The Orioles - Jubilee 5040 (1950)

By chance, I had someone contact me about a stash of 78s found as they were cleaning out an elderly relative's house. I said I could take a look and see if anything may be collectible. This morning, he drove the records over to my house but unfortunately the original carrying case had been sitting in an inch of water for years. (They were basically Crosbys and newer Hawaiian)

After explaining that the damage made these all but worthless and unplayable, I saw a 45 stuffed in a folder which resided well above any water threat.

Sorely out of place, it was a decent copy of early Orioles on Jubilee. Not bad.

Mickey & Sylvia - Vik X-0252 (1956)

Here's my second offering from the Canadian stash...

From wikipedia...

Love is Strange was a crossover hit by American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove record label.

The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams. The co-writers of the song are of some dispute. The song has also been recorded by Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley, among others. The guitar riff was also used by Dave "Baby" Cortez in his 1962 instrumental song Rinky Dink.

At a concert at Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. Mickey & Sylvia heard Jody Williams play a guitar riff that Williams had played on Billy Stewart's debut single Billy's Blues. Billy's Blues was released as a single in June 1956 and the instrumentation combined a regular blues styling with Afro-Cuban styling.

Sylvia Robinson claims that she and Mickey Baker wrote the lyrics, while Bo Diddley claims that he wrote them.

(Sylvia later founded Sugar Hill Records and introduced the world to the Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's The Message.)

Recorded on October 17, 1956 on RCA’s Groove label.

Click here for a Ray Charles recording featuring Mickey Baker on guitar. 

Little Richard - Regency 501 (1956)

Have been in a Little Richard frame of mind for a couple of weeks now after having recently seen him in concert. Just the other day, I acted on a tip from the local record store guy and came across a nice stack of rock & roll 78s that were all pressed in Canada. It looks like they all came from one owner and that person took great care in handling them.

From wikipedia...

The recording session took place on February 10, 1956 at J&M Studio in New Orleans, the legendary studio owned by Cosimo Matassa on the corner of Rampart and Dumaine where Fats Domino and many other New Orleans luminaries recorded. "Tutti Frutti", as well as many other Little Richard sides, was also recorded there.

The backing was provided by the house top session men: Edgar Blanchard (guitar), Frank Fields (bass), Lee Allen (tenor sax), Alvin "Red" Tyler (baritone sax) and Earl Palmer (drums), plus Little Richard on vocals and piano. Blackwell was the producer.

Frank Teschemacher - Columbia Hot Jazz Classics C-43

From wikipedia...

Frank Teschemacher (March 13, 1906, Kansas City, Missouri – March 1, 1932, Chicago) was an American jazz clarinetist and alto-saxophonist, associated with the "Austin High" gang (along with Jimmy McPartland, Bud Freeman and others). He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but spent most of his career based in Chicago, Illinois, although gigs sometimes took him to New York City, around the U.S. Midwest, and he also took a job in Florida with Charlie Straight.

Strongly influenced by cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, he was mainly self-taught on his instruments; early on he also doubled on violin and banjo. He started playing the clarinet professionally in 1925. He began recording under his own name in 1928 and made what are believed to be his final recordings two years later, although there is now reason to believe (via sine wave recording research, aka Smith/Westbrook Method) that he appeared on unidentified recordings as late as 1930. His intense solo work laid the groundwork for a rich sound and creative approach, that is credited with influencing a young Benny Goodman and a style of which Pee Wee Russell is perhaps the best-known representative. He also made recordings on the saxophone. Late in his career, he returned to playing violin with Jan Garber's sweet dance orchestra, trying to earn a living in the midst of the Great Depression. Although he was well known in the world of jazz, he did not live to enjoy popular success in the swing era.

He was killed in an automobile accident on the morning of March 1, 1932, a passenger in a car driven by his performing associate cornetist "Wild" Bill Davison; it was several days short of what would have been his 26th birthday.

Memphis Five - Columbia 7D (1923)

Following the personnel trail in the discography, I believe this may be the lineup for these sides.

Phil Napoleon t / Charlie Panelli tb / Jimmy Lytell cl / Frank Signorelli p / Jack Roth d / Ray Kitchingman bj / Billy Jones v.

Recorded in New York on September 27, 1923.

Big Three Trio - Bullet 275 (1946)

From wikipedia...

Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston (June 2, 1917 – August 22, 1987) was an American blues pianist and guitarist. He is best noted for the tracks "Blues At Midnight" and "I'm Gonna Walk Your Log."

Leonard Caston Sr., was born in Sumrall, Mississippi, United States, and raised in Meadville, Mississippi from age eight. He lived in Chicago from 1934 to 1936 but then moved back to Mississippi after his family relocated to Natchez. He learned to play piano under the influence of Leroy Carr and Art Tatum; he has also credited Andy Kirk and Jimmy Rogers, as well as his relative Kim Weathersby, as stylistic influences.

In 1938 he returned to Chicago, where he met with Mayo Williams, a producer for Decca Records. Williams recorded him in a trio with Eugene Gilmore and Arthur Dixon; Dixon introduced him to his brother, Willie Dixon. Willie and Caston then formed the Five Breezes, along with Jimmy Gilmore, Joe Bell, and Willie Hawthorne, a group in the style of The Ink Spots. In 1940, Caston recorded his first solo record for Decca, "The Death of Walter Barnes", which also included Robert Nighthawk on harmonica.

The Five Breezes disbanded in 1941, and Caston began playing in the Rhythm Rascals Trio with Alfred Elkins and Ollie Crawford. The group did USO tours, and in 1945 performed at a conference for Dwight Eisenhower, Bernard Montgomery, and Georgy Zhukov. After the war, he recorded under his own name as well as for Roosevelt Sykes and Walter Davis, and did myriad studio sessions. He also recorded again with Dixon as the Four Jumps of Jive and the Big Three Trio, playing in both groups with Bernardo Dennis as well. Ollie Crawford joined this group soon after Dennis's departure. The Big Three Trio recorded for Columbia Records and Okeh Records.

The Big Three Trio's last sides were recorded in 1952, but the group did not officially break up until 1956. Caston continued performing for decades afterwards, returning to perform with Dixon in 1984.

Caston also released an album, Baby Doo's House Party, shortly before his death of heart disease in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1987.

Willie Dixon sb, v / Leonard Caston p, v / Bernardo Dennis g, v.

Recorded in Chicago in 1946.