American Cheese Adventure
“It’s a treatwich-in-the-round topped with the best-tasting pasteurized process cheese slices you can buy: the ones marked Kraft. Top a big, toasted round of rye bread, mustard-spread,with hot corned beef hash (to which you’ve added chopped pimiento and green pepper). Then, plent of that mellow Kraft American with extra rich cheese flavor in every bite. Broil a bit, and cut in wedges for the gang. Popular Kraft American come in big packs as well as the 8-slice size; also get sharp Old English brand, Kraft Swiss, Brick, Muenster.”
1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible
Back in the day, this was the compact Cadillac.
“Personal Luxury” was coined to represent cars which carried the same amount of richness in a so-called “smaller package.” The first Eldorados were built in 1967, coinciding with the 1966 release of the Olds Toronado. Both rode on a front-wheel drive chassis.
The 1976 model was to be the last Cadillac convertible, due to new US safety standards. When I was 11 years old I asked my Dad to take me to a Cadillac dealer so I could see one up close. He obliged, and the salesman was happy to show a wide-eye kid towards a convertible model. It was the most fantastic thing I’d ever seen. I walked out of the dealership with a 1976 Cadillac brochure, which I still have today.
Because it was to be the last convertible, collectors bought them and stored them away. In the 1980s convertible models came out again. Collectors got mad. Some sued.
In the end, the 1976 Eldorado in any form is still one of my favorite cars.
The Amarilla Overlords Want You To Forget All Other Colors
Behold: A citrus sea of Summer hues that envelope and conquer your senses.
And your common sense.
As you stand at the sink peeling potatoes, the lines in the walls start moving in the corners of your vision. Around the corner the clock ticks louder, and the disembodied tomatoes begin a droning chant of “Prepare the sacrifice.” Soon, all other colors disappear as your eyes atrophy to the the reds blues and greens of life. There is nothing else for you now. Only yellow. Love yellow.
You have been Amarillamated.
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Seen in Homeowners Magazine – How To Vol 03 No 2 Mar-Apr 1978 / Scan courtesy of Retrospace.org
Anthropomorphic Poker Snack
We shall call him “Egguin.”
Found in an entertainment cookbook from the late 60s / early 70s, this little guy is at the very least creative – made from a hard-boiled egg and olives. I don’t like olives all that much. But I do like imagination!
And a good piece of ham 🙂
December 7, 2013
BelRedRoad
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Categories: 1970s, Cook Book, Entertainment, Food and Drink
Ray Conniff Singers – Rhinestone Cowboy / Wildfire [1975]
Before there were mix DJs and technological mashups, there were mixes like this nugget of elevator goodness. I use the word goodness with a smirk. Yes it’s smooth. Yes the music and vocals are tight and well-crafted. But come on…it’s elevator music. So hard to jump out of my seat and say, “Sweet mother I LOVE this version!”
That said, Ray Conniff filled a niche that has become part of American musical legend. His soft versions of other people’s songs provided businesses and cocktail parties with inoffensive renditions of great music. Look in any thrift store and you are likely to find a treasure trove of albums emblazened with Ray Conniff Singers.
Today I share this 70s mashup of Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” and Michael Murphey’s “Wildfire.” Before I ever heard this compilation, I would have never imagined the two in one song. In some odd way, they now belong together. Smooooth…
A Monopoly On Fashion
Colin Swan, newsman for the CHLO in Canada, awards the winner of the 1976 Monopoly Tournament at Elgin Mall, St. Thomas Ontario. No doubt that Joey Starcevic on the far right is wondering how much money he’ll need to save for buying a sweet blazer like Colin’s.
Photo courtesy Elgin County Archives
Keith Mansfield – Exclusive Blend [1969]
If this groovy instrumental doesn’t make your foot move involuntarily, then check your shoe for cement.
Keith Mansfield is a British composer/arranger who had knack for summing up a mood in the short time required by the broadcasting projects he scored. His songs are a time capsule of the 1960s and 70s and, in my opinion, full of quality and nuance that is sometimes overshadowed by goofiness of the era. His song Funky Fanfare has even been used as recently as 2010 for the theme song for Pit Boss.
This is the good stuff!
Vintage COLOR Seattle Seafair Coverage [1952]
It’s a really big deal around here, and it has been for a long time! Check out this 25-minute film recently posted by Seattle’s KIRO TV, showing the annual Seafair festival in full swing back in 1952. This is the good stuff, and such a gem being in color too!
Empire State Building – Summer 1969
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Published in LIFE magazine during that magical time, in an equally magical New York City. The old world blended and clashed with the new that Summer, with colors and styles which spoke more about individuality than they did about being part of the big picture.
Or the Big Apple.
The photo above was taken by Vernon Merritt III, a veteran photographer by the time he captured New York that summer. Merritt was fearless in his job; he covered the Civil Rights Movement in the early 60s, and also got wounded – and temporarily paralyzed – while on assignment during the Vietnam War. He stayed with LIFE magazine as a photographer until it closed up shop in 1972 (it launched again later in the decade). Merritt died in 2000.
In this picture I love his juxtaposition of old and new: Empire State Building – by that time several decades old – and a construction crane representing the dawn of a new high rise. It’s a beautiful and simple image.
Click HERE for more photos from Vernon Merritt.
Wall Of Retro 