POLITICAL SATIRE COMEDY MUSICAL SHOWS 1957-68 WashDC HEXAGON CLUB rare run 8 LPs

$

75

HEXAGON CLUB rare run of 8 LPs 1957-68 POLITICAL SATIRE MUSICAL SHOWS Wash DC
PRIVATE PRESSING INSIDER DEMO SET PRINCETON TOM LEHRER
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There are many detailed photographs below, following the lengthy text description.

Offered here is a remarkable run of 8 different 12" 33rpm vinyl LP record albums of the musical revue shows put on for charities by The Hexagon Club -- Washington D.C.'s long-running and only original satirical political musical comedy revue troupe.

The group is still active today and will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2015.

Hexagon shows were a montage of original Club-member-written satire about politics, life in Washington, D.C. in general, general topical humor, and the occasional hilarious cover of a particularly bawdy song from a Broadway musical ("I Can Only Be Got On A Yacht" for example). See the complete list of songs below to get a feel for it.

All of the albums are private pressings. The set spans the years 1957 through 1968
-- a run that would be extremely difficult to duplicate. Try to find any of these albums on the web -- even brief mentions of the shows, let alone the albums, are rare. There are no hits in Popsike, the website that tracks online sales of rare albums.

The case is strong for these originating from an "insider" Hexagon Club source.
A number of the albums are in blank generic cardboard sleeves with handwritten annotations marking them as "demo copies" and also feature ink rubber stamps on sleeves and record labels that read "THE HEXAGON CLUB". One of the sleeves has a pasted back label but no front label, suggesting it was pre-production. One of the record labels has multiple spelling errors including the title of the show.

Here is a list of the albums and the Washington, D.C. area charities the shows benefited:

1957 Slice of Life (American Cancer Society)
1960 Count Me In (DC Society for Crippled Children)
1963 On the House (Children’s Hearing & Speech Center)
1964 A Dash of Cinema (Hillcrest Children’s Center)
1965 Star Spangled Banter (Children’s Hospital)
1966 Caught in the Act (Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf)
1967 Equal Time (Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf)
1968 Just the Ticket (Washington Heart Association)

The first show the Hexagon Club did was in 1956 and was titled "Meet The Beep".
I do not know if there was an album pressed for that show.

If there was not, the 1957 album in this set would be the group's first album.

It is also worth noting that the Friends of Hexagon fundraising arm of the club recently released a "Best of Hexagon 1955-2012" CD with "audio recordings of the most popular Hexagon Show numbers from the past 58 years." However, if you check the track list for that CD, only one of the songs predates 1976 -- it being from 1967.

In other words, it contains no songs whatsoever from the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, and no political satire material from the Johnson administration.

The set I am offering here does contain this material.

An unprecedented opportunity to acquire an album set worthy of even the most advanced institutional or private collection of 20th-century satirical and political humor, original cast musical albums, or Washington, D.C. theatre memorabilia.

Condition: All records are in excellent condition, ranging from near mint to lightly played. None of them were played to death or are heavily scratched. Jackets are soiled and have edge flaws to various degrees. Considering the rarity and near-certain insider status of this set, I'd say this set is certainly in fortunately well-preserved condition.

ABOUT THE HEXAGON CLUB

In November 1955, a group of young Washingtonians and a former member of the famed all-male Princeton Triangle Club decided to put on a show devoted to "pure fun and nonsense." They called the new group Hexagon -- double the Triangle symbol -- to represent the inclusion of women.

Led by Charles Ilsley, the group -- including iconic satirist Tom Lehrer -- wrote songs and parodies for their first show, "Meet the Beep." Its format was based on the popular NBC Sunday night radio show at the time, Monitor. The show ran for five performances at the Holton-Arms School in the spring of 1956.

"Meet The Beep" was a financial success and Hexagon shows became an annual tradition of presenting a wacky, satirical show to help a select Washington-area charity.

Over the years Hexagon shows have raised well over $3 million for more than 40 major non-profits and its membership has grown to more than 400.

ABOUT THE TOM LEHRER CONNECTION

It is interesting to note that Tom Lehrer was involved with Hexagon at the start. The Friends of Hexagon site has an article stating that he was one of the songwriters for the 1956 show, and was actually in the Army at the time. It also states that after opening night he apologized for not doing more, saying, "I didn't think it would HAPPEN."

There are a number of Tom Lehrer fan sites (including the website of radio legend Dr. Demento) which contain a great deal of detailed information about his songs and albums containing his songs. I scoured them and could not find any mention at all of his songwriting for the first Hexagon show, let alone a discography entry for a record made of that show.

As I said above, I don't know if that 1956 album exists. I suspect that it doesn't because if it did a Tom Lehrer fan would have caught wind of it by now.

In light of the fact that Mr. Lehrer regretted not contributing more songs to the 1956 show, I wonder if the 1957 show album -- which is included in the set I am selling here -- contains any of his songs. I don't know because that album does not list songwriter credits.

Tom Lehrer was a regular contributor to the famous NBC television satirical news comedy program "That Was the Week That Was" which ran from January 1964 to May 1965 -- and he released an album in 1965 of his songs from the show.

It is interesting to note that Nancy Ames sang the show's theme song
-- Nancy Ames was also a member of the Hexagon Club.

ABOUT NANCY AMES

This set of Hexagon Club albums is notable for including songs written by and performed by Nancy Ames before she came into the public eye singing the theme to "That Was The Week That Was" in 1964-1965.

