Salvaged and Restored -
The Shady Dell
Record Collection!
Vol. 7: Long Lost Dell Songs of
Late 1957 and Early 1958
BEWARE! NOTHING CAN
PREPARE YOU FOR...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
Hello, friends! Dell Rat Tom
welcoming you to volume 7
of my exclusive 36-part
Shady's Place series
SAVED
BY THE
DELL
Today, you will
travel back to the
Christmas season of
1957
and the beginning of
1958
and find yourself
standing before
the Dell jukebox.
Those dimes
and quarters
you brought
along are
burning
a hole
in your
pocket...
so why not
feed them
to the record
machine and
play some
of the great
Dell songs
of late 1957
and early '58?
This series was made possible by Jim Sieling, my good friend
in York, and the husband of John Ettline's niece Nancy.
Jim Sieling
(faithful friend of The Dell)
As you recall, Jim acquired the Dell's Seeburg jukebox (below)
and many of the records that played on it through the decades.
Keep in mind that the Dell had two jukeboxes - one in Helen's
snack bar up at the house, the other down in "The Barn" -
the dance hall John had built onto the barn and garage.
When Jim took possession of the Dell's record collection,
he discovered, to his dismay and ours, that many of
the discs had been improperly handled and stored.
Simply put - they were filthy.
Mice (Dell rats?) had made a home among the records, and at least
one snake (a Violet Hill viper?) had slithered in looking for a meal.
Jim undertook the mammoth job of cleaning, organizing and cataloging
the records, then sent me the finished alphabetical list. There are 6,065
records on Jim's list including Christmas records, 12,130 songs in all!
My series brings you the 180 best Dell jukebox songs from 1955
through 1963, a period long before I arrived on the scene.
This series is dedicated to
the memory of Nancy Sieling.
Nancy Sieling
(faithful friend of The Dell)
Nancy, who was John Ettline's niece and Jim's wife, passed away in 2020.
Over the years, Nancy's generous contributions of pictures, information
and Shady Dell memorabilia greatly enhanced the quality of both of my
Dell-themed blogs. We have Nancy to thank for rescuing many of the
Dell's priceless platters when they were art risk of being thrown into
a trash dumpster and destroyed, hence the name of my series...
SAVED BY THE BELL DELL
Of course, we also have Jim to thank for tackling the enormous
task of cleaning, organizing and cataloging these 6,065 records!
Okay, it's time to use your imagination. Pretend that you are
at the Dell looking at the musical menu on the jukebox.
Scroll down and play the next 5 Dell songs.
BEWARE AND BEHOLD...
LISTEN AND LEARN...
AS WE EXPERIENCE...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
The records and pictures are arranged in chronological
order, allowing you to trace the evolution of the
"Shady Dell Sound" and clothing styles
month by month through the years.
You know the drill.
ENJOY THE VINTAGE FASHION
PARADE AND FANZINES.
CLICK ON PICTURES OF
RECORDS TO PLAY SONGS.
CHRISTMAS 1957
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 31
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 32
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 33
JANUARY 1958
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 34
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 1958
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 35
Once again I thank our late, great friend of the Dell,
Nancy Sieling, and her husband Jim, for doing the
good work of preserving the Shady Dell legacy for
future generations. We owe you a debt of gratitude.
Stick around. You'll hear more long lost songs
of the Shady Dell... the moldy oldies, dusty discs,
colossal fossils and rusty relics we like to call...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
coming up on the next exciting edition of...
SAVED BY THE BELL DELL
Good Saturday afternoon Dell Rat Tom! Oh my what a cool post! I sure enjoyed looking at the feast for the eyes ads and fashions. I was only 4 in '57 but those photos sure brought back memories of my childhood. I only knew a couple of the songs but I couldn't help think that when you were slow dancing at Christmas time with your sweetie the romance would be on a big scale! Lots of going steady rings probably. I did know the song "Jingle Bell Rock" as it's one of my favorites at Christmas. I loved the ads because it brought back memories of the Sears Christmas catalog that I know every kiddo read cover to cover dreaming of what would be under the tree. Those TV's..yep we had one. That mixer looks like my Mom's old Sunbeam stand mixer that made tons of goodies over the years. Cigarette ads were everywhere but knowing the risks of smoking now I'm not sure "Lucky" was a good name! Thanks again to Nancy and Jim for saving these records and bringing good memories to us who never had the fun of the Dell. A quick P.S...Natalie should have found out a lot more about old Bob before marrying him the first and second time! Have a wonderful weekend Tom! Enjoy your sunshine and warm air down there!
