Record collecting

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Record collecting is a pastime for millions of music fans the world over. Although the main focus is on vinyl records, all formats of recorded music are collected.

1 History
2 Notable record collectors
3 Most Valuable Records
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

Record collecting has been around probably nearly as long as recorded sound. In its earliest years, phonographs and the recordings that were played on them (first wax cylinders, and later flat shellac discs) were mostly toys for the rich, out of the reach of the middle or lower classes. By the 1920s, improvements in the manufacturing processes, both in players and recordings, allowed prices for the machines to drop. While entertainment options in a middle to upper class home in the 1890s would likely consist of a piano, smaller instruments, and a library of sheet music, by the 1910s and later these options expanded to include a radio and a library of recorded sound.

After the fall of the phonograph cylinder, the record was the uncontested sound medium for decades. The number of available recordings mushroomed and the number of companies pressing records skyrocketed. These were 78 r.p.m., double-sided, ten-inch shellac discs, with about 4 minutes of recording time on each side.

Growth in the recorded sound industries was stunted by the Great Depression and World War II, when the country was hamstrung by a dearth of raw materials. By the time World War II ended, the economy began to grow again. Classical music (which was a large portion of 78 releases) was slowly edgesd into a minority status by the influx of popular and new music.

The introduction of both the 33 1/3 r.p.m. 12-inch LP record and the 7-inch 45 rpm record, coming into the market around 1949/1950 provided advances in both storage and quality. These also featured vinyl replacing the previous shellac materials. Further groups of small labels came into existence with the dawning of the rock and roll era in the early to middle 1950s, and the market among post-war teenagers with disposable income to spend on 45 rpm singles. Some of these labels, such as Atlantic Records, actually turned into mainstream major record labels later on in the 1960s.

The record collecting hobby probably did not take shape as such until the 1960s. With the folk-music boom in the late 1950s to early 1960s, there was suddenly a demand for archival material. Record collectors (mostly men), fanned out across the nation, searching small towns, dusty barns and mountain cabins for older discs. Initially, the most-desired items were pre-World War II shellac discs containing "race records" (that is, blues, country blues and hillbilly music), the precursors to then-current rock-and-roll and country styles. Later generations of record collectors found their passion in digging up obscure 45's in the genre of doo-wop, or LPs in the late 1960s "garage rock" and "psychedelic" genres.

The pop music scene changed forever in January 1964 with the arrival of The Beatles in the United States. In their wake, thousands of musical bands inspired by their fresh, lively take on rock music with a sharp British sensibility, picked up guitars, and many released records. Many of these acolytes released 45 records in small batches to sell at local concerts and to their friends and families. Due to their relatively small pressings, these obscure local records became highly prized and valuable.

The most infamous "collector's item" in record collecting is not a record at all, but merely an album cover. The Beatles themselves accidentally contributed what is probably the most well-known and valuable "collector's piece" of the rock-and-roll era: "The Butcher Cover". This is an informal title for the piece, which was an album cover for the album "Yesterday and Today." Until 1967, the LP releases of the Beatles in their home country of the UK were substantially different from the LP releases in the USA. These American albums were shorter, had different songs, album titles and artwork.

The Holy Grail of the record collector is Bob Dylan's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963 pressing that has four songs that were deleted from subsequent pressings), known to fetch up to $35,000 in stereo and $16,500 in mono in excellent condition. [1]

One collectible record format is known as a test pressing. Test pressings are exactly what the name implies; 5-10 copies of a record pressed for the purpose of checking the mix or levels on a record, or to ensure that the die is cutting properly. Though usually meant for the band, producer, pressing plant, or record label to keep as reference, they are often placed in special packaging (such as a photocopy of the real record sleeve) and given out to friends or devoted fans.

In the 1970s, the record collecting hobby really took off with the establishment of record collecting publications such as Goldmine, and in the UK, Record Collector. Price Guide books were published, codifying exactly how much certain "rare items" were supposed to be worth. The "grading" of records based upon condition became more standardized across the hobby with the publication of these price guides.

With the introduction of the compact disc in the middle 1980s, there began a stratification in the hobby; commonly found vinyl specimens that had been pressed in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of copies became relatively worthless, while the rarest of specimens became ever more valuable. These rare items included 45 rpm discs in the genres of blues, rhythm and blues, doo wop, garage rock, progressive rock, and psychedelic rock. Other rare and highly valued items include pieces from highly collectible artists such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, U2, Madonna, The Cure, The Rolling Stones, or James Brown. Some of these are items that were pressed for promotional purposes only and sent to radio or television stations. Some are pressings from nations other than the USA or UK where they pressed in very small quantities.