The 1960 show album has two of these songs -- "How To Do The Junkanoo" and "Just Wonderin'."

Nancy Ames hit the lower reaches of the music charts in 1966 with two of her parody songs: "He Wore the Green Beret" and "Cry Softly." Of Panamanian descent (born Nancy Alfaro), she also released two Latin-themed albums that were re-released in the new millennium.

A COMPLETE LIST OF THE SONGS ON THESE ALBUMS

SLICE OF LIFE
The Hexagon Club of Washington, D.C.
1957 / GB-703

SIDE 1

On The Cover
The Girl On The Capitol Dome
Incognito
Elegy To A Stanley Steamer
Smith Brothers
Love Is Like Peppermint Candy
The International Geophysical Mambo
Let's Keep In Touch
Aces High

SIDE 2

2nd Act Overture / Anytime
I Can Only Be Got On A Yacht
Jungle Johnny
Calypso
Love Must Go On In The Usual Way
The World In Around 80 Seconds / "Doll Baby"
I've Forgotten Everything But You
All About Love
Finale / Reprise: Love Is Like Peppermint Candy

COUNT ME IN
The Hexagon Club of Washington, D.C.
1960 / L8OP-4326/7

SIDE 1

You're In -- For A Big Evening
Fastened In
We're All In A Tizzy On Embassy Row
Say No
A Madrigal for Middleburg
Miss International Incident
Gee, It's Great To Be Back
Someday
I Rue
How To Do The Junkanoo

SIDE 2

The Debutantes' Lament
I Answered The Call
Row, Row, Row
A Man's Game
Just Wonderin'
Window Shopping
C-O-U-N-T M-E I-N

ON THE HOUSE
The Hexagon Club of Washington, D.C.
1963 / RINC-1353

SIDE 1

Big Time, Minnesota
If I Were Elected
Welcome To Washington
Lament Of The Single Girl
The Blue Blood Kennedy Ball
Waiting For A Bus
What Y'all Need
The Cocktail Party

SIDE 2

Thirty-Six, Twenty-Three, Thirty-Six -- Rock
Crisis On D-2
Henpecked
Tarry At The Tavern
Labor Versus State
Overheard At The House Cafeteria
The Income Tax Lament
On The House

A DASH OF CINEMA
The Hexagon Club of Washington, D.C.
1964

SIDE 1

Overture
A Dash Of Cinema
Lonely Leo
See Here Mark Twain
The Cave Ballet
Film Cutter Lament
East Berlin
Hedda, Louella and Graham
Numbah 2
Where Have They Gone To?

SIDE 2

On A Wide, Wide Screen
Nothing False
Instant Safari
The Georgetown Story
You Deserve An Academy Award
Holiday For Horrors
After The Show

STAR SPANGLED BANTER
The Hexagon Club of Washington, D.C.
1965 / Associated Transcriptions Inc, Washington, D.C. MC-1001

SIDE 1

Opener
Caucus Call -- Party Girl
Russian Dance
Oriental Dance
Love Duet
Drew
Real Religion
Vassa
Counterencouragency
Land Of Love

SIDE 2

Kicks
The Minuet
The Giraffe
Mount Vernon
Great Society
Malted Milk
Vegetable Lunch
Love Smiled Back
Harrie's Song
Waltz & Finale

CAUGHT IN THE ACT
The Hexagon Club of Washington, D.C.
1966 / Tri Con Productions RINC 2234

* listed on jacket but not on record label

SIDE 1

Overture
Caught In The Act
Status
Under The Spreading Lyndon Tree
Whatever Happened To What's His Name?*
Old Fashioned Dancin'
Should I Make A Fuss?*
Working For The Poor
Say Something Lovely To Me And Come Live With Me
What I Want From You
The Kick

SIDE 2

Opening -- Carousel Music
Backyard Flamenco
Any New Place In Town
Concrete Castle
Charlie de Gaulle
We Want To Protest
Hexagon Wish
Caught In The Act

EQUAL TIME
The Hexagon Club of Washington, D.C.
1967 / Tri Con Productions R12487
(Transclucent Yellow Vinyl)

SIDE 1

New York Times, I Love You
Equal Time
That Kind Of Girl
We're Counting On YOO HOO
Parade Of Clowns
Looking For A Home
April Fool
20th Century Fox
The Kick Chorus Beautification

SIDE 2

Mistrial By Jury
Under The Sign Of Peoples Drug
Quiet Things
Keep The Faith Baby
Parting Song
Finale -- Equal Time

JUST THE TICKET
The Hexagon Club of Washington, D.C.
1968 / Edgewood Recording Studios CSM-325

SIDE 1

Just The Ticket
Virginia, Dare!
Whatever Happened To Stephen Foster?
Sail On!
20th Century Drawing Room
You Broke My Rose-Colored Glasses

SIDE 2

How Wonderful To See You, Darling!
Military-Industrial Complex Blues
Little Buttercup, Revisited
Half A Chance
La Triviata
Top Of The Evening

There is currently up on eBay a copy of the 1969 Hexagon show album (item 321543839894). I do not have anything to do with that listing -- it did not originate with the set I am selling. I only mention it because it dovetails nicely with my set, which ends with the 1968 album.

All photographs are of actual item.

Full refunds cheerfully given for any item that I have misdescribed.