Rod Mckuen

The Unknown War was a landmark television documentary series about the Soviet struggle against, and ultimate victory over, the Nazi war machine. In 1977-78, Rod McKuen traveled to Russia to supervise the scripts and write the score for this groundbreaking series that captures both the gripping detail and the epic sweep of Hitler's brutal invasion and the four-year battles that followed.

The latest in our popular Songwriters series puts the spotlight on the late Rod McKuen. A born outsider, Rod McKuen was embraced by millions of fans who connected with the expressions of desire, nostalgia and self-acceptance found in his songs and poems. In the early 1960s, he began to visit France and gain entry into Parisian songwriting circles. By 1964 he was co-writing with a host of leading French chansonniers, most notably Jacques Brel, resulting in such international hits as 'If You Go Away' and 'Seasons In The Sun'.

Songs That Won The War: A Wing And A Prayer is a 1995 compilation CD released by LaserLight Digital. It focuses on music from World War II and the energy of the greatest generation. The project was originally produced by Rod McKuen for his Stanyan label.

In a career that stretched nearly half a century, Henry Mancini became synonymous with catchy, jazzy, romantic music for film and television soundtracks. This 2014 Classic Soundtrack Collection features 18 original Mancini soundtrack albums for the RCA, Epic and Columbia labels on nine discs plus rare bonus tracks, including a never-before-heard version of "Nothing to Lose" from Blake Edwards' 1968 comedy the Party performed by Julie Andrews. Taken together, the albums in this collection underline the enduring popularity of Henry Mancini and his unique ability to create movie music that pop audiences could also embrace. Albums Included are: The Pink Panther, the Return of the Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade, Hatari!, Oklahoma Crude, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? High Time, Experiment in Terror, Darling Lili, Gunn, Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?, Two for the Road, Arabesque, the Great Race, Me, Natalie, the Party &, Visions of Eight.

Something about the 1975 Loss Leader, I Didn’t Know They Still Made Records Like This, seems a little different… yet the same. Starting with the album cover, whose design reeks of some long-ignored graphics designer and photographer teaming up to hatch a surefire scheme to meet hot cover models. Then there’s the curious song selection. It’s always great to hear Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” but the album it came from was released five years prior, in 1970, while Randy Newman’s “Mama Told Me Not To Come” comes from his already ancient ’71 live album. Joni Mitchell’s “Carey” is from her 1971 LP, Blue, and Arlo Guthrie’s cover of “City Of New Orleans” was first issued in 1972. Now… these are all great songs, and considered ‘should-owns’ for any collection, but on the surface it looks like Warners didn’t have any new music to promote. Perhaps they were just pushing the back catalog, or maybe it’s as the cover suggests… they don’t make records like this anymore, and here are some of them again to remind you. The uncredited liner notes offer no reasoning, and are more historical than revelatory. So, I Didn’t Know They Still Made Records Like This ends up being an oddball entry in the ongoing series… one that wasn’t even advertised all that much (if at all) via inner sleeves, either. All the while stylistically seeming like an earlier edition in the series, thanks to the older material. Something I didn’t know (or just refused to remember) is that Leo Sayer’s career was kickstarted when The Who’s Roger Daltry specifically picked him to write songs for his debut solo album. Now you know who to blame.