I would love to start collecting 78's again. I had a small but fun collection back in the 90's, but had to liquidate when my mom died and I had to sell the family home. Still love those things and would love to get a player too, but not sure how to get started again. I do have my collection on cassette tape at least.
I cant remember the last time a video hooked me so much that I forgot to take something out of the oven. This may be a first. This channel is everything we've need on the youtube side of 78ers for nearly a decade. This channel, from everything I've seen, get's everything right, and unlike nearly all other record channels who Talk about the records in their videos, ISN'T Afraid to play them too!
I can't thank you enough for your kind words. I started doing this because I couldn't find enough 78rpm stuff on youtube, and it was one of those "well, why don't you do it yourself?" things. I am an admittedly terrible video editor, but I try to make the info interesting enough to compensate for it : )
@@MarkAtnip I wanted to do what you're doing back in the day, but the challenge was & still is it's hard for me to be casual in a video, I can barely speak clearly with no script. But eventually I decided that Record Stories was enough. But you keep doing what you're doing. There's endless video ideas here.
The Swiss Foundation Public Domain owns about 70'000 shellac records. Many of these recordings are in the public domain. They are to be digitized and published for the benefit of all music lovers. The inventory of the collection is being documented by photos of the labels of each record. Some of the digitized tracks are published in the Shellac Archive.
Sometimes our most treasured things are worth nothing retail, even if they are we won't part with them. I wonder if the ancient 78 collections that were stashed in attics, cellars and barns have all been discovered yet. There could be black gold out there sitting in some forgotten shed.
They haven't and there is, it just takes someone interested in doing so. I've gotten several boxes of old chellac at yard sales. $10 for like 60 lb box of them. Going through them and cataloging them on online 78rpm databases, it's revealed nobody else has ever documented, some people never even seen or heard of them. Some reveal themselves to have someone listing them on Discogs for $20-$50 and it's like "are they really?"
Thanks for your research. I've started collecting old 78s in the last year or so, generally very cheap from thrift shops and such, although I know nothing much about them. I'm intrigued by the musical tastes of bygone eras. Perhaps your channel can help me in that regard: learning something about some of things I have. But having a record that has only 3 known copies on the planet -- per your own possession -- entails some serious responsibility. I know that old 78s are brittle and tend to break pretty easily. I've seen a lot of broken ones in bins. I have no idea what's especially rare or valuable -- it's just a matter of finding a home for some interesting musical history.
I agree that collecting any type of artifact carries the weight of responsibility. They are, however, surprisingly durable when stored vertically and carefully handled/played. As for your new collection, my suggestion would be to buy cheap records from thrift stores and listen to them all. You will develop both an appreciation for the types of music you prefer as well as an eye for what to look for. My "top 100" list contains about 50 records that could be found at thrift stores. Not because they are rare but because the music speaks to me and I like listening to it. In addition, research anything you don't recognize. (odd labels, performers you aren't familiar with, etc...) This is both enjoyable and educational. ENJOY!
I have copies of both Super Syncopaters Autographs as well; both in nice condition. By the way, "South Bound" is the same number as "Peg Leg Stomp", as recorded by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra and issued on Columbia 671-D. I also have Raichelson's book and all issues of 78 Quarterly.
I collect mainly acoustically recorded records, and some of my favorite are: "I Wonder Why She Kept on Saying Si Si Si Senor" "Oh Suzie Behave" Al Jolson/Irving Kaufman in 1918, "Avalon" "Old Pal, Why Don't You Answer Me" Al Jolson/Henry Burr 1920, "Oh The Last Rose of Summer" " You Ain't Hearn Nothing Yet" Eddie Cantor 1920. I only play my records on my 1917 Victrola, to me it's the best way, case alot of my discs are very noisy, and if played on an electric machine all you would hear is noise, but the limited range of an acoustic reproducer and horn naturally filters out most of it, usually leaving just a constant, quieter woosh, which can be further filteded by closing the doors and lid. I change the needle after every record, every side if listening to a 12'' to minimize wear.