ReplyDeleteHi, YaYa!
DeleteMerry Christmas, dear friend! :) ...and thanks for claiming the Early Bird crown this week!
Yessum, as this series continues to unfold and the 1950s give way to the 60s, you should be remembering more of the songs and the styles in the individual volumes.
That Bobby Helms 45 containing the Christmas songs "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Captain Santa Claus" is one of the Shady Dell's records of greatest longevity. It still showed up in the Dell jukebox during the holiday seasons when I was a rat 10+ years later, and late 60s teenagers embraced both songs just as much as the teens of the late 50s. They even went so far as to skip around the dance hall arm and arm like merry elves to the children's song about Capt. Santa and his Reindeer Space Patrol.
Yessum, those Christmas catalogs from major retailers yielded many excellent images for me to use in this series. Yessum, I like the one showing the wife delighted that her husband gave her a new mixer for Christmas. How romantic! It's almost as sentimental as a new vacuum cleaner. :)
Yessum, smoking was good for you back then. It promoted health, strength and endurance and made you attractive to the opposite sex. How do I know? Because famous athletes and movie stars told us so, and I'm sure they wouldn't fib for $$$. Maybe "Lucky" means you're lucky if you survive to old age if you use the product.
Yessum, isn't that headline about Natalie and Bob on the fanzine amazing to see in retrospect? It gives me the shivers.
Thank you again for being the first to arrive for this month's Saved By The Dell platter party and fashion parade. Have a safe and happy weekend, dear friend YaYa!
I'm afraid Jingle Bell Rock is the only song I knew for sure. That's okay... I still enjoyed looking at all the photos. I'll admit I like all the dinosaurs, too!
ReplyDelete~ Kelly (and Pat)
Hi, Kelly & Pat!
DeleteYou guys take home the Silver Shady this week, and I thank you for coming on a Saturday!
Seven posts into this series, I think you are the first to say anything about the array of dinosaurs. I'm glad you like them. As a boy, I was fascinated by dinosaurs (and Dinah Shore), and I still enjoy seeing the giant creatures in movies and in artwork. If you check the previous six volumes of Saved By The Dell, you will see that I have used different dino scenes every time with no repeats. Stay tuned to see many more behemoth beasts in upcoming posts. I am also pleased that you are liking the pics of fashions, products and celebrities in every volume. Here again, you will see no images repeated throughout the entire 36 post series.
I hope "Jingle Bell Rock" is an earworm stuck in your noggin' and getting you in the spirit of the holidays. :) Thanks again for dropping in and enjoy the rest of your weekend, dear friend Kelly!
Happy Sunday Mr. Shady! It's actually sunny here not like yesterday. Christmas in March...I can dig it Daddy'O. These songs feel homey to me which goes do well with the images you have presented here. Mind you, I would not be ecstatic receiving a blender but that's the 50s for you. Love some of the dashing like the Vogue one with the lady only wearing the one glove..very chic the last picture with thst beautiful skirt in black with the 3 rings of roses...I would wear that today but without the crinoline underneath. It reminds me of Europe what a greatvtime to listen and look at what was big back when my hubby was born. Have a delightful day and week ahead.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteCongratulations, dear friend, you stake your claim to the Bronze medal this week! Thanks for coming over on your weekend, and let me be the first to wish you a merry Christmas and all the best in 1958! :) I'm glad you dig Christmas in March. It's better than digging snow in March, right? How's my smooch pooch Harley today?
Yessum, giving your wife a Sunbeam mixer for Xmas is one notch above giving her a cement mixer, but that was indeed how it was in the fabulous Fifties. For most women, appliances were "tools of the trade" and made their lives easier. No wonder they were excited to receive them, and valued them as much or even more than the typical romantic gifts.
I'm pleased that you enjoyed this month's fashion parade and can picture yourself wearing some of the styles. Note that some of the clothing print ads are taken from Australian and Euro magazines. Thanks for letting me know that the time frame of this volume represents the year your hubby was born. By this time, I was already getting "long in the tooth" - turning 8 years old.
