[78-L] Decca Specialty Series (DAU-x)

[David Lennick]

The U in the prefix almost always indicates "unbreakable". I said "almost" 
because they forgot to press at least one item on the Deccalite in Canada but 
still issued it as DU 4XXXX whatever (Crosby/Jolson: Alexander's Ragtime Band). 
The Specialty Series was originally on shellac..and in the US, the absolute 
worst shellac Drecca ever came up with. It must have been considered good at 
the time but it sure didn't hold up. I've never found an unbroken copy of "Cask 
of Amontillado" (amazingly, I did find a good copy of that, on an English 
Brunswick 45 EP).

No cast is listed in the Ruppli books and my album is out in the garage. 
William Spier is listed as director and the cast is probably the same as on any 
version of it on "Suspense" from that period (I think she did it 97 times, and 
don't forget the repeat for the West Coast).

Deccalite pressings are translucent at that time (not Canadian pressings 
though). Don't know if these would be by World Transcription or Vogue.

The first album was U-1 (don't know why it wasn't DAU-1): Giuseppe de Luca: 
Italian Art Songs (90003/5). 90000 and 90001 are Frank Luther children's 
records, 90002 is one by Peter Lind Hayes, 90006 is Ray Bolger (we're probably 
talking about Genie the Magic Record and The Churkendoose for the latter 
two..takes too long to go back into each volume to check the cross references).

Other albums:
DAU-3	Bing Crosby: The Man Without a Country (90013/4)
DAU-4	Sylvia Marlowe: Bach-Vivaldi Harpsichord Concertos (90015/7)
DAU-5	Howard da Silva: Tales from The Old Country (90020/21)
DAU-6	Manhattan Tower (90026/7, vinyl reissue..odd, I've seen this on ten-inch 
as well)
DAU-7	John Gielgud: Hamlet Soliloquies (90024/5)
8 & 9 unknown (I wonder if these are the ANTA albums?)
Remainder are single discs given DU album numbers except for Judith Anderson's 
"Medea" and Fred Waring's "Song of Christmas". You get the idea.

dl

agp wrote:
> Again as I was going through my stuff I came across the Decca 
> Specialty Series release of Agnes Moorehead (with a supporting cast) 
> doing Sorry, Wrong Number .. as the label says Dramatic Reading with 
> Sound Effects.
> 
> Sadly I don't have the original album for the two 12-inch 78s, so I 
> wonder who the supporting cast is. Also, its pressed on a wonderfully 
> quiet translucent compound .. almost red in colour. Lovely!  Is it vinyl?
> 
> Finally -- oh -- its a part of album DAU-2 and the disks are DAU 
> 90007 and DAU 90008. I'd assume then that DAU-1 was a 6 disker 90001 
> - 90006. So -- what else was in this series
> 
> T
> 
>