My long appreciation for UFO-related audio recordings of all manner reached a peak in the 1970s, when radio and TV programs featuring guests knowledgeable on the subject seemed commonplace in response to heightened public interest.
If you're old enough to remember LP record albums (I don't believe I'm actually writing those words), you may have noticed the occasional release of UFO records in the sixties, such as Frank Edwards' "Flying Saucers -- Serious Business" (taking advantage of his best-selling book) on the prestigious RCA label. Far less known, but perhaps far more important was 1967's "The UFOs" narrated by a professional astronomer who (gadzooks!) believed UFOs could be real.
Also in the mix as sixties blended into seventies were albums from radio's Long John Nebel (which contained portions of his programs going back to the 1950s) and Hal Starr, who shared some of his own radio shows related to UFOs. Broadcaster Bob B. Blue offered his own efforts in a 1974 LP with the title, "Are UFOs a Reality?" Blue's production presented some great audio and guests, but his status as relatively unknown across the country kept his album mostly hidden from a receptive audience.
However, while the 1970s would also witness the release of a double-LP produced pretty much on behalf of the Center for UFO Studies, before that came about a single LP entitled, "UFOs: The Credibility Factor," produced by Lee Speigel and released by CBS Records on the Columbia label in conjunction with eyewitness testimony and authoritative opinion in 1975, much of it was presented by people with familiar names. (See accompanying visuals listing contents.) If you happened to be watching television in the fifties, you would easily recognize the identity of the LP's narrator, John Newland, host of "One Step Beyond," whose familiar voice only enhanced the LP's quality.
Speigel's production, offered by a major record label, surely created a "sound" influence in people's attitude about UFOs, and we thank him for the effort.
