Retro Shopping Volume 1 – Music to Buy Toasters By

Compilation: Retro Shopping Volume 1 – Music to Buy Toasters By

Since it is summer and very hot outside (at least here in Sweden), many people prefer to stay indoors in a temperature-controlled environment. So why not spend some time at your local mall? This is a exclusive custom made compiltion for this website, to celebrate the mood and feel of the American malls from the 1950s and 1960s. This compilation has everything a mall need to make their vistors feel relaxed. From “happy-go-lucky” fast-paced rythms to swank fashion show mood music. It even features a Christmas themed song for the holiday season! There are 24 tracks in total and the length of the compliation clocks in at about 70 minutes. Enjoy!

A special thank you to Keith from Malls of America for the postcards.

01. Charles Williams – Workroom
02. Ivor Slaney – Window Gazing
03. The Metro Strings – Vacation Time
04. Walter Scott – Fun in the Sun
05. Eddie Thomas and his Orchestra – Park Lane Stroll – Park Lane Stroll
06. Bernard Herrmann – Twisted Nerve (Third Phaze Edit)
07. Walter Scharf – Tango of Hope
08. Ivor Slaney – Early Dusk
09. John Seeley and William Loose – Fashion Fox Trot
10. Special Recordings – Hoedown
11. Ivor Osborne – Around the House
12. Roger Roger – Through The Town
13. The Metro Strings – Christmas
14. Clive Richardson – Mannequin Melody
15. The Price Is Right – Spring Waltz
16. The MGM Studio Orchestra – Fashion Show
17. Buddy Baker – Monorail Song
18. Dominic Frontiere – Sophisticated
19. Harold Smart – Bright Spark
20. Roger Roger – Haute Couture
21. Richard and Robert Sherman – Music to Buy Toasters By
22. Richard Addinsell – Invitation Waltz
23. J. Rhodes – Shopping Spree
24. Walter Scharf – Fantastic Rhumba

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About the author: Chris

Founded Ultra Swank in 2005. Has a crush on Pan Am, Disneyland and the Century 21 Exposition. Lives life as an expat in Barcelona, Spain.

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By Chris

July 6th, 2006

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Comments for this post

  • Phil Musical

    Hi Chris!
    I’m listening to your fabulous mood music compi for malls. Incredible selection, sure it is!
    And i want to make you a question, cause i’ll be in Stockholm on August, and i wanted to know some adresses to buy lounge old records, and vintage stuff (clothes, watches, design furniture…) I know you’re a vintage fanatic, and i wanna discover the vintage spaces at Stockholm. Can you help me, Chris?
    Thanks. Kisses from Spain

  • Keith

    Wow, a fantastic job, Chris!!! Tho I’m sure you prolly figured I’d love this. Heh. ;)

    This is an awesome collection you’ve culled together, man! Keep up the great work and bring on Volume 2!!! lol. BRAVO!

  • Chris

    Thanks Phil and Keith!

    Keith:
    To answer your question about shops in Stockholm, I’m not really sure. Haven’t lived in Stockholm for 4 years and back then I wasn’t really into the retro / vintage thing. But I know that there’s some kind of Tiki themed bar there, have forgot the name of it though. And I’m sure there are lots of old vintage stuff to be found at some various shops on “Södermalm”.

    Keith:
    Yeah I was hoping you were going to like this compilation! I have loads of more music in the same style and a second volume of this compilation will most likely surface in the future. Maybe with some old Mall jingles and commercials? :)

  • Anonymous

    Hello Chris,

    Is there any chance that you will be uploading “Mmm, Nice!” – Bob Thompson?

    Thank you in anticipation,
    Mel.

  • Chris

    Hi Mel, not sure about future album shares. I have lots of requests of albums people want shared, but I haven’t got much free time to work on stuff like that right now. Besides, my version of “Mmm, Nice” is a mono version, the stereo version is way cooler.

  • Anonymous

    Hello Chris,
    I have just finished listening to RSV1-MTBTB – I love this type of music (Bob Farnon, Sidney Torch et al) and have a large collection, but all except Mannequin Melody were new to me. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

    Thank you for your reply about the Bob Thompson – I’ll keep my fingers crossed until you can find the time – and I would gladly accept the mono version.

    All the best, Mel.

  • Esther

    Hi, Chris!
    Just wanted to tell you how much I love your compilation! I play it in the car on my way to work and while I’m at work – it’s awesome! Looking forward to volume 2!

  • Chris

    Thanks Esther, always glad to make people happy! Volume 2 will most likely surface sometime in the future, keep an eye out!

  • Cap’n

    I LOVE this music! Reminds me of Ren & Stimpy. If possible PLEASE find more Hi-Q recordings and share them. I’m so bookmarking this blog.

    Thank you!

  • Chris

    I have more Hi-Q albums, and I will very likely use some more tracks from them on the next volume of “Retro Shopping”. Thanks for your comments Cap’n!

