[78-L] Bessie Smith album

[David Lennick]

That answers that..I also have a Brunswick album "Twenty Minutes with Andre 
Kostelanetz" which also has no album number. So C-8 would have been added some 
time in 1938 since it fits between known albums by Orson Welles, all of which I 
believe have Full-Range labels (they also say "Mercury Record" rather than 
display Columbia). The February 1940 catalog lists C-8.

dl

Glenn Longwell wrote:
> According to Geoffrey Wheeler's book - The Bessie Smith album had  no album number.  It was released "a few months after her death" which was Sept. 26, 1937.  However, a Columbia Records catalog from the mid-40s gives a number of C-8 for the album.  He also mentions that there was no booklet with it.
>  
> Glenn
> 
> --- On Mon, 1/11/10, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Bessie Smith album
> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Date: Monday, January 11, 2010, 9:27 AM
> 
> 
> Wossamatta all you guys! The Bessie Smith album is C-8.
> 
> C-1 is Tango Album No. 1
> C-2 is Tango Album No. 2
> C-3 is Rumba and Congo Album
> C-4 is the first issue of Air Raid, which no living person has ever seen
> C-5 is the second issue of Air Raid
> C-6 is Merchant of Venice
> C-7 is Twelfth Night
> C-9 is European Dance Album
> C-10 is Julius Caesar
> 
> This would put the Bessie Smith album in 1938, unless it WAS issued earlier 
> without a number (as was the case with Victor's Bix Beiderbecke Memorial 
> Album). From the October 1940 catalog (designed by Steinweiss, by the way).
> 
> dl
> 
> Michael Biel wrote:
>> If I wake up in time (I gotta start getting to bed earlier) Leah and I
>> are going to R&H to look at some catalogs and magazines and I will be
>> looking to see the issue date.  I do think the album was sold with the
>> specific records and I think that George Blacker and I did figure out an
>> album catalog number decades ago, but it wasn't easy.  If I can't come
>> up with a copy to photograph myself, I NEED a color scan or photo of
>> it!!!  Is the photo a glued-on glossy photo?
>>
>> By the way, on Friday in less than three hours, Leah and I BLEW THE
>> STEINWEISS LEGEND OUT OF THE WATER with some of the evidence we found at
>> another branch of NYPL in journals unrelated directly to records that I
>> bet nobody has ever thought to use.  No further hints about this stuff
>> -- you will have to go to ARSC in New Orleans to find out.  It helps to
>> know where to find things.
>>
>> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  
>>
>>        
>>
>>    -------- Original Message --------
>>   Subject: [78-L] Bessie Smith album
>>   From: "Philip Fukuda" <pfukuda at att.net>
>>   Date: Mon, January 11, 2010 2:23 am
>>   To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
>>   
>>   
>>   
>>   I'm just catching up on reading my emails after my vacation, so forgive
>> me if this has been discussed before.
>>   
>>   I've been following the Alex Steinweiss thread with interest, but
>> didn't have anything to add to the discussion until today. Imagine my
>> surprise at finding the c1937 (Driggs and Lewine's "Black Beauty, White
>> Heat" say 1938, but I think the label was defunct by then) Bessie Smith
>> Album at the 78 swap meet today. It has a brown cover with a photo of
>> Bessie with the names of the accompanying musicians. I tend to believe
>> the 1937 date since there is no mention of Bessie's death. Did it come
>> with a booklet (mine doesn't have one)?
>>   
>>   There is no text on the inside front or back covers. The album itself
>> doesn't have a number, so doesn't look like part of a series.
>> Unfortunately, I only have 4 of the 6 records. Also, I get the feeling
>> the records were sold individually, but the album was a "freebie" if the
>> customer bought all six records. Of course, they are the last six
>> records in the -D series.
>>   
>>   Does anyone have a 1937 or 1938 Columbia catalog or monthly supplements
>> to back up any of my wild guesses? 
>>   
>>   By the way, Happy New Year to all,
>>   Philip
>>
>> _______________________________