Joan's 78s Volume 2 - I Got Loaded

Record 1 - Apollo 443

01. Baby, Don't Do It - The 5 Royales
02. Take All Of Me - The 5 Royales

Record 2 - King 4415

03. Put It Back - Wynonie Harris
04. Triflin' Woman - Wynonie Harris

Record 3 - Ultra 101

05. Groove Juice - Preston Love And His Orchestra
06. If You Ever Get Lonesome - Preston Love And His Orchestra

Record 4 - Atlantic 972

07. She Rocks - The Cardinals
08. The Bump - The Cardinals

Record 5 - Meteor 5016

09. Dumb Woman Blues - J.T. (Big Boy) Brown
10. Sax-Ony Boogie - Sax Man Brown

Record 6 - Trumpet 187

11. Strange Kind Of Feeling - Tiny Kennedy
12. Early In The Morning, Baby - Tiny Kennedy

Record 7 - Modern 1000

13. Dancin' Dan - The Cadets
14. I Got Loaded - The Cadets

Joan's 78s Volume 2 (Mega)

Joan's 78s Volume 2 (Zippy)

OK rhythm fans, you got it. Back by popular demand, more shellac shenanigans, more lo-fi high jinks, yes, the return of Joan's 78s. Another 7 discs carefully selected from Joan's old low bitrate transfers from 78 rpm records and run through Magix Audio Cleaning Lab by myself in an effort to boost volume, suppress hiss and eliminate clicks and crackling. All while trying to avoid distortion. I'll get the hang of it someday.

So download and enjoy the gospel style vocal group hollering of The "5" Royales, a Wynonie Harris disc that hasn't turned up on all that many compilations, a Preston Love offering that doesn't have Preston Love on it, fantastic and occasionally chaotic bumping, rocking and rolling from The Cardinals, sax stylings from J.T. Brown backed by the Elmore James band, Tiny Kennedy's original Trumpet version of "Strange Kind Of Feeling" recorded at Sam Phillips' Memphis studio, and a couple of "covers" by The Cadets - a cleaned up version of "Sixty Minute Man" and a rather good version of Peppermint Harris's "I Got Loaded."

The story of Preston Love's "Groove Juice" is told by Tony Collins in his notes to the Ace CD "Creepin' With The Cats - The Legendary Dig Masters Volume One." This track and other "Preston Love" sides on Ultra and Dig were recorded in L.A. by the Johnny Otis band without Preston who was in Omaha at the time. Ultra was owned by the Mesner Brothers and Johnny Otis but after 5 releases it became Dig.

Anyway enough from me. Open up this latest 78 rpm album, crank up the turntable, and put the needle onto these big ten inchers. By the way Joan approves of this selection.

Big Ten Inch Fax

Apollo 443 - The "5" Royales with Charlie Ferguson, His Tenor and Orchestra - Baby Don't Do It / Take All Of Me - released December 1952.

King 4415 - Wynonie Harris - Triflin' Woman / Put It Back - released January 1951.

Ultra 101 - Preston Love and His Orchestra - Groove Juice / If You Ever Get Lonesome (vocal - Roy "Happy" Easter) - released February 1956.

Atlantic 972 - The Cardinals - She Rocks / The Bump - released August 1952.

Meteor 5016 - Sax Man Brown, Elmo James Broom Dusters - Sax-Ony Boogie / Dumb Woman Blues (as J.T. (Big Boy) Brown on Dumb Woman Blues) - released September 1954.

Trumpet 187 - Tiny Kennedy - Strange Kind Of Feeling / Early In The Morning, Baby - released December 1952.

Modern 1000 - The Cadets - Dancin' Dan / I Got Loaded - released September 1956.

Issue information from www.45worlds.com, www.discogs.com, Billboard, and The Cash Box. Label pics from discogs.com and various record sales sites.

On the front cover, from left to right: Tiny Kennedy, Wynonie Harris, The "5" Royales.

Joan's 78s Volume 1 - Stop Rockin' That Train

Record 1 - King 4443

01. Stop Rockin' That Train - Ivory Joe Hunter
02. She's Gone Blues - Ivory Joe Hunter

Record 2 - Savoy 750

03. Just Can't Get Free - Little Esther
04. Cupid's Boogie - Little Esther

Record 3 - Rainbow 184

05. Who Can Be True - The Five Crowns
06. $19.50 Bus - The Five Crowns

Record 4 - Aladdin 3178

07. Broken Hearted - Lynn Hope
08. Morocco - Lynn Hope

Record 5 - United 129

09. Security Blues - Roosevelt Sykes
10. Walkin' This Boogie - Roosevelt Sykes

Record 6 - Aladdin 3214

11. My Saddest Hour - The Five Keys
12. Oh! Babe! - The Five Keys

Record 7 - Savoy 859

13. Them There Eyes - Varetta Dillard
14. You Are Gone - Varetta Dillard

Joan's 78s Volume 1 (Mega)

Joan's 78s Volume 1 (Zippy)

Perhaps the first of a new series? Back in the 1970s Joan came across a massive stash of unplayed 78 rpm records in the back room of a music shop in Hudson NY. For sale at one penny US each. Like something out of "American Pickers." Car filled and then a return visit for a second load. Third visit - some NYC collector had been in and emptied the joint. Never mind, loads of 1950s R&B, vocal groups, blues and country platters already in the hands of Joan. Fast forward to California in the 1980s and Joan archives the records on CD. Fast forward again and the music is transferred to digital files on computer, in low bitrates for this is in the days before you could buy 4Tb external hard discs.

The collection was subsequently sold and all that remains is a bunch of low bitrate (128 kbps or less) M4A and MP3 files. A few weeks ago Joan asked if I would be interested in hearing these files. "Och aye," I replied and received 20 folders of 'em. Going on for 550 tracks. The M4As were pretty low volume while the MP3s were considerably louder with a bit of "presence" about them. All the files featured pretty heavy hiss and some crackling, but I was knocked out by the sheer accumulation of music. I found myself listening to some familiar sides, but there were dozens and dozens I'd never heard before.

I've started putting them through the Magix Audio Cleaner software I use to rip vinyl and I think I've come up with a listenable selection. Please bear in mind these were all MP3s of around 128 kbps. After putting them through Audio Cleaner to get rid of the hiss I re-ripped at 320 kbps, but that doesn't improve the sound quality.

The files are presented as a 78 rpm album from before the days of LPs. These were "albums" in the sense that they had thick card or board outer covers and inside, contained in individual sleeves, were 78 rpm singles. I've cheated slightly, as from what I've read most such albums contained only 4 or 5 discs.

So here we go. Let the virtual needle fall on the virtual shellac, sit back and enjoy a lo-fi selection, courtesy of Joan.

 
Big Ten Inch Facts:

King 4443 - Ivory Joe Hunter - Stop Rockin' That Train / She's Gone Blues: released April 1951.

Savoy 750 - Little Esther - Just Can't Get Free / Cupid's Boogie: released June 1950.

Rainbow 184 - The Five Crowns - Who Can Be True / $19.50 Bus: released November 1952.

Aladdin 3178 - Lynn Hope - Broken Hearted / Morocco: released April 1953.

United 129 - Roosevelt Sykes - Walkin' This Boogie / Security Blues: released October 1952.

Aladdin 3214 - The Five Keys - My Saddest Hour / Oh! Babe!: released December 1953.

Savoy 859 - Varetta Dillard - Them There Eyes / You Are Gone: released July 1952.

On the front cover: Varetta Dillard, Ivory Joe Hunter, Lynn Hope.

Labels adapted from discogs.com and various record sales websites.