, they really only have one or two hits per album, so it isn't worth buying whole albums when single songs here and there will do.
Individual tracks from iTunes cost $1.29 each in Canada while I can buy an entire K-tel record at local thrift stores for only $1 to $2 packed with hits; probably 20 or more hits per record which, if individually purchased on iTunes, would cost over $25.
It all depends on one's individual musical tastes and I consider most pop or rock music of the 90's and 2000's to be crap to my ears. I just can't relate to much of it, so I seek out music I like which I find at thrift stores or on eBay or as reissues on Amazon or at local music stores.
I like iTunes and I've bought albums as well as individual songs and even some of the cheaper movies they offer, but I really resent Apple's greed by charging absurd amounts for many albums or movies when CD albums or DVD's or Blu-rays often cost LESS than what iTunes charges for a cold digital download versus physical media. So, I use iTunes now and then (only a few times last year and not at all for the past five or more years), but I prefer physical media and I don't trust self-righteous Silicon Valley geeks to allow me to keep my purchased albums or my online accounts. I don't trust the online world even though it's useful and no one can erase, delete, lose, or deactivate my physical media collection. :)
@@TraneFrancks When it comes to K-tel records, it's not about buying individual tracks; it's about buying cheap records packed with 20 or more hits and often 20 or more hits of a particular era or genre (rock, disco, hits from the 50's, 60's, and 70's, dance tunes, metal, etc.) and anyone who buys records has interesting stories to tell while, as much as I enjoy having iTunes too, no one who buys and downloads songs from iTunes has any interesting stories to tell about how they acquired their favourite songs or albums. I can look at any record album I own and I can remember where I bought it and who I was talking to inside the thrift store or music store. Nobody can say that when it comes to iTunes, Spotify, etc.
Record collecting is active while streaming or downloading music is passive. :)
@@TorontoJon I can appreciate the journey of the collector. :)
K-Tel albums were very diverse musically and that created my love of different styles of music. My mom gave us a few as Christmas gifts back in the late 70's. Thanks again mom!
I lucked into a K Tell completion called Masters Of Metal.
The one I remember the best was a new wave collection called "The Beat." My middle school aged sister wanted it for Christmas so I went to Musicland and said I was looking for The Beat. The woman behind the counter was seriously into British new wave music and asked if I was looking for The English Beat or another band called The Beat. When I told her I was looking for the K-Tel album The Beat she looked at me like I was the biggest dork to have ever wandered into the store.
@Middleaged Headbanger . . . You brought up a good point about a record music retailer *not* carrying K-Tel records. I worked for a California retail record chain, _The Wherehouse_ in 1977/78; and the more nationally renown _Tower Records_ from '78 into '79; and not once do I recall seeing a currently marketed K-Tel LP on the shelves of either retailer.
But, the K-Tel LPs were found in the clearance/cut-out bins at smaller regional retailers, such as _Record Factory_ or an independent retailer such as _Campi's Music_ in San Jose, California.
@Evil Rev I worked in a record store for a few years and don't miss them, part of it was that sort of co-worker. I guy I remember was determined to convince people to buy Ministry. It was weird to watch some customer coming in looking for Motley Crue and this guy had to convince them they should buy Ministry.
I have only ever returned a record to a record store once. (I think it was actually on CD). It was Counting Crows’ first big album - the one with “Mr. Jones”. Also the only and last time I took a record clerk’s advice on buying an album. I just couldn’t take dude’s voice and 95% of the album sucked. The clerk gave me a really funny look and kinda made me feel “guilty” for returning it. Interestingly, later on I actually liked some of Counting Crows later stuff.
@@mattskustomkreations When it comes to vinyl record album returns, I hope you have the patience for me to relate to you an aspect of 1970s records retailing by Tower Records in California:
In the early-to-mid 1970s Tower had a policy that if the customer didn't like the vinyl album after the purchase, the customer could return the album, with sales receipt, and have the privilege with making a one-time exchange for an album of a different artist/music group, of equal retail value. How did Tower allow that? Unbeknownst to the buying public, each Tower Records store had what was known as a _re-sealing station,_ where the album jackets of those returned LP records were re-sealed with vinyl shrink wrap and placed back onto the retail sales shelves.
