6. Commercial records

For a more extensive listing than is attempted here, readers are referred to the bibliographies published in the following three works (which should also be compulsory reading for everybody working in this field):

McWilliams, J. The Preservation and Restoration of Sound Recordings; Nashville: American Association of State and Local History; 1979

Rust, B. Brian Rust's Guide to Discography; Westport, Conn. and London: Greenwood Press; 1980

Elste, M. Schallplatten-Forschung; Munchen: Kraus International Publications; 1981

(a) Record Industry

The international history of the record industry still remains to be written. Most of the works on the industry deal with the viewpoint of one country and none are wholly satisfactory. The following publications will, however, serve as an introduction:

Denisoff, R.S. Solid Gold: The Popular Record Industry; New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books; 1975 in USA only)

Gelatt, R. The Fabulous Phonograph; London: Cassel; 1956 and subsequent editions (a popular history of the record industry, good as an introduction but not very detailed)

Gronow, P. 'The record industry comes to the Orient' in Ethnomusicology, Vol.XXV/2; 1981 (an aspect of the industry's history usually neglected in general histories)

Lotz, R. Grammophonlatten aus der Ragtime-era; Dortmund: Harenberg Komrnunikation; 1979 the early history of the German industry, with emphasis on record label illustrations)

Read, O. and Welch, W.L. From Tin Foil to Stereo; Indianapolis: Sams; 1976 (the best technical history of the industry so far, but unacceptably inaccurate on developments outside the USA)

Rust, B. The American Record Label Book; New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House; 1978 (an introduction to American record companies and their British connections before 1942. Not as complete as it claims and occasionally inaccurate, but basically sound)

Schulz-Köhn, D. Die Schallplatte auf dem Weltmarkt; Berlin: Rehr; 1940 (this hard-to-find volume is still the best economic history of the industry)

(b) Discography
Gray, M. and Gibson, G.D. Bibliography of Discographies Vol. 1; New York: R.R. Bowker and Co.; 1077 (this series will eventually provide references to all known discographies. The first volume deals with classical music. There are also current listings of new discographies in the journal of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (see below)

Bauer, R. Historical Records; London: Sidgwick and Jackson; 1946 (classical vocals)

Daniélou, A. Catalogue of Recorded Classical and Traditional Indian Music; Paris: UNESCO; 1952

Girard, V. and Barnes, H.M. Vertical Cut Cylinders and Discs; London: British Institute of Recorded Sound; 1971 (a catalogue of all 'hill-and-dale' recordings of serious worth made and issued between circa 1897-1933. Classical only but a good introduction to vertical-cut records)

Haapen, V. Suomalaisten äailevyjen luettelo: Catalogue of Finnish Records; Helsinki: Suomen aanitearkisto; 1967-81 (the only comprehensive national discography in the world, it covers all Finnish records. Nineteen volumes are published covering 1902-80)

Jepsen, J.G. Jazz Records 1942-62 (12 volumes); Holte, Denmark: Karl Emil Knudsen; 1963-69

Labbe, G. Les Pionniers du disque folk1orique quebecois 1920-1950; Montreal: Les Editions de l'Aurore; 1977

Moogk, E.B. Roll Back the Years; Ottawa: National Library of Canada; 1975 (a history and discography of Canadian recordings to 1930. Together with the Labbe and Taft works, it illustrates three different approaches to Canadian discography)

Ruppli, M. Atlantic Records, Vols.1-4; Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press; 1979 (a label discography listing all records issued by a single company between 1947 and 1978)

Rust, B. The Victor Master Book 1925-1936; Hatch End, Middlesex: author; 1969 (another approach to listing the production of a single company by matrix-master numbers. Classical and foreign language recordings are not included)

Rust, B. Jazz Records A-Z, 1897-1942; New York: Arlington House (and other editions); 1978

Rust, B. Discography of Historical Records on Cylinders and 78s; Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press; 1978 speech recordings in English by prominent historical figures)

Rust, B. British Music Hall on Record; London: General Gramophone Publication; 1979

Taft, M. A Regional Discography of Newfoundland and Labrador 1904-1972; St. John's, Newfoundland: Memorial University of Newfoundland; 1975

Toth, A. Recordings of the Traditional Music of Bali and Lombok; Ann Arbor, Mich.: Society for Ethnomusicology; 1980

(c) Journals

Past issues of the Association of Recorded Sound Collections Journal (P.O. Box 1643, Manassa VA 22110, USA) gives a good overview of the field. Those who wish to see sound archives in a wider context should also read the Summer-Fall 1980 issue of the Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress, which is dedicated to the new Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division of the Library.