Balanced For Broadcast

 

I picked up my second Capitol Records promotional sampler LP this past weekend: 

  

This recent one is “June 1965“ and is part of a “Balanced For Broadcast” series of sampler LPs that Capitol distributed to radio stations (later called The Capitol Disc Jockey Album); each sampler represents a selection from Capitol’s huge stable of musical talent at that particular time. These LPs are great audio history, even if you don’t like a particular artist.

 

The covers, in particular, have great vintage feeling and association, along with stylistic continuity.  Sure, they’re ”sexist” and male-oriented, but they still have some design integrity.  Check out this impromtu gallery of some ”Balanced For Broadcast” LPs that can be found on The Ebays.  August 1967 is my favorite. (click on the image for a larger version):

  

 

Here’s the playlist from the BFB LP I scored:

 

 

Balanced For Broadcast 1965 LP

Capitol Records, 1965 (#PRO-2879)

SONGS:

Nancy Wilson – Reach Out For Me

Nat King Cole – Blue Gardenia

Wanda De Sah – So Danco Samba

George Shearing – Quiet Nights

King Family – Little Grass Shack

Marlene Dietrich – A Little On The Lonely Side

Don Scaletta – Bitter Wine

Georgia Brown – Riding On The Moon

Nat King Cole – They Can’t Make Her Cry

Wanda De Sah – Once I Loved

Dean Martin – Carolina In The Morning

Don Scaletta – Chim Chim Cher-EE

Vicky Autier – A Quoi Ca Sert L’Amour

Seekers – Water Is Wide

Stan Kenton – Tampico

Liza Minnelli – For Every Man There’s A Woman

As you can see, some of the artists you know, and, I’ll bet, there are several you don’t. That’s one of the things to love about these sample LPs: you’ll usually find an artist that you somehow missed in all your years of LP thrifting, or you’ll find one you never thought would be on a big American label like Capitol. Such was the case on this post’s featured LP, when I noticed two songs from one of twelve different artists. Her name at that time was Wanda de Sah (later to become simply Wanda Sa), and I was impressed with how Capitol recorded her simple singing to some classic Bossa Nova tunes.

Wanda de Sah was taught by, and mixed with, some of the legends of Brasilian Bossa Nova.  Think of her as a thinking man’s Astrud Gilberto.  The Japanese are nuts for bossa nova, and they were the ones to re-release her first LP on CD.  Here’s a good example of some early Wanda de Sah (Wanda Sa): 

 

 

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