Alfred Hitchcock "Music To Be Murdered By" (Imperial, LP-9052, 1958), "Ghost Stories For Young People" (Golden, LP-89, 1960)
Two cool albums riding the crest of the late '50's/ early '60's Hitchcock wave, these records have both been reissued several times over the years. I know I've had the "Ghost Stories for Young People" album from age 5 on, and haven't grown tired of hearing it to this day. John Allen did an excellent job of both writing & narrating the stories, and I can't tell you how many of these lines I still quote without always consciously realizing it (so the next time I'm at your house yawning as I say "maybe I'll just spend the night here" you'll know where it comes from) -- directed at kids it manages to be playfully scary without dipping into overt cuteness. Now "Music to Be Murdered By" is a completely different animal altogether; it's aimed at adults & adeptly uses the Jeff Alexander Orchestra to interpret a variety of standards with "spooky" themes ("I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You", "Body and Soul", etc), with Alexander penned originals like the "Alfred Hitchcock Television Theme" thrown in for good measure. Today I'm sure it'd get called "Lounge Music", but I guess that still leaves the "To Be Murdered By" option open, so I won't kick.
While his name and likeness sold them, Hitchcock's involvement on both albums mostly consist of spoken cameos before each track (which I suppose is more than the simple branding he lent to his "Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine" and "Presents" style anthology books), and these intros find the droll character he had perfected by this point in full flower. As a kid it was my introduction to his persona, and I was fully smitten. And I really wanted to take Vanishing Lessons.
Link Removed
Available now on iTunes from Golden Records!
posted by Jason at 2/22/2006 06:46:00 PM
38 Comments:
Wonderful, Wonderful!!! Wnated to hear the MTBMB ever since I heard the bit on Crime Scene. I missed the GS around Halloe'en, glad you posted that one as well.
Thanks so much,
Dr. Terror
2/22/2006 11:40 PM
You are too good to us! I have been looking forward to hearing "Music to be Murdered by" for years now. Thanks so much!
2/23/2006 8:57 AM
Jason, if you take requests, I'd love to hear the two "Georgie" records again. The Great Pumpkin record would also be great. Thanks again for your site!
2/23/2006 10:34 AM
Actually yeah, I'm planning on adding a full Scholastic run pretty soon, but to get your Georgie fix now, you should head on over to Pop Cereal to see the cool WMV ersatz Georgie filmstrip he's put together.
2/23/2006 11:33 AM
Excellent! Jason, send me an email when you have time, I have a question for you but don't have an email to send it to. scott at strangereaction.com
2/23/2006 6:04 PM
Jason,
Thanks for all your work ripping and posting this stuff. I just listened to "Ghost Stories For Young People," and it was great to hear it again after two decades.
Stuff that would be great to listen to again: the Troll story records (I think there were three) and the cereal box flexi "Sounds of the Unknown." That one always scared the crap out of me as a four year old.
Thanks again!
Lance
2/23/2006 8:17 PM
Jason hopefully you won't mind this. and thanks for the Georgie link, great stuff.
Lance,
Here is the flexi for you.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SP09J1Q2
Dr. Terror
2/23/2006 10:21 PM
Thanks! Living in the country, there's plenty of long drives to enjoy these. Cheers!
2/24/2006 3:28 AM
Señor Terror: Post all the links you want, that's great! I don't know if it's the same rip or not, but the same record was also up at Cake & Polka Parade
Lance: I have two of the Troll records that I'll be posting for sure ("Scary Spooky Sounds", "Great Ghost Stories"), but am lazily trying to get a better copy of "Weird Tales of the Unknown" (mine is shot), so that one will have to be down the road I guess.
Really glad everyone is enjoying the stuff.
2/24/2006 6:39 AM
Dr. Terror -
Thanks for posting the file. Unfortunately, the link takes me to a generic Megaupload page, and not to anything that will let me download the file. Could they have taken it down already? Would you check the link again? I relish wrapping my ears around "Sounds of the Unknown" again.
Jason -
Sounds awesome. Looking forward to all future posts. I also thought I'd mention that I've never heard "Halloween Horrors." I remember being in a mall in the late seventies, finding the record and asking my parents to buy it for me. One of them replied that I already had enough spooky sound effects records. The "haunted" instruments especially intrigued me (organ and violin). It was always the one that got away.
Lance
2/24/2006 8:15 AM
Hi Jason!
Thanks very much to put these twi albums really hard-to-find. I have discovered right now your site. I'll link to you from my spanish lounge music blog. Can you link me too?
Thanks again
philmusical.blogspot.com
2/24/2006 11:13 AM
Thanks for the link to the PopCereal Georgie film strip, Jason. That was pretty cool. But that narration doesn't sound familiar - could it be that I had a different version when I was young?
2/24/2006 1:44 PM
Lance, after you "Click to proceed" and get to the page with the timer, just close the box that pops up halfway through, it covers the link to download. I was confused at first when I first used it.
Dr. Terror
2/24/2006 3:30 PM
Here is
"Great Ghost Stories"
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=03PEJIR5
and
Scary, Spooky, Stories.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A3VDRF5D
For those who can't wait
Rememember after the "click here to proceed page" On the Megaupload page where the timer is, a box will come down (Megauplaod links) just close that box and the download link will be under it.
Dr. Terror
2/24/2006 4:02 PM
Heh, those are both my rips already actually, right? The ones I gave to Keith at Old Haunts last Oct.
2/24/2006 5:11 PM
Maybe "Dr. Terror" is actually your evil twin logging in as anonymous...
2/24/2006 5:16 PM
Yes, that is where I got them around Hallowe'en. I got alot of stuff from Tiki Tim also last year, but again the thanks should go to you.