Have you tried using triangular bamboo needles? If you have records you really like to listen to, it might be an option. They have a warmer sound (at least to me) and they do a good job of absorbing the high frequency hiss as compared to steel, plus they won't wear out your discs as quickly. They cost about 10X what steel needles cost, but once you have a fiber needle cutter, they usually play at least 10 discs, so the cost evens out. Just something to make life a little more complicated : )
@@Kennephone Give the Vintage Music Company in Minneapolis a call. He has them. I think (don't quote me) they run about $1 per needle, but they will play 10+ records each, and steel needles are about to the point where they cost 10 cents each. (grrrrrr....) He probably has 100 vintage cutters as well. Obviously it's not a nescessity. I just really like the way mine sound with a bamboo needle. Something to think about in the future : )
The Audivox reocord was produced in 1954 by none other than Raymond Scott (he was behind Universal Recording Company, the label's parent company). He also composed the song, was married to Dorothy, and they performed on "YOUR HIT PARADE" during the 1950's.
That Autograph record doesn't sound electrically recorded to my ears; still, it's unusual to hear drums like this on acoustic discs. Whatever the cast, are the flute sides by that group available on any kind of reissue? I really liked the sample you played a lot! On another note, I still have to get used to the word "junking" to mean "finding sommething in the wild" instead of throwing something away! I really enjoyed this video and the other one I watched, so I am your newest subscriber! :) Happy new year!
I thought exactly the same thing. At the start of the slow zoom out of the label I thought that this had to be a pre-electric recording and was surprised when “Electrically Recorded” then was visible. I don’t think it really was.
A lot of the early Autograph stuff sounds acoustic due to the fact that the electric recording devices were so rudimentary. Often resulting in a quality lower than that of the "advanced" acoustic processes of the day. The label was in many ways a documentary of the electric recording development process, with many of their efforts falling well short of the quality that would be standard only a year or so later. In fact, some of them not only sound acoustic, but sound like bad acoustic recordings, as they continued to experiment with various methods and processes for recording with microphones.
Greetings! I use Disc-O-File sleeves from 78rpm.com. They have 9 sizes for all of the oddball sized recordings and they are used by several major archives. (Lib. Of Congress, Stanford University, UCSB, etc)
Could you (would you) attempt to find a particular Spanish language recording from the 1940s? I have been trying to find this song for years but to no avail. It's a song my mother used to sing to me as a toddler and has been recorded by several English speaking artists and even featured in an Abbot & Costello movie.
@@MarkAtnip Thank you for responding!I've got just about everything related to this song; links, copies of it in English & Portuguese. Even have the original sheet music by the composers. Where should I send the files/pictures?
@@MarkAtnip The name of the song is "Aurora" and written by Brazilian composers Mario Lago & Roberto Roberti c1939. The first English recording I know of was by Helen O'Connell in 1941. According to the front of the sheet music (images upon request), published by Robbins Music Corp. out of New York, NY, it was "featured by Vaughn Monroe & his orchestra." The most famous version (in English) was by The Andrews Sisters and featured them performing it in the Abbot & Costello movie "Hold That Ghost". The music sheet shows the lyrics for all 3 versions of the song in the original Portuguese, English & Spanish. I would love to find a copy of a recording of this song sung in Spanish. Thank you all for whatever help you can give me.
that record by Cab Calloway, his last 78, sounds pretty terrible. That kid's voice is very annoying. My favorite 78's tend to be one-sided; the age of the record astounds me along with the quality of sound. Some have the price printed. 99-cents was a lot of money for a record in the early 1900's. Probably comparable to $10 per song by today's pricing. Music was only enjoyed by the rich.
This is wonderful! I presume there are a few of these groups floating around here and there, but I have no idea where they are located. Thanks for the information. One of these days I am going to float up there and join you for a swap.
I would love to start collecting 78's again. I had a small but fun collection back in the 90's, but had to liquidate when my mom died and I had to sell the family home. Still love those things and would love to get a player too, but not sure how to get started again. I do have my collection on cassette tape at least.
I cant remember the last time a video hooked me so much that I forgot to take something out of the oven. This may be a first. This channel is everything we've need on the youtube side of 78ers for nearly a decade. This channel, from everything I've seen, get's everything right, and unlike nearly all other record channels who Talk about the records in their videos, ISN'T Afraid to play them too!
I can't thank you enough for your kind words. I started doing this because I couldn't find enough 78rpm stuff on youtube, and it was one of those "well, why don't you do it yourself?" things. I am an admittedly terrible video editor, but I try to make the info interesting enough to compensate for it : )
@@MarkAtnip I wanted to do what you're doing back in the day, but the challenge was & still is it's hard for me to be casual in a video, I can barely speak clearly with no script. But eventually I decided that Record Stories was enough. But you keep doing what you're doing. There's endless video ideas here.
