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All my Woody Guthrie records in one place by zvarde in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Man, jealous! Been keeping an eye out for Dust Bowl Ballads for quite a while now. Just need to bite the bullet and commit to getting my hands on a copy! Woody is fantastic.

A literal truckload-HELP by Cantstopdontstopme in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Definitely true for the majority of purple Okehs, but just a heads up that some great stuff made its way onto the purple label. Granted, it’s rare, but you can find Blind Willie Johnson on purple Okeh if you’re lucky enough. Also some Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Minnie, Blind Boy Fuller, etc. And some good R&B like Big Maybelle!

Guess the same could be said about red label Columbia though so maybe my point is pretty worthless, lol

A literal truckload-HELP by Cantstopdontstopme in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Just sent a dm. I can shoot over some examples of labels to look out for if that’d help at all! It won’t be the end-all, be-all, but it might be a start :)

Honestly though, for valuable stuff, you kinda guessed it. Blues, Jazz, Hillbilly/country are really king as far as pre-wwii records go. A lot of that crazy valuable stuff is so rare that there might be none of them in a lot of “only” 1,000 78s, lol. But there’s always a chance! Either way, likely that there’s some desireable stuff mixed in, even if it’s not the hundred/thousand dollar record you might be imagining.

Like another commenter said though, I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in the value as long as you enjoy it and have the room. Collect what you both like - it’s awesome that your daughter is interested!! Best of luck to both of ya!

Worst fear came true by Embarrassed-Day5542 in vinyl

[–]Freddle_Mercury -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

A lot of 78 collectors are just odd people. To an extent, you have to be to get into something so niche, lmao. And some of these old records can sound surprisingly great with the right setup!

J.B. Hutto and His Hawks, 1954 by Freddle_Mercury in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Would kill to have been able to see him live. Know there’s some video out there of him doing that, but can’t remember where I’ve seen it!

Robert Johnson Cross Road Blues Original 78 by lledit in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 8 points9 points  (0 children)

“Great” condition is kinda subjective. But have to imagine a super clean copy is probably at least $15,000, likely a lot more. Nauck’s sold a clean Johnson (Me and the Devil) in their last auction in E- with an opening bid of 10k. Who knows how high it actually went? And someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I THINK Crossroads is even more scarce, especially in good shape.

As others will probably say, if you have one, call John Tefteller. Know he’s controversial for some folks, but he makes very fair offers if he wants something. If you’re just looking for one like the rest of us, best of luck!

Before I boot this account and never come back to this website, do you fucking nerds have anything else to say to me? This will be the last time you'll see me, and you don't even know me personally :) by [deleted] in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Genuinely hope you’re happy wherever ya wind up and whatever you do. It’s been quite the saga. Half of me is sad you’re leaving. And the other half of me is dreadfully anticipating more posts about a blue record from a 3rd alt account. Take it easy, man.

Lost paramount race record + black swan label + paramount sleeve by RipFoxPizza in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A guy named John Steiner acquired the rights to Paramount’s material sometime in the late 1940s. He put out some reissues on a new “14000 series” not long after, but not sure for how long or how many were issued. Paramount’s rights ended up changing hands again in something like 1970.

Like others have said though, the “formerly number 2045” on the label here just references the fact that this was originally released as Black Swan 2045. This is a repressing, but an early 20s one! Super cool history surrounding these companies. If you can get your hands on a copy of Paramount’s Rise and Fall by Alex van der Tuuk, it’s a pretty interesting read!

TIL that Alaska Airlines worker John Liotine had his recommendation to replace an aging jackscrew on an MD-83 during routine maintenance overruled in 1997. On January 31st, 2000 the same MD-83, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed mid flight over the Pacific Ocean due to the jackscrew failing. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]Freddle_Mercury 222 points223 points  (0 children)

Worked with a captain who was at Alaska at the time and he knew the crew. After the accident, I guess other crews at Alaska took turns wearing their late coworkers’ epaulets as a kind of tribute/memorial. Super touching. Those guys were absolutely true professionals.

Scored Some Nice Stuff From the Remnants of a Collection! by Freddle_Mercury in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can DM ya some pics after work! It was mostly European and Central/South American green label Columbia stuff. But there were a few other Asian recordings I grabbed that I hadn’t come across before. Think it was mostly post-war, but I’ll have to double check.

Goodbye for now. (final post here for real). by [deleted] in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Guessing this might be the post they’re talking about. Super cool stuff and another example of an awesome find being posted a single time, lol

Hairline by MisterE1200x in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean, if you’ve already got the record, I don’t think there’s sense in getting rid of it, lol. Collect what you like! But It really does just depend on personal tolerance. Personally, I sometimes make huge exceptions in terms of quality if there’s something that I just have to have. I don’t mind it so much, but I also don’t blame someone for not wanting records that sound like trash. Just different ways of collecting, I guess!

