some miscellaneous records

In collecting the things I do collect, occasionally I come across something totally unrelated that just strikes my fancy. I keep these around for years, wondering what to do with them. So, finally, I am scanning in a few of these miscellany and posting them. Each of these has a different story to tell. Three of them are gospel. Brother Bob, London Parris, the Happy Goodmans. Parris cracks me up – did his parents really name him London Parris? Brother Bob looks do-it-yourself. All three of them signal the type of music enclosed by using a trope that makes sense to their intended audience. Vernacular record design: lets you know at least what kind of music is contained.

The one called Grey Fox presents could be anything. It turns out to be songs in Hebrew or Yiddish. This may be the worst cover I have ever seen.

The one on TopRank is generic elevator music. What makes it interesting, if anything does, is that the cover is die cut, there is a round hole with a foil insert. Usually, records like this don’t spend that much on the packaging.

finally, a few more Grand Award records

I haven’t been scanning much lately, but finally got back into it. Another batch of covers from a different era of graphics.

Grand Award stereo, in numerical order

These are GA 201 SD to GA 214 SD. The original stereo versions and the 1960s reissues when I have them. Again, a great group of graphics if not individually stunning for the most part. Some great commercial artists.

a few recent acquisitions

The Steve Allen one I have labeled as Steinweiss, but it could just be influenced by him.  I like it a lot, which probably means Steinweiss.  Piano Moods is by David Stone Martin, and is as fine as his famous covers for Verve/Clef/Norgran.  And its timely, since I recently finished posting the ten inch Waldorf records.

Grand Award records: the ones I actually listen to

As I have said before, Command records had taste in music that did not coincide with mine.  This was true of the precursor labels as well – Waldorf and Grand Award.  But there are exceptions.  After Hours, the ten inch version on Waldorf, was repackaged with extra material as After Hours on Grand Award.  And it remains a great record to these ears.  Here I show the covers from all the Grand Award records that I ever listen to. I keep them categorized with Swing, between Goodman, Benny and Herman, Woody.  There are some great moments.  They also introduce the basic Grand Award cover design – the false frame around an illustration by a commercial artist of the time – Tracy Sugarman, Elmer Wexler, Arthur Shilstone, David Stone Martin.  I find the covers to individually not be all that incredible.  But taken as a group, they make a wonderful display of graphics.

Waldorf Music Hall 10 inch records

As I said before, a budget label at this point. Remarkably, some of the music is pretty good, more so than anything the company would do later. At least the ones with some relationship to jazz are pretty good. The record “After Hours” is one of my all time favorite albums. 100 all time favorite, but still a favorite. Much of this music was later reissued on Grand Award.

This is everything else I have on Waldorf, or just about all.

Waldorf Music Hall 8 Top Hits

Bargain label at its finest. The drawn ones are by Tracy Sugarman.

success begins here: waldorf music hall

I just finished posting everything I have on Command Records. The Command label was the inheritor of a company that started ca. 1950 under the name Waldorf Music Hall. So I am now going to go back and pick up the Waldorf records and the Grand Award records that followed Waldorf and preceded Command. As I have said before, Command did not, in my opinion, make its reputation nor sales on its music. I consider this entire company saga to be the perfect proof of the importance of graphic design. Waldorf was a budget label, mostly 10 inch records. A couple of good illustrators did some of the drawings. The covers are a little higher quality in design and materials than other budget labels of the time period. Over time the company realized that graphics works, put more and more effort into graphics, and sold the company in 1959 (or so I have read). If they had had as bad packaging as some of their competitors, they would not have succeeded as well as they did. The music is still mostly terrible, but the designs get better and better. Some of these covers have art by Tracy Sugarman, who will show up a lot in the next few months. I am not sure TH1 is Waldorf, I don’t have the lp itself, and there is nothing on the back cover.

This is all the 12 inch Waldorfs in my collection. The 10 inch ones are next.

the final years of command classics

This is all of the remaining Command Classics that I have, up to the end in 1967.

some more command classics

Nothing much to add. This brings us up to 1965, almost the end of Command Classics.