Thanks again Chip,

I know being the year that this album came out that it is MONO, but were there any "True Stereo" recordings of the songs from this album?  I know that MGM often will add a "e" to the catalog number for Simulated Stereo, which I don't care for.  It is still a MONO recording.  I'm guessing the OOP CD's are Simulated Stereo too, but they probably state "Stereo" on them.

Thanks for the YouTube Clip.  I saw one of Joni singing on a Variety Show and was going to add it to my previous post, but I didn't want to detract from your Spotlight Post.

Thanks again Chip,

I believe you have mentioned this before about a specific cutting head or needle being invented, for doing Stereo records, but I believe it was in the late 1950's.  I don't remember the specific year, but I know it was after 1956.  I am not the expert, but off the top of my head, I can't think of any albums that were done in Stereo until late 1958.

Thanks for reminding me that MGM used SE in their catalog numbers for Stereo in late 1958.

Susan,

It was the introduction of the Westrex cutting head in 1958 that finally enabled the record companies to mass-produce Stereophonic vinyl discs and make the commercially available to the public for the first time. MGM Records acquired their first Westrex cutting head in mid-1958 and was releasing Stereo LPs to the marketplace by late 1958.

By the way, several of the major record companies (including Columbia, RCA and Mercury) actually began recording selective sessions (usually instrumental music) in 2-track and 3-track Stereo as early as 1954. However, these early Stereo recordings were only available to the public (beginning in mid-1955) in the form of consumer-grade 2-track reel-to-reel Stereo tapes until 1958, when the Westrex cutting head was introduced and finally enabled the record companies to release previously recorded 2-track and 3-track Stereophonic recordings on vinyl LPs. In 1959, three-track Stereo recordings became the industry standard for the record companies.

Thanks for refreshing my memory Chip,

I do remember that Stereophonic sound was available, though it maybe wasn't referred to as that way, prior to when records were being released on Stereo.  I have a few 4-Track Stereo Reel-to-Reel tapes, but they are actually like a record album, with two sides, so even though there are 4 tracks on the tape, only 2 are being played at one time and then the tape recorder plays in reverse and plays the other two tracks.

I could never understand why the recording industry used the 3-track method for recording, when they have to mix the 3rd. track into 2 for Stereo.  I remember when I worked as a secretary for a Professional Sound Company, we had a 16 track mixing board, and would output it to 4 tracks for the final mix and then when the final tapes were done and sent to a record pressing company, they were converted to 2 tracks for Stereo.

8-Tracks tapes were similar to 4 tracks, but basically there were four rows on the tape where the 2 channel head would be on the tape and then the metal splice would move the head down to the next 2 tracks until the entire tape was played.

Susan,

The word "Stereophonic" actually dates back to 1927, when it was first introduced by Western Electric. However, the phenomenon of Stereophonic sound didn't really gain national prominence until its pervasive use in widescreen motion pictures beginning with the 1952 film, This Is Cinerama.

Other notable big-budget widescreen epic films made with Stereophonic sound that followed were The Robe (1953), Demetrius And The Gladiators (1954), The King And I (1956), The Ten Commandments (1956), Around The World In 80 Days (1956), South Pacific (1958), Ben Hur (1959), How The West Was Won (1962), Cleopatra (1963), Camelot (1967), among many others.

Thanks Chip,

As I mentioned, I'm not sure which record label my Hans Christian Anderson album is on because I don't have immediate access to it.  It could be the DECCA release, but I just can't say for sure.  I can sort of picture it in my mind, but can't focus in on the label.

I sort of got something right for a change, lol, I did think "Stereophonic Sound" was shown in "That's Entertainment!", but I didn't have that it was "That's Entertainment! III"

Yes, I remember Bob Hope referring to Betty Hutton as "A Vitamin Pill With Legs"  I really liked her  She died on what would have been my mother's 81st birthday.

I can't say for sure, but I believe I have seen all of the movies with Betty Hutton, but don't have time to go list all of them.  But 2 that come to mind are "The Greatest Show On Earth" and "Annie Get Your Gun" and of course the aforementioned "The Perils Of Pauline"  There are other's, obviously, but I don't have to look them up right now.


I wouldn't want the Stereo Enhanced version of "White Christmas" on VHS, not even for $1.65.  It just wouldn't be worth ruining the High Fidelity of the Monaural Soundtrack.

Glad you are pleased with the album, Susan.