That practice was _under the radar_ with the consuming public until the late 1970s, that's when LP records warpage skyrocketed; which ramped-up the customers records returns to Tower as defectives; where it got as high as 25 percent for new/best selling vinyl album releases; but the record companies/distributors would only honor a five percent defectives return rate. So, the local Tower store manager amended the return policy to re-seal the warped records as followed: _Look over the warped LP for any surface defects, and if none shows, then wipe down the LP with a silicon cleaning cloth; re-seal the album and put back on the store's shelves._
Well, that policy worked for several years until a growing public awareness of it got the attention of the county's district attorney's office, which came close to filing charges against Tower for fraud with selling used merchandize as new. I had already left Tower by that time, so all I know is that Tower got rid of their re-sealing machines; and the stores were required to post a sign at the checkout registers to assure the customers that, in accordance with the county DA's office, the vinyl record albums they were buying were factory sealed new merchandize.
The vinyl albums that were notorious for warpage in the 1970s: Fleetwood Mac's _Rumours,_ and any multiple LP set albums, such as the soundtracks for Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
@@bloqk16 I have the patience and now you have my gratitude! Fascinating- I never knew about that practice.
I have so many records from K-TEL that i couldn't list them all here
Thanks for this. K-Tel was a staple of my childhood here in Australia, but I never knew anything about their background or history.
Thanks for the comment
Even as a child, a record obsessed child, I remember the poor quality of K Tel Records. I got a few as presents and soon made the connection that too much music being crammed in resulted in poor quality. A brand new album would have a low volume, crackles in the quiet parts, and would skip easily on my budget priced record player. In all fairness K Tel weren't alone in this area but as soon as I hear the name 'K Tel' that's what I immediately think of. As a result of those early experiences I avoided all K Tel records. I can't have been alone in this?
I remember some people joking that the "K stood for quality", the same joke that K-Mart had thrown at them. Given how much they crammed into most records, I guess it would be the 70's and 80's equivalent of 144p on RUclips. Okay, maybe not *that* bad, but you could usually hear a difference if you were familiar with the song from its album or single.
The songs were not compressed on the early 80s albums
My first K-Tel record was "Believe In Music" in 1972. I actually framed the album and it hangs on the wall in my music/movie room. I download all the songs from ITunes and created a playlist with the songs in the exact same order as they were presented on the album so I could relive the early 70s whenever I wanted to.
As bad as K-Tel was, they were far better than one of their competitors called "Pickwick/33" records. Pickwick had compilation records, but the songs
Believe in Music turned me on to Eric Clapton, Slade and unfortunately the Osmonds too.
@@scrambaba go away little girl
Mine, too! Still love it.
"Masters of Metal" Volumes 1 & 2 were my gateway albums to the genre I love to this day
I had the first one back in the day... on cassette. Great compilation.
"Axe Attack" for me...
I had both of those too....wore them right out!
the greatest metal compilation LPs for the day
This channel is a nostalgic walk through of my musical childhood from the 70s and 80s. Awesome memories!! I know we had a few K-Tel records at home and I always remember those commercials!
When I was a kid I thought K-Tel was short for Kmart Television, It made sense in my kid brain because K-Mart was a real store and K-Tel was on TV.
one of my early music purchases when i was a young lad was K-tel's Music Express, which exposed me to some life-long favourite songs, like Elton John's Philadelphia Freedom and The Stampeders' New Orleans. I happened to buy that on 8-track tape, and it was the only K-tel album I ever bought.... until a couple of years ago, as I was getting back into collecting vinyl, when I found a handful of pretty cool vintage K-tel LPs that had songs I either liked or wanted to finally have. I re-bought that Music Express along with a half dozen other collections. Fun to have and to spin now and then, when I'm in the mood for a mixed bag of music on vinyl. Great idea for an episode!
My Dad had "25 Polka Greats" that he wore out. The rest of us were relieved!
I'm still traumatized by that album ! Glad I wasn't the only one with parents who listened to polka music !
Polka greats. That a totally contradictory term!
