Somewhere along the collecting path, I managed to acquire a stack of tapes labeled "JW", and containing a variety of singing performances by a woman who presumably has (or had) those initials.
These are a bit unusual in the world of demo tapes. Virtually all demo reels I've heard have a single purpose, usually one of three. They are either to display someone's singing talent, perhaps to sell him or her as a performer worthy of signing or hiring to perform live, to demonstrate the songs themselves for someone who might want to perform them, or to market the commercial voice-over (or singing) potential of the performer, in order to seel him or her as a commercial voice artist.
The JW tapes seem to combine the first and third of these purposes, with song excerpts alternating with full commercials that the singer had done (the selling of the songs themselves seems unlikely, given that no complete songs are heard, and that at least one of these is a very familiar (former hit) song).
The songs are generally nothing to get worked up about, although a few of them have promise. My guess is that it is the commercials here (most of which are complete) which will be the attraction. A lot of them are quite fun. One thing that's interesting to me about the commercials selected is that "JW" is not always a solo start on them, or even clearly discernible from other vocalists.
The first of the two tapes heard here is labeled circa 1967, runs about six minutes, and contains the following tracks, as labeled on the box:
1.) Must Be Love (song excerpt)
2.) Out of Love (song excerpt)
3.) Junket (ad for Fudge)
4.) WELM (38 second Elmira station ID jingle)
5.) 'Cause I Was Mad (song excerpt - my favorite one on either tape - love the echo!)
6.) Polka Dot Pigs (Crispy Critters cereal ad)
7.) I Hear a Melody (song excerpt)
8.) Losin' Heart (song excerpt)
9.) KLRD ("here's the time" radio jingle)
JW - JW Sing Reel Circa 1967 (MP3)
JW 1967 Sing Reel Tape Box (JPG)
The second tape is labeled 1975, runs about 9 1/2 minutes, and contains the following tracks, as labeled on the box:
1 & 2.) Cougar (two ads: A. Final, and B. Fever (i.e. in the style of the song "Fever"))
3.) Hunts (sauce ad)
4.) Oo La La (Air France ad? - can't make out if that's what she says or not!)
5.) Little Blue Star (song excerpt)
6.) I Knew (song excerpt)
7.) Wedding Bell Blues (song excerpt)
8.) Please Stay (song excerpt)
9.) Pokla Dot Pigs (same track as on the 1967 tape)
10.) (Title is Illegible on Box) (song excerpt)
11.) Sky Bar (candy bar ad - and it's great to hear an ad for the mighty Sky Bar - haven't had one in YEARS!)
12.) When I Am With You (song excerpt)
13.) Munch (Post Toasties ad)
14.) Sugar Pops (cereal ad)
15.) Are You Early (the same jingle identified as "KLRD" on the earlier tape, minus the final stinger)
JW - JW Sing Reel Circa 1975 (MP3)
JW 1975 Sing Reel Tape Box (JPG)
Incidentally, I do have more of these tapes - these are labeled # 2 and # 6. If there is interest, I can post them. Assuming, that is, that I can find them in the catacombs - these two got separated from the bunch, and I'm not sure where the others are.
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