[torvald]

i've got this nifty album and was wondering (with the diverse range of
ages here) if anyone has any personal experience seeing hulda --- or
ever attended the fire room at "the luxurious summit club". where was
the summit club? does it have any relation in the slightest (investor,
owner, etc.) to THE summit?

just curious... i love how the two listening gaze in rapture at the distant hulda.



some of the text reads:

"hulda was born in reyjavik, iceland.... a lady of unusual charm that easily
captures an audience in a web of music as she smiles gently and strums
the guitar.

...here she has recreated the sounds heard live nightly at the summit. when
we first discussed making the album the greatest problem was how to get the
feeling of hulda's moods, personality and voice quality on record. could we
duplicate her ability to tell a story of joy and sorrow the way she does nightly
in the club?

after long hours of recording the songs, arranged by jim hintikka... we believe
it is all here under this cover photograph taken one evening as hulda sang in
the fire room of the luxurious summit club in downtown houston.

recorded october 14, 1968 at jones studio-houston"

she sings in spanish, english, french and norwegian.

This post has been edited by torvald: Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 11:13 PM

[editor]

Just when I think HAIF can't get any weirder...

[Subdude]

Holy moley! Dress her in a swan and she could be our own little Bjork!

It mentions the Summit Club was downtown, so probably no relation to the old Summit on 59.

[musicman]

 Subdude, on Sunday, May 7th, 2006 @ 8:38am, said:

Holy moley! Dress her in a swan and she could be our own little Bjork!

It mentions the Summit Club was downtown, so probably no relation to the old Summit on 59.

Went to breakfast with my parents this morning and I asked my dad. He said that it may have been the club on the 1st floor of 2016 Main. He said in the 60's it was the place to be, etc. My mom said that she knew the owner of the 2016 place in the early 70's and she's pretty sure then it wasn't the Summit club but something else by then.

This post has been edited by musicman: Sunday, May 7, 2006 at 9:45 AM

[torvald]

 Subdude, on Sunday, May 7th, 2006 @ 8:38am, said:

Holy moley! Dress her in a swan and she could be our own little Bjork!

It mentions the Summit Club was downtown, so probably no relation to the old Summit on 59.

since i'm not sure why the summit (on 59) was called the summit,
i didn't know if it had the same name due to a common investor,
houston factoid, etc.

 musicman, on Sunday, May 7th, 2006 @ 9:45am, said:

Went to breakfast with my parents this morning and I asked my dad.

wow -- thanks for asking him. i googled the record, hulda of iceland,
jim hintikka... and found nothing. the lack of hulda's last name doesn't
help. i love old postcards and stories concerning the old nightclubs
and hotel entertainment downtown --- and thought there was a chance
of finding some first hand stories here.

[SpaceAge]

In 1969, The Summit Club was located at 1010 Jefferson in the Houston Bank & Trust Building. The directory shows it in a tower above the 12th floor.

The 2016 Main listing shows their club was called Club 26 and listed again as 2016 Main Club. Both of these have the same telephone number. (KIKK FM radio was also at 2016 Main.)

A quick scan of other 1969 building listings shows more Houston clubs:

Cork Club Central National Bank 2100 Travis 12th floor

Criterion Club Fannin Bank Building 1020 Holcombe Blvd. 16th floor

Ramada Club First City National Bank 1021 Main 29th floor

Houston Club Gulf Building 712 Main 3rd floor

Petroleum Club of Houston Humble Building 800 Bell 43rd floor (as listed?)

Toppers Steak House Interstate Building 3400 Montrose Blvd. 9th floor

M&M 100 Club M&M Building 1 Main Street 3rd floor

Clemmies Club Oil & Gas Building 706 Lamar 7th floor

Tejas Club Petroleum Building 1314 Texas Avenue 21st floor

Penthouse Club & Bill Bennett Restaurant St. Joseph Professional Bldg. 2000 Crawford 18th floor

[musicman]

Good post...where did you find this info?

This post has been edited by musicman: Monday, May 8, 2006 at 5:25 AM

[torvald]

 SpaceAge, on Monday, May 8th, 2006 @ 2:25am, said:

In 1969, The Summit Club was located at 1010 Jefferson in the Houston Bank & Trust Building. The directory shows it in a tower above the 12th floor.

awesome info --- thank you. every time i go to an estate sale i look
for an old houston business directory or phone book around this time
period. although folks say they are a occasional find, i still have had
no luck. thanks again, spaceage!

