The Atrocious Music Collection: #4 in a series
Artist: Dora Hall (1900-1988)
Album Title: Hits from the 60’s and 70’s: Travelin’ with Dora Hall
Category: Vanity Press
Year: Unknown. Likely mid-1970s
Cover art style: Stereotypical Hippy
Audio samples:
- Barefootin'
- All Shook Up
Click on pictures for full-sized images
Prior to recent research into the mysterious life of Dora Hall, I thought of this record as simply one of three albums of cover-tunes sung by a past-her-prime Minnie Pearl wanna-be.
Examining the pictures of Dora on the album, she is clearly much older than the hippies with whom she is Travelin’ with on the cover, and her voice… let’s put it this way: her voice does not contradict that impression. So there’s the “past-your-prime” part.
I detected a hint of country in her voice; I mean, she certainly does not "rock out" on this album. Add the hat, and my mind goes to the legendary Minnie Pearl, to whom I deeply apologize.
And my guess that this was one of only three records she recorded is based on the back of the record, where someone checked off which record, of three possible ones, this is. Clearly, the same packaging is used for all three albums, which is actually a great idea when you want to save on design costs. (I will forever wonder who exactly checked that box, however. One of the many mysteries inherent in buying used things.)
Given the low production value, the poor singing, the brevity (this whole thing clocks in at about 24 minutes – she could have easily gotten these three records down to two), the main question in 1990 seemed to be, “What did she do earlier in her career that she was given this opportunity?” Because it seemed obvious, given her age and just how bad this record is, that she must have “earned” this in some way, a last gasp at staying relevant, relating to the young people, or just being allowed to keep going.
How wrong I was.
The internet provideth an answer to nearly any query, and, verily, it doth knoweth the secrets of Dora Hall, secrets we could scarce begin to fathom in the darketh days before the glorious invention of the world wide web. To wit:
There are suggestions that Dora did some singing early in her life, but her entire recorded output began sometime around 1970, when she herself was turning 70. According to the Dora Hall fan website Dora’s World (which appears to be defunct, but is accessible through the web way-back machine), “Dora's husband was Leo Hulseman, the founder of the immensely successful Solo Cup Company, and a man who was quite happy to delve into Solo's apparently bottomless coffers to finance dozens of record releases by his wife, all of which were given away free of charge with packages of plastic cups and plates... Not content with her 'success' in the record business, in the 1970's and 1980's Dora branched out with several full-blown Solo-financed TV specials designed to make her a star--despite the fact that she was an elderly grandmother with limited show business experience.” Keep in mind, this is what they’re saying on her fan page.
You can watch one of her syndicated (no network would bite – Leo did try) shows on YouTube. Content was needed in those days, especially in small markets and on non-network stations, so these sepcials apparently got on more than 100 stations. And there was no problem getting a sponsor, of course.
The whole thing was also chronicled in a 1971 TV Guide article about her TV debut. Her husband Leo “rented studio space from NBC, hired a crew of technicians, a producer, director, and a cast that includes Frank Sinatra Jr., Phil Harris, Rich Little, Oliver, Ben Blue, and Rosey Grier. Backing them were a 13-piece orchestra and 10 dancers. Add to that Mr. Hulseman's wife Dora Hall--a blonde grandmother of 16 grandchildren--and you have Once Upon A Tour, a Walter Mitty-type fantasy about a little lady from Prairieville, Kan., who visits Hollywood and becomes a TV star. You also have a bill estimated at more than $400,000, which Leo Hulseman gladly picked up.”
Another bit about Leo: “During a break in the taping, I asked Leo what was going on. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I'm in the plastic-cup business and we're gonna spend considerable money in TV advertising. So we thought we'd make our own TV show.’ He said it with the assurance of a man who'd been making TV specials all his life instead of manufacturing drinking cups. It never seemed to cross his mind that he might have a $400,000 disaster on his hands.” Considering there were at least seven of these (Once Upon A Tour, Secret Sleuth, Rose On Broadway, Dora's World, Cameo Music Hall, Imagine That!, and Moments With Dora), it appeasrs he thought it was worth the money - something north of 2 million all-told, just for the TV specials.
Ok, but we know his type. We want to hear from Dora. “’I've been entertaining since I was 3 years old,’ she said over lunch in one of those fancy Beverly Hills restaurants that are graced by the stars. ‘During World War I, I entertained troops and later went on the Pantages circuit. Toured constantly with three girl singers in a group called Harmony Maids.’ However, her career as a Harmony Maid hit a discordant note in 1920. ‘I got tired of living out of a suitcase,’ she said. ‘I quit when I married Leo.’ They were married 45 years ago, and besides those 16 grandchildren, they also have two sons who keep an eye on the cups when Leo's out galloping the polo fields. Ten years ago, Dora decided on a show-business comeback, ‘because I don't want the rocking chair to get me.’ Her idea was that she would make records to be distributed with packages of cups.”
Travelin’ and it’s two doppelgangers (Tramping and Great Hits) are hardly her only records. There’s something like 17 of them, some released under multiple titles. Also lots and lots of singles, and even picture discs. All released by “record companies” set up by Leo.
So putting all that aside, let’s get back to the album as an artifact. Clearly, I was attracted by the cover, which is borderline offensive in its portrayal of hippies, except these are the cleanest-cut, safe-for-the-middle-class hippies ever. The inclusion of cartoon Dora (photo on the back) creates a dilemma. She’s the star of the record, but she clearly does not fit in. If she’s a hippy, I’m a mongoose, as Daffy Duck might say.
The banner title, Hits from the 60’s and 70’s, is sometimes generous in regards to the word “hits,” and the time frame covered. The album performs a kind of random walk along both parameters. To go from Elvis’ I’m All Shook Up directly into James Taylors’ Going to California and then to How Are Things in California? can give you whiplash. (If you don’t know the “hit” How Are Things in California, it’s a Nancy Sinatra song that did not top the charts. I can confirm it was #17 on the Billboard Easy Listening charts in December 1970. Personally, I don't feel that #17 on the Easy Listening charts is enough for a song to be called a genuine "hit.")
Aside from the obvious question about why Dora’s interpretations were worthy of recording (something we didn’t have an answer for back in the pre-internet days when we first encountered this record), what is striking is how rushed everything seems. The main theme of the record seems to be "just get through the songs." The whole album is short, as I’ve mentioned, but the whole project seems perfunctory to the point of joyless. Given the rebirth of her career at 70, I just thought she’d sound more like she’s really having a good time. Perhaps it’s nerves, or by the time this album came along, just age. Or my strong suspicion that these songs are not really her kind of songs, the music she really likes to sing. Or, perhaps, this is simply an indication of the limits of her abilities.
The joy for the listener is in the incongruous meeting of Dora and these songs. She interprets everything, from Elvis to James Taylor to Chuck Berry, the exact same way, and none of it computes, yet she carries on anyway. She simply does not grok.
The last song, I Heard it Through the Grape Vine, is the exception. Dora seems to be energized, if still a bit out of tune. Compared to the rest of the album, however, this is actually a little fun to listen to. That she took so long to wake up – well, I just hope the buyer of the Solo Cups this album originally came with made it this far.