i have a couple of readers digest box sets in my collection and they are of high quality, really nice packaging and good sounding vinyl. i also subscribe to readers digest magazine but i dont think they offer these anymore, though i wish they would start again! that catalog was great to see and fun looking at all the sets that were available back in the day. i enjoy all types of mood music and instrumentals so these sets were perfect for that. luckily you can find these for reasonable prices at thrift shops and goodwill sometimes, thanks for sharing this ! take care
I have over 150 Readers Digest record sets in my collection here in the UK. Easy to collect as they are still virtually worthless despite being of the highest quality. Nearly always in excellent condition too. Richard (UK)
I remember the very thin demo records they sent in an envelope. You could actually roll them up! They were for giving you a short taste of what you could get. In 1968, Dad bought the “Eric Robinson’s World Of Music” box set and “Music For You” box set. They were high quality recordings. I really missed them and I have no idea what happened to them. About 5 years ago, I bought both sets off eBay in mint condition. There was a bonus record of film music which was my favourite. It has a recording of the theme from Romeo and Juliette on piano which is the best recording of it I’ve heard by far.
@@Recordology I just remembered that was the time we had the radiogram. I don’t know if there’s other names for them. They were the record players and radios built in together in a smart wooden cabinet. They had great speakers for what they cost. I was fascinated with the sliding door which was made of thin strips of wood with a cloth backing so it could roll round into the cabinet. I loved that radiogram and I’d love to get one some day.
Watching this while we are eating breakfast. What a great start of the day...thank you. It brought back so many memories. I would spend days looking at these catalogues in my teens. You are correct in the audience. My parents were in that age range. But for some reason, I was so turned on to the Big Band Era that I ate this up more than they did. Another one I was a sucker for was the Longines Symphonette Society. Same idea with more detailed themes. High quality records AND they guaranteed them for life! All of these services are no longer around, but I can attest to the quality as my Longines and Readers box sets still sound the same...quiet and excellent fidelity.
I was given a RD set of Handel's Messiah. Not the kind of music I'd usually purchase for myself but I was well impressed with the quality of the set. As you say, everything from the inner sleeves to the record itself.
I have many of them that I play on my Alabama Public Radio show (Getting Sentimental Over You: the program of big band memories). Weren't the original prices great? The first one I bought, in 1966, was 1965's The Great Band Era. $17.95 for mono, $19.95 for stereo! I have an old catalog with stamps too. Your date estimate is about right. Dave Clark. P.S., the year of each set is printed on the bottom right of each boxed set cover.
We have quite a few readers digest box sets in our vinyl library at the hospital radio station...I have a Bing Crosby Box set..Lovely condition,but not R D...The catalogue is a work of art in its own right and great mint condition for its age....Great to see..Ade
Hospital...radio station???? Very interesting. Is it a carrier current (electric wiring used as an AM transmitting antenna) system? I've been in the broadcasting business for longer than I'd like to admit, and this is the first time I've heard of such a thing.
I saw two Readers Digest boxed sets just a few days ago in a local charity shop in Strood, Kent, England, both of which we had when I was a child -Festival of International Hits and A Night at the Opera. If I'd had a record player I would have bought them. Remember some of the tunes fairly well. Great tunes on those records.
I picked up a big box of those things on 8-track (about 30 carts), back in the '80s. Not to make anyone cringe, but I bulk erased them, and used them as blanks (had a good 8-track deck in the car, and recording deck). You're right about RCA. They were all in the mid '70s RCA type cartridges with the rivets. BTW; they used to sell cheap rebranded electronics as well. There was at lest one of those fold apart portable 8-tracks, your typical early '70s 8-track am/fm stereo, a mono am/fm portable cassette, and a variation on the "ranger" multi-band radio that was sold under about 50 different brands.
One time as an experiment, I covered the record tab holes on a pre-recorded cassette and recorded audio onto it.....I was surprised how bad the audio quality was!
I bought about 12 of theese box sets at a garage sale in 1998 and have been hooked ever since. My favorites are mood music for dining and mood music for listening and relaxation. It always feels like found treasure when I open a set for the first time and the pleasure programmer is in there with one of these pamphlets.
I see these all the time in the local charity stores. Though I get them in CD format, so I can vouch for the quality. However the compilations after about 2000 are best left untouched, with session artists recording most of the songs.
Nice, I love old catalogs. I have the Hawaiian box set but I think that's my only readers digest, the rest of my box sets like this are the Longinnes Symphonette ones.
That catalogue is a real time piece , I don’t think I ever saw one. In the UK if you were on a mailing list you were sent 7” 33rpm Flexi discs with excepts from the latest box set. These box sets weren’t targeted at the youth market as they would have no appeal. A lot of the recordings were from RCA back catalogue easy listening ,classical and big band. They don’t command high prices today as you can pick them up here in charity shops for as little as £1. I tend to only buy the big band box sets as instrumental string versions of hit tunes is not really my thing. Much later box sets had rock and roll and hits by original artist . Readers Digest and Time Warner boxsets are of their time.
