In Praise of Tributes

"Tribute" 8-tracks were recordings made by small 8-track labels that used studio band to record either a complete album or a variety of songs by a particular artist. Along with bootleg/pirate tapes, Tributes are among the most interesting 8-track collectibles but yet the least sought after. I've always been amazed at the marketing concept behind them: convince the consumer to spend $7 or $8 (a LOT of money in 1975 for a tape, when you could typically gets LPs for $5!) on a recording that imitates another band! Of course, I also think that some tributes were designed to trick the buyer into thinking that he/she was getting the real thing. On this page are a few of my favorites. If you have one you'd like to submit, send a scan and a description to   This is truly a format that is lost to the ages -- you'll never see this kind of stuff on CD!

Click on image to see full size:

Brothers & Sisters - "Jessica"
Here's an Allman Brothers Band tribute cart that uses the name of an album as the band name. The name "Allman Brothers" is nowhere to be found anywhere on the tape, front or back. This is the "Brothers & Sisters" album in its entirety, and a pretty decent version of it. In very tiny type on the back it says "This is not the original artist." Also, ironically, it says "Unauthorized Duplication of this Tape is Forbidden by Law"!

Saturday Night Fever - Music from the Motion Picture
Here they're slightly more up front about it -- they say "Not the Original Soundtrack" right on the front, although in small letter. Even has a half-assed attempt to reproduce the original album artwork.

Hits of Larry Gatlin and Eddie Rabbit as performed by the Nashville Music Row Band.
A little less sneaky, they tell you on the end cap and the back, in big letters, that this is performed by another group. Again, though, they have the "Unauthorized Reproduction warning." This one came out in 1979, fairly late in the game. 

A Tribute to Joni Mitchell
Finally, the truth: a tribute to Joni Mitchell! "Hits performed in the style of the original artist." This tape features Joni Mitchell songs from her first 3 or 4 albums. This is a pretty good imitation of Joni, too. I'll have to put up some sound clips for this one.

Xanadu
This is a "tribute" to the Xanadu Soundtrack album, featuring performances by Olivia-Newton John and ELO, (and one where Olivia joins  the Tubes, of all bands!). None of those artists are mentioned on the label, though, and in very small print on the back it says "these songs were recreated by our studio musicians." So as a consumer you had to know that this was the soundtrack to the movie, because no other information was provided.

The Jazz Singer
This is a tribute to the Jazz Singer soundtrack album, which was a huge hit for Neil Diamond who starred in the movie and sand most of the songs.  Diamond's name is not mentioned anywhere on the tape. It does say clearly on the back "as performed by ARTCO Artists." 

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