[78-L] NBC Chimes Song

[Michael Shoshani]

On 10/22/2013 08:51 PM, Sammy Jones wrote:
> I think we've discussed this before, but I can't find the thread.
>
> I've been reading Mark Durenberger's excellent treatise on AT&T Long Lines
> and their use by the radio networks, and he includes a link to the NBC
> Chimes Song ("I Love You").  Has anyone ever been able to find out the
> singer or orchestra on the recording?  I can't find any mention on the web
> of any discographical details, though there's a debate raging on YouTube
> over the singer.  Sounds like Frank Parker to me.

I went over everything I could with a fine-toothed comb when I added the 
song to nbcchimes.info . There is no ASCAP record of the song, no 
composer information, no copyright information. The orchestra is 
unknown, as is the singer.

An acquaintance who is an NBC Vice President of something or other got 
as far as the SNL files for the season opener of, as I recall, 1978, 
when the song was performed by Garrett Morris with Howard Shore leading 
an orchestra; even by then the files say they weren't actually able to 
clear the song for air because no information on it could be found 
anywhere. They just winged it figuring if it couldn't be traced, they 
wouldn't be sued.

I don't think this is a commercial record but rather a song publisher's 
demo for something that ultimately did not get published. A few sites 
present it as an off the air recording, but I feel this is highly 
unlikely given the precise timing of the start and end, with studio 
silence before and after.

I have been in contact with someone on Facebook who avers that he has a 
reel to reel copy of the song that was a dub from a cart that belonged 
to an NBC affiliate. He's been trying to locate it and has offered me a 
digital copy, but so far hasn't been able to find it.

Michael Shoshani
Chicago