Even in the 21st century certain modern bands have a following of record collectors. This is most prominent in the punk and alternative genres. For example, the special edition of NOFX's 1999 release, The Decline on transparent vinyl has already reached prices of $350. Due to the DIY ethic and constrained budget of many punk bands and labels, releases by lesser-known bands tend to be in limited edition. Specific pressing runs of records are sometimes printed on different colored vinyl, have new or different songs, contain spelling or mixing errors, or may be in lower quantity than other pressings. All of such factors increase a specific record's collectibility. For instance, in 1988, New York hardcore band Judge attempted to record their debut Bringin' It Down at Chung King Studios. The bad experience and low quality result left the band so disappointed that they scrapped the session and re-recorded the LP elsewhere. The older sessions, however, were pressed onto 110 copies of white vinyl entitled Chung King Can Suck It! and sent to fans who had pre-ordered Bringin It Down for their patience as rerecording caused a major delay in the release. Copies of the record have been sold for amounts up to $1,700 on sites like E-Bay.

Other music genres also have their fervent adherents. Classical music, for example, has its own dedicated following, and early stereo recordings on such labels as British Decca, Mercury Living Presence, RCA ("shaded dogs") and London ("blue backs") regularly sell at auction for hundreds of dollars.

[edit] Notable record collectors

Ray Avery, jazz record collector
John Peel
DJ Shadow
Gilles Peterson, jazz, funk, soul, modern dancefloor music collector
Lou Rowberry, Doo Wop collector
Joe Bussard, 1920's and 1930's blues collector
Robert Crumb

[edit] Most Valuable Records

The following list is an attempt to list the 25 most valuable recordings. Data is sourced from Record Collector magazine, Ebay, Popsike, Good Rockin' Tonight and other sources.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy (Geffen US Album, 1980) Autographed by Lennon 5 hours before Mark Chapman assassinated him. $525,000.^[1]
The Quarrymen – That'll Be the Day/In Spite Of All The danger (UK 78 RPM, Acetate in plain sleeve, 1958) Only one copy made. $180,000
Velvet Underground & Nico – (US Album Acetate, in plain sleeve, 1966 with alternate versions of tracks from official release) $155,401 - Sold on eBay, December 9, 2006^[2]
The Beatles – Yesterday and Today (Capitol, US Album in ‘butcher’ sleeve, 1966) $38,500
Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (CBS, US album, stereo 1963 featuring 4 tracks deleted from subsequent releases) $35,000
Long Cleve Reed & Little Harvey Hull – Original Stack O’Lee Blues (Black Patti, US 78 RPM in plain sleeve, 1927) $30,000 offered to Joe Bussard.
Frank Wilson – Do I Love you? (Tamla Motown, US 7” 45 RPM in plain sleeve, 1965) $28,000
Billy Ward & His Dominoes (Federal, US 10” album, 195?) $24,000
Sex Pistols – God Save The Queen (UK A&M 7” 45 RPM with mailer, 1977) $22,000
Blind Joe Reynolds – 99 Blues (Paramount, 78 RPM 192?) $20,000
The Quarrymen – That’ll Be The Day/In Spite Of All The Danger (UK 10” 78 RPM and 7” 45 RPM, in reproduction Parlophone sleeve, 1981 reissue, 25 copies of each) $18,000
The Beatles – The Beatles (Parlophone UK album, 1968, numbered below 000010, black inner with poster and four colour prints) $18,000
Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (As #5 but mono version) $16,500
Charlie Patton – Screamin’ and Hollerin’ (US 78 RPM) $11,550
John’s Children – Midsummer Night Scene (Track, UK 7” 45RPM, 1967) $11,000
Basco Vs The Electroliners – The Beat is over (Sm:)e US 10” red vinyl 45RPM, 1996) $9,400
The Beatles – Please Please Me (Parlophone, UK 7” 45 RPM, 1963 signed by all four members of the band) $9,000
The Beatles – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Parlophone, UK EMIDISC Acetate, 1967) $9,000
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (EMI, UK 7” 45RPM in blue vinyl) $9,000
Joe Hill Louis – Gotta Let You Go (US 78 RPM, 192?) $8,300
Mozart á Paris (Conducted Fernand Oudabrous) – (Pathe France, 7 Album box set, 1956) $8,300
The Misfits – Horror Business (Plan 9, US 7” 45 RPM, 197?) Less than 25 copies. $8,239
Jackson 5 featuring Michael Jackson – Take my Heart (US 6.5” Metal Acetate 45RPM, 196?) $7,900
The Prophets – Huh Baby (Shrine, US 7", 45 RPM 196?) $7,600
John English III – I need you near (Sabra, US 7”, 45 RPM, 196?) $7,600