Album Review:

Between roughly the late 1940s and the 1970s, there existed a sub-genre of musical shows among companies, both large and small, deemed industrial musicals. These were full-on staged musicals written and performed for company employees to talk about new products, learn sales techniques, and highlight new features. Afterward, the soundtracks - usually about 200-300 copies were given to attendees. Hamm’s ’65 Bursting with Freshness! is a super rare example of the industrial musical with a very surfy cover. It holds such 'classics' as “You’ve Got to Show the Merchandise to Make It Sell,” “Everything’s Going For Hamm’s,” and “The Young Adults.”

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The album begins with a three-part musical recap highlighting the best points of the Hamm's Brewing Company's history. 'The Young Adults' is a bouncy number showcasing the potential of the 'new young adult market' who have just begun to reach the drinking age. Both 'We've Got Everything Going for Hamm's and 'You Gotta Show the Merchandise' are both broadway-type productions singing the praises of Hamm's products. The second side is essentially variations on the same jingle done in varying styles. Nancy Wilson even makes an appearance on the two of the tracks.

Though the music may not be entirely surf or hot rod sounding, Hamm’s ’65 Bursting with Freshness! is one of my favorite albums I own. It even came with the original letter from Hamm’s president William C. Figge. Probably only a few hundred copies exist. There are no credits on the disc, but I’m pretty it has some of the singers who sang on the ‘Flinstones’ Theme.