You Can Do a Lot of Livin' on a Credit Card! (MP3's)

Here's a fun little record that came out on the Meloclass Label, all about the often-addressed dangers of starting to buy more than you can afford, via the credit card.

Meloclass turns up in the American Song-Poem Music Archives listing of song-poem labels, but I have two records on the label, and neither of them - at least not their respective a-sides - strike me as being song-poems. 

To be sure, there is some overlap. One of the writers of today's record (Gordon Vanderburg) shows up with songs on several other song-poem labels, including one where he composed several offerings on a Las Vegas-themed album, all performed by the great Rodd Keith. 

But in that case, and in the case of the Meloclass songs, it seems more likely that the song-poem companies were being employed to turn out records of completed songs, often written by a song-writing team, rather than submitting lyrics to have music written to order. It's a key difference between a song-poem and a vanity recording.

And in this case, I really wonder if this (and the other Meloclass record from my collection) are neither song-poems nor vanity records, but legitimate attempts at novelty records. There is a higher level of professionalism in the writing of "Credit Card", for one thing, and for another, the artists listed on the labels of these records show up nowhere else in the song-poem discography. 

All of that is just obsessive speculation, from this obsessive collector. Here is the song itself, a charming performance of "Credit Card" as sung and played by Richard House and the Five Fellows: 

Richard House and the Five Fellows - Credit Card (MP3)  

The other Meloclass record to which I've referred, a truly engaging song written tribute to a Marine, from his fellow Marines, performed in a truly unique and ridiculous fashion, and titled "Friendly Melvin", can be found here. 

The flip side of "Credit Card", with the same co-writer, is considerably less interesting, and muddies the waters considerably by sounding very much like the product of the Globe song-poem factory, while still credited to The Five Fellows, this time joined by "A Girl".  

The Five Fellows and a Girl - If I Didn’t Have You (MP3)  |  "Credit Card" Label (JPG)  |  "If I Didn't Have You" Label (JPG) 

Interestingly, the single of "Friendly Melvin" also features a flip side credited to the same group as on the A-side, yet like this record, the flip side sounds like a song poem, the flip features a different vocalist, and the performers heard on the two sides do not sound remotely similar.

Comments

[Sammy Reed]

"Richard House" was one of the earlier names for "artist better known as" Dick Kent!

[scoobie doo]

You are the man, and I love this site.