Thanks again for coming over on your weekend, dearie. I'm glad you had some fun. I look forward to visiting you again this week at the BBC. Please give my buddy Harley a turkey drumstick and tell him Shady sent it. Have a wonderful week ahead, dear friend BB!
Harley grabbed my chicken bones again. I'm in deep doo doo with my hubby because it's not good for a dog but Harley seems AOk. He's one we have to watch when it comes to People food. That skirt does remind me of Europe so, I'm not surprised if it comes from there.
DeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteThanks for checking back in, dear friend. I hope your week is off to a great start.
Oh NO! I'm sorry to learn that my naughty buddy Harley grabbed the chicken bones. I hope he's AOK. I'm beginning to think Harley is a rare breed of dog - a billygoat mix. :) Maybe he will eat your empty tin cans for you so that you don't need to run them out to the curb. :)
Thanks again for coming to chat. I am always happy to see you. Have a wonderful week, dear friend BB!
Hey friend Shady! Happy Sunday to you. I remember the Tear Drops song and Kisses Sweeter than Wine and of course Jingle Bell Rock but the others are not familiar. Could you please send me the Movie Star magazine? I'd like to read the story of Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood and most especially have a Saturday night date with Ricky Nelson - LOL. Honestly, I think we had one of those old TVs. Such fun to look back on all this stuff from my youth!
ReplyDeleteWe are set to get another rainstorm here next week although today is sunny even if it is not warm. I don't think we've hit above 60 degrees in the last few weeks! Hope you have a great week. I'm madly scrambling to get my last few pictures and posts started for the A to Z coming in just a few days!
Hi, Janet!
DeleteI'm delighted to see you, dear friend! Thanks for making it over on a Sunday to check out the Dell's jukebox songs and clothing styles of late 1957 and early 1958. I'm pleasantly surprised that you remember the song "Tear Drops" by the East Coast vocal group Lee Andrews And The Hearts plus two of the others out of five. That's a good score!
I suspect if you shopped around on Etsy or eBay, you could find that issue of Movie Stars Parade, pay a pretty penny to have it shipped to you and read about Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Ricky Nelson, Sal Mineo, John Saxon and Elvis. It's creepy that four of those six celebrities died young and tragically. Natalie drowned, Sal was stabbed to death, Ricky went down in a plane crash and Elvis medicated himself into an early grave.
I'm so glad you enjoyed gazing at the items people were shopping for during the Christmas holiday season of 1957.
Wow, our weather is a far cry from yours, dear friend. It's been uncomfortably warm, the sun beating down, and it has been very dry, nary a trace of rain in several days. Even worse, no rain is predicted in the coming week. The lawns and gardens are parched!
Yessum, less than a week to go before the kick-off of the 2023 A to Z Challenge. I can't wait to see what you have to offer throughout the month. Thanks again for joining the fun. Please give my buddy Benny a special treat from Shady and have a safe and happy week, dear friend Janet!
Of the songs I've heard before, "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" is my favorite, as both the stirring melody and Jimmy Rodgers equally stirring vocalizing makes the rather routine domestic situation the lyrics describe seem dramatic and suspenseful. Of course, it takes more than kisses to end up with a brood of four. One wonders what alcoholic beverage best symbolizes--well, I'll leave that up to the bartender's imagination.
ReplyDelete"Could This Be Magic"--which I'm sure I've heard before--comes in second, as I love 1950s doo-wop song. As for Bobby Helms Yuletide tunes, I prefer the more well-known A-side to the more obscure B-side, though I wonder if the latter was a response to Sputnik, which went beeping through the nighttime sky in October of '57. Russia? The United States? The North Pole wins the space race!
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for being here for part 7 of Saved, good buddy!
I enjoyed your musings, observations and questions raised. The Jimmie Rodgers hit "Kisses" and the "Magic" hit by The Dubs were two of the records my parents owned and that I heard often as a boy. Those sounds bring back vivid memories of my years in the 1950s pretending to be a DJ. In our subterranean game room. I spent hours each day playing records on my tiny tinny turntable, a record player similar to the one shown in the first picture of this post, the one with the girl and boy, their primitive phonograph and their collection of children's songs stamped on colored vinyl records. My big brother also used to entertain his girlfriends in the basement, and I'd often sneak down there to spy on them and listen to the records they were playing and dancing to.
