The Beatles
at 78 RPM
and
other Cool 78s!
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Site News - 1 July 2009 New!New Cool 78 of the Month For July we head to South Africa for a 78 credited to two men got it right with some of the biggest acts of the 50, 60s and and major dance tune of the 70s, but somehow didn't get it quite right with a 1958 release of their own. Read about Hugo and Luigi by clicking right:HERE Site News - 1 June 2009 New!New Cool 78 of the Month This month we continue looking at Warner Brothers with a 78 RPM record from 1969 by an artist whose sound was from the classic vaudeville era. See it by clicking right:HERE Site News - 1 May 2009 New!New Cool 78 of the Month Its our annual look at Eurovision at 78 RPM, and this time we look at one of the the biggest Eurovision songs of all time. It was Nel Blu di Pinto di Blu, but you know it as Volare. See it by clicking right:HERE Site News - 1 April 2009 New!New Cool 78 of the Month 78s by the Eagles! Yes -- In the Philippines. But its not those Eagles, or that song! See them by clicking right: HERE! Site News - 24 March 2009 New!New Beatles 78 RPM find A Hard Day's Night has been confirmed on 78. See the section on Colombian 78s. Site News - 1 March 2009 New!New Cool 78 of the Month This month we continue a look at Warner Brothers and its tangled and long affair with the 78 Site News - 1 February 2009 New!New Cool 78 of the Month For February we look at the connection between a man who hated rock'n'roll and the sound of cool sound of chill-out music. It sthe story of Mitch Miller, Patti Page, and Old Cape Cod Site News - 1 January 2009 New!A 78 from 1978! This month we have a great promo 78 of Leon Redbone issued in 1978 by the folks at Warner Brothers.
Won't you please help us! If you have any label pictures or discography info, please send them along. Credit will be given.
Rumours still abound about Beatles 78s in South Africa, including some people saying "I know I've seen one." Can you supply any info. As an aside, I am also trying to determine if the Hamburg Sessions with Tony Sheridan made it to 78 on Polydor in India. Finally, does anyone know if Decca released any Rolling Stones 78s in India? Please email the site editor, T. Pavick, on agp2176@verizon.net with any details.
Introduction By the mid 1960s the 78rpm record had become a scratchy memory in the world of recorded music. The tenacity of this format in some markets however resulted in some of the most unusual and unexpected releases ever. Great Britain's EMI records continued to issue 78s in India until at least 1968, legend has it due to the preponderance of wind-up phonographs there. Among those are a number of releases by the Beatles on Parlophone. The earliest of these featured a red Parlophone label. Parlophone switched to a black label in 1965. It is quite possible that some of the earlier red label releases may have been reissued on the black label. (Editor's Note: See the discography page for a comment from Graeme on this issue.) These releases carried both the standard (UK) 'R' numbering series as well as DPE prefix releases with different couplings than that of the standard Parlophone UK issues. Each record has an individual value in the range of least US$500 to US$1300. Similar to the situation with vinyl 45s in the USA today, EMI also released 78s in Argentina and the Philippines for radio stations and juke boxes, many with unique combinations of songs. Rumour has it that similar releases occurred in South Africa through EMI-Brigadiers, possibly of "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand". Surely such a discovery would be a treat! These releases are not the first 78s featuring the Beatles. As the Quarry Men, they recorded a 78 rpm acetate of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day" backed with an original Paul McCartney / George Harrison composition "In Spite of All Danger" in 1958. This recording took place at (Percy) Phillips Sound Recording Service at 38 Kensington in Liverpool. The original cost of this 78 was 17s 6d (88 p in decimal currency or about US$1.30), its current value is incalculable as Paul McCartney owns the only copy, and he isn't selling. McCartney did have several reproductions of this acetate prepared in both 10 inch 78rpm format and 7 inch 45 rpm format a few years ago at EMI. He went so far as to accurately reproduce not only the label, but also the acetate's physical material, a feat that had EMI hunting high and low. These copies are now safely locked away....somewhere
NOTE:A large amount of the information on this site came from record collector G.McLagan who occasionaly has Beatles 78s for sale. If you wish to contact him, his e-mail address is: rocking78s@btopenworld.com.
This site's editor, T. Pavick, offers a big thanks to Graeme for the assistance! You can email the editor on agp2176@verizon.net. |