Ann Sothern on I've Got a Secret 1962

[@asfanize]

I love Anns little chat with Betsy Palmer. Back then that sort of in and out of a hospital that quick was rare, now its nothing. I still think its sad that Miss Ann didn't make more appearances than what she did. She was one of the best!

[@CadillacL]

What a piece of music history.

[@progrocker9]

Nice to see the musicians all have a sense of humor at the end of this video.

[@douglasabdullah8162]

instaBlaster...

[@DandyDon1]

This was re-broadcast this morning on "Buzzr" Air Broadcast 13.2.

[@Sargebri]

The original Mellotron. Of course, as other people mentioned, this was four years before the Beatles made good use of it on "Strawberry Fields Forever". Of course, the Moody Blues, King Crimson and Yes would make good use of it.

[@asfanize]

this is really good. It looks as if the Chamberlin Music Maker was somewhat a precurser to the electronic keyboard. It's too bad that Miss Sothern didnt make more appearances on tlelevision tan what she did. she clearly enjoyed this particular one that she did.

[@tonydonato8523]

It's very true that the Musicians Union was freaking out over this device back them (just like the band comically did here at the end). It seems a bit silly in retrospect since Mellotrons and Chamberlins were eventually used by keyboardists in prog bands to expand their sonic palate, which was no threat at all to the big band types.

[@TheGent2]

I had no idea she was a musician.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

She performed with the Minneapolis Symphony at age 13 on piano and she one "best of the city" for the last 3 years of high school!! She was a prodigy!

[@pinstripedclips]

The first thing she whispers is ''This thing ain't never gonna work''.

[@tomitstube]

@pinstripedclips ~ funny, i cranked up the sound and that's exactly what she said. the host, the late great henry morgan seemed concerned about what she said the second time, unfortunately the applause drowned that one out.

[@michaelt.wardlespider2496]

She was so beautiful in the Maisie movies...

[@progrocker9]

7 years shy of "Court of the Crimson King"

[@stokepogue]

progrocker9 About 5 shy of Days of Future Past

[@alexwbarth]

First View!! This thing is amazing....too bad there are so few left

[@OFR]

You KNOW the musicians (and their Union) were hating this demonstration!

[@offthewallproductionsltd6326]

At 0:40 She whispers: "This thing's not gonna work!", just to make him nervous, then laughs. Then, she says something that can't be repeated in polite company.

[@tombstoneharrystudios584]

The Chamberlin was a remarkable instrument for its time, but it did suffer from a number of problems The first was that they were incredibly expensive and complex; they'd frequently break down. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Harry Chamberlin's business sense didn't match his inventing capacity. Harry Chamberlin preferred word of mouth advertising and he ended up eschewing distributorship. Chamberlin also preferred doing business directly with lounges, nightclubs and musicians who embraced big band music. The idea of it being used for more contemporary styles filled him with disgust However, the concept was expanded on by the British Mellotron company, who's superior product pretty much condemned the Chamberlin to obscurity. It also helped that one of the financial backers and developers, David Nixon, was a well-known celebrity, inventor, and magician. His love of technology, and his reach of millions, meant he easily advertised the device. He was also quite the amateur dancer, and on his show would happily join in with the pop stars of the time. Infact, Geoff Unwin, who supervised the recordings of the Mellotron's tapes, and demonstrated the device in countless trade shows, was actually asked to give John Lennon a few pro tips when the Beatle took delivery of his Mellotron.

[@robcoleman9676]

One thing that is in indisputable is that when it was working, the Chamerblin sounded much better than the Mellotron. The sounds were much higher fidelity, and recorded better. It doesn't have the muffled sound of the Mellotron (which I also love).

[@gareebee]

This instrument and it's later incarnations as the chamberlin M series were of nominal interest as they were so few and so expensive. later, an instrument inspired by it, the Mellotron sold much better and was indeed hated by the musician's union. They were bulky and unreliable and almost impossible to keep in tune. But, oh, that sound! Nothing like it. It knew it's heyday in the '70's with progressive rock acts. Nobody quite used it like the Moody Blues. They're actually making them again!

[@GaryLHurd1888]

the original garage band lol