Recent Acquisitions: Music For Cooking With Gas À La Carte
On this rainy Friday night I present to you, noble blog reader, a selection from Harry Field’s 1959 “Music For Cooking With Gas À La Carte”. We picked up the album some time ago from a thrift shop (purchased not for the music, mind you, but for the kickin’ title—the music is just bonus.) After a little bit of digging, I’ve found that this album was produced by Caloric, a kitchen appliance manufacturer that was acquired by Amana in the mid-sixties. If only companies produced promotional items like this today!
From the liner notes:
“When you want food that is prepared perfectly for your own special tastes, it’s best to order “A La Carte”. And, when you dream of a new kitchen for yourself, the “À La Carte” approach is the best way to go about planning it. Just as Caloric offers the very finest in gas ranges to ensure complete flexibility in kitchen design, so the “À La Carte” music on this record has been carefully selected to bring you the utmost in easy listening enjoyment.”
Enjoy Bossa Nova Prelude:
I can remember listening to this in Havana back in ’59. (Right before Castro came in and wrecked all our fun.)
Angie Dickinson and I were getting ready right before we made our way to the poolside casino. Someone, maybe it was Dean, had just called the room and said “Hey, hey, hey Frosty! Let’s go lose some money before the Reds come in and close this place down.” But after listening to this album, well… Angie and I had other plans.
Good times.