Anybody into collecting 78s?

[achouza]

Just read an interesting book, Do Not Sell At Any Price by Amanda Petrusich . Pretty good read if anybody is interested. Talks about hardcore 78 collectors and also has an interesting chapter on Harry Smiths Anthology of American Folk Music (which is a really interesting collection in itself).

Its a great read and is helping me rediscover a few guys and is turning me on to some folks I didnt know.

Anyway since alot of the bands we like (WS, Zeppelin) took inspiration from many of these old prewar blues 78s, I was wondering if anybody here collected old 78s?

[analogUK]

Well I don't collect 78's but I have read "Don't sell at any price" - Great book. Like you I discovered lots of new musicians.
Now reading (LZ) Peter Grant's biography.

[Kali Durga]

Dammit, I keep forgetting to pick up a copy of that book. I read one of her other books, It Still Moves, and loved the heck out of it.

I don't collect 78s with any sort of focus, but I'll pick one up every once in a while when I find a good stash in a local record or antique shop. I've got a couple by Lonnie Johnson and one from Big Boy Arthur Crudup. Wished I could have picked up a pristine Django Rhinehart 78 a couple summers ago, but didn't have enough cash on me that day.

Joe Bussard, who's mentioned in Do Not Sell At Any Price, lives a few towns over from where I am in MD. Jack visited him last summer when the Lazaretto tour played Merriweather Post Pavilion. If you do a search for him at YouTube, you can find all sorts of videos about him and his massive 78 collection.

[Kali Durga]

I could sit and watch videos of him playing records all day.

[achouza]

this picture is great, especially given the fact that if anybody asked Joe what he thought about Jack Whites music he would not be very positive =) according to him modern music, basically anything with drums is crap

[JonnyH]

I was left a couple hundred 78s when my grandpa died. They are mostly big band and old country. I've only moved a small portion to my home in Seattle at this point. The rest are in a box in my parent's basement in St. Louis. Every year when I go back I bring back another handful of 78s, however many I can easily fit in my carry-on.

[Kali Durga]

I was left a couple hundred 78s when my grandpa died. They are mostly big band and old country. I've only moved a small portion to my home in Seattle at this point. The rest are in a box in my parent's basement in St. Louis. Every year when I go back I bring back another handful of 78s, however many I can easily fit in my carry-on.

That's very cool. What are your favorites that you've come across so far?

this picture is great, especially given the fact that if anybody asked Joe what he thought about Jack Whites music he would not be very positive =) according to him modern music, basically anything with drums is crap

Yeah, the owner of one of the used record shops in Frederick said he'd love to have Joe come in and do a Q&A, but Joe won't do it because he also hates modern record shops.

[Kali Durga]

Almost forgot about the coolest 78 I own--



I love the way people used to write their name on their records back in the day. Reminds me of Mom writing my name in my underwear before I went away to camp.

[JohnC]

I like to collect early uk comedy 78s .

[mordecaibrown]

I have 1K or so.
I love the prewar stuff. Blues and hillbilly is what I'm always happy to find.

[Kali Durga]

I met Joe Bussard this evening at a release party for his new cd of Civil War songs culled from his collection, and got an invitation to come to his house and see his records. Dunno when it'll happen, or even if, but I'm giddily excited over the possibility of it. The man's a hoot.

[woodisgood]

I met Joe Bussard this evening at a release party for his new cd of Civil War songs culled from his collection, and got an invitation to come to his house and see his records. Dunno when it'll happen, or even if, but I'm giddily excited over the possibility of it. The man's a hoot.

Make it happen ASAP. Have you checked out Do Not Sell at Any Price? Amanda is a pal of mine, and her chapter on hanging with Joe is one of the very best in the book. She says it was one of the most memorable moments in her career, and she's had a load of great moments. I would postpone a funeral viewing to spend an evening with Joe.

http://www.amazon.com/Not-Sell-Any-Pric ... 8&qid=&sr=

[Kali Durga]

Yeah, I read Do Not Sell a couple months ago and loved it. I'm a big fan of her writing, like I said above, It Still Moves is one of the first books I read when I began exploring blues music several years ago. She's definitely like a kindred spirit in the way she describes the feeling she gets from music.

And, haha, last night Mr. Bussard said something about having gotten an e-mail from a fan in Turkey and I commented that I'd bet he's getting a lot more e-mails since Do Not Sell came out, and he joked it should really be titled The Chris King Story. I'll be sending my own e-mail to him shortly to ask about some blues cds he mentioned and the invitation. Whether going up to his house happens or not, it was so cool even to have hung out with him for an evening.

Oh, and one moment that made me laugh was when I told the owner of the shop how well his vinyl floor had turned out--



Joe piped in about how much he was enjoying walking all over lps. Sam, the owner, pointed out that he'd put the Beatles first album right at the front door, and Joe said he was gonna make sure to step on that one, because he can't stand their music. His irreverence for the rock'n'roll music that so many people revere, even the stuff I love, cracks me up. He can get away with it because he's got knowledge of music that most of us don't even know exists.

[Kali Durga]

Joe Bussard replied to my e-mail with his phone number and said to come up anytime. I want to call him to see if I can go this weekend, but I'm sitting here getting all nervous like I'm going to call the captain of the football team for a date or something.

[Kali Durga]

Hot diggety, I got me a date for this Saturday morning.