I like Polka music
Oh yeah...and Dad would want us to dance with him!! So embarrassing when youre a kid.... Lol i would do anything to dance the Polka with my Dad today...nice video about k tel...
@@susanclark6987 I'm presuming your Dad is gone now and mine is too he used to blair polka music in the garage on Sunday mornings as we went to Sunday School my brother who is in his 50s does it now too he used to hate polka music but he wanted his kids to experience the same stuff he did as a kid he told me later and I quote "the really sad part is I'm starting to like it " lol he's turning into our Dad
Dynamite 20 original hits was incredible to me at 11yrs old. I’m sure tracks were edited but I loved it
In the UK, K-Tel was dealt a heavy blow starting in 1983 when the record companies themselves started banding together and releasing their own compilations of recent hits. The two most successful compilation series were the Hits Album (a collaboration between CBS and WEA) and Now That's What I Call Music (Virgin and EMI).
Of course, this meant that all the biggest record companies stopped licensing to K-Tel.
The Hits albums ran from 1984 to 2006, and the Now series began in 1983 and is still going to this day (2021).
I remember as a kid noticing that during the quiet passages of a song you could faintly hear the sound of the groove one rotation away. Yep, they were that crammed.
That wasn't caused by the record, it was an artifact of the recording process. Audio recordings of that time were recorded on reel-to-reel audio tape machines. To get the best fidelity, those machines ran at high tape speed, usually 15 inches per second. This lead to a problem known as "print through", where the sound recorded on the tape would leave a low volume copy of itself on the adjacent layer of tape on the reel. The effect was a pre-echo that preceded the intended sound. Since there was no way at the time to selectively remove the pre-echo, it was printed onto the record discs. This is very noticeable on the vocals of the song "Roxanne" by The Police.
@@lawrencegenereux8567 Excellent point. For those who were unaware (not you Lawrence), it was also known as bleed / tape bleed / ghosting where the layer of magnetic tape would slightly magnetise the layer of tape above it. Personally, I used to like it because you could hear the next track before it kicked in, all part of the charm of analogue technology. It was not restricted to the beginning of songs as during quiet passages of recordings, you can sometimes hear the singer before they sang.
That's Pre-echo, even quality vinyl will have it to some degree. I have the 45 of Plastic Bertrand's " Ca Plane Pour Moi" and the lead up groove has a faint but obvious echo of the opening seconds of the song.
“Edited and shortened” being acronyms for “butchered” 😬.
I think you mean "synonyms"
No, an acronym is a word like scuba,Self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a word comprised of the first letter of other words.Edited and butchered are just adjectives, descriptive modifiers.
But then, realistically, “vinyl” is a synonym for “not built to last”.
"Butchering" was also common when songs that exceeded 3 1/2 minutes were released on 45's.
@@JDSly1 Unless you had 'November Rain' by Guns And Roses, nearly 9 minutes on a 7'' 45!!!!
My brother and I got K-Tel records for Christmas back in the late 70's. I got "Sounds Spectacular" and he got "Block Buster", both of which I still have in my collection today. I haven't listened to them in probably 40years, so I may need to go revisit them and listen for that sound compression and shortening of the songs. Great video!
K-Tel actually had a second life in the late 90s or early 00s. The marketing was sparse, but I remember picking up their Goth and Alternative compilation CDs (vinyl was dead), and was surprised at the song selections, they were actually pretty smart choices and showed some depth and knowledge in the song choice selections. My Gen-Z friends and I were surprised by their quality, the packing was nice, and they are now collectors items. I think because of K-Tel's reputation, not many of these were sold and therefore, somewhat scarce. I invite anyone to pick one up if the see a K-Tel CD used, and share your thoughts. Thanks for the video, I very much enjoyed the nostalgia - sorry to drop CD vibes on your 33 1/3 Channel.
I was so poor I couldn't even afford most K-tel records, but as a teen in the '70s I would always scour the bargain bin whenever we went to town. One day, I came across K-tel's 25 Rock Revival Greats Vol. 2 and bought it mostly because it had Glad All Over by the Dave Clark Five on it (which I remembered fondly from my youth) and it was only $3.99. The first track on it was Maybellene by Chuck Berry. I was floored. I couldn't believe how great it was. I said to myself "Now THIS is rock & roll" (which it was). I even called up my best friend to play him this amazing song. Thus began my lifelong love of 1950s rock & roll which continues to this day.
