MP3:
1 Overture (Instrumental) (2:09)
2 Rockin' With The Mods (2:55)
3 Give Me An American Girl (2:51)
4 Looks Like You're Falling In Love (2:15)
5 How Would We Look Without Zippers? (2:33)
6 He's A Penney Man (2:45)
7 There's Gonna Be A Party Here Tonight! / I'm Home / R.S.V.P. / There's Gonna Be A Party Here Tonight! (6:12)
8 Opening Day At The Golden Rule (7:13)
9 The Spirit Of '66 (1:57)
Spirit of '66 is a great intro to the world of the always upbeat, corny, bizarre, privately-pressed 1960s Industrial Musical. It's a findable record, and it's a perfect example of the outrageous expense corporations took on when staging these monstrosities during the 1960s. It's got a large cast of Broadway and Off-Broadway actors, one of the top composers in industrial theatre, and a gatefold cover. And all that for what normally was a one-night affair, or perhaps at most a two-week affair, with the show touring to several cities where the company had a corporate presence.
Michael Brown (pictured in the bow tie on the front cover) composed this show, and this was not his first musical for the J.C. Penney Company. In 1962, he composed and staged Penney Proud, on the advent of the company's 60th anniversary (and if you're lucky enough to find a fully loaded copy of that LP, you'll find lyric sheets and sheet music given out at the performances), and in 1960, he penned A Birthday Garland for Mr. James Cash Penney, an exceptionally rare industrial show.
In fact, Brown in his heyday was actually a renaissance man – his numerous musicals for corporations (DuPont, Belk's stores, Singer, Woolworth's, Talon zippers (!), Holiday Magazine) are all charmingly written and performed with utmost professionalism. Each has at least one if not several standout cuts. He also got the most out of his material. Case in point: in Penney Proud there's a song titled “The Penney Manager's Work Song” – in his 1965 Woolworth show Mr. Woolworth Had a Notion, there's the “Woolworth Manager Work Song” and the same goes for Belk's. In fact, in Brown's 1967 Talon zipper show, he repeated the track “How Would We Look Without Zippers?” from this show for Penney's.
Brown began his career on Broadway in Leonard Sillman's New Faces for 1952, and New Faces for 1956, both of which featured his original songs. Lest you think he was square, in 1962, he released an LP on Impulse titled Alarums and Excursions. He's also known for the popular series of children's books about Santa Mouse. And, he and his wife Joy entered literary history during the 50s when they gave writer Harper Lee a gift: enough cash to quit work for a year and write To Kill a Mockingbird. Of course... I love him for “He's a Penney Man.”
- Contributed by: Jonathan Ward
Images: Front Cover, Back Cover, Credits, Titles
Media: 12" LP
Album: J.C. Penney Company presents An Evening With Michael Brown And His Friends (Spirit of '66)
Credits: Words and Music by Michael Brown. Musical Director Norman Paris.
I can't download any of these MP3s. I don't think they've been uploaded yet...please fix!
Posted by: Daniel G | January 31, 2007 at 03:35 AM
Yeah. Getting 404s on all the MP3s :/
Posted by: Björn | January 31, 2007 at 06:40 AM
Deez linx is broke. FYI.
Posted by: norelpref | January 31, 2007 at 11:05 AM
Hi folks. We're working on fixing the links. Hang in there.
Posted by: Sys Admin Bill | January 31, 2007 at 12:01 PM
Links still not working. But just the post and your further comments are interesting. Thanks. I'll keep checking in to see if the links get fixed.
Posted by: Muddy | January 31, 2007 at 12:40 PM
Links still not working. But just the post and your further comments are interesting. Thanks. I'll keep checking in to see if the links get fixed.
Posted by: Muddy | January 31, 2007 at 01:34 PM
LINKS ARE WORKING NOW. Thanks for hanging in there folks.
Posted by: Sys Admin Bill | January 31, 2007 at 01:45 PM
Where can I find some more acid?..
Posted by: Rumple Stiltskin | January 31, 2007 at 03:24 PM
Confidence totally restored. And this one is actually pretty damned good.
Happies,
BGA
Posted by: Bluegreen Anemone | January 31, 2007 at 06:19 PM
first link still isn't working for me in Safari
Posted by: strictly kev | February 01, 2007 at 06:47 AM
Audio Director: Phil Ramone?!
Posted by: Richard Brandt | February 01, 2007 at 03:36 PM
I have to tell you, I first read the name of song nr. 5: "How would we lock without zippers?" A much better name, to say the least, and the world deserves a song with that name. I´m going to write it now. Thanks for the accidental inspiration, and for a FANTASTIC page. Love from Iceland.
Posted by: Heida | March 22, 2007 at 02:21 PM