"summit club" houston came up with nothing on google. with the address
one additional thing has --- the petroleum accountants society of houston
website states: "For a very brief period in 1970 meetings were held at
the Summit Club located at 1010 Jefferson St. in the downtown area."

This post has been edited by torvald: Monday, May 8, 2006 at 7:46 AM

[dbigtex56]

torvald, what a great find!

Remember when David Adickes' sculpture of the musician at the Lyric Center was wired for sound?

I have this gut feeling that Hulda should be revived as the voice of Big Head On Main Street. Modern passersby could once again be "captured in her web of music" (to be consumed later, one presumes?) as she sums up, in Norwegian, all the joy and sorrow of drive-through banking.

Does it give a listing of her vocal selections? Any way an mp3 could be posted?

[torvald]

 dbigtex56, on Wednesday, May 10th, 2006 @ 3:19am, said:

torvald, what a great find!

Remember when David Adickes' sculpture of the musician at the Lyric Center was wired for sound?

I have this gut feeling that Hulda should be revived as the voice of Big Head On Main Street. Modern passersby could once again be "captured in her web of music" (to be consumed later, one presumes?) as she sums up, in Norwegian, all the joy and sorrow of drive-through banking.

Does it give a listing of her vocal selections? Any way an mp3 could be posted?

i was thinking the same! she could/should have been the big head
but her immaculate helmet of peroxide locks may have been too
grand --- yet so texas.

i will try to see if i can get some mp3s up. although i hope the accontants
only staying for brief period at the summit club was not due to her playing...

play list:

lili marlene (norwegian/english)
tiny bubbles (yes!)
yellow bird
'a sprengisandi (riding in the desert/ icelandic folk song)
somewhere my love
la vie en rose (french)
malaguena salerosa (spanish)
dominique
geng eg fram a gnypur (view from the mountain/icelandic folk song)
seemann (?)
the happy wanderer (english/icelandic)
edelweiss

This post has been edited by torvald: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at 9:10 AM

[torvald]

 dbigtex56, on Wednesday, May 10th, 2006 @ 3:19am, said:

Does it give a listing of her vocal selections? Any way an mp3 could be posted?

i am still in the process of moving, so after that it's hulda unplugged on HAIF.

happily, i just got someone to promise a quality recording and hosting...
this is what i enjoy about HAIF --- i never would have thought to have that
done and hulda may get some airtime (at least with us) that she wouldn't
get in 2006.

[dbigtex56]

"i was thinking the same! she could/should have been the big head
but her immaculate helmet of peroxide locks may have been too
grand --- yet so texas.

ah, Hulda's poor head has been through enough already. Notice how it's been joined, Frankensteinesquely (if that's a word) to the body of what one presumes is a younger, slimmer girl? And yet she continues to smile and bravely grip her big-ass guitar (which also looks superimposed, to me).

If I'm not mistaken, 'a sprengisandi was covered by America and rereleased as "Horse With No Name". I think it may have lost something in translation.

"seemann"? oh. Oh, my. Hulda, please don't let us down. That title holds such potential.

[RedScare]

Ah, Hulda. We hardly knew ye. I hear that Tiny Bubbles was the inspiration for the commercial with Scrubbing Bubbles, as well as Scruffy The Cat's chart topping album, Tiny Days.

What an inspiration!

[sevfiv]

another mysterious thread (and with a kick-ass guitar, i might add )

[RedScare]

 sevfiv, on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 @ 9:39am, said:

another mysterious thread (and with a kick-ass guitar, i might add )

This does have troubling similarities to "Big Head on Main Street", doesn't it? I blame it on dbigtex. He was a major contributor to both threads.

[torvald]

 dbigtex56, on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 @ 7:22am, said:

"seemann"? oh. Oh, my. Hulda, please don't let us down. That title holds such potential.

since i'm moving my record player is not hooked up, actually i can't
even get to it. i wish i could remember what that song is about...