I vividly remember my K-Tel albums from youth! I remember my favorite album had 'Tom Sawyer' by Rush, 'Screaming in the Night' by Krokus, 'Who's Behind the Door' by Zebra, and tons of others. I listened to it 100 times easily, I love it. I was young, so I never noticed any difference in the sound quality. They were badass! 😄👍
In the 70's here in the UK I remember buying "Parade of the pops" albums with nice girls on the cover, I don't think the original singers were on the records but they were cheap and all I could afford as a young kid, then came cassette tapes so I just recorded from the top 40 for free! thank you Mr Cassette, I still have them today and love the background noises, like my mum telling me "come down stairs and eat and turn that music down" or my cat knocking my airfix models off the shelf etc, good days but most of all GOOD MUSIC.
You got them for the bikini blondes with big bazookas on the cover, we know
Glad to hear that I wasn't the only person who recorded off the radio--my little brother would sing and make noise in the background because he knew that it made me angry 😆.
Got this first video of yours (first I've seen) in my recommended. Very nice sound, always a pleasant surprise, and interesting content. You have a nice voice to listen to also. Keep oooon spinin'!
Thanks Daniel
The quality was no big deal, when it was all you could afford. We loved these! Thanks for the video. Be blessed, today and always!
Indeed- until the late 70s ( music centres- tape deck , turntable & radio!!) & even then the quality of most peoples' systems surely wouldn't have shown up the recordings?
@@jaysterling26 - Agreed! I remember the old 8-tracks, too. Be blessed, today and always! =)
@@karenallen938 Many times back in the 70's I would see a brown ribbon laying along a roadside, knowing that yep, someone's player "ate" another 8-track.
@@agent3857 - Lol! I remember that, too! I've seen a handful of it come out the window of the car in front of me. Probably a string of obscenities, too. =) Thanks for sparking the memories. Be blessed, today and always!
@@karenallen938 What high school class?
Still have my Hooked on Classics. They use to give the albums away on radio shows, be the 25th caller and answer the question correctly and you win!
Yep! Hooked on Classics, Hooked on Swing and Hooked on Jazz! Stars On is what got me into these ones! Stars on 45 and Stars on Long Play! Got 'em all!
I have the original "Hooked On Classics" volumes 1 and 2 on high quality vinyl from RCA. I also have volumes 1 and 2 of the "Hooked On Swing" on RCA. The sound quality on these album are very good. I ordered a CD version of "Hooked on Classics" from Amazon. The CD is of good quality. It was manufactured in The Chec Republic.
Louis Clark, the creator of Hooked On Classics, was also the orchestra arranger for ELO. He died a couple weeks ago.
@@danieldaniels7571 Wow, another great loss in the music industry.
I have a collection of over 50 K -telrecords, have enjoyed them ever since I was a kid. 22 dynamic hits was one of my favourites, it started with good grief Christina by Chicory Tip. How absolutely wonderful! Thanks for this video I haven’t seen your channel before so I’ll certainly subscribe. You are right about them vary from country to country, we had a relative who was in the army and often used to bring back German pressings of K-tel records. They often have different songs on.
Goofy Greats, my favorite K-Tel LP which I still own. Lots of great novelty singles, and how I got introduced to one of my all time faves "Mah-Na-Mah-Na" by Piero Ulmiani.
You would love 'listen with uncle nac' with such gems as 'the laughing policeman', gilly gilly ossenfesser katsanellaolsome by the sea' you're a pink toothbrush, sparkys magic piano, and many other gems. The king is in the altogether, he's altogether, he's altogether as naked as the day that he was born.
Frank the one and only K-tel record I ever bought was "The Best Of Bowie". Released in 1980, it was a compilation of 16 of David Bowie singles from his RCA label days. It made number 3 in the UK album charts and, although a few of the songs were edited to allow so many tracks on 2 sides of vinyl, it also included rare single versions of "Fame" and "Golden Years". Although I own most of his records in 7", 12" and album formats, I still play The Best Of Bowie to this day when I need a quick Bowie fix.
