Highway C Q's - Vee Jay 887 (1960)

78s don't come much later than this one!

It appears that this one was recorded on March 3, 1960 and released in May.



Looks like someone wasn't partial to the Highway C Q's way of singing back in the day...

The Courier (Waterloo, IA)
October 23, 1959


Rafael Hernandez Y Su Orquesta Del Grillon - Victor 75276 (1936)



The Palm Beach Post
March 12, 1934

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Charley Skeete's Orchestra - Edison 51775 (1926)

Here we have Charlie (Charley) Skeete's lone recordings...well...Take B of his lone recordings.

Charlie Skeete, p, dir / Leonard Davis c / Jimmy Harrison tb / Gene Johnson cl, as, bsx / Clifton Glover cl, ts / Joe Jones bj / Bill Brown bb / Tommy Benford d. 

Recorded in New York on June 8, 1926.



The New York Age
July 24, 1920

Tampa Bay Times
September 23, 1926

Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra - Okeh 8198 (1925)

Here are two of the first three sides recorded by Oscar "Papa" Celestin's group. (The other is on Okeh 8215)

Oscar Celestin c, dir / "Kid Shots" Madison c / William Ridgley tb / Willard Thoumy cl, as / ts / Manuel Manetta p / John Marrero bj / Simon Marrero sb / Abby Foster d, sw.

Recorded in New Orleans on January 23, 1925.



The Herald (New Orleans, Louisiana)
November 10, 1921

Clarion News (Opelousas, Louisiana)
May 12, 1923



Lord Investor's Calypso Music Blog

I was recently contacted by a fellow blogger alerting me to the poaching of my calypso posts onto youtube without credit.  

After the youtube debacle had been addressed, I checked out the fellow blogger's page and it blew me away. 

If you are a fan of Calypso music, this site is for you.

Click the picture below and head that way... 


Rafael Hernandes Y Su Orquesta Del Grillon - Victor 75248 (1936)

Unfortunately, Victor's ledgers have been lost so the recording date and personnel are either estimates.

May have been recorded in Mexico City in March of 1936.



The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, FL) 
Mar 11, 1934




The Montgomery (AL) Advertiser
May 5, 1940

Clifford Gibson - Victor 38612 (1929)

From wikipedia...

Clifford "Grandpappy" Gibson (April 17, 1901 – December 21, 1963) was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is best known for the tracks, Bad Luck Dice and Hard Headed Blues.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri in the 1920s and lived there for the rest of his life. He played in St. Louis clubs, and in 1929 began recording for the QRS and Victor labels. He is regarded as one of the earliest urban blues performers, with no pronounced rural influences. His guitar playing style resembled that of Lonnie Johnson, with an emphasis on vibrato and improvisation. Among the many themes touched on in his songs, Don't Put That Thing on Me is notable for its references to hoodoo, an African American form of folk magic.

Gibson accompanied Jimmie Rodgers on a Victor single, Let Me Be Your Side Track, in 1931, then spent parts of the next three decades playing in the streets around St. Louis. Gibson resurfaced on recordings in 1960 on the Bobbin label, and worked another three years in St. Louis' Gaslight Square, before his death from pulmonary edema in 1963.

Clifford Gibson g, v.

Recorded in New York on December 10, 1929.



Corozo Y Pepito - Zitro RO-114 (19??)

Just got back from Christmas & Three Kings celebrations in Puerto Rico and managed to seek out a few 78s in between.

Flipping through a stack at a local shop, my wife said, "Get that one, it has the flag on the label."

Always listen to your wife.

If anyone has information on the artists, label and the year this was made, please leave a comment below.


Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra - Vocalion 15372 (1926)

Click here for the other Erskine Tate sides featuring Freddy Keppard.

Erskine Tate dir / Louis Armstrong, ? James Tate t / Eddie Atkins tb / Angelo Fernandez cl / as / Stump Evans as, bar / Norval Morton ts / Teddy Weatherford and another p / Frank Ethridge bj / John Hare bb / Jimmy Bertrand d, wb.

Recorded in Chicago on May 28, 1926.


Walter "Buddy Boy" Hawkins - Paramount 12802 (1929)

From wikipedia...

[Walter "Buddy Boy" Hawkins was an American country blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded only 12 songs, between 1927 and 1929.

The date and place of his birth are unknown, but there is consensus among blues historians that Hawkins probably originated in either Alabama or, somewhat less definitely, the northern Mississippi Delta.

Hawkins recorded a dozen tracks for Paramount Records between 1927 and 1929. Many of his lyrics mention the railroad, with some hint that he had worked laying rail track. The first 10-inch 78-rpm shellac single released by Paramount was Number Three Blues backed with Snatch It Back Blues, recorded about April 1927 in Chicago. Paramount released another five singles between 1927 and 1929; these later recordings were issued under his birth name, Walter Hawkins. His tracks included the slightly peculiar Voice Throwin' Blues, in which he employed a call and response banter between two voices, one purportedly being a ventriloquist's dummy. A Rag Blues contained lyrics that hinted that it origins lay in Jackson, Mississippi, although it was performed in a Spanish-inflected style.

Hawkins played exclusively in open A tuning. His records sold poorly and he faded into obscurity. His life story after his recording career ended is shrouded in mystery]

Walter Hawkins g, v.

Recorded in Richmond, IN on June 14, 1929.