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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»Fads
    Fads 4 Mins Read

    Hip-Pocket Records

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    The Hip-Pocket Record was introduced by Philco, the electronics division of the Ford Motor Company in the US in 1967.

    hippocket1

    41 Hip-Pocket Records were issued from 1967 to 1968, the first two being Tommy James & The Shondells releases licensed from Roulette.

    Sold for 68 cents and available through FW Woolworth or direct from Ford dealerships, Hip-Pocket discs were slightly smaller in size than an LP label: 12 cm in diameter and manufactured on paper-thin black plastic.

    With just one song on each side, they could only be used on a single-play record player such as a Dansette Junior – basically, any system that didn’t automatically return the tonearm at the end.

    Several companies manufactured a tiny battery-powered deck especially for playing the discs.

    A label on one side would bear all the info – the artist, song titles and label credits – while the flipside had no label at all.

    The discs came in 20cm x 15cm sleeves that showed a photograph of the artist, reinforced by a stiffer piece of card.

    hippocket4Some would list enticing purchase incentives on the rear: “they will outlast a regular 45” . . . “25 to 50 hip pocket records can be carried in pocket or purse” . . . “drop them or sit on them . . . they are almost indestructible.”

    The song pairings on Hip-Pocket Records usually bore little relationship to singles already issued by the artists – although the Neil Diamond releases (licensed from Bang) duplicated previous A and B side combinations.

    Most Hip-Pocket pairings simply threw together two previous hits, licensing the songs from the bigger indie labels such as Atlantic, Mercury and Vanguard.

    For a short period, Philco faced competition from Americom Corporation, who produced Pocket Discs that undercut their rivals, selling at 50 cents.

    hippocket2Though their plain sleeves lacked the visual appeal of Philco’s Hip-Pocket releases, Americom could boast The Beatles as additions to their roster.

    Philco responded to the threat by dropping their retail price to 39 cents and offering customers a random selection of five Hip-Pocket releases when purchasing one of their miniature radio phonographs.

    The discs have not accrued any great monetary value over the years. The most valuable, The Box Tops The Letter/Happy Times, will still only fetch $20 (£12), while it would be unusual to pay more than $10 (£5) for any other Near Mint pressings.

    Complete Hip-Pocket Discography

    HP-1 Tommy James & The Shondells Mirage/I Think We’re Alone Now
    HP-2 Tommy James & The Shondells Hanky Panky/Gettin’ Together
    HP-3 Sam The Sham Ju Ju Hand/Wooly Bully
    HP-4 Mitch Ryder Jenny Take A Ride/Sock It To Me Baby
    HP-5 Neil Diamond Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon/Cherry Cherry
    HP-6 The McCoys Hang On Sloopy/Fever
    HP-7 The Happenings Go Away Little Girl/See You In September
    HP-8 Sonny & Cher I Got You Babe/The Beat Goes On
    HP-9 The Doors Light My Fire/Break On Through
    HP-10 The Five Americans Western Union/Sounds Of Love
    HP-11 Wilson Pickett Land Of 1,000 Dances/In The Midnight Hour
    HP-12 Percy Sledge When A Man Loves A Woman/Baby Help Me
    HP-13 Otis Redding Shake/Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa 
    HP-14 The Buckinghams Kind Of A Drag/Lawdy Miss Clawdy
    HP-15 Arthur Conley Sweet Soul Music/You Don’t Have To See Me
    HP-16 Van Morrison Brown-Eyed Girl/Midnight Special
    HP-17 Neil Diamond You Got To Me/Solitary Man
    HP-18 The Young Rascals A Girl Like You/I’ve Been Lonely Too Long
    HP-19 Spanky & Our Gang Making Every Minute Count/Bird Avenue
    HP-20 Keith 98.6/Ain’t Gonna Lie
    HP-21 Lesley Gore You Don’t Own Me/That’s The Way The Boys Are
    HP-22 Jay & The Techniques Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie/Loving For Money
    HP-23 The Fallen Angels  Room At The Top/Most Children Do
    HP-24 Aretha Franklin  Respect/Soul Serenade
    HP-25 John Fred & His Playboy Band  Judy In Disguise/No Letter Today
    HP-26 The Seeds  Pushin’ Too Hard/Can’t Seem To Make You Mine
    HP-27 The Box Tops The Letter/Happy Time
    HP-28 James & Bobby Purify  I’m Your Puppet/Goodness Gracious
    HP-29 Syndicate Of Sound  Little Girl/Rumors
    HP-30 The Shirelles  Soldier Boy/My Heart Belongs To You
    HP-31 Etta James  Tell Mama/Security
    HP-32 The Dells  There Is/Show Me
    HP-33 Bo Diddley  I’m A Man/Song Of Bo Diddley
    HP-34 Chuck Berry  Maybelline/Roll Over Beethoven
    HP-35 Country Joe & The Fish  Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine/Masked Marauder
    HP-36 Joan Baez  There But For Fortune/Pack Up Your Sorrows
    HP-37 The Rooftop Singers  Walk Right In/Tom Cat
    HP-38 Brenton Wood  Gimme Little Sign/Oogum Boogum
    HP-39 The Fantastic Johnny C  Boogaloo Down Broadway/Got What You Need
    HP-40 Brenda & The Tabulations  Dry Your Eyes/When You’re Gone
    HP-41 The Isley Brothers  Twist and Shout/Rubberleg Twist

    hippocket9

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