Sax version of John, I'm Only Dancing 👍
I had that one too bought in 1980/81 when I got into David Bowie after buying Scary Monsters. I sold albums to used record stores in the 80s to get money to buy more records (😁 ) and unfortunately The Best of Bowie was one of them. Fortunately I've found several of the ones I sold since in the 90s/2000s I regretted selling them. But I haven't seen the Bowie one though. If I found it I would definitely buy it again. I guess I got rid of it since I began buying all of his albums and thought since I have the songs I didn't need that compilation. Nowadays I keep my records, I wouldn't sell any of them for any reason! It's a joy going to thrift shops and used record stores finding bargains.
Hot Nights City Lights. My parents bought that album at K Mart and, until now, I thought that K Tel was just K Mart's music label. Side note, when I was six or so I inadvertently layed my PBJ on top of this record and the peanut butter oozed out into the grooves. Dad managed to clean it out well enough that you could still play that side of the album. I still have it packed away somewhere, though my player has long since retired.
The K-Tel compilation 'Action Replay' from 1978 is genuinely one of my favourite records of all time. It's an amazing collection of songs
I think I have that one somewhere.
Had that one. Worth it for Cerrone's 'Supernature' alone
If i recall, they used to have these "heavy metal" compilations but when you looked at the bands, it was The Grateful Dead, Foreigner, or Mountain lol
"It slices, dices, peels and seals! Makes Julian fries! Use it as a flashlight...!"
Collect all six and trade with your friends!
@@bobsana4590 HEY YOU GIRLS! I’LL BE BACK FOR YOU LATER!!!
@@Com005 That's Mr. Microphone (That's a Ronco product too if Im not mistaken)
"Harvey K-Tel" played by Dave Thomas on SCTV.
"Two record set, $6.99
Tape or cassettes, $8.99!!!!
Available at
Shop-Less
and
Pay More stores
Not available in Togoland!!!"
One of the jokes in the song parody of Julian Lennon's Too Late For Goodbyes--Too Late to Get Fries-- was "even...Julian Fries! ha ha ha ha!"
In the UK K-Tel released first Bowie greatest hits album with a great cover. I have a version that Bowie himself signed - so it cannot be all bad.
Great channel.
What a stroll down memory lane! Thank you!
Brilliant, brought back memories! I love the "space age" record selector rack!
They were how I got into albums. My mom was frugal and didn't like the idea of me buying an album with one song I liked so she started buying me these. Then the '80s arrived and I started buying them on cassettes as well. I still have a few around.
2:28 I love 'Hooked On Classics' albums by K-tel and they're a great intro into classical music for people who might not otherwise listen to classical music. I also have fond memories listening to 'Hooked On Classics' cassettes during family road trips. :)
Interesting. Thanks for going in-depth into the world of vinyl, brother.
I loved listening to this short history. Music is one of my great passions and I started collecting lPs and 45s when I was very young ( under 10 years of age). I still have a majority of all the records I purchased over the years. I did also purchase 8 tracks and cassettes when they became available but they never held up over time. When cds came out I purchased them but in all honesty I feel that nothing can replace vinyl. I purchased many k-tel records over the years and they led me to some music I was not always familiar with but sometimes came to enjoy. I really don't remember the skipped verses or them being subpar but then again I was very young when I bought these records. As I grew into my teens onward I mainly purchased specific albums by a single singer /band. These LPS bring back wonderful times for me and remind me of a more innocent time. Thank you for sharing this. It is wonderful.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Frank
Oh boy, the memories.........and I've always loved the "space age technology" tag :)
Me too... so funny.
@@Channel33RPM They still pay snippets from the ad as filler on radio stations here.
One flub stood out to me. The Pocket Fisherman was not K-Tel, it was Ronco.
glad somebody else got that one...
Absolutely! I had a Pocket Fisherman, never bought a K-Tel record. Ronco was named for the Pocket Fisherman's inventor, Ron Popeil. For an interesting story, check out what happened to him. They are also still available for a mere $99.95 plus shipping and handling.
