Category: All Posts

The little TEAC that could

I’ve been struggling with a project at home for some time, ripping a bunch of CD-R’s to MP3. Some of the discs simply could not be read by any of the combi-DVD/CD drives I have. The only player that worked at all is a dedicated CD reader that came with the Compaq computer I bought on October 25, 2001 — the day that Windows XP was released. But some songs wouldn’t finish ripping, and even if they did finish it could take hours, and even with error correction enabled on the drive the results were awful, as heard on the audio player’s first track. The song, by Bonnie Guitar, was #27 on the Billboard music charts the week of June 24, 1957. The second track on the player has a clean rip of the song from the CD-R.

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Audio/2013/12/1st+rip.mp3,https://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Audio/2013/12/2nd+rip.mp3|titles=Bonnie Guitar: Dark Moon – bad rip,Bonnie Guitar: Dark Moon – good rip]

You would think the first recording was taken from a badly scratched record, and the second from a CD, but they both came from the same CD-R. What made the difference? An amazingly nimble 10-year-old TEAC CD210-PU USB CD-ROM reader I got hold of that sails through the same discs that gave five other units a fit.

That same week in 1957, another recording of the song, done by Gale Storm, was #7 on the Billboard chart, and it makes for an interesting comparison to Bonnie’s version. I hear a definite Elvis influence here.

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Audio/2013/12/GStorm.mp3|titles=Gale Storm: Dark Moon]

Diane Disney, 1933-2013

Sharon, Walt, Diane and Lillian Disney
Sharon, Walt, Diane and Lillian Disney

Diane Disney has passed away, a month shy of her 80th birthday. Diane was Walt’s first daughter, and his only biological child. Sharon, who died in 1993, was adopted. Brian Sibley knew Diane, and today he talked about her on BBC Radio 4.

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Audio/2013/11/Brian+and+Diane.mp3|titles=Brian Sibley on Diane Disney]

This is the Disney Studio’s press release with Diane’s birth announcement.

12/18/33 - IT'S A GIRL! At the Walt Disneys. The infant was born almost at the moment that Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, was receiving a medal from a Parents' Magazine for distinguished service to children. Hastily thanking 75 distinguished guests for the medal, Disney deserted the luncheon and rushed to the Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles) to see his wife and baby girl. The baby, born through a Caesarian operation, and mother were reported doing well by the attending physician. Photo shows Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse making the important announcement.
12/18/33 – IT’S A GIRL! At the Walt Disneys. The infant was born almost at the moment that Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, was receiving a medal from a Parents’ Magazine for distinguished service to children. Hastily thanking 75 distinguished guests for the medal, Disney deserted the luncheon and rushed to the Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles) to see his wife and baby girl. The baby, born through a Caesarian operation, and mother were reported doing well by the attending physician. Photo shows Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse making the important announcement.

The Differences in Different Drum

Ronstadt

I have indelibly strong memories of hearing the Stone Poneys’ Different Drum on 77 WABC when I was a kid. It was one of those records that I was always especially excited to hear, even before I knew what Linda Ronstadt looked like. The way the single was put together was, like its singer, perfect, and it made me keenly aware of how the sound of a record can be as important as the song itself. My favorite singer was Petula, but even to my pre-adolescent ears I knew that Linda had a wider vocal range.

The Wall Street Journal steps out of character with this blog-like item telling how Mike Nesmith’s song Different Drum became Linda Ronstadt’s first hit single. The comparison between the recording of the song by the Greenbriar Boys that interested Linda, and her own version, illustrates my point about record production. Nick Venet, who helped Brian Wilson develop the Beach Boys sound, produced Different Drum.

A video that’s missing from the WSJ post is Mike Nesmith’s intentionally botched attempt at singing Different Drum on the Monkees TV show.