K SPECIAL VA - K-tells 34, Pop Disco, 46 Original Hits, 46 Original Stars (2025 Remastered Edition) (2CD) (1976)

K SPECIAL 

PLEASE THANK K for this wonderful compilation

VA - K-tells 34, Pop Disco, 46 Original Hits, 46 Original Stars (2025 Remastered Edition) (2CD) (1976)

K-tel, Ronco, and Arcade Records were all companies known for selling compilation albums and other products through various channels, including television advertising and direct mail.

K-tel, founded in 1962, is the original compilation company, selling over half a billion records worldwide. Ronco was known for promoting products like the Superstars music collection through television commercials and direct mail. Arcade Records was another company that focused on selling music through various channels.

Here's a more detailed look at each company:

K-tel:

K-tel's main focus was on producing and selling compilation albums, featuring popular music hits from various genres. They also expanded into selling other products like video games, toys, and kitchen appliances. K-tel is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and has subsidiaries in the US and UK.

Ronco:

Ronco was known for its distinctive television commercials, often featuring unusual or outlandish products. One of their most famous products was the Superstars music collection, which included a box set of records and a matching pair of records.

Arcade Records:

Arcade Records was another company that focused on selling music through direct mail and other channels. They offered a wide variety of albums, often featuring compilation albums or unique music selections.

Like many who grew up in the 70's and 80's, K-tel, Ronco and Arcade compilation albums were very much a staple in my record collection. 20 hit tracks for a little more than the cost of a couple of singles, they always seemed like great value for a little pocket money. Many hit the number 1 spot in the UK charts, often completely outselling major name artists.

For instance: 20 Dynamic Hits is a compilation album released on vinyl by K-tel in 1972. It reached number 1 in the UK and was the first album put together specifically for telemarketing in that country. At a time when various artists' compilations were eligible for inclusion on the UK's Official Album Chart, this was the biggest selling album of 1972.

The company built the business of releasing compilation albums that combined material from a number of popular artists onto a single theme album using the tag line "20 Original Hits! 20 Original Stars!". The company negotiated directly with artists and labels for the rights to reproduce their original recordings, in the process also securing a long-term asset through adding those recordings to their catalogue.

Canadian Philip Kives began K-tel in the 1960's, and his biggest selling product was the Miracle Brush, which sold 28 million in the late 1960's. In 1966, K-tel released its first compilation album, 25 Country Hits. It quickly sold out and prompted the follow-up, 25 Polka Greats. This one sold 1.5 million copies in the United States alone. The hits kept coming and included the Super Hits series, the Dynamic Hits series and the Number One Hits series. K-tel assembled the greatest hits from the latest, greatest artists in one single package. There were even thematic compilations like Goofy Greats, Super Bad, Super Bad Is Back, Souled Out, Summer Cruisin’ and a 1950's look-back, Rock ’n’ Roll Show. K-tel grew exponentially in the 1970's and by the early 1980's, the company had sold more than half a billion albums worldwide.

These albums for me, as I'm sure for others, hold very dear memories, and for many were the very first albums they ever bought.

I decided to compile many of these albums from scratch using the very latest and highest quality CD digital remasters with many tracks mastered from the original master tapes (rather than ripping from the original vinyl), as these classic compilation albums from K-tel, Ronco, Arcade, etc. were sadly badly mastered with poor sound quality along with many tracks being severely edited due to vinyl time constraints in order to squeeze on as many tracks per side as possible.

I've made absolutely sure through exhaustive and extensive research to include all the original complete 7" 45 single versions (which were originally used on the albums, but cut short), from my own extensive collection, so as to make these compilations completely authentic and true to the originals, along with the best sounding audio quality possible. I've also spent a considerable amount of time fine tuning, editing and adjusting the volume levels to be consistent across each album.

What makes these albums most interesting is that each one contains, even to this day, a few extremely rare, obscure and hard to find tracks. Not one of these compilation albums has ever been officially released on CD.

Hope they bring back a lot of happy memories.

Pop Disco: 46 Original Hits - 46 Original Stars (K-tel TN 1101 - TN 1121 - TN 1201 - TG 153 NLD) (2025 Remastered Edition) (2CD) (1976)

K-tells part 34 of this ongoing series.

