Just did a hotel lobby trade for a record I’ve been tracking down for twenty-five years: Joe Hall’s “Bongo Beatin’ Beatnik” on Global Records. Good Lord, this thing is rare, I’ve only heard of two other copies surfacing in the last twenty-five years.
Some of you may know this record from its appearance on the wonderfully wild and weird Sin Alley compilation, way back when. The song itself is a crazy, primitive, pounding paean about the virtues of being a “Bongo Beatin’ Beatnik.” It’s such a great record.
The reason why I’ve been trying to track down an original copy for so many years is because Joe Hall was the guy who worked at Mosrite Guitars in Bakersfield and then formed his own spinoff guitar company, Hallmark Guitars, in nearby Arvin in 1965. And as many of you know, Hallmark made one of the weirdest guitars of all time, the Hallmark Swept-Wing, in 1966–67. Since I’m writing the Mosrite book, and this is one of those elusive bits of history that needs to be discussed, it felt good to get my hands on an original. Finally.
There’s something ethereal about acquiring an elusive disc you’ve been waiting for for so many years. There’s a bit of disbelief: There it is, in my hand. There’s a bit of shame: Couldn’t I have done something better with my life than this? There’s also a weird sensation knowing that the hunt is over—what will I hunt for next? Thanks, Neil, for the record. Vinyl dopamine is hitting me right now and it feels good!