  • Anonymous

    Wow, This must be one of the best collections of recordings in this genre, absolutely fantastic, a real joy – thaaanks!

  • Chris

    Thank you Anonymous! Always happy when people appreciate my work.

  • Anonymous

    I agree with all the positive comments regarding this Retro CD.

    I was so happy to have come across it and I look forward to any you do in the future.

  • Joseph Dietterich

    huge into retail history and this is fantastic for me! check out lostbuffaloretail.blogspot.com. new blog but the photos of the store there provide a perfect and ghostly listening venue for this album! also listen to it on my way to work at Lord & Taylor. i need more of this kind of thing to take my mind off the terrible stuff they play in stores today.

    joe

  • Chris

    Hey Joseph! Thank you for your kind comments! Rest assure, a second volume of this compilation has been requested by lots of people and I will of course do that soon enough! Looked at your blog, very cool stuff! I love abandoned places, reminds of the game “Condemned” which features a very eeire abandoned old mall.

  • The Cranky Cataloger

    I just listened to your “Retro Shopping Vol. 1″ again. Loved it! I can’t wait for volume 2. Thanks for the good work.

  • Peoplemover

    Chris-

    Just recently found your site, and I’m absolutely loving the music you’ve shared! This compilation is my favourite, especially the Disneyland music (Buddy Baker’s “Monorail Song” and the Sherman Brothers’ track from the original “Carousel of Progress”).

    Thanks for putting up such an amazing site. I really appreciate it, and hope to see more good stuff in the future!

    Looking forward to hearing your holiday compilation.

    Merry Christmas!

  • Anonymous

    Hi Chris -

    Thanks for all your great work!

    One quick note – as of Dec 30 2006 the WW download link for your Retro Shopping Volume 1 music no longer works.

    But thanks again anyway!

    Tom
    Los Angeles, CA

  • Chris

    Thanks Tom, I will re-upload the compilation as soon as possible.

  • Anonymous

    Hi Chris –

    I guess I spoke too soon – I searched on ww.com for “Shopping” and found this URL which seems to be DL’ing just fine right now, Dec 30 2006:

    http://files.ww.com/files/18062.html

    I _really_ want to thank you again for taking the time to put this together and sharing it.

    Have a great 2007!

    Tom
    Los Angeles

    P.S. – my father’s mother’s last name was Bergquist, from Sweden. Growing up in Michigan we would observe St. Lucia day on I think Dec 13th.

  • Chris

    Tom, you are right the link is working again so I have linked back to it again.

    Lucia is celebrated on december 13th as you said. Pretty cool that you have Swedish “relatives”.

  • Chris

    Wow. I had an abstract thought of making a flash animation with happy shopping music in the background, so i typed “Happy Shopping Music” in google, not really expecting anything..

    Brilliant! Its just what i needed, i love the music of this era, it just gives you an uplifted feeling!

    :)

  • SEASY

    HI.

    Loved the selection & really looking forward to the next one.
    Just a note on Tracks 10. It’s actually “Barbarina” by Bruce Campbell, played by the Melodi Light Orchestra on the well known Chappell label.

    Warmest thanks again for great music.
    SEASY

  • Chris

    Thank you so much for telling me about this Seasy! I always wanted to know where these SS Kresgne tracks came from, found one of them on a Chappell record, which made my suspect that all the others come from them too. Thank you for clearing that up!

  • Jim Rockford

    Hi,Thanks for posting this music!!this music has been a long time obsession with me since I was a kid and remember hearing it in Gumby and Davey and Goliath,the John Seeley and associates music,Capitol Hi-Q,Apm,Kpm etc is the best!
    Ren and Stimpy further cememeted my love of this stuff.
    As a child I was always fascinated by the old buildings,cars,products and music of the 50′s and 60′s,in my opinion there was no other time in american history when everything was so sleek and futuristic.I have several finned 50′s mopars including a 59 dodge custom royal 2 door hardtop and a 58 belvedere.these cars epitomized the optimistic outlook on the future we had at the time.Even Ward Cleaver got to drive a futuristic finned jestons car to work each day! then seeminly in the mid to late 60′s all that changed and people became much more cynical and disenchanted,the hippie movement was a big part of this,society no longer believed in this wonderful jetsons world waiting just around the corner.
    to me it all started to end when the fins shrank to a nub and then vanished from the cars.
    they are the perfect cultural barometer for the end of the wonder and belief in better times around the corner.
    to me the 50′s and early 60′s were the zenith of art and culture.
    thanks for posting this great music.
    P.S. the Seeburg background music systems used a lot of the capitol music on special 16 rpm record.
    Even as young as I was I remember being amazed at this strangely futuristic music,it was as though it came from some strange and happy other world

  • Chris

    Jim Rockford, thank you for your long post, you are making a very good point. The 50s and 60s were so space age and futuristic. I would say that pretty much all of southern California looked like a big theme park with Googie signs and buildings, twinkling lights and neon. It looked like a bright and happy time, wish I could have experienced it.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve just discovered these fabulous compilations and I’m very excited!!! Many thanks from Athens,Greece.! Keep on the good work!

