[78-L] Blue wax Columbia date??

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Royal Pemberton" <ampex354 at gmail.com>
> 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.
> 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?
>
Columbia may have been a bit confused? They used the ARC numbers on
Brunswick, with "letter takes" (and had since 1932); as well, Okeh (the
40xxxx numbers) used "letter takes....?!"

...stevenc