I agree that "Captain Santa Claus And His Reindeer Space Patrol" seems inspired by the space race with the Russians, The intro sound effect does indeed bring Sputnik to mind. As I recall, Dell rats played that B side nearly as often as "Jingle Bell Rock." They played it for a hoot so that they could hook arms and skip around the dance floor like merry elves. It's a sight I'll always remember. "Capt. Santa" is the kind of song I could imagine Burl Ives recording.
Thanks again for your visit and comment, good buddy Kirk. Since I forgot to mention it to you before, R.I.P. "Baretta." I watched his TV detective series in the 1970s, but already knew him from his appearances in the Our Gang shorts in the late 1930s through mid 40s.
Take care and have a great week, Kirk!
Good morning, Tom!
ReplyDeleteIn this set of lost Shady Dell classics I recognized two songs, Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rocks" and Jimmie Rodgers "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine". I love this series filled with images of clothing fashions and vintage ads. The women were so beautiful! You brought a smile on my face with Sears Wish Book. I loved when we got ours in the mail. My brother and I would flip through the toy section dreaming about all the toys we'd like for Santa to bring us. My parents got me a children's brief case style record players when I was in elementary school for my birthday one year. I didn't get too many of them because usually my presents got rolled in with Christmas. Anyway, they got me one 45 "Puff the Magic Dragon". I loved that song when I was little! I don't know why, but I did. :) Thanks for starting my day off by bringing back fond memories of my childhood. Have a boogietastic week, my friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteWelcome in for Vol. 7 of my 36-part Saved By the Dell series, dear friend!
Thanks for letting me know that you remember the songs by Jimmie Rodgers and Bobby Helms. Jimmie, whose singing career was influenced by the blues and folk genres, died a couple of years ago at the age of 87. Bobby, a country-pop crossover artist, was only 63 when he died in 1997.
Yessum, I know you always appreciate the nicely dressed and immaculately groomed Mad Men era women pictured in this and other installments of the series. Yessum, I remember how exciting it was to receive in the mail a big, heavy Christmas catalog issued by a major retailer, and to page through it and wish away. I can still smell the aroma of those paper pages, the kind of pleasant experience that cannot be duplicated today by browsing through pages on the screen of an electronic device. Yessum, it was easy for kids to get carried away paging through the toy sections of those catalogs. I remember excitedly telling my folks all the toys I saw and wanted. Given our modest budget, I was lucky to get one or two. I have always been drawn to bright colors, and loved to receive colored vinyl records to play on my little phonograph which, as I mentioned to friend Kirk (above), was similar to the one shown in the first picture of this post. Most children's records were stamped on bright red or yellow vinyl like the ones in that picture. In my current collection of rare 45s. I have discs in those colors plus green, blue, brown, turquoise, orange, pink and white wax. "Puff The Magic Dragon" by PP&M is one of Mrs. Shady's favorite songs, and I hear her singing it to herself from time to time. We went to see PP&M in concert here in the greater Bay area circa 1990.
i am always happy to bring back fond childhood memories. Thanks again for visiting, dear friend Cathy, and have a safe and happy week. I'll see you at CAAC on Wednesday!
Tom,
DeleteMy folks didn't have much money, either. My brother and I loved wishing for this or that toy but we were happy with whatever our parents gave us, as I'm sure you were, too. It saddens me to know that there are kids, adults as well, today who are not appreciative of what they get. I sometimes sing bits of "Puff the Magic Dragon", too. The colored vinyls you mentioned, I think I recall seeing only a few of those and always wondered why they weren't black. Thanks for dropping by today to venture from the comfort of your side of the computer another chapter from our Maine vacation. It makes me so happy to revisit each day through this series created and I can't wait to go back!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteI'm delighted to see you back here, dear friend! Thanks for returning to follow our threads.
Yessum, to me it is obscene to see the amount of stuff some kids get on holidays and birthdays. I remember seeing young children so overwhelmed by the wall-to-wall toys they got for Christmas that they became "intoxicated." They ran around the room trampling and destroying several of the toys on the very first day, because there literally wasn't space enough on the floor for them to walk without stepping on things. A neighbor kid my age got a deluxe race car one year, the self-propelled kind that you could actually sit in and drive up and down the street. I envied him to high heaven, and yet he was not a happy boy. He had many behavioral problems and got in trouble with the law.
