Hey guys, welcome to Drum History News. Today we're talking about Noble and Kool-E, which is the oldest drum manufacturer in America who made toy drums for a long time, then made drums in the Civil War, then back to toy drums, which is what we're talking about here, that kind of era of like Sears catalog drum sets basically. And then later they became one of the nicest drum makers of like professional drum sets in the world really. So, Noble and Kool-E was founded in 1854. I kind of was like, wait a minute, what about Rogers? Because Rogers is 1849, but Rogers I believe was just making drum heads at first. There is a Drum History podcast episode about Noble and Kool-E, which I'll put in the description. Jay and Nick Jones from Noble and Kool-E are in the family that goes back to the beginning. And it's a really cool episode that answers a lot of questions. And before we start, I just want to show you guys, I actually have a toy drum from Noble and Kool-E that I bought for my son a couple years ago when we did the podcast episode. I said, oh, cool, I didn't know you could buy these still. And I did. And it was a cool gift. It was like 20 bucks. But anyway, if you're interested, you can check them out. There's this one, which was like 20 and then like a cheaper version, which I bought someone else's kid for a gift. If you want to check those out, it's not on their website. It's actually ncchp.org in the gift shop. So it took a little bit to find it, but well worth it. Just to give them a quick plug. All right. So our first ad is from the LA Times in 1966. This is the height of Bidle Mania. People are just buying everything, Ringo related. So this is pretty obvious here. On the left, it says 20 inch complete trap drum set by Noble and Kool-E $4.99 for the young devotees of the beat. Set includes 20 inch trap drum colorfully decorated in a teen mood. Also has eight inch and six and a half inch side drums, foot pedal, symbol and a pair of drum sticks. I did the little inflation calculator thing for this. And it says that would have been about $45.63 going from 1966 money to 2022. So you know, a $50 drum set seems about right for what you'd pay today. Now the drum set on the right is not a Noble and Kool-E, but it's pretty cool to read this one as well. It says Remco Liverpool Professional Type Trap Drum Set, 29.99. Drum combo by Remco has a bass drum, snare drum, Tom Tom, symbol, adjustable tension lugs, snare drum, stand, foot pedal, cowbell block, two drum sticks, two brushes, snare control throw off. Obviously that's a much more legitimate like first drum set for someone who really wants to get into playing the drum set. And that 29.99 would be like $275 today using that same calculator thing. So really, it kind of works out like this where yeah, that's about what you'd pay for a beginner drum set exactly like that today. Our next two ads are from Newsday, Newspaper in Hampstead, New York from 1978. These two Noble and Kool-E ads were in the same paper just in different sections, I guess. The first one says Superstar Trap Drum by Noble, $10.99. Bass drum, six inch and seven inch Tom Tom, tone block and symbol, stylishly eight and a half inch drum sticks and full size pedals. Weird the word stylishly is just thrown in the middle there. Then below that, it says Trap Drum Set by Noble, $24.99. Ten inch snare drum, eight inch Tom Tom, 12 inch symbol, 12 inch drum sticks and a rugged pedal. And then on the right has a cool little Noble and Kool-E sign. This is similar to the previous ad for Remco and Noble and Kool-E where it's like, you know, a cheaper version. And then the little bit more legit one that someone could actually kind of start to play on and get better. Our next one, same paper, same day is a Disney themed one. It says Disney Rocket Trap Drum Set by Noble and Kool-E, $13.99, a 20 inch bass drum, eight inch snare drum, six and a half inch side drum, two symbols, tone block, drum sticks and a metal foot pedal to complete the set. Pretty cool. That's a neat licensing deal that like Disney would come to Noble and Kool-E to just manufacture this and put the logo on it. Big business. I mean, this was their business. I believe Jay Jones from Noble and Kool-E told me that this was really their bread and butter until 9-11 happened. And then I think something was shipping and all that stuff and it just made it basically impossible for them. So that was the end of their run at these drum sets, which lasted a very long time. The next ad is from the evening sun in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1983. This is just a cool little small one. It says shirt tails or muppets, trap drum sets by Noble Kool-E up on the left there with a picture of the shirt and then it says shirt tails, trap drum set, which is obviously a show from that time. And then it says muppets, trap drum set, $15.99, your choice. It looks like it's animal on there and I'm going to guess Kermit because of his eyes. It's kind of hard to see with the black and white, but it's neat to see, you know, again, Noble and Kool-E is working with some of the biggest cartoons and licensing deals at the time. And lastly, from 1985, we have one from the Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, North Carolina. This looks more like a rock drum set ad. Like you would see this kind of an ad in like a drum magazine or something, but obviously this is for kids in a newspaper. It says Noble and Kool-E, diamond rock trap drum set, handsome black diamond pearl design, ages five and up. Pretty cool. If you were lucky enough to have a Noble and Kool-E drum set as a kid, you should comment below and tell me. And like I said, even if it wasn't labeled as Noble and Kool-E, they probably made these for all the other brands as well. So it's really a neat company, again, with the history going back to the Civil War and America and just they've just continuously been making drums for so long. And they're the stuff they make now that are, you know, professional drum sets are unbelievable. Check out the episode about Noble and Kool-E of the podcast. I'm sure you'll like it if you're interested in this stuff. They're great guys. Thanks to my friend Jerry Rhyman for sending these great newspaper ads over. Lots of fun to look at Noble and Kool-E stuff and just see the progression of the company. And really, in your everyday newspaper as a kid, you're reading about Noble and Kool-E, which now is pretty mind blowing because of the amazing drums they make today. But yeah, that's it. Thank you for watching and subscribe, like, share these with your friends if they like Noble and Kool-E or any of the other brands I've talked about in this news-related show or on the main podcast. So thanks for listening and I will see you next week.