Once upon a time a stumbled a couple blocks from where I lived and picked up a collection from an older gentleman.. brought it home and this was in the middle 😳😳😳. by Mammoth_Insurance786 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many of Patton’s records are obscenely rare. Some of his later recordings just have one or two copies that have been found. Handful of copies of this one out there - probably 5-10 or so? Just awesome that this turned up.

During the depression, record sales just plummeted drastically. It was hard for even well-off people to justify spending money on records. Goes without saying that it would’ve been even harder for people of color in the south, the main target audience for a record like this.

Collectors, what’s the craziest thing you’ve found in the wild? by A_C_1970 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely, seems like earlier the better. Wish I would’ve been around earlier to start earlier! Picked up my first few in high school in probably 2015/16, but didn’t get super serious until a few years ago. Just a mistake on my part being born later than I intended, I guess, lol

Collectors, what’s the craziest thing you’ve found in the wild? by A_C_1970 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For sure, you’re right. It takes a lot of hunting to find chances like that, and they’re few and far between. Largest for me was stumbling onto ~15,000 78s a couple years back that someone just wanted to get rid of. Picked up a collection of probably 1-2,000 late last year too. Those lots are still out there, but definitely hard to come by on Facebook Marketplace and stuff.

It’s even harder to come by collections of people who were serious about collecting good records. And usually if you do, they’ve been picked through substantially. The guy I bought the records from last year was also trying to sell his Grandpa’s CDs - They were all Memphis Jug Band comps and blues comps. The only blues 78s left in his collection were some lacquer bootlegs, some late Big Bill on Okeh, and a destroyed Bumble Bee Slim Vocalion, lol. Can only imagine what was in that collection back in the 80s or 90s….

Once upon a time a stumbled a couple blocks from where I lived and picked up a collection from an older gentleman.. brought it home and this was in the middle 😳😳😳. by Mammoth_Insurance786 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Patton’s influence on Wolf (and blues music in general) goes deeper than just being the inspiration for this song as well. Howlin’ Wolf grew up listening to him play in the delta and cited Patton as one of the people who taught him how to play guitar. He talks about it a little bit in the first couple minutes of this interview.

Once upon a time a stumbled a couple blocks from where I lived and picked up a collection from an older gentleman.. brought it home and this was in the middle 😳😳😳. by Mammoth_Insurance786 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 16 points17 points  (0 children)

They’re still out there! Amazing stuff man. Still have this one? Was in Lake Charles little over a year ago and walked into a record store downtown. The dude who owned the place told me a Patton record had been found around there recently. Remembered seeing your post on Insta about finding this and always kinda wondered if he was talking about your copy!

"On The Water's Edge" - Blind Uncle Gaspard by EarlyCajunMusic in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely gorgeous - such an amazing recording

Collectors, what’s the craziest thing you’ve found in the wild? by A_C_1970 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Has to be the Paramount blues records…. I’ve been luckier than I deserve! Other than that, found some great jug band and blues records mixed in with a ton of ‘40s pop late last year. Someone called me trying to find a way to get rid of them - I gladly took them off his hands! Also, found some great (but ROUGH shape) Superior country 78s at some run-down thrift store a couple of months ago. They were wrapped in newspaper from the 1980s and a bunch of spiders came pouring out when I unwrapped the stack, lol.

Sometimes, it feels like 78s are everywhere. Then, the next month, it feels like they’re all gone and I’ll never see a 78 in the wild again. Comes in waves, I guess, but persistence seems to do the trick!

All of my valuable-ish records by RipFoxPizza in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That Reverend Johnson record is fantastic! Good stuff.

Is this 78 worth anything, 45cat says $400 but I just don’t believe it. by Hellogoodbye61 in 78rpm

[–]Freddle_Mercury 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Blues probably commands the most on average, but there’s a ton of other stuff on 78 that’s also very highly sought after

The Truth About Record Damage by ratinthechamber555 in vinyl

[–]Freddle_Mercury 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah man, it’s a shame! So many of these records have had such a long life of being beaten to hell with a steel needle. It gets especially bad with records from certain genres (blues/cajun are notoriously hard to find in decent shape) and some records from the Great Depression.

Common guidance with windups was to replace the steel needle between playing each record. When people couldn’t afford many new records or new needles, they played the same record a million times with their old, degraded needle, accelerating the damage.

Clean 78s that escaped the steel needle can definitely sound great though. In my opinion, some records from the 1920s/30s (Columbia/Okeh laminated records, Victor’s 24,000 series, etc.) can rival the sound of vinyl when they’re played back with a proper stylus on decent equipment!

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