[78-L] New book marks Columbia's 125th birthday

[David Lennick]

Too late, Cary, the villagers have already got their torches lit.

dl

On 7/31/2012 11:52 AM, Cary Ginell wrote:
>
> Let's all not rush to judgment based on an artist's decision. I think the jury is still out with regard to the credibility of this book and this author. As for crossing lines, there are many writers who are capable of "crossing lines" (I've done so myself). You don't have to be a cloistered Columbia monk to write intelligently about it - just be resourceful and know where to find the right info. Let's wait to hear some reputable reviews before branding this guy as a pretender. I want to believe this is a good book.
>
> Cary Ginell
>
>
>> Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:37:09 -0400
>> From: dlennick at sympatico.ca
>> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
>> Subject: Re: [78-L] New book marks Columbia's 125th birthday
>>
>> Nothing wrong with a Canadian label since CBS set up the Sparton plant in 1939.
>> I have no basic problem with including early OKeh labels up to a point,
>> although if Crazy Blues wasn't kept in print by Columbia, then no it doesn't
>> belong there.
>>
>> dl
>>
>> On 7/31/2012 11:33 AM, Royal Pemberton wrote:
>>> And isn't the green label Columbia ('Flying home' by Benny Goodman
>>> Sextet--the US red label issue was on 36721) a Spartan pressing?
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 4:29 PM, Ryan Barna<ryansrecords1 at hotmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ALREADY!!! I clicked on the link, and ALREADY saw an error-and-a-half on
>>>> the front cover. "Crazy Blues" and "Aggravatin' Papa" were not recorded by
>>>> Columbia. They were recorded by the General Phonograph Corporation, which
>>>> Columbia did not purchase until 1926. Even though Columbia may own the
>>>> rights to the Okeh recordings, they had no involvement in recording the
>>>> masters, or producing the discs prior to '26, and should be omitted from
>>>> the cover as not to mislead readers. I recommend something more relevant,
>>>> like a Columbia client brand such as Harmony by either Kate Smith, Rudy
>>>> Vallee, or Annette Hanshaw, or even a late 1920s Okeh by Louis Armstrong,
>>>> since Columbia was involved with their production by that time. (Columbia
>>>> and Okeh shared the same Union Square studio, and also pressed Okeh's
>>>> discs.) Didn't anyone else notice this? (Should I still not judge a book by
>>>> its cover?) I never heard of Sean Wilentz. I did a quick search on him and
>>>> learned that he writes a lot on Bob D
>>>> ylan and the rock era, plus other non-music related subjects. Very, very
>>>> few writers and historians are able to crossover from modern day music to
>>>> thoroughly researching the earliest commercial sound recordings, which I've
>>>> realized over the years, takes a lot of extra time, attention, and
>>>> specialized consultation from others well-versed in the field. (My
>>>> particular specialty is in sound recordings prior to 1929, and you will not
>>>> see me voluntarily write about Dylan, the Rolling Stones, or the Beatles
>>>> because I know I don't possess the knowledge and expertise to do them
>>>> justice; I'm leaving those to their actual experts.) I would feel more
>>>> comfortable if Tim Brooks wrote the first third of Columbia's history for
>>>> the book, then Sean and perhaps some other modern-day music experts can
>>>> write about rock 'n' roll as much as they feel suitable for book sales. I
>>>> don't need another book for my local library (not my personal) that I find
>>>> completely useless in quoting from, or using as
>>>> a dependable resource. (I know some of you don't care about this, but
>>>> just one minor cosmetic detail on the cover -- try and find a "Magic Notes"
>>>> label without a needle scratch on it, there's probably still thousands of
>>>> examples out there. Just saying.) Ryan Barna