The Swiss Foundation Public Domain owns about 70'000 shellac records. Many of these recordings are in the public domain. They are to be digitized and published for the benefit of all music lovers.
The inventory of the collection is being documented by photos of the labels of each record.
Some of the digitized tracks are published in the Shellac Archive.
Wow I'm so glad that I found your channel. Awesome information!
The production quality and content is off the charts!
Sometimes our most treasured things are worth nothing retail, even if they are we won't part with them.
I wonder if the ancient 78 collections that were stashed in attics, cellars and barns have all been discovered yet. There could be black gold out there sitting in some forgotten shed.
Most of my family heirlooms are worthless items as anything of any good value had long ago been stolen.
They haven't and there is, it just takes someone interested in doing so. I've gotten several boxes of old chellac at yard sales. $10 for like 60 lb box of them. Going through them and cataloging them on online 78rpm databases, it's revealed nobody else has ever documented, some people never even seen or heard of them. Some reveal themselves to have someone listing them on Discogs for $20-$50 and it's like "are they really?"
Thanks for your research. I've started collecting old 78s in the last year or so, generally very cheap from thrift shops and such, although I know nothing much about them. I'm intrigued by the musical tastes of bygone eras. Perhaps your channel can help me in that regard: learning something about some of things I have. But having a record that has only 3 known copies on the planet -- per your own possession -- entails some serious responsibility. I know that old 78s are brittle and tend to break pretty easily. I've seen a lot of broken ones in bins. I have no idea what's especially rare or valuable -- it's just a matter of finding a home for some interesting musical history.
I agree that collecting any type of artifact carries the weight of responsibility. They are, however, surprisingly durable when stored vertically and carefully handled/played.
As for your new collection, my suggestion would be to buy cheap records from thrift stores and listen to them all. You will develop both an appreciation for the types of music you prefer as well as an eye for what to look for. My "top 100" list contains about 50 records that could be found at thrift stores. Not because they are rare but because the music speaks to me and I like listening to it. In addition, research anything you don't recognize. (odd labels, performers you aren't familiar with, etc...) This is both enjoyable and educational.
ENJOY!
Welcome to our rabbit hole! I hope it's as much fun for you as it is for the rest of us.
You aughta seek out acetates & home recordings then. Those things are almost always the only copies of records to ever exist.
All Autograph discs are scarce. Jesse Crawford organ solo's seem to show up most. I do not own any of the 5 favorites you showcased
I have copies of both Super Syncopaters Autographs as well; both in nice condition. By the way, "South Bound" is the same number as "Peg Leg Stomp", as recorded by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra and issued on Columbia 671-D. I also have Raichelson's book and all issues of 78 Quarterly.
I collect mainly acoustically recorded records, and some of my favorite are: "I Wonder Why She Kept on Saying Si Si Si Senor" "Oh Suzie Behave" Al Jolson/Irving Kaufman in 1918, "Avalon" "Old Pal, Why Don't You Answer Me" Al Jolson/Henry Burr 1920, "Oh The Last Rose of Summer" " You Ain't Hearn Nothing Yet" Eddie Cantor 1920. I only play my records on my 1917 Victrola, to me it's the best way, case alot of my discs are very noisy, and if played on an electric machine all you would hear is noise, but the limited range of an acoustic reproducer and horn naturally filters out most of it, usually leaving just a constant, quieter woosh, which can be further filteded by closing the doors and lid. I change the needle after every record, every side if listening to a 12'' to minimize wear.
Have you tried using triangular bamboo needles? If you have records you really like to listen to, it might be an option. They have a warmer sound (at least to me) and they do a good job of absorbing the high frequency hiss as compared to steel, plus they won't wear out your discs as quickly. They cost about 10X what steel needles cost, but once you have a fiber needle cutter, they usually play at least 10 discs, so the cost evens out.
Just something to make life a little more complicated : )
@@MarkAtnip No, I haven't due to the cost and rarity of them, not to mention having to buy a cutter.