My collectible colored vinyls cost me a pretty penny, and I never play them. I keep them in "like-new" near mint condition in protective sleeves inside crush proof boxes specially designed to safely store 45s.
Yessum, that's the beauty of your powerful memory supported by the excellent pictures you took on your vacation. You can relive and re-experience all the excitement you had up there now and for years to come. The feeling will always be with you!
Thanks again for swinging back over, dear friend Cathy, and enjoy the rest of your week!
Tear Drops is one of my favorites and I also have the Dubs 45. My mother liked Jimmy Rodgers and some of his 45s are in my mix. Again I liked all the art work and pictures. Did Natalie really drown or was she helped?
ReplyDeleteJerre
Hi, Jerre!
DeleteIt's great to see you, good buddy!
Thanks for dropping in and playing the next five records on the Dell jukebox as the timeline advances to Christmas 1957 and early '58. I'm glad you told us that the Lee Andrews record is one of your favorites and that your mother liked Jimmie Rodgers. As I stated in another reply, my folks (probably my mom) bought the "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" 45 along with "Honeycomb" and I took a liking to them, but I didn't dig them as much as the wilder rock & roll songs my brother brought home.
Although there's a lot of suspicion swirling and debate about what happened to Natalie Wood that fateful night, I believe her case remains an unsolved mystery. Isn't it chilling to see pictures of her and read the captions used at the time? Natalie's magazine cover shots appear on many posts in this series. As we have seen, Carol Lynley was another very popular actress and cover girl model during the period, and Sandra Dee and Debbie Reynolds are two more that I found over and over again and I searched for images to use.
Thanks again for joining the platter party, good buddy Jerre. Stay tuned for Part 8 coming up at the end of next month, and please join me this Saturday when I completely abandon my traditional music format and switch to something entirely different!!!
I knew all the songs as I've heard them at least once so they were familiar.
ReplyDeleteI love those old Coca Cola posters and calendar. That's kinda the way I remember seeing Coca Cola from when I was a kid.
Some of those dresses look like the ones we made in Home Economics. It's a shame that isn't taught in school anymore.
I remember going through the Sears catalog when I was a kid and pointing out all the toys I wanted.
Have a great week, Shady.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteThanks for coming to the Pt. 7 party, dear friend! Your comment sailed right through again. I think now that the gremlins have found out you carry a taser, they are reluctant to mess with you. :)
Wow, you have a perfect score on these songs, matching old schooler Dell Rat Jerre (above). That's excellent! I'm happy that the coke ads and calendars bring back childhood memories for you. They do the same for me. When I was little, soda was only sold in sturdy glass bottles and through the fountain at the malt shop.
I didn't even realize that Home Ec is no longer offered in schools. I suppose that's a sign of the times. Yessum, those Sears catalogs made you think you needed every single item. It was easy to get carried away. It was the same when I went shopping with my mom or my folks and we passed through the toy section of a department store. I begged for everything I saw on the shelf! :)
Thanks again for coming by. I hope you and my buddy Falcor are off to a great start with your week. Take care and stay safe, dear friend Mary!
I've said this before and I'll say it again. These women are gorgeous! They have the best fashion and their beauty is just awe-inspiring. You always have the best collection of vintage. I'm sure you still have a few up your sleeves and I'll be here waiting for them.
ReplyDeleteHi, Lux!
DeleteWhat a nice comment, dear friend! Welcome back and thanks for attending this month's jukebox jamboree and fashion parade!
Yessum, there are many more images of classy, smartly dressed, immaculately groomed women coming up in this long 36-part series. One post is published per month, so stay tuned to be dazzled by more elegant fashions and beautiful ladies of the past.
Thank you again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Lux!
Hi Shady,
ReplyDeleteIt's been a busy week and it's going to be a busy weekend before our trip. I'll listen to this while I pack. I need music as I pack!
AOK, Jessica Marie!
DeleteThank you for stopping by to take a peek at the post. Let these forgotten jukebox tunes keep you company while you pack. New post starts tomorrow. Have a safe and happy weekend, dear friend JM!