Military Recruitment

The Falconaires

Whoa, the military-industrial complex made and gave away thousands of records? Wasn't that a diversion of precious strategic oil reserves? Perhaps, but today, some military-recruitment records are coveted sources of "rare grooves" and devastating breakbeats. Sure, many others are hopelessly dated and square, but the inadvertantly hip ones are well worth the digging. "Recruitment" refers to their purpose of luring civilians, presumably those with musical ability, into joining up.

Recruitment records tell a story about the diversity of the U.S. service branches. Each of the Armed Forces has several subdivisions, and then there's NORAD, which lets Canadians share in the fun. The different groups and people within them made many different sounds. Many of the records tried obviously to appeal to the hip, even if just one funky tune was snuck on at the end. Also there are many records about military experience, particularly the war in Vietnam, but they are not military products.

Inter-service rivalries are commonplace, so why not for recordings? The Navy wins hands down for their group Port Authority, widely considered the best funk act. The Falconaires come in a close second, and NORAD gets high marks for charm and talent on records in unusual styles, such as their Christmas record. Mod brass is nearly always the chief featured sound, and a few records feature very capable singers. Finally, there are the less subtle recruitment tools (chiefly from the Army) that discuss or provide actual sounds of military life. Marine records rarely stray beyond the predictable patriotic.

Buying: Of all "promotional use only" records, these are among the least commercial (except for the price of signing up). They do turn up near military bases and sometimes elsewhere.