Sold Date: February 28, 2022
Start Date: February 21, 2022
Final Price: $185.83 (USD)
Bid Count: 5
Seller Feedback: 706
Buyer Feedback: 178

If you've seen "Bathtubs Over Broadway" or read "Everything's Coming Up Profits," you know that private pressing "industrial musical" souvenir albums are some of the rarest and weirdest records in existence. These motivational musicals were only for dealers, salesmen, distributors and other industry insiders at sales meetings and conventions, and the souvenir vinyl records were not available to the public. And many of these shows boasted outstanding music and performances along with the bizarre corporate subject matter.

I'm the collector and historian profiled in the documentary "Bathtubs Over Broadway," and the co-author of "Everything's Coming Up Profits - The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals." I'm thinning out my stash of duplicates, and offering an assortment of records that range from the scarce, to the very rare, to the "you'll probably never encounter this again."

This one is "The Grip of Leadership," Coca-Cola's 75th anniversary extravaganza for bottlers, 1961.
It's a top-drawer big money 60's outing by the late Wilson Stone and the Jam Handy Organization. I had the pleasure of knowing Wilson and he said this was his first industrial, and backed by a big powerful orchestra and a professional cast, he delivered a snappy, impressive show that kept him working in industrials for the next 20 years.
A lot of high-flown patriotism here: "I Hear America Singing," "American Heritage." But for the industrial show fan, the real fun is in the songs that get into the nitty gritty of the business and all its challenges: "Packaging and Pricing," "Hot Seat" (about all the production and marketing dilemmas facing bottlers), and "Keep Things Jumping at the Point of Sale."
"Here and Now" is a stirring Coke anthem. "Look to the Leader" affirms the public's comfort with familiar big brands. (This title was repurposed as the title for a Jam Handy show for Coke's Minute Maid division, with all the songs slightly rewritten.)
This is a big time industrial musical, with the iconic Coke brand leaning all the way in to the newly-matured industrial musical genre. In the years to come, Coke would do many more.

The cover has minor to moderate wear, and a pen mark in one front corner, but displays very nicely. The vinyl is in very strong condition with a couple minor scuffs.
Coke collectors, industrial musical fans -- make sure you have this one.

Check out my other listings for many more killer examples of this deliciously strange and secret slice of American musical and corporate history, including other Coke and Wilson Stone shows.

Buyers of multiple records get a break on shipping charges.