[78-L] A novice-y type Purple OKeh question

[Andrea Walsh]

OK, thank you for the information!

Andrea

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 11:01 PM, Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net>wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andrea Walsh" <petquality1 at gmail.com>
> > I have recently (on a whim) been playing all my 78's that were issued on
> > Purple OKeh, and I was planning on posting them to my blog.  While
> > listening, I notice some are muddy sounding, or at least sort of
> far-away,
> > and others are really clear and the sound is much more defined.
> > This may seem like a stupid novice type question, but what are the
> > differences?  Are some of these dubs and others original?  I have been
> > listening to everything from country and western swing to jazz and swing,
> > novelty, gospel, rhythm and blues and blues.
> > I read what Rust has to say about the purple issue OKehs in the American
> > Record Label Book, that the revived OKeh series of 1940 and after have
> > normal CBS series masters, but what does that mean?  Is, for instance the
> > recording of Bessie Smith doing "Gimme A Pigfoot" (OK 6893) a dub of a
> > Vocalion and say, Blind Boy Fuller doing "Step It Up And Go" (OK 05476)
> an
> > original?
> > How can one tell an "original" recording, if there is such a thing?
> > I am confuzzled.
> >
> In some cases, it's fairly obvious...since Bessie Smith was long dead
> before
> Okeh
> was revived, that one CAN'T be an original issue! The Fuller issue
> (originally
> Vocalion 05476) could be, however.
>
> The Okeh label was revived in July, 1940...I have a copy of a special
> promotional
> Okeh sent to record dealers to announce the change from Vocalion to Okeh.
> At
> that
> point, all Vocalions still in the catalog were issued under the same number
> as Okehs.
> Essentially, they used their same stampers, but used Okeh labels in place
> of
> Vocalion.
>
> Now, many reissues of pre-1936 Okeh and Columbia sides were dubbed...the
> originals were 1/4" larger in diameter than the new reissued versions.
> So...how
> does one tell?
>
> "Master pressings" will physically show their original matrix numbers...IN
> THE
> ORIGINAL "FONT!" (including take number/letter). Sides recorded for Okeh/
> Vocalion issue will have matrix numbers appropriate to their recording date
> (1933 to 1945); reissues of earlier material MAY (as noted above) be dubbed
> to fit on the slightly-smaller discs. In most cases (AFAIK) these dubs were
> assigned new matrix numbers appropriate to the date they were dubbed. Thus,
> if the disc bears a matrix number dating from a later date (this is why you
> need
> my "Dating Guide!") it has been dubbed...!
>
> Steven C. Barr
>
> _______________________________________________
> 78-L mailing list
> 78-L at klickitat.78online.com
> http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l
>