[sevfiv]

 dbigtex56, on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 @ 7:22am, said:

"seemann"? oh. Oh, my. Hulda, please don't let us down. That title holds such potential.

would be funny if this was the same seemann covered (?) by rammstein and nina hagen/apocalypta

komm in mein boot, der beste seemann

=come into my boat, good sailor

This post has been edited by sevfiv: Thursday, May 11, 2006 at 10:50 AM

[RedScare]

 sevfiv, on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 @ 10:50am, said:

komm in mein boot, der beste seemann

=come into my boat, good sailor

This thread is taking a dive....fast.

[torvald]

 RedScare, on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 @ 10:59am, said:

This thread is taking a dive....fast.

of course, i could suggest a big head on main street/hulda
photoshop contest... winner gets a cd copy of the album?

[nmainguy]

torvald,
I hope you don't mind but I couldn't resist the xanax-like look of tranquility on Hulda...I had to make her mine!!!

[groovehouse]

I love this thread and I adore the Icelandic beauty that is Hulda!

[dbigtex56]

Well RedScare may scoff all he pleases, but I'll still be intrigued by our Hulda.

Part of her tragic beauty must be attributed to the pre-Photoshop image which graces the cover. How many seperate images went into her creation? I'm thinking the body AND the hair were spliced on...either that, or she truly has a sci-fi skull. And there's something kind of weird about the hands and guitar too. The perspective is a bit trippy. I'm taken by this album cover the way that some people study Beatle's records for hours. Remember, this thing came out in the 60's; anything is possible.

nmain, we're kind of on the same page, but I think the prescription drugs are being consumed by the lady at the table. May be Valium instead of xanex, but why quibble? She doesn't know if she's watching Hulda or squirrels in the park, after no food and a rum & coke chaser. And why are they using a bong as a centerpiece? Her date's mind is elsewhere too. He has that guarded expression that one associates with cheatin' husbands. Think he's the one who slipped her the Valium? There's just something about him that I don't trust. Look out behind you, Hulda! There's something about beauty in danger that captures ones imagination. No other witnesses, either; Miss Valium Head couldn't testify to her own name. Appearently it was a slow night at the Summit.

And Hulda was never heard from again. Prove me wrong.

[nmainguy]

I think Elmer is comparing big hair-do's: (hmmmm...Hulda's seems to have shimmer and glow that Edna's doesn't...although Edna definatly has the height...if I were to be captured in the web of all things Hulda would I be able to touch...but what to do with Edna...Hulda...Edna...)
Poor Elmer-caught between Hulda and Edna. Have another Rob Roy, Elmer and try for a threeway.

[RedScare]

 dbigtex56, on Friday, May 12th, 2006 @ 10:42am, said:

I'm taken by this album cover the way that some people study Beatle's records for hours. Remember, this thing came out in the 60's; anything is possible.

I wonder what happens if you play the record backwards...the Huns break down your door, like a Capital One commercial, perhaps?

[torvald]

 groovehouse, on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 @ 12:26pm, said:

I love this thread and I adore the Icelandic beauty that is Hulda!

well, it's a fancier setup than i thought.
thanks to ayn & christopher for taking good care of hulda.

hulda link with music

[sevfiv]

 torvald, on Friday, May 12th, 2006 @ 11:38pm, said:

well, it's a fancier setup than i thought.
thanks to ayn & christopher for taking good care of hulda.

hulda link with music

i was just graced by the lovely icelandic sounds of hulda! and she has a myspace page, too!

tiny bubbles...make me warm all over

[dbigtex56]

 sevfiv, on Saturday, May 13th, 2006 @ 10:11am, said:

i was just graced by the lovely icelandic sounds of hulda! and she has a myspace page, too!

tiny bubbles...make me warm all over

Yes, the flatulant are much envied in Iceland. The traditional native clothing includes steel and flint insets in undergarments.

As you can imagine, this leads to both great joy...and sorrow. One of the lost Hulda recordings tells of her young lover whom she fed a meal of fermented fish - and her inconsolable grief when he was lost to spontanious human combustion.

[Montrose1100]

how very exciting, Houston was quite the hip scene way back when

[torvald]

 sevfiv, on Saturday, May 13th, 2006 @ 10:11am, said:

she has a myspace page, too!

seriously.
she's got more friends than i do.

