Hip-Pocket Recordings

I received an interesting package in the post the other night. In the package there was roughly 20 colored envelopes that enclosed many choice sounds from the 67-68 time frame Bobby & James Purify, The Seeds, The Syndicate of Sound, etc.

The envelopes contained Hip-Pocket Records that were a product from Philco-Ford, that had a place in the market from 1967-68. Above is an image of the Hip-Pocket packaging that I borrowed from WFMU.

Here is a discography for the Hip-Pocket catalog:

Number	Artist	Title
HP-1	Tommy James & the Shondells	Mirage / I Think We're Alone Now
HP-2	Tommy James & the Shondells	Hanky Panky / Gettin' Together
HP-3	Sam The Sham	Ju Ju Hand / Wooly Bully
HP-4	Mitch Ryder	Jenny Take a Ride / Sock It To Me Baby
HP-5	Neil Diamond	Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon / Cherry Cherry
HP-6	McCoys	Fever / Hang on Sloopy
HP-7	Happenings	Go Away Little Girl / See You in September
HP-8	Sonny & Cher	I Got You Babe / The Beat Goes On
HP-9	Doors	Light My Fire / Break on Through
HP-10	Five Americans	Western Union / Sounds of Love
HP-11	Wilson Pickett	Land of 1000 Dances / Midnight Hour
HP-12	Percy Sledge	When A Man Loves A Woman / Baby Help Me
HP-13	Otis Redding	Shake / Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa
HP-14	Buckinghams	Kind of a Drag / Lawdy Miss Clawdy
HP-15	Arthur Conley	Sweet Soul Music / You Don't Have To See me
HP-16	Van Morrison	Brown-Eyed Girl / Midnight Special
HP-17	Neil Diamond	You Got To Me / Solitary Man
HP-18	Young Rascals	A Girl Like You / I've Been Lonely Too Long
HP-19	Spanky And Our Gang	Making Every Minute Count / Bird Avenue
HP-20	Keith	98.6 / Ain't Gonna Lie
HP-21	Lesley Gore	You Don't Own Me / That's the Way the Boys Are
HP-22	Jay and The Techniques	Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie / Loving For Money
HP-23	The Fallen Angels	Room At The Top / Most Children Do
HP-24	Aretha Franklin	Respect / Soul Serenade
HP-25	John Fred and his Playboy Band	Judy in Disguise / No Letter Today
HP-26	The Seeds	Pushin' Too Hard / Can't Seem To Make You Mine
HP-27	Box Tops	The Letter / Happy Times
HP-28	James and Bobby Purify	I'm Your Puppet / Goodness Gracious
HP-29	Syndicate of Sound	Little Girl / Rumors
HP-30	Shirelles	Soldier Boy / My Heart Belongs To You
HP-31	Etta James	Tell Mama / Security
HP-32	The Dells	There Is / Show Me
HP-33	Bo Diddley	I'm A Man / Song of Bo Diddley
HP-34	Chuck Berry	Maybelline / Roll Over Beetoven
HP-35	Country Joe and The Fish	Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine / Masked Marauder
HP-36	Joan Baez	There But For Fortune / Pack Up Your Sorrows
HP-37	Rooftop Singers	Walk Right In / Tom Cat
HP-38	Brenton Wood	Gimme Little Sign / Oogum Boogum
HP-39	Fantastic Johnny "C"	Boogaloo Down Broadway / Got What You Need
HP-40	Brenda and the Tabulations	Dry Your Eyes / When You're Gone
HP-41	Isley Brothers	Twist And Shout

The majority of my Hip-pockets are unopened, but there are a couple that have the seals broken. I plan to give these a spin on the 1200s tonight.


The discs themselves look like mini records, but are made of a flexible, bendable material, not unlike some of the sound sheets that would appear in magazines in the 60s or 70s. They spin at 45 RPM, but they are so small in diameter that it requires the use of a non returning tone arm to play them. Above is a picture of the mini turntable that was available to play these little records.

Apparently, these records were only on offer at your local Ford Dealer or a Woolworth's outlet. The suggested retail price was $.69.

Here is the marketing speak that appears on many of the envelopes:

Buy the hits you missed

25 to 50 hip pocket records can be carried in pocket or purse

Hip pocket records can be mailed with greeting cards as a gift

They will outlast a regular 45

Drop them or sit on them...they are almost indestructible

Take them to parties or to the beach or picnic...they are the most portable form of music

Don't let the small size fool you...the sound is amazingly big

Start your collection of hip pocket records today.

I wonder if FOMOCO ever offered the player as a dealer installed option. My 66 Mustang with an under dash record playing unit would be way cool.