I picked up one still in the box a few years ago at a garage sale. Can't imagine ever fishing with it lol.
@@Skeeter51244 we never had the pocket fisherman, although it frankly would be decent for fishing panfish from the dock at one of our local lakes (MN); useless for catching anything big though.
I did have a Mr Microphone as a kid, and we used to tune our old console radio/turntable/8-track to the channel Mr Microphone broadcast on and got to pretend we were DJs etc.
2021
Good video! gosh in the 70's as a kid I had Disco Nights, High Energy, Hooked on Classics, Starlight
Always loved the rock compilations great video
We had "High Energy" featuring Blondie/Heart of Glass, Styx/Renegade, Foreigner/Double Vision, Chic/Le Freak, Gloria Gaynor/I Will Survive, Gino Vannelli/ I Just Want to Stop, etc, etc...
I had that on tape and wore it out!
Sounds like a great album! All classics!
Renegade also was featured on the rock album
Of course after K-tel's bankruptcy in Canada, "Quality Records" and "Polytel" - a division of Polygram, took over K-tel's music catalog and both of those companies dissolved by the mid 1990's.
I have so many 1990s dance music CDs from those 2 labels!
MuchMusic's Dance Mix 95 on Quality Records, the height of Eurodance, one of the defining records of the Canadian teenage experience of the era.
@@YoungThos Yeah, Polytel had a bunch of CD volumes with the same theme. The "DJ Club Mixes" come to mind from the 1990's. The same titles were issued over in Europe on the Polydor label, but with a different lineup of music. K-tel, Runco, Polytel and Quality Records did the same. The "White Hot" heavy metal album was released on Polytel in Canada, but the same title was released on K-tel in the U.S.. K-tel actually managed to continue to release compilations until the late 1980's over in the United States but in Canada they lost their catalogs in late 1984.
I bought a K-TEL album in 1980 called the best of Bowie and it changed my life as I became obsessed with Bowie for the next 2 decades. The record had all his hits from the 70s and was a great introduction to the Mainman.
Hell yeah... it had the 'sax version' of John, I'm Only Dancing ★
I had Out of Sight, Sounds Spectacular (both 1975), and Mind Bender (1976), as well as Ronco's Hit After Hit (1976),which had a 2:30 version of Billy Joel's "Piano Man" cut down from its near six-minute original run time! Today, I have all four albums recreated as personal RUclips playlists with full-versions of all songs. It sounds spectacular and is truly out of sight!
In the late '70s I saw a punk band named, Ronny Ronco and the K-Tels. They had a girl singer and played songs like "Mr. Microphone," using the ads' scripts as inspiration for their lyrics, mocking the marketing concept.
Awesome!
One of my favorite ever compilations was in 1976 called Hit Machine. It had a wildly diverse collection of songs, including Rick Springfield's biggest hit, Take A Hand, before General Hospital and Jessie's Girl made him a superstar. It was the "Now That's What I Call Music" of its time, but with more musical diversity with rock, hard rock, disco, country, easy listening, and pop all on one album.
Roxy Roller by Sweeney Todd was my reason for having Hit Machine.
@@DutchVai That was on the Canadian version, not the US version that I had. I do remember that song though!
I love Hit Machine, what a great title. I have the UK version with David Soul's 'Don't Give Up On Us' on it.
WOW!! Just went on Ebay to look at K-Tel records and couldn't believe what those sellers are asking for them! They must be out of their minds. I'll get mine from the dollar bin, Thank you very much!!!
Just found your site on RUclips and I never bought Ktel records. I had heard of them back when they were popular that the songs were cut so I never bought them. I have been into vinyl since the 1950's and still have most of the records and albums I bought years ago.
I remember a K-tel that had Curtis Mayfield's "If There is a Hell Below, We're all going to go" and the next song was Edwin Hawkins singing "Oh Happy Day". Kind of strange to sequence those two songs together.
Oh, man! I had Hit Express and I freakin’ loved it. That speeding train cover still ranks among my all-time favourite album covers.
YES -- me too!!! I also just recently learned the Canadian and US versions of that album had completely different track listings. Now I need to track them both down, lol.
