[78-L] Non-Transcription OTR on 78 (was Decca Specialty Series (DAU-x))

[Michael Biel]

From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> There was a series issued in 1947 called "Top Ten", which for
> some reason only had 7 issues. Amos 'n' Andy, Jack Benny,
> Edgar Bergan & Charlie McCarthy, Fibber McGee and Molly,
> Duffy's Tavern, Eddie Cantor and Burns & Allen.

I just found out a couple of weeks ago why this is so.  The TEN included
EACH of the partners!  Burns and Allen were two.  Amos 'n' Andy were
two. Fibber McGee and Molly were two.  THAT adds up to TEN!!!!!!!! 
Someone found this in one of the articles announcing the series.  (But
why are they not counting Charlie?)

> 4-disc albums, mostly of sketches running 3 to 6 minutes (1 ran 9 
> and the Cantor album contained a complete story line). All were
> recorded for these albums, not taken from broadcasts. 

> There was a "Breakfast In Hollywood" set which I believe DID use
> excerpts from broadcasts, there was a "Truth or Consequences" album
> on Mercury, there were a couple of dramas like Archibald McLeish's
> "Air Raid" and Corwin's VE Day Salute "On A Note of Triumph" issued
> by Columbia, there was "The Lonesome Train" on Decca, and Mike Biel
> will likely step in and add to the list. dl

I think "Lonesome Train" was a recording studio re-creation, and some
might consider it in the same category as Paul Robison's "Ballad For
Americans" on Victor because both were cantatas.  Four Bob Hope military
base broadcast monologues were issued by Capitol in "I Never Left Home"
which is a slightly incorrect title for the album but was the name of
his current book.  Lynn Fontaine's reading of "The White Cliffs" on
Victor is a re-creation of her NBC broadcast, which I have on an
original lacquer.  I'm not sure if "The Murder of Lidice" was broadcast
by Rathbone like in the Columbia set, but I think it was a recording
session even if it had been broadcast by him.  Most of the other
Columbia and Decca drama sets were designed specifically for records,
and all of them are well worth finding.  I especially recommend "The
Snow Goose" (can't remember the star right now) and "Tale of Two Cities"
with Ronald Coleman, both on Decca.

Although the "I Can Hear It Now" sets were not actually broadcasts, the
two Bob Hope atomic energy sets which were also produced by Fred
Friendly on Victor "The Quick and the Dead" were NBC broadcasts which I
also have on original lacquers.  Non-dramatic records from broadcast go
back to the Lindbergh arrival on Victor and the Dempsy-Tunney fight on
Paramount.  (I'm not counting straight speeches on records from
broadcasts, which are numerous and go back to Mackenzie King on Apex
RadiaTone.)      

The Fibber McGee xmas set AGP mentions was a recording studio
recreation.  Capitol also issued kids albums by Harold Peary as The
Great Guildersleeve, as well as Margaret O'Brian as herself.  Of course
there's the Lionel Barrymore "A Christmas Carol" on MGM competing with
Coleman on Decca, Rathbone on Columbia, and whats-his-name on Victor.  I
think the Jack Benny album on Capitol was briefly on 78s but can't lay
my hands on Peter Muldavin's book this second.  I only have it on LP. 
The "Let's Pretend" and "You Are There" series were on some Columbia
sets. And lastly we can't forget the Lone Ranger series on Decca because
there were about three of them that did not make it from the 78s to the
LP issues. And radio performers like Jones and Hare, and other kids
programs and stars are well represented on 78s going back to Uncle Don. 
I can't possibly name them all.

There are not too many places where these type of records are listed in
currently available publications that can be easily found by new
collectors, but Peter's book might be the best source because he
includes most of these even though many of them were not meant
specifically as kids records.  

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com

agp wrote:
> Thanks everyone for info on the Decca Specialty Series (DAU-x) 
> releases. I was particularly interested because of the content as -- 
> and it sorta goes hand in hand -- I am an old time radio fan too. 
> Being that the records of Sorry Wrong Number are OTR-ish, I was 
> interested in finding out if there were similar records issued. I 
> know that there is the Fibber McGee and Molly Christmas show album 
> (on Capitol) , and some Amos and Andy records on Victor. But I wonder 
> what other shows/ episodes proved so popular that albums where made 
> of them for the general public. And by that I don't mean the later 
> issues on vinyl lps, but rather issued contemporaneously.
> 
> T
> 
> 
> ____________________________
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