Man, this is an obscure one. I couldn't find anything but a brief mention on a site or two. So I guess I will hereby become the official source of internet information on sound-alike eight-track tapes.
These things were hawked on TV commercials in the early 1970's. One in particular I recall was "Summer '71." Instead of paying royalties to the original artists of the songs featured in these collections of hits, the producers of these tapes would hire a band that would do their best to sound exactly like them.
It seems like a strange concept now, but it was big business in the 70's.
If you watched as much television in the summer as I did, you soon had the samples of the songs played in the commercials memorized. As I write this piece, I can hear those Summer '71 songs streaming through my mind . . . Brand New Key . . . American Pie . . . Drowning in a Sea of Love . . .
The pictured tape is an example. It's songs of Cher, but it's NOT Cher! Caveat emptor.
IWhat you had to do was look out for generic labels, like the one pictured. Many times, the buyer of such tapes was surprised to hear someone who ALMOST sounded like, say, Chaka Khan instead of the real deal.
But the funny thing was that you still listened to them. The songs still sounded pretty darned good. And presumably, money was made, even though the tapes cost about half the price of the genuine article.
Probably the least compensated were the bands themselves. One in particular I recall was called "The Sound Effects." I tried to research them, nada. I imagine these gigs covered the cost of rent and hamburgers, that was about it.
So the next time you pop your flash drive full of mp3's into your high-tech car stereo, pause for a moment and remember when you used to jam to "A Tribute to Helen Reddy." It only cost $2.99.
Comments (5)
Funny my friend...because I do remember those...and if not careful, you could get caught buying them thinking they WERE the real deal....still yet, as said, they WERE pretty good...and REAL good for the money!
Posted by Tony Smith | February 9, 2007 9:22 PM
Posted on February 9, 2007 21:22
I guess you could simply
say they were cover bands with a twist, in that their record company actually tried tricking you into thinking in was the real thing. I'm sure more people than you might think thought they were real, and many more than that couldn't care less if they were because the were 99 cents an 8-track.
Worse were the Muzak versions of pop hits, like 101 strings do the carpenters...as if the original wasn't muzak enough...don't think 101 strings ever got around to doing Hendrix or Zappa though....
Posted by scott | July 18, 2007 10:56 PM
Posted on July 18, 2007 22:56
I probably have a couple tapes like that mostly from very early seventies! I have a few Country music albums! Seems Country music did it a lot more?? A couple of the songs may have even sounded better then the original??
Posted by Rivers End | May 29, 2009 11:37 PM
Posted on May 29, 2009 23:37
I remember pirated 8 tracks as well, usually at some temporary stand set up at the beach or a fair/carnival.
Posted by Scott Irv | May 30, 2009 1:19 AM
Posted on May 30, 2009 01:19
I seem to remember reading that Elton John did an album such as this in the early 70's when he was just starting out. In other words, it was a sound a like record with Elton singing spirit in the sky, etc. Supposed to be very hard to find and I don't think he admitted to it after he became "known."
Posted by bruce nalepka | June 8, 2009 5:37 PM
Posted on June 8, 2009 17:37