Sing a Song of Stainless Steel

I couldn't resist the alliteration in the headline above, but in truth there aren't any vocals on this record - although it does "sing the praises" of stainless steel.

What we have here is a 1960 promotional LP issued by Republic Steel. It spends 15 minutes telling the listener about the glories and many uses of stainless steel. Republic  thought that manufacturers were sleeping on the potential of its product - and thereby on its potential for steel company profits.

On one side, the LP presents the soundtrack of a Republic film called "The New World of Stainless Steel." The other has the score from the film sans narration and sound effects. Presumably the promo flick would be projected at trade shows and other sales events, and the LP given away at the same time. I imagine the records also found their way into the hands of Republic's personnel.

By the way, I have no idea what the object on the cover above is supposed to represent. Looks like a rocket-powered snail.

Republic's film showed how stainless steel could be used to make boxy office buildings and dangerous sculptures

The Chicago Film Archive has rescued the film from obscurity; you can see it via Internet Archive or the Film Archive's Facebook page.

The movie and LP came from Wilding Studios, a major, Chicago-based producer of industrial films, shows, exhibits and ads. Wilding is no longer in business, but at the time was cranking out dozens of such industrial productions every year.

Lloyd Norlin

One of Wilding's leading lights was composer Lloyd Norlin, who was its music director from 1950-58. Norlin contributed the music to this film and many others. I suspect that the music heard on this LP was actually a stock music bed that Norlin penned for Wilding's library.

If you have seen any promotional films from the period, you will know what kind of music to expect - peppy, upbeat sounds rooted in the big band era. Much if not all of it involves a brass choir and rhythm section. (Expect to hear a lot of trombones.) Even though the music was not intended to be an end in itself, it does make for pleasant listening.

Norlin was a very good tunesmith. I've been able to locate a few other pieces by him to include in the download, as described below.

The Young Adults (Hamm's Beer)

Norlin wrote his song "The Young Adults" for the 1965 Hamm's Beer centennial meeting, memorialized on an elusive souvenir LP  - "Hamm's '65 - Bursting with freshness!" - that I would love to own. Since I don't, we'll have to make do with this highly enjoyable number, which is courtesy of a long-ago post on WFMU's site. It exhorts Hamm's distributors and sales people to get out there and sell more to young people, who apparently weren't drinking enough beer.

The J's with Jamie

The artists are unidentified, but it's virtually certain that they are the J's with Jamie. That group was active in Chicago at that time, and the lead voice of Jamie Silvia is all but unmistakable. Checking the back cover of the LP, the J's (there called the Jays) and Jamie were given as the vocalists on several of the ad tracks, although not this piece, which was intended for the distributors' ears, not the consumers'.

The J's with Jamie are favorites of mine - they have appeared on two LPs that are available here. Jamie with her previous group, the Mello-Larks, was featured in this post.

An Academy Award Nominee

One of Lloyd Norlin's greatest successes was his first - he wrote a song called "Out of the Silence" that somehow made it into the 1941 film All-American Co-Ed, where it was introduced by Frances Langford. The tune was nominated for an Academy Award that year.

It's a good song, even though it never was commercially recorded to my knowledge. I've included the audio from Langford's film performance in the download. It's derived from a YouTube clip.

It's not clear why Norlin didn't get more opportunities in Hollywood. He spent almost all his working career in Evanston, IL, where he had a piano studio and where he was an instructor at Northwestern University, in addition to his commercial work.

Northwestern and 'To the Memories'

Students at Northwestern have been mounting a musical or musical review annually since 1929. Norlin was involved with the show during his time on campus; his notable contribution was the song "To the Memories," which traditionally concludes the program, and has become a well-known school song.

The Waa-Mu Show, as it is called (it was founded by the Women's Athletic Association and the Men's Union), has a remarkable roster of alumni. The 1945 show, for instance, featured Paul Lynde, Charlotte Rae and Cloris Leachman.

The download includes a 1954 recording of "To the Memories" by the Northwestern Band. This was cleaned up from a noisy transfer on YouTube.

This post is the latest in a very occasional series presenting industrial promotional records - the most recent involved Les Baxter selling AC Spark Plugs; other posts have included records extolling the products of Budweiser, Schlitz, Westinghouse, Ford, Edsel, Yolande lingerie and Warner bras.