I have 2 of those box sets that I bought because I heard a couple of those tunes on the @vwestlife channel. Good stuff for playing in the background at dinner. Each box has 10 albums.
I still have "On Wings of Song," which came with this catalog. Sometime in the '90s, I sent in one of the postcards with selections from the stamps, just out of curiosity. They actually wrote back to me, saying that they were completely out of stock.
I inherited a box set labeled "Serenade for Lovers" after both my parents passed away, which is a Reader's Digest special. Most of the music and artists are from the Forties and Fifties era, though there is also some Big Band stuff as well. I grew up mainly during the Sixties and Seventies, but I've loved almost all musical genres both before and since, until about the Oughts (2000+), when most music IMHO went to hell. The only genre I absolutely refuse to listen to is Rap--nothing but noise as far as I'm concerned. I also have a collection of five cassettes I bought back in the late Sixties that features the Ray Coniff Singers. And I have another Reader's Digest collection that is all Christmas music--again, probably from the late Sixties or early Seventies.
@@Recordology The building that used to be the headquarters (about 15 miles north of Manhattan) is now condominiums. I don't even know if they are still in business??
'In The Groove With The Kings Of Swing' 1969 It's Amazing and a Must. A very very good compilation. I've listen this box when i was a kid, more, more and more! and now i'm a Professionnel jazz Trumpet Player then 45 years (all styles)...! Thanks Readers Digests😀 It would be a good idea to offer the whole of this box on CZcams. I'm sure i'm not the only fan. Thanks for your video Record-ologyPleasure😀😀 Joël
i have a couple of readers digest box sets in my collection and they are of high quality, really nice packaging and good sounding vinyl. i also subscribe to readers digest magazine but i dont think they offer these anymore, though i wish they would start again! that catalog was great to see and fun looking at all the sets that were available back in the day. i enjoy all types of mood music and instrumentals so these sets were perfect for that. luckily you can find these for reasonable prices at thrift shops and goodwill sometimes, thanks for sharing this ! take care
I have over 150 Readers Digest record sets in my collection here in the UK. Easy to collect as they are still virtually worthless despite being of the highest quality. Nearly always in excellent condition too.
Richard (UK)
Very cool!
I do not think they are worthless......LP is making a big comeback...
I got 2 sets of these from Salvation Army store for .99c each. The records look new and the sleeves have vinyl liners. The sound is fantastic.
I remember the very thin demo records they sent in an envelope. You could actually roll them up! They were for giving you a short taste of what you could get. In 1968, Dad bought the “Eric Robinson’s World Of Music” box set and “Music For You” box set. They were high quality recordings. I really missed them and I have no idea what happened to them. About 5 years ago, I bought both sets off eBay in mint condition. There was a bonus record of film music which was my favourite. It has a recording of the theme from Romeo and Juliette on piano which is the best recording of it I’ve heard by far.
Oh yes flexidiscs! We have reviewed a number of them on the show!
@@Recordology
I just remembered that was the time we had the radiogram. I don’t know if there’s other names for them. They were the record players and radios built in together in a smart wooden cabinet. They had great speakers for what they cost. I was fascinated with the sliding door which was made of thin strips of wood with a cloth backing so it could roll round into the cabinet. I loved that radiogram and I’d love to get one some day.
Watching this while we are eating breakfast. What a great start of the day...thank you. It brought back so many memories. I would spend days looking at these catalogues in my teens. You are correct in the audience. My parents were in that age range. But for some reason, I was so turned on to the Big Band Era that I ate this up more than they did.
Another one I was a sucker for was the Longines Symphonette Society. Same idea with more detailed themes. High quality records AND they guaranteed them for life! All of these services are no longer around, but I can attest to the quality as my Longines and Readers box sets still sound the same...quiet and excellent fidelity.
I find it ironic that they gave a “good will” bonus when now these sets are at Goodwill!!!!
I was given a RD set of Handel's Messiah. Not the kind of music I'd usually purchase for myself but I was well impressed with the quality of the set. As you say, everything from the inner sleeves to the record itself.
I have many of them that I play on my Alabama Public Radio show (Getting Sentimental Over You: the program of big band memories). Weren't the original prices great? The first one I bought, in 1966, was 1965's The Great Band Era. $17.95 for mono, $19.95 for stereo! I have an old catalog with stamps too. Your date estimate is about right. Dave Clark. P.S., the year of each set is printed on the bottom right of each boxed set cover.
We have quite a few readers digest box sets in our vinyl library at the hospital radio station...I have a Bing Crosby Box set..Lovely condition,but not R D...The catalogue is a work of art in its own right and great mint condition for its age....Great to see..Ade
Hospital...radio station????
