Just after Thanksgiving, Todd Everett forwarded me a link from Steve Hoffman’s online Music Forum in which someone asked how “Trail Of The Lonesome Pine” by the classic movie comedy duo Laurel & Hardy became a major UK hit back in 1975. Since that single was the most successful record I was ever responsible for releasing, I thought you might enjoy my version of how it came about. In the 1970’s, BBC Television regularly broadcast and endlessly re-broadcast both the shorts and the features that Laurel & Hardy made for Hal Roach. I had been label manager at United Artists Records in London since 1968 and had long been a fan of the boys George Garabedian’s US label Mark 56 had issued some Laurel & Hardy LP’s containing soundtrack extracts but nothing had been issued in the UK and I felt that there was a market for a single soundtrack album which would highlight not just their dialog but also some of the songs that provided memorable moments in their movies. With the help of the BBC’s Alan Howden, I contacted the late Irving Feld who, through his Overseas Programming company in San Francisco, was the European representative of the Hal Roach film catalog we did a licensing deal for the soundtracks and Irving gave me free rein to use whichever clips I wanted. The BBC made audio dubs for us of the films in their possession and I spent a joyous few months in early 1975 choosing and editing at Abbey Road Studios what eventually became the LP called “The Golden Age Of Hollywood Comedy”. The other song I chose for this album was “The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine” from “Way Out West” (1937) – the one which begins with a member of The Avalon Boys singing & playing guitar in a barroom scene Oliver Hardy then joins in while Stan listens approvingly to his mellifluous tenor voice before joining in but not with his own vocal chords but lip-synching to the deep tenor voice of actor Chill Wills! I made sure that some of my favorite Laurel & Hardy songs were included such as “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” from “Swiss Miss” (1938), “In The Good Old Summertime” from “Below Zero” (1930) and the early ragtime tune “At The Ball, That’s All” sung by The Avalon Boys (joyously delivering such lyrics as “Take your partner and you hold her, lightly enfold her a little bolder”!) and to which Stan & Ollie performed their famous dance on a street corner. If you encounter a problem with your order, be sure to contact us immediately we will do our very best to make everything right for you! Thank you.The more I listened to the track, the more I became convinced that we should give it a shot as a single. If you have questions, please contact us before ordering. We do our best to photograph and describe our products accurately, but colors may vary from our monitor to yours. Please note that this vintage item is not eligible for return or exchange. The "Ship to" address on your original order must be the address where you want your order delivered. For this reason, we ask that you add a few days to the post office's estimated date. Please keep in mind that, in spite of the USPS estimated delivery dates, delays may occur in the mail. We normally mail orders via USPS within 2-3 business days after you make your purchase, but because occasionally an order may require a longer preparation time, we give our processing time as "2-6 business days." The book is 7.5 inches high x 5" wide x 1.25" thick and is 421 pages long. All in all, this is a well maintained vintage book as well as a well written story of early 20th century America. Bookplates have been removed from the inside front and back covers and the library's envelope is on the end page. There are library stamps on the flyleaf and outside page edges, which show show a bit of foxing and age related discoloration. The spine is firm and the pages are clean and tightly bound, with no tears, creases of marks. The illustrated turquoise cover shows very few smudges and less than normal shelf wear for an 80+ year old ex-library copy. T copy is in exceptionally fine condition for its age. This hardcover edition was published in 1936, the same year the book was made into a movie starring Fred McMurray, Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney. Written in 1908, it immediately became a popular favorite. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by John Fox, Jr., is a romantic American novel set in the mountains of Kentucky and Virginia.
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