Pop Music, Disco Mania, Pop Parade and Disco Express were all released by K-tel in the Netherlands in 1975/1976.

The covers all featured a similar colour scheme using a set of bright primary colours; red, yellow and blue, giving them a very consistent look, making them quite different and distinctive from other K-tel releases.

For this 2025 remaster, I have selected the 46 very best English language tracks from all four releases for a special 2CD set.

CD1 comprises 23 of the very best song selections with a running time of 77:12 CD length.

CD2 comprises 23 of the very best song selections with a running time of 79:03 CD length.

All 33 previous posts of the K-tells series can be found here:

http://butterboycompilations.blogspot.com/search/label/K-tells

K

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Track lists

CD1

1 Sweet - Fox on the Run (Original 1975 7" Single Version) 3:22

2 Limousine - Seventy-Five 3:37

3 Roxy Music - Love Is the Drug 4:09

4 Smokie - I'll Meet You at Midnight 3:16

5 Donna Summer - Love to Love You Baby (Original 1975 7" Single Edit) 3:23

6 KC and the Sunshine Band - (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty 3:05

7 Shirley & Company - Shame, Shame, Shame (Original 1975 7" Single Version) 3:47

8 Silver Convention - No, No, Joe (Original 1976 7" Single Version) 4:04

9 Jim Gilstrap - Swing Your Daddy 2:53

10 The Bellamy Brothers - Let Your Love Flow (Original 1976 7" Single Version) 3:14

11 Sutherland Brothers & Quiver - Arms of Mary 2:38

12 Liverpool Express - You Are My Love 3:09

13 Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle (Original 1975 7" Single Version) 3:31

14 Barry White - What Am I Gonna Do with You 3:36

15 Moments & Whatnauts - Girls (Original 1975 7" Single Version) 3:10

16 Johnnie Taylor - Disco Lady 4:27

17 Guys 'n' Dolls - There's a Whole Lot of Loving 3:14

18 Brotherhood of Man - Save Your Kisses for Me 3:03

19 Teach-In - Ding-a-dong 2:27

20 ABBA - S.O.S. 3:23

21 Bay City Rollers - I Only Want to Be with You 3:38

22 The Rubettes - Foe-Dee-Oh-Dee 3:02

23 Sailor - Girls, Girls, Girls 3:03

CD2

1 Silver Convention - Get Up and Boogie (Original 1976 7" Single Version) 4:00

2 Donna Summer - Try Me, I Know We Can Make It (Original 1976 7" Single Edit) 4:17

3 Tina Charles - Love Me Like a Lover 2:49

4 Shirley & Company - Disco Shirley 3:17

5 The Rubettes - I Can Do It 3:19

6 Sailor - A Glass of Champagne 2:42

7 Bryan Ferry - Let's Stick Together 2:59

8 Sugarloaf - Don't Call Us, We'll Call You 3:22

9 Hot Chocolate - Heaven Is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac (Original 1976 7" Single Edit) 3:53

10 Catapult - Seven Eleven 3:23

11 Shabby Tiger - Slow Down 3:25

12 The Four Seasons - Silver Star (Original 1976 7" Single Edit) 4:02

13 Harpo - Horoscope 3:15

14 David Dundas - Jeans On 3:17

15 The Trammps - Disco Party (Dance People Dance) (Original 1976 7" Single Edit) 3:48

16 Ohio Players - Fire (Original 1974 7" Single Version) 3:22

17 Dooley Silverspoon - Bump Me Baby, Pt. 1 (Original 1975 7" Single Version) 2:32

18 The Manhattans - Kiss and Say Goodbye (Original 1976 7" Single Edit) 3:32

19 Penny McLean - 1-2-3-4... Fire! (Original 1976 7" Single Version) 3:30

20 The Ritchie Family - The Best Disco in Town (Original 1976 7" Single Edit) 3:13

21 Silver Convention - Always Another Girl 3:59

22 Cunningham - Norma Jean Wants to Be a Movie Star 3:38

23 Boney M. - Daddy Cool (Original 1976 7" Single Version) 3:28

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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