Okeh Catalog Supplement, January, 1925

It's been a while since my last post. But, inspired by a new turntable, I've been madly spinning 78s, and have some new transfers to post soon. In the meantime, here is a complete scan of the Okeh records monthly catalog supplement from January, 1925. Plenty of forgettable stuff is listed, of course, but several of these new releases are of interest to record collectors. There are country discs by Fiddlin' John Carson and Henry Whitter, and hot jazz/dance sides by The Goofus Five (a California Ramblers sub-group), Red Nichols' Arkansaw Travelers, and the Arcadia Peacock Orchestra of St. Louis. But the winner in Okeh's releases for the month has to be "I'm a Little Blackbird"/"Mandy, Make Up Your Mind" by Clarence Williams' Blue Five. Any jazz collector would love to have an original copy of this record, which features the first two great soloists in jazz (excepting pianists), Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. "Mandy" even features a solo by Bechet played on the contrabass sarrusophone, rather than on his customary soprano saxophone. Most of these records were recorded in November and December, 1924, which tells you how quickly record companies got their products on the shelves in those days.

Although I love browsing through the various record labels' big annual catalogs, with their comprehensive listings, these monthly supplements have their pleasures. There are often short biographies of performers, or, as here, descriptions of the recordings. But the fact that they often have artist pictures not found in the annual catalogs is one of the most valuable aspects of these monthly supplements. I particularly like the washed-out photo of a dour-looking John Carson here.

 

Scottdale String Band

Yesterday I listened to some old-time country 78s, and the Scottdale String Band really made me smile.  This three-piece band was based in the mill village of Scottdale, Georgia, east of Atlanta.  The band was unusual in that the instrumental lead was taken by Charlie Simmons on mandolin and banjo, not by a fiddler.  The other members of the band were Barney Pritchard and Marvin Head, both guitarists.  The group made a dozen or so records for Okeh and Paramount between 1926 and 1932.

Scottdale, only a few miles from my house in Atlanta, grew up around the Scottdale Cotton Mill, opened by George Washington Scott in 1901.  The mill remained in operation until 1982.  Many great early country bands sprung up in the shadows of Southern cotton mills - check out Patrick Huber's fine book Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South. 

The mill has been demolished, although there is a newer steel mill looming over the railroad tracks.  Many of the mill houses built for the workers remain, mostly freshly painted and restored.  The main design seems to have been a rather plain duplex- there are dozens of these nearly identical double houses in Scottdale.

My Scottdale String Band records are pretty worn, as many early country records tend to be.  But one side of Okeh 45103, "Chinese Breakdown," is in better shape than the rest.  You can hear Charlie Simmons' lead banjo, played with a pick, mandolin-style, it sounds like, rather than in the more common clawhammer style.

Unfortunately, the label of my copy of "Chinese Breakdown" is almost illegible, so I'm posting the best-looking label, along with the best-sounding music I have, by this great Georgia country group.  "Chinese Breakdown" was recorded in Atlanta on March 21, 1927.

Scottdale String Band - Chinese Breakdown