This record isn’t as old as most of my records I’ve been posting*, but it may be of special interest to people from my hometown and surrounding area. It’s a record of “War Dance Songs” from the Meswaki tribe Near Tama, Iowa. This record was made in 1972. It makes me really happy that this record exists. I’ve transferred it here from the vinyl. One MP3 for each side.

Click the images below to see them larger and read about the history:

*technically this is still under copyright – I will remove this post upon request from copyright holder.

Here are some more Edison Diamond Discs I’ve acquired. (I describe the format and transfer process in this previous post)

Waikiki Hawaiian Orchestra, Smiles, Then Kisses b/w Louise and Ferreira, Hapa Haole Hula Girl, 1916

Billy Murray, Frenchy Come to Yankee Land b/w Premier Quartet, Jazzola 1919

Paul Victorin’s Orchestra, Louisville Lou b/w Kaplan’s Melodists, The Duck’s Quack (A Barnyard Jamboree) 1923

Judas’ Society Orchestra City of Dreams – Foxtrot b/w  Beautiful Ohio Waltz 1919

Broadway Dance Orchestra, The Sheik b/w Club De Vingt Orchestra, Senorita – Spanish Fox Trot

The Sheik record seems to be missing it’s label, but the record number it etched in the surface:

Just found this record. A re-pressing of old cylinders from Folkways. I transferred these mp3s straight from the vinyl. Below are mp3s of the record. (this collection may technically be still protected by copyright.. get it now before someone tells me to take it down)

Here’s a PDF of the linear notes with a history of early recordings.

Sol Ho’opi’i’s Novelty Trio

Kai Hawanawana b/w Ka Ua Loku

Columbia 1785-D (147800/147801)

January 10, 1929

Kai Hawanawana (Alohekea)

Ka Ua Loku (Alohekea)

So, here’s a little experiment. I have a Victrola VV-IV tabletop Phonograph. I have 3 reproducers (soundboxes). I have 3 kinds of needles (soft, medium, and loud). I put a microphone directly in front of the horn and recorded variations of these elements. The record is Bix Biederbecke’s Royal Garden Blues from a reissue 78 album. I’ll also include my digital transfer of the exact same record and another transfer of the same song done professionally.

This is not a completely thorough experiment. I only used the one phonograph. Different phonograph models, different external horn sizes and shapes, and even the room in which the phonograph is being played will effect the sound. And although they have been cleaned and restored, both the phonograph and the reproducers are very old and the sound may vary from one to the next based on condition.

Here is the recording from the collection Volume 2: At The Jazz Band Ball

Royal Garden Blues

Here is my digital transfer from the 78 record album set Jazz as It Should be Played by Beiderbecke (Columbia Records C-29) – (this is the exact same record as is being played on the acoustic phonograph below):

Royal Garden Blues

Note: part of the reason the above recordings sound louder is because they have been compressed. I left the recordings below uncompressed to give an idea of the varying volume levels of the reproducers.

Here is the same record played on the Victrola VV-IV, Victor Exhibition Reproducer, with a soft, medium and loud tone needle:

exhibition_soft

exhibition_medium

(the loud tone version is shortened)

exhibition_loud

Here is the same record played on the Victrola VV-IV, Victor No. 2 Reproducer, with a soft, medium and loud tone needle:

No2_soft

No2_medium

(the loud tone version is shortened)

No2_loud

Here is the same record played on the Victrola VV-IV, His Master’s Voice (HMV) Orthophonic, with a soft, medium and loud tone needle. (This reproducer is not really intended to be used with this machine, but I modified the attachment slightly to fit):

HMV_orthophonic_soft

HMV_orthophonic_medium

HMV_orthophonic_loud

Here’s some pictures of my setup:

I Woke up with the A side of this record in my head. It’s an official version of the same song I posted from that Rockaways Playland record a few posts ago. I realized I had the disc of it. I guess that’s why I knew it.

Johnny Hamp’s Kentucky Serenaders Perform I Can’t Give You Anything But Love b/w Johnny Johnson and His Statler Pensylvanians Sweet Lorraine

1928 Victor 21514-A/21514-B

You Know The Liberty Bell March as the Theme from Monty Python.. Here we have it on an Edison Diamond Disc.

Edison Diamond Discs were Edison’s attempt at joining the flat disc market after sticking to cylinders for a long time. They are big heavy quarter inch thick discs that need to be played on a special type of phonograph because the waves in the grooves move up and down rather than side to side. You can play it on a modern DJ type turntable by switching the polarization of a stereo recording (either by physically swapping the little wires in the stylus or by using sound editing software) and converting it to mono, which makes a lot of the noise cancel itself out and improves the fidelity. I’ve done all that for you here, but it’s still a scratchy old record.

Here’s The New York Military Band Performing The Liberty Bell March b/w At a Georgia Camp Meeting

1917/1916 Edison Diamond Disc #50636 L/R

you can see the label is actually etched into the surface of the record:

Hilo Hawaiian Orchestra perform Hawaiian Dreams b/w Honolulu Moon (Vocal Refrain by Johnny Marvin)

1927 Victor 20596-A/B

Just a peppy Western swing number on a worn 78.

Al Dexter and his Troopers perform Rosalita b/w Pistol Packin’ Mama

1941, Okeh 6708

This is where I post transfers I’ve made of old 78rpm and cylinder records. You can use the search function or click on the tags to the left to find particular artists. This is just my personal collection. The records are of varied quality and time periods, and by no means is this a comprehensive collection. Enjoy and feel free to listen online or download the tracks. Enjoy! -Jim

You can download mp3s in these posts by right-clicking (PC) or control-clicking (mac) the song titles.

Disclaimer: Many of these tracks may still be under copyright, but my goal here is to share music that is unavailable elsewhere.. If you are a copyright owner or know of an official release, let me know and I’ll remove the post. Thanks!