@@Channel33RPM @NWBHLVideo if interested, I made 4 Spotify playlists of the four K-Tel compilations I had. look for "K-Tel nostalgia - Hit Express". The other ones I had were Blast Off, Star Tracks, and Chart Action. There are just a few songs missing that are actually not on Spotify.
This was such a fun walk down memory lane. I remember getting the albums "Far Out" and "Dimensions". Great times.
I have my Dad's vinyl collection and i've noticed that albums usually sound low in volume. Great video.
I currently have 27 k-tel records in my collection, I always rescue the good ones when I see them and with titles like star tracks and street wave how could I resist
Star Tracks is great
Hi Frank, we had K-Tel here in Australia for many years, records kitchen stuff etc. I think I still have a few of the kitchen gadgets somewhere, i think the veg-o-matic. The LPs were compressed to put more on them but as most were played on radiogram BSR TT's most people never knew how ordinary they were. But it was a good way to get a large amount of songs..........Enjoy the music....
You are spot-on! I was a kid in the 70's and this was the only way to get a lot of different songs in Australia for very little money... And a lot of those songs were never even played on Aussie radio back then (which was largely still stuck in the 60's.) Plus, as you said, those old radiograms (of which my folks had one, as did many other households back then) didn't really produce the best quality sound, so I bet many didn't really know (or care) how bad the sound quality was on those albums. I remember loving those albums as a kid, ('DISCO FEVER' double album set from 1978!!! So cheesy!!!! SOOOO good!!!!) even though I do remember being a little pissed off when they shortened those songs! LOL I turned into a major music snob in my teens and college years and those K-Tel records were abandoned and forgotten, but the great memories remain.
@@fashiondolldreamer agree, the radiograms were better than am radio but still rubbish. My first stereo was a Kreisler two in one, sounded good to me until i heard a real hi-i in 1973, after which i was addicted. in melbourne there were not many specialist audio stores, mainly just appliance stores who dabbled. The K-Tels were great samplers, so much so that the major labels did their own samplers too. enjoy the music
@@peterrech2307: LOL yes, they were probably just a notch above tin cans with string when it came to sound quality!!! But some of them looked so cool, especially those wooden 'mid-century modern' ones with those spindly wooden legs... and I used to love how they had an alcove inside to store your albums in. My Mum at the time worked for a company that made all sorts of appliances so we got our radiogram for free from there, I remember!
@@fashiondolldreamer a very apt description. i still have the cabinet that my parents Philips radiogram came in, but stripped the 60's Philips unit out, shelved it and put my dual and logic tts as well as electronics in this 80kg monolith cabinet. great sound and great stealth looks........
The TV commercials for the records got you pumped! There was one that featured Joe Simon and Millie Jackson “Super Bad is Back”. It’s uploaded here on YT.
Aside from KTEL there were those other (seemingly local) TV Lp compilations you could get in the mail…
My favorite was “British Cats and Others” I waited 6 weeks but it finally came, I relish my copy to this day!
Absolutely fantastic video, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@Channel33RPM It was on K tel compilations I heard Tito Simon's reggae classic "Monday Morning Feeling" and Genesis' "I Know What I Like" which was very curious for a 9 year old!
I have a couple of K-Tel metal comps, Axe Attack I think they are called. Really enjoy this type of spotlight video Frank, more please!
Thanks Andy -- I will do more like these. It was fun to put together.
I have those LPs too... they're from England!
The Axe attack record I have is not too crammed with songs. Only 7 on each side.
I loved to buy K Tel records as a young teen. My older sister always said "why don't you buy a real record" after I showed her my latest copy.
Buying K-Tels was a great way to get the songs you liked instead of buying entire albums with 2-3 songs you liked.
My sister too. She knew the difference.
@@mayloo2137 It was a trade-off. Get a good, high-quality pressing with mostly filler, or an inferior-sounding "microgroove" record with 11 songs on one side, but they were songs you did like.
Awesome video.....I remember K-Tel during the 70's....Those commercials were a hoot
Great video! I really appreciate your annunciation.
Thanks for watching!
As a kid I thought the K in K-Tel was for Kmart, because that is where I bought them...lol
I was today years old when I learned the K in K-Tel wasn't for Kmart.
