[78-L] Columbia Archive Series

[David Lennick]

This Archives Series may actually date from 1947. I have an aircheck (February 
9, 1948) where the Cantor disc is introduced as "a new Eddie Cantor record", 
which it was as far as Canada was concerned. So much for capitalizing on 
Cantor's TV fame....

There were some acousticals in the "Genius At The Piano" set on RCA. I don't 
think Old Curiosity Shop appeared till 1952.

dl

Michael Biel wrote:
> 
> "The Cantor" was more usually known as "The Cantor on the Sabbath" and
> was also recorded by Jolson for Decca, I beleive.  I think it came out
> on the reverse of "Kon Nidre".  When Israel was founded in 1948 it was
> during the second AFM strike, but Jolson HAD to do a record immediately
> in honor of the event.  So there is a Decca with a choral accompaniment
> of "Hatikovah", the Israel national anthem with the original words, and
> "Israel".  These are all on the "Memories" LP along with the last
> recordings he made, the Stephen Foster album.  
> 
>> I have 2 different label images of #2, so it was repressed,
>> but had not yet seen #3. Jolsons incompletely listed in CED.
>> Han Enderman
> 
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>>>> Very short series..I think 1 & 3 were Jolson (from 1932 Brunswicks)
>>>> and #2 was Eddie Cantor (If You Knew Susie/Margie). They came out
>>>> in Canada on blue label Masterworks. Later reissues appeared on
>>>> Special Editions and Harmony, most of which we never saw in Canada. dl
>> Oddly enough, #2 is the only one I've never seen as an American pressing.
>> All 3 were issued in Canada on Masterworks, and #3 was also issued
>> c. 1951 as red label as 8275F.   dl
> 
> I have all three but I don't remember which labels I have them on.  It
> seems like Columbia couldn't make up its mind as to what they wanted to
> do with these but wanted to somehow get in on the action from Jolson's
> comeback and Cantor's early TV fame.  But anything else they had of
> these two were probably acoustical (except the Jolson "Used To You"
> which wasn't a very good song, and "Hallelujah I'm A Bum" which was a
> weird song) and they had no confidence in acousticals being able to
> satisfy customers accustomed with how they sounded now.  With the LP
> coming in they probably didn't want to put acousticals on this new
> format that they were trying to sell on sound quality.  Come to think of
> it, what were the first acousticals put on LP?  "The Old Curiosity Shop"
> on RCA Victor?   And some Carusos?