I just got my first 78RPM records in the mail today. All are E-Bay finds, and were pretty cheap at that. All there are Johnny Mercer (I chose him for my first 78's because he was a distant relative of mine). I'd like some idea of how old they are:

1) Capitol Records: Johnny Mercer with Freddy Slack & His Orchestra (side 1 "The Wreck of the Old '97"/side 2 "I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City"). The number 122 appears on both sides of the label. Rather thick & heavy.

2) Capitol Records (side 1: Johnny Mercer & the Pied Pipers "Why Should I Cry Over You"/side 2: Johnny Mercer with Paul Weston & His Orchestra "Sugar Blues"). B448 on label. Thinner & lighter weight than record #1; widely spaced exit groove (other two records the exit groove is a tighter spiral)

3) Capitol Records: Johnny Mercer with Paul Weston & His Orchestra (side 1 "G.I. Jive"/ side 2 ""I'm Going To Sit Right Down And Write Myself a Letter"). #141 on label. Heavy (dense) record, similar to #1.

Capitol Records (founded by Johnny Mercer, who was, in my opinion, the greatest American lyricist) issued its first record, number 100, on July 1, 1942.

You can find a discography of early Capitol Records at:
http://www.78discography.com/Capitol100.htm

It shows that your 1 & 3 are from 1942 and 1943 respectively and your #2 is from 1947.

You probably know that the book and movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" was based upon events at the Mercer House, in Savannah GA, birthplace of Johnny Mercer.

Freddie Slack was a great Boogie Woogie piano player. Before he had his own band he played for the Will Bradley/Ray McKinley orchestra. Before that he played for Jimmy Dorsey.

Ken D.

Thanks, all! I'm guessing I need to be especially careful with the wartime records, then. I've heard they tend to be fragile due to wartime shortages of shellac.

I agree with Ken about Freddie Slack. That man could play unbelievable Bass runs with his left hand on the piano. For a great example of this, check out the record he made with Ella Mae Morse called "Get on Board Little Children" also on Capitol. That is some really fast left hand playing there.

Freddie Slack is a lot of fun. When I first started looking for an acoustic phonograph, part of how I sold my girlfriend on the idea was by promising that one of the first records we'd get is a copy of one of her favorite piano rags, "Kitten on the Keys." We've now got three versions of it, and the Freddie Slack version is her favorite.

To your advantage, Johnny Mercer and Freddie Slack both appear to be fairly common/inexpensive, so you shouldn't have any trouble picking them up pretty inexpensively--finding them in record lots, thrift stores, etc. I come across them all the time locally, but then there seem to be lots of 78s floating around San Francisco in general.

And yes, definitely be careful. I can't count the number of times I've seen 78s get chipped or cracked because the people selling them had them mixed in with a lot of LPs, or didn't realize that they're much more brittle and susceptible to movement and changes in pressure than vinyl. My recommendation is to invest in some good quality, good condition record albums and keep them in there. And be careful when you turn the pages!

Just do what I do and post a "wanting to buy 78 rpm records" on your local CL. Be sure to include a picture or three of what a 78 is and describe it in your listing or you'll have all the young'uns replying with "78's" from the 1970's thru the 90's. You might add what you're willing to pay per record...say 50 cents each. Although the mistaken identity is always not so bad. Recently paid $5 for 325 lps of re-issue big band, rag time, jazz lps which look like store stock from a closed record store. None less than EXC condition.

Get on Board Little Children is a fun song. Ella Mae was only in her teens when she sang that particular cut.

Ella Mae was great. I love Blacksmith Blues and the flip side Love Me or Leave Me with Nelson Riddle, really makes the ol' woofers bounce.

I just had an opportunity to buy some more 78's. Mostly Christmas, one Country, and a couple of WWII v-discs from late in the war (March-May 1945) cheap. Waiting for those to arrive, along with a couple vintage record "albums" to protect them. Ol' Blue Eyes will be singing a lot of my Christmas music this year!