Lucille Hegamin Acc. By Harris' Blues & Jazz Seven - Arto 9045 (1920)

From Wikipedia...

[On August 10, 1920, in New York City, Mamie Smith recorded a set of songs all written by the African American songwriter, Perry Bradford, including "Crazy Blues" and "It's Right Here For You (If You Don't Get It, 'Tain't No Fault of Mine)", on Okeh Records. It was the first recording of vocal blues by an African American artist...]

Since Mamie was first, someone had to be second...and here she is with her first record. (She did record a test pressing for Victor accompanied by Fletcher Henderson a month earlier but apparently it was never released.)

Here's the story of how I came to acquire this record.

Lucille Hegamin v / Wesley Johnson t / Jim Reevy tb / Clarence Harris as / Bill Hegamin p / Ralph Escudero bb / Kaiser Marshall d.

Recorded in New York in November of 1920.


The Dardanelle Trio - RCA Victor 20-1959 (1946)

Dardanelle dir, p, v / Tal Farlow g (Fellow Tarheel) / Paul Edenfield sb

Found this newspaper blurb...

The Free Lance Star (Fredericksburg, VA) – September 25, 1946

The Dardanelle Trio: “After You Get What You Want You Don’t Want It” – “Boogie In Bee.”

One of the most popular club combos on the East Coast, The Dardanelle Trio fronted by the lovely, vivacious Dardanelle, makes its RCA Victor debut with a bright revival of an Irving Berlin “oldie.” The trio consists of bass, guitar and piano, with Dardanelle at the keyboard. She also sings the vocals, which features her unique Southern drawl. The flipover, the all-instrumental “Boogie In Bee,” spotlights the group’s individual artistry at a slow, insinuating pace. Guitar and piano interweave in a sensational manner in this arrangement.




Duces (sic) Of Rhythm & Tempo Toppers (Lead: Little Richard) - Peacock 1616 (1953)

This was the first record by Little Richard for Peacock Records out of Houston after his dismal RCA-Victor recording debut 2 years earlier. Searching for any information on the Deuces of Rhythm & Tempo Toppers has resulted in no personnel identifications other than Richard himself.

These sides have that Dominoes / Ravens sound going on.

Note that the word "Duces" is misspelled on the label...I am assuming this may be from a first pressing as I have found 78 label scans showing the correct spelling.



Guitar Slim & His Band - Specialty 542 (1955)

This is one of those records that you are excited to find at first but then it all goes sour after a closer inspection. While the playing surface is almost as shiny and scratch free as when it was pressed, there is a fast warp...not one of those long flowing kind that the needle will ride up and down like a seasoned surfer...but rather one that at 78 rpm, sends the stylus up into the stratosphere. And that doesn't even cover the hairline crack from the label to the edge.

Archiving it with a bit heavier tracking weight at 33 1/3 rpm, I was able to alter the speed using Audacity software.

Guitar Slim seems to have been Jimi Hendrix a full decade before Jimi Hendrix and his showmanship apparently rivaled that of Little Richard's. It's a shame that his life ended way too early at age 32.

His son, Guitar Slim Jr., has one hell of a voice and some of his music lends itself nicely to the Shaggin' culture of the Carolinas. Check out his website.




Gene Krupa & His Orchestra - Conqueror 9896 (1941)

Found this one while looking for R&B fodder for eBay. Not uncommon but in nice shape.

Gene Krupa d, dir / Graham Young, Torg Halten, Norman Murphy t / Babe Wagner, Jay Kelliher, Pat Virgadamo tb / Mascagni Ruffo, Clint Neagley as / Sam Musiker, Walter Bates ts / Bob Kitsis p / Ray Biondi g / Biddy Bastien sb / Howard Dulany v.

Recorded in New York on June 5, 1941.