[78-L] Blue wax Columbia date??

[Royal Pemberton]

On 6/16/09, Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net> wrote:

> Well, Columbia basically went broke in mid-1934, and was picked up by ARC
> for
> $70,000...matrices, rights and all! The company had been picked up by
> Grigsby-
> Grunow, the makers of Majestic radios...but there was a VERY limited market
> for both records and upscale radios in mid-depression times...!
>
> AFAIK, Columbia "died" in the late summer of 1934, and their 15#### matrix
> series stopped dead; ARC switched to the series started by Plaza at 5001,
> which was at around 15xxx. I suspect DL can give us more detail, since he
> owns the "Columbia Master Book" (which I can't afford...?!).
>
> I also have a 1934 Columbia catalog (or THINK I do?!)...
>
> ...stevenc

The recording sessions seem to have stopped for about a month in the
early summer of 1934.  In an interesting coincidence, the last four
W.15XXXX matrices on Columbia were released on two consecutive
catalogue numbers, and the last four on Okeh (the 'final four', if you
will of the W.15XXXX series), on two consecutive catalogue numbers as
well.

>From Tyrone's site:

Ben Selvin and his orchestra, 28 June 1934:

W.152765-2  'Rollin' home'  2935-D
W.152766  'I only have eyes for you'  2936-D
W.152767-2  'The prize waltz'  2935-D
W.152768  'Born to be kissed'  2936-D

Then, Chick Webb and his orchestra, 6 July 1934:

W.152769  'Blue minor'  Okeh 41572
W.152770  'True'  Okeh 41571
W.152771  'Lonesome moments'  Okeh 41572
W.152772  'If it ain't love'  Okeh 41571

As for the Columbia ARC series, the first issue to have any of them is
2940-D, two titles from STUDENT TOUR as played by Johnny Green's
orchestra, 'A new moon is over my shoulder' (CO.15620) and 'By the Taj
mahal' (CO.15621), recorded 13 August 1934.

The lowest numbers in this ARC Columbia series appear on 2948-D, Phil
Regan singing the same two numbers:  '....Taj Mahal' is CO.15541-A and
'A new moon....' is CO.15542-A, recorded 7 August 1934.
Strange....instead of numerical take suffices in the Columbia manner,
these sides have alphabetical suffices a la Brunswick or Okeh.  Also
weird, the leadout grooves end in a concentric groove on my copy (like
unto a 1932 or 1933 Columbia disc), and not the eccentric groove
they'd started using apparently in early 1934.

I wonder how many records that alphabetical practice lasted before
they went back to numerical suffices?