[78-L] Multi-track 78's...

[David Lennick]

Preston Sandiford is real. Or was.
http://www.nejazz.org/prestonSandiford1983.php

A number of the artists on the Solitaire labels were the real article, 
including Professor Sandy and Peggy King, but there were lots of others I was 
never sure about. Art Zimmerman knows some of the artists and occasionally we 
hear from him here..Robert Angus also seemed to know about Solitaire, but he 
seems to have left us. Solitaire also inherited (or licensed non-exclusively) 
the product of many small labels, so Lena Horne, Frankie Laine and Pee Wee Hunt 
turn up under their own names on LP, and probably recycled on multi-track 78s 
as well, but Solitaire was also a pirate label..its classical repertoire was 
swiped from anywhere and everywhere.

Once we get into the "6 Top Hits" on the Solitaire group labels, it's anything 
goes. Tops seems to have identified its performers, especially since Scatman 
Crothers was among them, and Mimi Martel was real as well.

Double Feature was a descendant of VitaCoustic/Universal and Caravan, and those 
turned up in Canada as part of the Solitaire group as well..I have a 
Harmonicats on a Canadian Cameo issue.

Enoch Light produced lots of budget recordings and used Artie Malvin on quite a 
few vocals..anything on Waldorf or related multi-track labels likely uses the 
performers' real names, since I have Paul Whiteman and Wally Cox on some of 
these (including at least one microgroove 78 with *8* tracks per side).

Good luck!

dl

Steven C. Barr wrote:
> Okeh...a new project upon which I am "embarking!"
> 
> One of the very few unexplored areas among 78rpm phonorecords
> is (are?) the innumerable four/six/usw.-track records issued from
> c.1950 or so through c.1956 (or later)! I have accumulated MANY
> examples of these...and am using MS Access to try to create lists
> of the (supposed) artist identities used on these relative to the issued
> titles!
> 
> So far, it appears that the songs were made available individually...
> IOW, an individual phonorecord will include tunes which appear
> on other examples...with identical or similar artist credits.
> 
> One wonders how many desparate artists were involved in cutting
> these tracks...usually more-or-less anonymously?!
> 
> When I am in a position to do so, I will create a web site including
> such data as I have been able to accumulate; as well, I will start
> asking for details of such similar records as other listeners happen
> to own...and I welcome donations of these phonorecords as well!
> 
> Quite a number of players/singers cut these records...usually under
> "assumed names"...?! This being over fifty years past, these folks
> had "recording careers" they could NEVER claim!
> 
> Was there really a "Preston Sandiford?!" We know there WAS
> an "Enoch Light" who may have been the CMFIC of "Waldorf"
> trcords...but there were MANY other quasi-anonymous artists
> involved in cutting these discs...?!
> 
> ...stevenc