Whatever Happened to Martini Music?

Cocktail Hour Records Are Not Dead.

Ford’s Gin and Ford’s Martini Music.

“The orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music.”—The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

About six months ago, I was browsing through the stacks at Almost Ready Records, my local vinyl shop, when I happened upon an oddity. The disc was called “George Dickel Presents Music to Party By.” It boasted cuts by a disparate group of artists, including Roger Miller, Chet Atkins, Carol Channing, Pete Fountain and Della Reese.

On the back it ordered, “Sing a song of Dickel!” and advised, “Spin this lively record to brighten your party while you treat your friends to the true Tennessee taste of George Dickel.”