This post has been edited by torvald: Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 10:21 AM

[dbigtex56]

No poet I. Yet here is Hulda calling,
hailing me gently, urging me to sing,
to share my song with shadows gently falling
and shepherds driving flocks from pasturing,
while tumbled waters wash the hills' foundations
and wake the elves to nighttime occupations.


from The Lay of Hulda (I'm not kidding).

[sevfiv]

[Montrose1100]

I downloaded her songs and nonchalantly put them in my mix c.d.


...Everyone likes her!!!!!

[groovehouse]

 Montrose1100, on Sunday, June 4th, 2006 @ 4:25pm, said:

...Everyone likes her!!!!!

Oh Hulda, the joy you bring.

[nm5k]

 sevfiv, on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 @ 10:39am, said:

another mysterious thread (and with a kick-ass guitar, i might add )

I was thinking the same thing. That old gibson was a pretty fancy
model. If it's still alive, I'm sure it's worth quite a bit.
The prices on those things are going through the roof. I don't
have any old high end gibsons, but I have a 1960 gibson melody
maker that I bought off fleabay for $600 in 2001. Going by the
usual going bids on those lately, it's already doubled in value
since I bought it. The 59/60 MM'ers were single cut like a
late 50's les paul jr, and get a premium vs the later dual
cut SG'ish MMers after 61.
MK

[torvald]

 Montrose1100, on Sunday, June 4th, 2006 @ 4:25pm, said:

I downloaded her songs and nonchalantly put them in my mix c.d.
...Everyone likes her!!!!!

i'm glad you folks encouraged me to post the songs and info in the first place.

just in case: they're here

she's moving up on my i-tunes play count as well...

[nmainguy]

If I were a straight guy, I might find myself exploring "the lay of Hulda"-but looking at the album cover, I'm thinking Elmer-so caught in her web that his date, Edna is the furthest thing from his mind...anyway, poor Edna: so much hair and yet so little appeal when compared with the hypnotic spell our Hulda has cast on the hapless Elmer.
I do indeed worship at the lay of Hulda...so to speak.

[sevfiv]

i am now the official proud owner of a Hulda LP. apparently, she never made anything other than the "Live at the Summit" album...

now i'm just waiting for the xanax-look to set in

[gwilson]

 torvald, on Saturday, May 6th, 2006 @ 6:02pm, said:

All that stuff by torvald.

This is completely off topic, but...

...VICTORY!

That is all.

[Subdude]

 sevfiv, on Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 @ 11:06pm, said:

i am now the official proud owner of a Hulda LP. apparently, she never made anything other than the "Live at the Summit" album...

now i'm just waiting for the xanax-look to set in

Holy cow! That is excellent! The sole album by The Icelandic Songbird. Where did you find it?

[SpaceAge]

I got one too. Found it at an estate sale. And it is still sealed.

Virgin Hulda...

[jwphillips2]

Big hair....

[sevfiv]

big, solid hair

i was sent a link to the album on ebay by someone familiar with the wonders of Hulda

[jwphillips2]

The husband (boyfriend?) in the photo is probably thinking..

"Gee, I'm sitting here on these seats without cushions in my skinny tie, waiting for our food, but at least we can listen to Hulda."

[Vertigo58]

but is she still alive and kicking?

is the big question.

Maybe not or I am sure we would have seen her interviewed or a tribute or something. Must have gone through cases of Aquanet like the devil!

Inspiration for B-52 girls? Too cool!

[Native Montrosian]

A Hulda homage sighting!

Snuggle up with Hulda!

[Subdude]

[Vertigo58]

 Native Montrosian, on Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 @ 2:46pm, said:

A Hulda homage sighting!

Snuggle up with Hulda!

Still wonder if she is still around? She would be what maybe in her 80's by now?

[jwphillips2]

 Vertigo58, on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 @ 7:11am, said:

Still wonder if she is still around? She would be what maybe in her 80's by now?

This is eerily similar to Rula Lenska. Hmmmm.

[sevfiv]

A typo for Huldy St., but it caught my eye

[Vertigo58]

 sevfiv, on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 @ 1:33pm, said:

A typo for Huldy St., but it caught my eye

Is this just a coincidence? Couldnt possibly name a street after a local entertainer?

Did anyone ever conclude if she is still kicking around? Maybe we will see her on Dancing with the Stars? lol