Collectors of
78rpm records are a breed unto themselves. Obsessively scouring the flea markets of the world in search of
sonic treasures from yesteryear, they are a big part of the reason we can today enjoy so much wonderful old music. One such collector who's bringing some of his finds to the internets, sharing with us his scratchy old audio ghosts from eras long gone, is
Johnny Bitterman. Currently up on his audio player is
You Gonna Look Like a Monkey When You Get Old, along with 3 other tunes for your listening/downloading pleasure. You'll also find there a fabulous gallery of photographs featuring lovely old labels from many of his discs.
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Nov 25, 2007 -
22 comments
Here Is Jazz Old Time Online17,877 Real Audio streams of public domain jazz recordings, 17,147 of which are available as mp3 downloads for $5 for 3 months. Run a search on a favorite and see what they have. Man, all those Don Redman sides--I may just break down and get a Paypal account. Hate Realplayer ? Well, fight the power and use
Real Alternative aka
Media Player Classic instead.
posted by y2karl
on Sep 15, 2007 -
20 comments
...In 1924 New York Recording Laboratory decided to expand its reach into that market by purchasing the Black Swan label. Founded in 1920 or 1921 by black entrepreneur Harry H. Pace, the pioneering company recorded everything from ragtime to grand opera, as long as it was sung by African-Americans... Paramount's biggest star was Ma Rainey, a blues moaner who influenced the legendary singer Bessie Smith... Paramount did not neglect male blues singers, who tended to be folk artists in the sense that their music was made initially for the entertainment of isolated rural communities. These included the singers and guitarists Charlie Patton... Blind Lemon Jefferson...
Compliments of the Season from
ParamountsHome--where, among many other things, one can find an online copy of David Evans's biography
Charley Patton in Parts
1,
2 and
3 or look at a picture of
Skip James in 1932, not to mention a view of Paramount's promotion of Patton as the
Masked Marvel. And that is not, as they say, all...
posted by y2karl
on Dec 18, 2006 -
14 comments
The Virtual Gramophone. A massive database of early Canadian 78 RPM recordings, now available in mp3 and rm format. Over 13,000 titles available, freely downloadable. Includes
biographical notes on the artists, notes on the
history of Canadian recording, interesting
technical notes on media conversion, a
few videos from the olde dayes, and
podcasts. This collection is particularly strong on Quebecois and Acadien folk/fiddle music. Courtesy of the
Library and Archives Services of the Government of Canada.
Mentioned once before in passing, five years ago on Metafilter, but much improved since them realaudio only days.
posted by Rumple
on Oct 31, 2006 -
18 comments
For murder ballads, here's your
Mississippi John Hurt's Louis Collins and your
Grayson & Whitter's Ommie Wise. Then, for some early white blues bottleneck guitar, here's your
Frank Hutchison's K. C. Blues. Not to mention
Charley Patton's Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues. All courtesy the Internet Archives
78 RPM tag. where there is way more--like Bix Beiderbecke's first record,
Davenport Blues, Louis Armstrong's
Ain't Misbehavin' and Geeshie Wiley's
Last Kind Words, among many others. Then, for more,
Nugrape Records has an
mp3 page. The standout there, at least for me, is Gus Cannon's
Poor Boy Long Ways From Home. As for their namesake, the Nugrape Twins, well, the Archive has the mp3 of
I've Got Your Ice Cold Nugrape. And don't let me omit mentioning
PublicDomain4U. They have
Mississippi John Hurt's Frankie, for one.
Tyrone's Record and Phonograph Links will lead you to more 78 RPM goodness. And don't forget the inestimable and erudite vacapinta first
directed us to
Dismuke's Virtual Talking Machine.
posted by y2karl
on Aug 25, 2006 -
48 comments
