On 6/2/2014 10:30 AM, Jaemin Lee wrote:
> I am currently exploring to see how prerecorded music market evolved from
> the genesis. I have searched through references, but I could not find the
> ones with the comprehensive data about each record published, specifically
> the genre of music contained (e.g., operah, jazz, hillbilly, blues) and type
> of platform it supported (e.g., Phonograph, Gramophone). I would be truly
> grateful if you can suggest me some data sources so that I can get a better
> pictures on who manufactured what types of records in the early history.
For hillbilly music, get Tony Russell's "Country Music Records: A
Discography 1921-1942" (Oxford Univ. Press, 2004). For blues & gospel,
get Dixon, Godrich & Rye's :Blues and Gospel Records, 1890-1943"
(Claendon Press, 1997). Brian Rust's works can tell you about jazz
records. For all of these, look first on www.abebooks.com .
For all of these genres, defining the starting point is difficult and
arbitrary. For example, did the recordings of fiddle music from the
hillbilly repertoire by performers from outside that tradition count?
That'd a judgment call; some (including me) would say yes, some no. But
these three discographies can at least get you started.
Also look t the comprehensive pre-1930 Victor discography, residing
online at the University of California-Santa Barbara's website, and the
National Jukebox project at the Library of Congress, just in its early
stages but with exciting progress, especially if you want to actually
hear the records.
Peace,
Paul
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