[78-L] 60 Years of Music America Loves Best

[Michael Biel]

I received Vol One as a Bar Mitzvah present in early November 1959. It sold for $3.98 — not $4.98 as someone mentioned — with a removable oval red sticker (which was not on my copy, of course) which you can see on some eBay copies. Heavily promoted and highly discounted, it sold like hot cakes. In the mid-1960s RCA included a multi-page list of their million selling records printed in 7x7 inches in the envelope of their DJ service of 45s. Included in that list was every track that was in that album, but with their original singles number or the current Gold Standard Series number. They apparently included the sales of this album into the prior sales figures. Volume Two did not sell as well, and I bought my copy in the mid-1960s in the cut-out section on the second floor of Sam Goody Philadelphia. Volume Three was split into two single LPs for $1.98 each. This time one disc was black label LPM. The other 5 discs had been Red Seal LM.

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From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com <78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com> on behalf of Lloyd Davies <all_my_linx at yahoo.ca.invalid>
Sent: Saturday, January 4, 2020 4:00:32 PM
To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Subject: Re: [78-L] 60 Years of Music America Loves Best


Rodger,    was this was a half-pop & half-classical set?  Or was it one series of Victor & one series of Victor Red Seal?  I did a *very quick* search of contemporary newspapers.
    Volume one reached #4 in the pop albums in Montgomery, Alabama in the Fall of 1960, and volume one reached #1 in the classical charts in that city.    At the same time, it reached #4 on both the English and French pop charts in Ottawa, Ontario.
    The Cincinnati Enquirer reviewed it in October of 1960:<<<"60 Years of Music America Loves Best" (Victor LM 6088) is one of those compendiums of committee taste over the years, committee taste is always atrocious and this album is a monument of its kind. It begins with Caruso singing Verdi and ends with Fiedler playing Khatchaturian. In between are 28 other entries, from Belafonte to Wayne King, Toscanini to Eddie Fisher, Grace Moore to Perry Como. Rachmaninoff. Casals, Warren, Lanza the list goes on. The recording quality varies as you might expect. The price, by the way, is $4.95 for two records.>>>

    At this point in history, Spike Jones had left RCA for Liberty records.  His next album was "60 Years of Music America Hates Best".  Can there be any greater compliment?
    - Lloyd in Calgary

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