Say what you want about this:
It does prove that the sixties were weird on a level you don't often hear about. Of course when people talk about the sixties, what they often mean is the early seventies, when bands in faded jeans were all over FM radio and All in the Family proved that hippies were just your annoying son-in-law.
But in 1967, it was apparently all about ad men and publicists going down Sunset Strip and trying to convince the freaks that commercials are a real happening, man. There's a bit of the put-on in all this, but it was also real. An actual agency commissioned these skits and songs. From the sounds of it, they even got Thurl Ravenscroft involved. It all adds up to a huge "What the hell am I listening to?"
2 comments:
16 Tons? wow!
I think I heard the Swingle Singers in there too. It's true that there were some very weird commercials in those days but tv has always been strange. How could I ever forget the dancing cigarette girls:
https://youtu.be/XLNNJJEUybo?si=S01vd8t1GrTYOwca
That was a fascinating article about Thurl Ravenscroft. The difference between then and now is that people were far more interesting or at least they were a lot more easy going about being silly.
Thanks for the reminder and the video.
"Sixteen Tons" is a durable song. Red Sovine did a neat version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPFu1eNDYmk
I'm not as familiar with the Swingle Singers but I think I know which part you're talking about. Cigarette girls were usually vendors who carried cigarettes on a tray, which is what one might expect to see when an ad is described as having "dancing cigarette girls." That said, I believe the "dancing pack of cigarettes" bit appears on an episode of Ellery Queen.
Aside from having a great name, Thurl Ravenscroft was a fine singer in many settings, Including "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." I think social media and ever-present phones have made people freeze up, perhaps understandably. Anyway, I'm glad you remember another way.
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