Very interesting. Is it a carrier current (electric wiring used as an AM transmitting antenna) system?
I've been in the broadcasting business for longer than I'd like to admit, and this is the first time I've heard of such a thing.
My parents used to buy those. I clearly remember that catalog. I had those stamps stuck all over my bedroom wall! 🤭
I saw two Readers Digest boxed sets just a few days ago in a local charity shop in Strood, Kent, England, both of which we had when I was a child -Festival of International Hits and A Night at the Opera. If I'd had a record player I would have bought them. Remember some of the tunes fairly well. Great tunes on those records.
My Aunt had all of these LP sets....she passed years ago....her house is gone....but I can still remember the music....
I picked up a big box of those things on 8-track (about 30 carts), back in the '80s. Not to make anyone cringe, but I bulk erased them, and used them as blanks (had a good 8-track deck in the car, and recording deck). You're right about RCA. They were all in the mid '70s RCA type cartridges with the rivets.
BTW; they used to sell cheap rebranded electronics as well. There was at lest one of those fold apart portable 8-tracks, your typical early '70s 8-track am/fm stereo, a mono am/fm portable cassette, and a variation on the "ranger" multi-band radio that was sold under about 50 different brands.
One time as an experiment, I covered the record tab holes on a pre-recorded cassette and recorded audio onto it.....I was surprised how bad the audio quality was!
I bought about 12 of theese box sets at a garage sale in 1998 and have been hooked ever since. My favorites are mood music for dining and mood music for listening and relaxation. It always feels like found treasure when I open a set for the first time and the pleasure programmer is in there with one of these pamphlets.
I see these all the time in the local charity stores. Though I get them in CD format, so I can vouch for the quality. However the compilations after about 2000 are best left untouched, with session artists recording most of the songs.
Nice, I love old catalogs. I have the Hawaiian box set but I think that's my only readers digest, the rest of my box sets like this are the Longinnes Symphonette ones.
lol
That catalogue is a real time piece , I don’t think I ever saw one. In the UK if you were on a mailing list you were sent 7” 33rpm Flexi discs with excepts from the latest box set. These box sets weren’t targeted at the youth market as they would have no appeal. A lot of the recordings were from RCA back catalogue easy listening ,classical and big band. They don’t command high prices today as you can pick them up here in charity shops for as little as £1. I tend to only buy the big band box sets as instrumental string versions of hit tunes is not really my thing. Much later box sets had rock and roll and hits by original artist . Readers Digest and Time Warner boxsets are of their time.
I recently came across a box full of these! New and sealed! Thank you for the video. These are a piece of history
I have 2 of those box sets that I bought because I heard a couple of those tunes on the @vwestlife channel. Good stuff for playing in the background at dinner. Each box has 10 albums.
I got some from my grandpa all county and classical they sound amazing
I still have "On Wings of Song," which came with this catalog. Sometime in the '90s, I sent in one of the postcards with selections from the stamps, just out of curiosity. They actually wrote back to me, saying that they were completely out of stock.
I have the Hawaiian box set really cool found it in the Mono edition for a $1.20 on E-Bay, now that's a bargain, Paul in Connecticut
Those box sets are great.
They just about give them away at the Goodwill stores.
I have a view of those record sets.
And I also got 2 of the catalogs I'm thinking of collecting all the ones they released
I inherited a box set labeled "Serenade for Lovers" after both my parents passed away, which is a Reader's Digest special. Most of the music and artists are from the Forties and Fifties era, though there is also some Big Band stuff as well. I grew up mainly during the Sixties and Seventies, but I've loved almost all musical genres both before and since, until about the Oughts (2000+), when most music IMHO went to hell. The only genre I absolutely refuse to listen to is Rap--nothing but noise as far as I'm concerned. I also have a collection of five cassettes I bought back in the late Sixties that features the Ray Coniff Singers. And I have another Reader's Digest collection that is all Christmas music--again, probably from the late Sixties or early Seventies.
Send a card in, see what happens! lol
Tempting....
They were like early mid 60s .My Stepfather had like 6 of them....
LOL I just drove past the old Readers Digest building next to the Saw Mill Parkway today!
Awesome! Are they still based in the city?
@@Recordology The building that used to be the headquarters (about 15 miles north of Manhattan) is now condominiums. I don't even know if they are still in business??
'In The Groove With The Kings Of Swing' 1969 It's Amazing and a Must. A very very good compilation.
I've listen this box when i was a kid, more, more and more! and now i'm a Professionnel jazz Trumpet Player then 45 years (all styles)...!
Thanks Readers Digests😀
It would be a good idea to offer the whole of this box on CZcams. I'm sure i'm not the only fan.
Thanks for your video Record-ologyPleasure😀😀 Joël