That Record Selector is a recipe for warped records.
That's a "Wreckord Selector". 😄
@@troykirchhoefel9134 Hahaha! :)
I've never actually owned a K-Tel record selector so I don't know what they were like. I know they can be found on Ebay but I don't think I would buy one because apparently the double albums don't fit into the slots very well which can cause damage to the covers. Not a bad idea from K-tel though. Maybe they could have made a second version available with wider slots to store all those gatefold double albums in. Just a thought.
But it's a "Space Age Design"
K-tel should've called it the Warp-O-Tron 3000 or something like that (the Warp-O-Matic?). :)
K-tel compilations was really popular here in Quebec (French speaking province of Canada). We had many one-of-a-kind compilations released. One of my favourites is a Christmas one, some songs are only available on that specific album. It featured some popular singles of the time with other popular singers singing some verses, like a remix featuring some other artists of the album. It’s called “Les 20 plus grands souvenirs de Noël”.
I never saw that album for sale in Ontario. You may have a collectible piece there.
Ça me dit quelque chose, je crois que moi ou ma femme l'avait à un certain point... ;)
Great docco. Thanks for the info. K-Tel were BIG in Australia too at their time. They did have competition; J&B Records, Polystar, and Majestic Records were three other biggies in the compilation business. They too had similar faults; low sound quality and edited songs with early fade-outs or verses missing.
Thanks for the info!
I remember an album - think it was called Star Power. Started off with Meco's disco cover of the Star Wars theme, think it also had Christine Sixteen by Kiss and Cold as Ice by Foreigner on it.
The difference between K-Tel and the other labels like them (such as Pickwick and Springboard) was that K-Tel didn't use covers, they licensed the original recordings.
In the beginning they did use original recordings but I believe in later years they had the original artists re-record their songs to avoid paying royalties.
Yes it was called Star Power. I had it too.i looked up the title by remembering Cold as Ice was on it.
I have the entire Hooked on Classics series on my Amazon music streaming library. I still love the way those completions were done.
Louis Clark was a brilliant arranger.
Nice! This reminded me that I discovered Rush on a KTel cassette in the glovebox of dad's old Jimmy. Closer to the Heart! A lot of us owe those weird records a debt of gratitude don't we? I'd actually say that find probably changed the course of my life, some 30 years ago now! Thanks for this, Frank.
Awesome story Scott! The legacy of K-Tel!
I'm in Australia, we had K tel here as well, i still have many in my collection and play the occasionally!
I bought a lot of the ones from the 1981-1983 time period and they had fewer songs on each side and were the exact versions that were on the 45s. They sounded fine. I'm glad I missed those earlier 70s ones.
I had "Hot Tracks" from 1983. Maniac, Sweet Dreams, White Wedding, Mr. Roboto, Don't Pay The Ferryman, Promises Promises, Human Touch, King of Pain, This Time, Mexican Radio...
I remember the infamous 1984 Break Dance LP It would be their last record release just prior to filing for bankruptcy.
Break Dance? No wonder K-Tel went broke! That (c)rap stuff would kill off *any* record company!
I didn't't know that. Thanks for the info.
That is considered classic hip hop now. I remember a crew of white boys in our school talent show, break dancing to the "Rockit" cover off that tape. My brother and I had that tape too.
@@neilforbes416 Translation: That music is too black for me and I don't like things that are too black.
Have it and still listen to it, the 80s were fun. I'm glad I have the last release from k tel.
When I was a kid growing up in the early 2000’s, I remember my Dad having a K-Tel comp. CD titled “Southern Fried Rock”. He would play it in the house all the time and when we drove from Massachusetts to Vermont for vacation every year, he’d bring it with us to play in the car. He still has it to this day, and I’ve researched that CD, there is three variations of “Southern Fried Rock”, the one he has is a tan cover with a few pictures of the bands on the CD. Very hard to find these days, and I recently found one on eBay to add to my own collection for nostalgia purposes!
That was a great mini doc. The first record I ever bought in 1979 with money from my paper route was a K-Tel. There were others I remember Readers Digest albums at my grandparents' place too--that would also be a good subject for another video.