Album Regret

I was out picking up some music at this excellent Eugene record shop this afternoon. They had the greatest album category ever--"Celebrity Guest Vocals."

It was great. There was a Regis Philbin album from probably the late 60s that I should have bought. Then there was the Terry Bradshaw gospel album. It would have been a brilliant choice for a ridiculous album collection.

I wonder about the 60s and 70s record industry sometimes. Did they just let anyone with a name record whatever they wanted to? I was amazed that in that small collection alone, there were 4 different Walter Brennan albums! 4!!! Why? I don't know. There were also multiple Richard Harris albums. Why did this British actor decide to record a whole album with his children? Lord knows. There was also a great looking John Wayne patriotic music album.

But the real gem that I will always regret not buying is a political album by North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin. I think it was probably for his 1968 campaign, though I'm not sure. Was there a song entitled "Segregation Now, Segregation Forever"? I don't know. But there should have been.

That's a tiny bit unfair--Ervin was pretty good for a southern senator on non-race issues and how could he survive without supporting segregation. But I certainly find the genre of political campaign albums to be fantastic, both for its sheer existence and for its badness.