Dr. Terror
2/24/2006 5:36 PM
Oh, it's all fair game (and Tiki Tim actually had a lot of stuff from other sources as well, I got some cool finds from him myself). I'm just happy to see this stuff out there again for the infected minds that need it.
I'll draw up a quick post so that the titles get a bit attention on the main page right now...
2/24/2006 5:40 PM
Jason,
Thanks for posting these, I've never even seen MtBMB, much less heard it.
A record by a film DIRECTOR is a rarity, but Hitchcock of course might have been the first. I wonder, do you have the record by William Castle? I have a copy with visual "bubbles" in the vinyl. I once owned a clean unplayed copy, but it along with many other prized lps disappeared, ne'er to be seen again. [sobbing]
Hitchcock made a single-sided 45 record that was sent to theatre managers showing PSYCHO, apparently urging them seriously, but in his droll manor, not to admit people after the film had started. I once saw 2 copies of this record on ebay for $300. I was counting every bit of money I had, but sadly I lost out.
If anyone knows where I can download these, and the William Castle lp, please PLEASE email me:
langsqual@hellokitty.com
Thanks,
Lang
5/30/2006 8:07 PM
Dude, I listened to the "Ghost Stories" last week. Beautiful! Thanks for all the effort on this blog. It is very much appreciated.
9/12/2006 5:52 PM
You have just become my personal hero, thanks so much for posting this!
9/27/2006 8:35 AM
Unsane. I can't believe how much of Ghost Stories For Young People I have memorized from listening to it as a kid. THANKS so much for posting this.
10/25/2006 1:18 PM
Quite a wonderful job you've done here, Jason. The Hitchcock really is the cream. Been wanting to hear these again for years. Had both when I was a kid and have very fond memories of them. Thanks so much.
10/29/2006 9:00 PM
Yaaaayyy! I've been digging around in your site for a while now when I discovered these. I've got the "Ghost Stories" album but it's been played to - ahem - death. I wasn't even aware of the "Music to Be Murdered By" album, but I'm looking forward to hearing it!
10/31/2006 8:28 AM
I want the mtbmb album so badly. I am only 18 so its a hobby collcting records. I love that they were released so many years before i was born. It adds charachter. Peope throw them away and I search through the rubbish bins to find my treasures. I can honestly say the record I want the most is music to be murdered by. In its form on vinyl the line about the 38 calibur revolver and the long playing record stand out as eerie and so much fun! Its this kind of personality that makes em want to hear the music in its original form rather than on my IPOD where it lives now.
12/07/2006 9:38 PM
..........hey! i was curious to listen for MTMB from a very long time, but the link seems no more active........can you fix this and re-upload the album ?
many thanx, man
best wishes
1/05/2007 1:17 AM
I was hoping to get the Alfred Hitchcock Ghost Stories For Young People, but the link doesn't work. I was also hoping to get the Snap Crackle Pop one, but that link also does not work. Are you still posting to this site?
3/05/2007 3:43 PM
could someone plz repost the Alfred Hitchcock ghost stories for young people.
Thanx in advance
4/19/2007 4:11 PM
hey there,
thanks for posting about this amazing LP. I LOVE this record!! It had a huge effect on my brother and I and on the way we talk etc.
Do you know anything about JJohn Allen? I can not find a thing on him,. Which is odd as he narrated, played and wrote such influential peices on so many people!
Thanks
Jeff
BTW,, I am sure you know the link does not work.
5/22/2007 12:03 AM
Jason-
SOOO bummed that this sin't available anymore! I LOVED this album SOOO much and I still quote many of the lines (that I remember) quite often! "Run... RUN... it is after me..."
Jamie :-)
7/03/2007 5:43 PM
Hello there,
Due the Autumnal sensations that start to creep around my noggin at this time of year, I happened onto your page. I wondered if it might be possible to get links to all of the "Halloween-y" audio files--Troll Records stuff, Alfred Hitchcock, etc.--that seem to be no longer active?
Thanks so much!
joncanread@gmail.com
9/09/2007 6:47 AM
Thank you for posting Hitchcock Ghost Stories! This album is the most nostalgic one for me. I used to play it on my "DISCO80" turntable at night while in bed and damn if that chuckling pirate ghost didn't turn my hair white!
My dad bought it at Toys R Us. I'm grateful he did because the memories I have of playing this spooky record are priceless.
1/17/2008 4:24 AM
What happened to the Ghost stories - any chance you have a link back???
5/10/2008 11:33 AM
http://rapidshare.com/files/923929/
A_H-_Ghost_Stories_for_
Young_People.zip.html
Copy all parts after each other into the browser's address line and get it while it's there ...
8/07/2008 3:19 AM
Hitchcock's Ghost Stories for Young People is the BEST memory I have of growing up!! Unfortunately, my parents must have sold the record at a garage sale by mistake. I've been looking for it for years and have been unable to find it. However, I just found the recording in five parts on youtube!!!!! I have no clue how to get these on CD or DVD, but I will find a way. There is also an Mp3 you can find on amazon.com, if you just do a title search.
10/13/2008 1:00 PM
I want to offer a correction:
The theme of the Alfred Hitchcock hour was not an original composition of Mr. Alexander,
It is a piece composed by Charles Gounod entitled "Funeral March of a Marionette"
7/27/2009 5:25 PM
Why have all the links been removed?
9/20/2010 2:54 PM
please, will someone re-host these for us? Ghost Stories on CD is missing some of the tracks (2) on the vinyl, so it is hardly acceptable as a full replacement.
10/16/2012 12:24 PM
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