The Best Of The Unknown Songwriters (Grand Recording Co.)

(no artist named) -- Sounds Of Music:  "The Best Of The Unknown Songwriters"

Side one - 28349
I'll Follow Along Behind You (Dallas Green)
You Got To Be A Habit With Me (Herschel E. Guy)
Yours With All My Love (Eleanor McKissick)
Break Bread With Your Brothers (Herschell E. Guy)
Our Flag (Victor D. Harris)
A Lonely Man (Robert E. Whitehead)

Side Two - 28350
The Jolly Jolly Life (Ellsworth J. Leach)
Heal My Soul (Martin Blackwell)
Denied The Claim (Loretta Keseric)
All Wrong (Julia P. Pruett)
Someone I Used To Know (R. A. Harrison)
Wake Up The Daisies (Frances E. Lowe)

Grand Recording Co., 1354 Hancock St., Quincy, Mass.  One of the several song poem companies owned by Ted Rosen. 

In running his Halmark label as a perverse parody of a legitimate record company, Ted Rosen went beyond the constrained thinking of other song-poem entrepreneurs. Lesser minds in similar positions sought to foster the illusion of legitimacy via the inclusion of, at minimum, the recording artist's name amid the printed information on their labels. But Rosen ignored such trifling conventions, reserving the space instead for the listing of the song-poet's home address, an appeal to vanity one step beyond that of his competitors. You might equally think that a company that operated entirely through the mails might prefer to publish its own postal address on the labels. Bah! There again, Ted Rosen scoffed.

...more American Song-Poem Archives

Popular Electronics ad, July 1973

A reader of the Asbury Park Press (New Jersey) asked for some advice in 1974 regarding songs he had written:

I have written some songs which I hope to sell. Can you give me any advice on having them recorded for sale? What about companies which offer to help songwriters? J.D., Brick Township 

 And here was the answer:

The odds against the nonprofessional who hopes to successfully sell songs are immense. It's like having the insurance salesman who Hives next door fill your tooth it can be a painful and unhappy experience. Talent Inc., North Quincy, Mass., is one company which has advertised that it can help songwriters. It has conducted an extensive business with hopeful songwriters by mail. The company has admitted to a long list of misrepresentations cited in a Federal Trade Commission complaint.   Understanding those misrepresentations, may guide you in any future dealings.   First. Talent Inc. failed to tell those with whom it contracted that the company has never produced or recorded a song for a customer that earned any royalties.   The company misrepresented its size and earned employes used pseudonyms so that it appeared there were more employes than there actually were.   In misrepresenting its size and ability to help the company also used the names Grand Recording Co., Cathedral Recording Co., Chapel Recording Co., Country and Western Recording Co., Music Hall Recording Co., and Meloday Lane.   The company and its principals misrepresented that songs were "evaluated" and that some were not accepted; that songs recorded would be released by record companies and that songwriters could expect to earn royalties. Talent Inc. misrepresented that it maintained a copyright service and that writers should copyright their work. The company misrepresented that it charged only minimum or special prices, and falsely claimed it had songwriters to write music for customers' lyrics and that its employes consulted with vocalists, vocalists groups, and background orchestras. Customers were not told, according to the FTC complaint, that when their songs were recorded the background music was "pre-recorded" and was not provided by a live orchestra. Customers were falsely encouraged to believe that radio stations might be interested in playing records made by Talent Inc.   The FTC complaint says the records made were hand cut and were unsuitable for use in commercial promotion. Customers were also encouraged to buy various "services" sold by Talent Inc. in the mistaken belief that these services could help promote their records. To sum up, since no one earned royalties, it's clear that the only ones helped by Talent Inc. were its owners. Be cautious in dealing with any company offering to help sell your songs. The misrepresentations mentioned above are common to other companies.

Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey · May 22, 1974 .Page 40