Even sandwiched between Bozo and the Chipmunks, Mason manages to look dignified. The cigarette is my favorite touch: 'There are 20 cigarettes in a pack, children; if I give you nine to smoke, how many are left?'
The Chipmunks on Capitol? Alvin, Simon & Theodore were named after the founders of Liberty Records. And, creator Ross Bagdasarian was with Liberty ever since "Witch Doctor." They didn't start looking that way until (circa) 1961.
The cover suggests the early Beatle era. Yet, "The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles" is a separate LP on Liberty.
Stumped... when all else fails - import?
Not that it's the point of your post :)
James Mason was in some pretty strange films - Lolita comes to mind.
Look at the top and you'll see that this was part of a series that Capitol was putting out. This indicates that the Chipmunks were being licensed by Liberty for this appearance. There's probably a notice to that effect on the back cover of the record.
One other thing I noticed: the credit "Music by Sascha Burland". Burland was the guy who did the faux-Chipmunk record "The Nutty Squirrels" - but that's probably just a coincidence ...
Off-topic but I went to see the new Transformers (so sue me, I like action films) by art-house auteur Michael Bay. It was fun seeing Kelsey Grammer playing a bad guy.
He'll next be seen in Expendables 3, which unfortunately co-stars Mel Gibson.
Oh,.it's definitely a fake, for no other reason than that Capitol had long since gotten out of the children's record business (other than reissuing catalog product) by the time this would have appeared, post Beatles.
Also, other than retaining rights to their recordings featuring the character, Capitol no longer owned Bozo the Clown, having sold him to Larry Harmon in the 1950s. So the "Bozo-approved" logo wouldn't have been on the cover, even if the album had been real.
"Along with Don Elliott, he created The Nutty Squirrels, two chipmunk characters that sang jazzy scat numbers. The Nutty Squirrels scored a top 15 hit (USA) with 'Uh! Oh! Part 2' in 1959."
If this record were real, I would do anything to own a copy. Well, "anything" is an exaggeration.
Anonymous updated The Chipmunks' discography wiki page 16 hours ago to include this. Their pictures are from their Beatles cover album. Brilliant fake!
It's cool that Sascha Burland is credited, since he was the "mastermind" behind The Nutty Squirrels, who chewed up the charts with their hit, "Uh, Oh."
The Beatles actually gave Ross Bagdasarian their blessing when he proposed doing a Chipmunks Beatles album in 1964.
The James Mason/Chipmunks album cover may have been a fake, but this wasn't...James Mason once did a commercial for Thunderbird wine back when he was really hurting for cash. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xY7mBQrzXU
Mason also did a Bible Stories for Children record.
Remember when SNL spoofed the miniseries, "A.D.?" I think it was Christopher Guest who, imitating Mason being presented with a fish, said "A gift from Neptune? I'm surprised he didn't bring it himself" and hit the presenter with the fish.
Then the announcer (probably Harry Shearer) said, "Watch A.D... they hit each other with fish!"
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Even sandwiched between Bozo and the Chipmunks, Mason manages to look dignified. The cigarette is my favorite touch: 'There are 20 cigarettes in a pack, children; if I give you nine to smoke, how many are left?'
ReplyDeleteThe Chipmunks on Capitol? Alvin, Simon & Theodore were named after the founders of Liberty Records. And, creator Ross Bagdasarian was with Liberty ever since "Witch Doctor." They didn't start looking that way until (circa) 1961.
ReplyDeleteThe cover suggests the early Beatle era. Yet, "The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles" is a separate LP on Liberty.
Stumped... when all else fails - import?
Not that it's the point of your post :)
James Mason was in some pretty strange films - Lolita comes to mind.
Look at the top and you'll see that this was part of a series that Capitol was putting out.
ReplyDeleteThis indicates that the Chipmunks were being licensed by Liberty for this appearance. There's probably a notice to that effect on the back cover of the record.
One other thing I noticed: the credit "Music by Sascha Burland".
Burland was the guy who did the faux-Chipmunk record "The Nutty Squirrels" - but that's probably just a coincidence ...
If you want to see a great James Mason collaboration check out 1969's 'The Age of Consent' with Helen Mirren.
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm 99% certain this is a very brilliant fake, but it looks so well done.
ReplyDeleteHere's another fake cover from the same artist, Cris Shapan.
ReplyDeleteT'was the Night Before Bronson
This James Mason one has really caught the public's attention, though.
And many more (some hilarious):
ReplyDeleteAlbums that should have been
I love "Hagnum"! Lol!
Off-topic but I went to see the new Transformers (so sue me, I like action films) by art-house auteur Michael Bay. It was fun seeing Kelsey Grammer playing a bad guy.
ReplyDeleteHe'll next be seen in Expendables 3, which unfortunately co-stars Mel Gibson.
Oh,.it's definitely a fake, for no other reason than that Capitol had long since gotten out of the children's record business (other than reissuing catalog product) by the time this would have appeared, post Beatles.
ReplyDeleteAlso, other than retaining rights to their recordings featuring the character, Capitol no longer owned Bozo the Clown, having sold him to Larry Harmon in the 1950s. So the "Bozo-approved" logo wouldn't have been on the cover, even if the album had been real.
"Music by Sascha Burland." According to IMDB:
ReplyDelete"Along with Don Elliott, he created The Nutty Squirrels, two chipmunk characters that sang jazzy scat numbers. The Nutty Squirrels scored a top 15 hit (USA) with 'Uh! Oh! Part 2' in 1959."
If this record were real, I would do anything to own a copy. Well, "anything" is an exaggeration.
Been had. When in doubt - it's a fake :)
ReplyDeleteMan, was that over analyzed!
Man, was that over analyzed!
DeleteYeah, but it'll save people the time and embarrassment of trying to find it on eBay.
Anonymous updated The Chipmunks' discography wiki page 16 hours ago to include this. Their pictures are from their Beatles cover album. Brilliant fake!
ReplyDeleteJon Hamm as James Mason on SNL a few years back. Fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool that Sascha Burland is credited, since he was the "mastermind" behind The Nutty Squirrels, who chewed up the charts with their hit, "Uh, Oh."
ReplyDeleteThe Beatles actually gave Ross Bagdasarian their blessing when he proposed doing a Chipmunks Beatles album in 1964.
http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/alvin-and-the-chipmunks-sing-the-beatles/
The James Mason/Chipmunks album cover may have been a fake, but this wasn't...James Mason once did a commercial for Thunderbird wine back when he was really hurting for cash.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xY7mBQrzXU
Mason also did a Bible Stories for Children record.
ReplyDeleteRemember when SNL spoofed the miniseries, "A.D.?" I think it was Christopher Guest who, imitating Mason being presented with a fish, said "A gift from Neptune? I'm surprised he didn't bring it himself" and hit the presenter with the fish.
Then the announcer (probably Harry Shearer) said, "Watch A.D... they hit each other with fish!"
Cause for skepticism if you check this link - though if it's a fake it looks to be a near-perfect simulation!
ReplyDeletehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_and_the_Chipmunks_discography