Hey, K-Tel! Wouldn't it be great if....

You may have by now heard the news: Columbia House is coming back in 2016. Yes, the company that helped fill out my record collection (and later my cd collection) is getting back into the vinyl business. I'm sure they won't have the same unbelievable vinyl offers like they had in the 70s and 80s. Remember those offers? 13 albums for $1.00!

But the fact that they are going to be back selling vinyl is great news. And it got me thinking: if Columbia House can make a vinyl comeback, what about K-Tel?

For those of you wondering, K-Tel is still around; they haven't gone anywhere. They had some financial troubles in the late 90s for sure, but they still have a nice catalog of music, numbering over 6,000 tunes. In fact, they still license that music for all sorts of projects--from movies to tv and commercials. They have tunes from Chuck Berry and Etta James. B.J. Thomas and Leslie Gore. The Buckinghams and Tina Turner. I am sure they have many of the tunes that filled their wonderful albums of the 70s and 80s.

Wouldn't it be great if K-Tel started putting those songs back on vinyl? Not to recreate past albums, but assemble new titles for not only the generation who grew up on those albums but also the younger set discovering vinyl once again. These albums could be of higher quality--and less songs--but they could also recapture the look and nostalgia of those eclectic records hawked on tv and radio throughout the 70s and 80s.

Here's a great thought experiment: If you could put together the best of K-Tel in one limited edition collector's vinyl, what would you include?

Here's my choice: K-Tel presents Time Machine. 14 Original Hits, Original Stars.

A K-Tel concept album.

Side 1:

"Sky High" by Jigsaw
"Please Come to Boston" Dave Loggins
"Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel
"Walking in Rhythm" by the Blackbyrds
"Chevy Van" by Sammy Johns
"Living Next Door to Alice" by Smokie
"Gimme Just a Little More Time" by Chairman of the Board

Side 2:

"Sweet City Woman" by Stampeders
"I'm Not in Love" 10cc
"Jackie Blue" by Ozark Mountain Daredevils
"Rings" by Lobo
"Please Don't Go" by K.C. and the Sunshine Band
"Sylvia's Mother" by Dr. Hook
"Here Comes the Night" by Nick Gilder

Now that would be a great album!

K-Tel, are you listening?