  • Anonymous

    Thanks very much for these compilations, they are absolutely fantastic! From someone who is only just getting into the space age music. Agree with your architecture sentiment though, that era’s designs were intruiging.

  • Anonymous

    Hej Chris!
    Tack för dom fantastiska skivorna. Alla som har försökt sätta ihop den ultimata samlingsskivan förstår vilket otroligt jobb du lagt ner. Du har verkligen lyckats med stämningarna. Skickligt!

    Kerstin i Stockholm

  • Chris

    Tack för kommentaren Kerstin! Ja det är inte lätt att sätta upp en samlingsskiva med rätt stäming, det är därför jag brukar lägga ner så mycket tid på dom, vill inte hasta igenom dom för att få ut dom så fort som möjligt :)

  • Rob

    I downloaded this a few months ago and I just wanted to let you know how much I love it. I’m an illustrator whose style skews to the playful and happy side of the spectrum and this is the music I listen to as I work. It never fails to make me smile and put me in the right headspace to create my silly drawrings.
    I can’t wait for Volume 2.
    Thank you SO much for this…it’s been a wonderful gift in my world.

  • Chris

    Thank you for your comments Rob! If you haven’t noticed it already, volume two was released this summer. You can download it from the blog.

  • Rob

    THANK you! I hadn’t seen that Volume Two was up. I have it now and I’m absolutely beside myself with delight.
    And now, I’ll run off to draw more Mambo-ing mice with a heart full of happy…

  • The Oddio Overplay Team

    Hi there. Nice work. Just a reminder that the track you used from the old Kresge record I ripped and have been sharing all these years is not actually titled “Hoedown.” All the titles are simply descriptive names. The recording has no actual track titles. -katya oddio

  • Chris

    Oddio Overplay, thank you for you input. I actually found that rip through the ‘Malls of America’ website way back and think it’s a amazing record. I know that you had to make up the names for the tracks. I am guessing most of them come from the Chappell library since I found one of them on such a record.

    “Invitation Waltz” by Richard Addinsell was called “Dreamy Aisle Waltzing” on your rip. And “Hoedown” is actually “Barbarina” by Bruce Campbell, played by the Melodi Light Orchestra, also on the Chappell label. But I didn’t find out about that last until after I released the compilation. Thank you for the heads up Seasy!

  • Jeanne

    Thank you so much for this music! I googled “happy retro music” and found you — This is great, I love it! I’ll have to come back and check out your blog again!

    Jeanne

  • Penny Pingleton

    Great stuff, used on so many old 40s-60s productions, even Mattell and Marx commercials, very much like Hanna-Barbera, in the case of the Mattell ads even more so, with voice of Judy Jetson,etc. Janet Waldo even doing the Mattell ads [and even onscreen appearing in a general Mattell ad whilst that familiar music is playing}. The cue calling "The Fsshion Fox Trot" by William Loose and John Seely was used in some Gumby shorts [don't know about Hanna-Barbera despite their usgae of many other tracks. BTW H-B also used some libaries outside Capitol, gathering from what I have read, as Roger Roger cues were sometimes used.]

  • Chris

    Very interesting information Penny! I wish I had known about all that stuff before I published the compilation here, then I could have added some stories to some of the songs. I am sure there are many of them for almost all of the songs. Maybe I should bring you in as a consultant for Retro Shopping – volume 3?

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  • http://www.hindisonglyrics.info Hindi Song Lyrics

    Wow! great compilation! i really enjoyed listening to the songs. Very relaxing and calming. thank you for sharing them. I will wait for your next compilation of songs..

  • http://www.cleanedison.com/ Cash for Caulkers

    yeah me too, i’ll like Hi-Q albums.

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    Thank you very much for sharing these awesome compilations!

  • http://www.thingsiamover.com Cheap shopping online

    Thanks brother was very nice of page.

  • http://www.mbopmegashop.com Online Shopping Mall

    Yeah, really good mix, thanks!

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  • DoctorPsi

    I subscribe to your opinion here: very nice songs that somebody had to make me remember them.

  • http://www.facebook.com/mr.modular Allen Velasquez

    Aww, will it be available again?

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  • Ale Martinez

    Great!!! is good!!! please post Retro love song, thanks!

  • Novelinc

    Brilliant collection. Loved “Window Gazing” so much we used one of the pieces in a game trailer. Take a look at it here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9z3sgvHsnE

  • http://www.ultraswank.net Chris

    Very nice!

Ultra Swank – Your one stop blog for retro living, style and design

Ultra Swank takes you back in time into the kitsch, chic and swank living of the 50s, 60s and the 70s. We mainly focus on the design, architecture and the lifestyle of the happy-go-lucky and space-age-living mentality of that era – but also on the music and movies that takes you back to happier times. Ultra Swank is run by Chris, a Swede born in the wrong decade that currently resides in Barcelona. Read more

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