[78-L] Original Sound of the 20s~Frances Williams

[Taylor Bowie]

It was a life-changer for me.  Although I'd already started to buy odds and 
ends of 78s The Original Sounds of the 20s opened up my eyes to all sorts of 
stuff which seemed very exotic at the time.  At age 12 I was able to buy the 
damn thing and even had enough extra dough to pick up The Bix Beiderbecke 
Legend for $2.79 at the same place (record department of the long-gone 
Frederick & Nelson department store here in Seattle).

The one track on the whole set which bugged me the most was the unissued 
Willard Robison of I've Got A Feelin' I'm Falling.  Then and now I thought 
it was one of the best records ever made and I was sad that I could never 
get a 78 of it.

But finally I did...one of those English "test pressing"  things on white 
plastic which came out in the 70s or 80s.  I forget who made them or 
why....but it plays beautifully.

The other mysterious track on the set is the Frances Williams w/ piano of 
Sunny Disposish.  Clearly (to me) it was recorded later than the 20s...does 
anyone have any details about that track?

Taylor B



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel at mbiel.com>
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 10:42 PM
Subject: Re: [78-L] Original Sound of the 20s


> David Weiner wrote:
>> This must be a habit in the record biz.
>>
>
> Notice that both examples are from the same company, so it might not be
> the total record biz.  There was a threat of a lawsuit when BMG tried to
> eliminate the entire Bluebird label when they were still in the middle
> of several "complete" series, perhaps Fats Waller and a couple of
> others.  BMG had to back down and issue THOSE albums, and THEN dump
> Bluebird.
>
> The Epic sets Dave mentions ARE the replacements for Orig Sound of 30s.
> Got that info straight from Larry Carr at the time.  You get six discs
> instead of three, plus the second 2-disc Bing set.  This was at the
> point when Columbia wanted to switch the reissues from Columbia to
> Epic.  They had done Dick Powell, Alice Faye, and Bing in Hywd on
> Columbia and then did the others on Epic.  It was later on that they got
> back to finishing the Bings, doing them on three separate Columbia
> albums.  Remember that essay on the innersleeves about Bing stiffing
> Brooks for an interview?  And those great label photos on the sleeves?
> Miles Kreuger had started preparing a complete Jolson for Columbia, and
> that finally came out (incomplete) for Arlington's Nostalgia Book Club.
> But Miles got a complete set of Jolson vinyl test pressings out of it.
>
> By the way, I have long said that The Original Sound of the Twenties was
> the album that changed my life.  It legitimized what I was interested
> in, especially because of the extended essay in the booklet.   All the
> other reissues were either big band or were out-of-print like the things
> on X and The Old Curiosity Shop.  I never saw those until later.  This
> was the first time it was legit for me to like non-swing or non-opera
> 78s.  Rich Markow also tells the same story.  Rich was working for Rose
> Records/Sounds Good Records when Orig Sound was deleted.  He called me
> up and asked how many sets I wanted to order.  Three.  So I have five
> copies including one with the original cream colored box with the purple
> printing on the spine.  I keep forgetting to bring one to Leah.
>
> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
>>  The Original Sound of the Twenties
>> booklet also promised forthcoming editions for the early Thirties, mid
>> Thirties etc, and I'm still waiting for those, too - or they're extremely
>> rare!
>>
>> Rodger
>> -----
>> Epic sort of picked up where "The Original Sound of the Twenties" ended,
>> with the 2-LP set, ENCORES FROM THE 30s, 1930-35 Volume 1.  There never 
>> was
>> a Volume 2, but two additional Epic 2-LP sets, "THOSE WONDERFUL GUYS/GALS 
>> OF
>> STAGE, SCREEN & RADIO" rounded out the decade of the 30s.
>>
>> Dave W.
>>
>> ___________
>
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