Dora Hall, Once Upon A Tour, Premore TV-2000, 1972
There were so many times I’ve been to people’s homes of my parent’s generation and found this record. Both sets of my grandparents has it, and one set didn’t even have a turntable. Amazingly, more often than not, the record was still sealed. My parents’ copy was, and they only had about 15 records. In high school, when my interest in vinyl began it’s lifelong quest, I asked my mother was this was. She didn’t remember, but my Dad (who never bought a record in his life), chimed in that he got it for free inside a package of plastic cups years before. We immediately opened it and heard for the first time the voice of the one and only Dora Hall.
When you google “Dora Hall” these days, there are only few fan sites and blog entries. Wikipedia gives you a link to the Solo Cup Company, which seems really weird until you read that Miss Hall was really the wife of the founder of the company, Leo Hulseman. After about 40 years of marriage, Dora decides she isn’t happy being a suburban grandmother, and comes up with the idea that she would make records that could be given away for free inside packages of Solo Cups. Despite not performing since the Roaring 20s, and not really being able to sing, Dora Hall records ended up in a million American homes.
This particular album is probably the most common one in circulation, not that anyone in their right mind collects label variants of Dora Hall records. It is the soundtrack of, and I can’t believe this actually happened, Dora Hall’s first TV special. “Once Upon A Tour” actually had a few semi famous names attached to it, and bits of it are on youtube. I highly recommend watching them to see some of the most bizarre and uncomfortable scenes imaginable that ever aired on national television.
Today’s Summary:
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THE GROOVES MAN 