@@Kennephone Give the Vintage Music Company in Minneapolis a call. He has them. I think (don't quote me) they run about $1 per needle, but they will play 10+ records each, and steel needles are about to the point where they cost 10 cents each. (grrrrrr....) He probably has 100 vintage cutters as well. Obviously it's not a nescessity. I just really like the way mine sound with a bamboo needle. Something to think about in the future : )
The Audivox reocord was produced in 1954 by none other than Raymond Scott (he was behind Universal Recording Company, the label's parent company). He also composed the song, was married to Dorothy, and they performed on "YOUR HIT PARADE" during the 1950's.
Thanks for that information. Post-war music isn't my usual thing and I had no idea that the "Scott" on the label was Raymond Scott.
Raynond was always experimenting wih new forms of music and recording techniques.
You're VERY welcome!
That Autograph record doesn't sound electrically recorded to my ears; still, it's unusual to hear drums like this on acoustic discs.
Whatever the cast, are the flute sides by that group available on any kind of reissue?
I really liked the sample you played a lot!
On another note, I still have to get used to the word "junking" to mean "finding sommething in the wild" instead of throwing something away!
I really enjoyed this video and the other one I watched, so I am your newest subscriber! :) Happy new year!
I thought exactly the same thing. At the start of the slow zoom out of the label I thought that this had to be a pre-electric recording and was surprised when “Electrically Recorded” then was visible. I don’t think it really was.
A lot of the early Autograph stuff sounds acoustic due to the fact that the electric recording devices were so rudimentary. Often resulting in a quality lower than that of the "advanced" acoustic processes of the day. The label was in many ways a documentary of the electric recording development process, with many of their efforts falling well short of the quality that would be standard only a year or so later. In fact, some of them not only sound acoustic, but sound like bad acoustic recordings, as they continued to experiment with various methods and processes for recording with microphones.
They were electically recorded - primitive, but electrically nevertheless.
Are the recordings available and if so how do i get them you have achieved a very nice sound. Thank you
GREAT
Your channel seems to be growing quickly.
I hope so! That wouldn't hurt my feelings at all. It's nice to know there are a lot of 78 collectors out there.
CAB CALLOWAYYYYYYYYYYY😄😄😄😄😄
I have an Paramount 78, from about 1956, to58, I think, called " I Won't Go Until I Get Some ", by The Neighbors, flip side is " Pay Me My Money Now "
Where do you get your record sleeves; both for 78's and Edison records?
Greetings! I use Disc-O-File sleeves from 78rpm.com. They have 9 sizes for all of the oddball sized recordings and they are used by several major archives. (Lib. Of Congress, Stanford University, UCSB, etc)
Funny that Ajax record. Ajax is a Dutch football club in Amsterdam
Could you (would you) attempt to find a particular Spanish language recording from the 1940s? I have been trying to find this song for years but to no avail. It's a song my mother used to sing to me as a toddler and has been recorded by several English speaking artists and even featured in an Abbot & Costello movie.
If you have more information such as the title or the label/catalog number I (and some of the other viewers) can see what we can come up with.
@@MarkAtnip Thank you for responding!I've got just about everything related to this song; links, copies of it in English & Portuguese. Even have the original sheet music by the composers. Where should I send the files/pictures?
@@MarkAtnip The name of the song is "Aurora" and written by Brazilian composers Mario Lago & Roberto Roberti c1939. The first English recording I know of was by Helen O'Connell in 1941. According to the front of the sheet music (images upon request), published by Robbins Music Corp. out of New York, NY, it was "featured by Vaughn Monroe & his orchestra."
The most famous version (in English) was by The Andrews Sisters and featured them performing it in the Abbot & Costello movie "Hold That Ghost".
The music sheet shows the lyrics for all 3 versions of the song in the original Portuguese, English & Spanish.
I would love to find a copy of a recording of this song sung in Spanish.
Thank you all for whatever help you can give me.
Too much talk.
that record by Cab Calloway, his last 78, sounds pretty terrible. That kid's voice is very annoying. My favorite 78's tend to be one-sided; the age of the record astounds me along with the quality of sound. Some have the price printed. 99-cents was a lot of money for a record in the early 1900's. Probably comparable to $10 per song by today's pricing. Music was only enjoyed by the rich.
In Baltimore we still peddle 78s.... probably the only club of its kind in the US. Google "Baltimore Vintage record club"
This is wonderful! I presume there are a few of these groups floating around here and there, but I have no idea where they are located. Thanks for the information. One of these days I am going to float up there and join you for a swap.