Johnny Boyle, Palm Springs Country Singer, Private Press Album SIGNED, 10" 78sx4
$
58
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Description
Up for sale is an incredibly rare album of four 10 inch 78 rpm shellac records, with eight sides, privately recorded by Johnny Boyle, a singer/guitar player who is closely associated with and fondly remembered in the city of Palm Springs, California! He has INSCRIBED AND SIGNED the album cover. As far as I can tell, these are the only records of Johnny Boyle performing that were released before his death!
Johnny Boyle was born about 1911 into a wealthy family at a Los Angeles ranch where his father was the foreman. Later, the family lived in Beverly Hills. When he was 20 years old, apparently after he experienced some form of "heartbreak", the family sent him Tahiti where he learned to play the ukelele and guitar and returned to the US as a singer. He specialized in both country and Polynesian songs. He began performing in Palm Springs as early as 1935 with appearances at the Desert Inn (where he sang for morning rides and evening steak dinners), the Thunderbird Country Club, the La Quinta Hotel, the Deepwell Ranch, and other venues. In 1939, Boyle and Frank Bogert (of the famous Smoke Tree Ranch) were sent by the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce on the first of several nationwide tours to promote the City's virtues as a tourist attraction. Boyle also performed with his immediate family, including his Hawaiian born wife Bertha (whose stage name was Tani), and his three children. He was a fixture in Palm Springs but also had time to appear elsewhere. He was head of entertainment for Los Rancheros Visitadores, an exclusive horseback riding group that would annual treks in the Santa Ynez Valley of California and elsewhere. [Headquartered in Santa Barbara, Los Rancheros Visitadores had begun operations in 1930. Among its riders were such notables as Walt Disney, Clark Gable, and Ronald Reagan. This club is still in existence.] Boyle also appeared regularly at the Opera House in Central City, Colorado and at Estes Park, Colorado.
His final years were saddened by the worsening of a crippling hereditary neuropathy that had previously stricken his father and his sister and would later affect one of his daughters. Boyle died in August, 1977 at age 66. His obituary, in the Palm Springs Desert Sun, states that he had cut two new records just before his death. According to the website of Discogs, a compilation LP "Johnny Boyle Sings" was issued posthumously in the late 1970s. What I want to stress is that ONLY ONE of the eight sides in the album I am selling is included on that compilation album. (That one side is "Cool Water".) The records I am selling were recorded during Boyle's prime, probably in the late 1940s.
The labels on each of the records read: "Recordings by Johnny Boyle". Each also says "Vocal and Guitar". Here is a list of the record numbers, side numbers, and songs:
Record Number 200 Side JB-7 "Cool Water" Side JB-9 "The Lavender Cowboy" and "Blood on the Saddle" Record Number 201 Side JB-2 "A Tropical Song" and "Tico Tico" Side JB-5 "Hills of Old Wyoming" Record Number 202 Side JB-8 "Little Cowboy" Side JB-13 "Civilization" Record Number 203 Side JB-9-A "The Lord's Prayer" Side JB-9-B "The Serenade of the Bells"
On the inside of the front cover of the album jacket, the singer has written the following:
"Happy memories of the Three R trek of 1949 Thanks Johnny Boyle"
I was unable to find out any information about the "Three R trek". Perhaps it was one of the rides of Los Rancheros Visitadores or perhaps it was another promotional tour for Palm Springs.
Please see above for complete description of condition and for photos. Sold as is.
Attention US Buyers: I will ship by USPS Media Mail or by USPS Priority Mail, your choice. Please note that if you have a Military Mail (e.g. APO) address, I must ask that you pick USPS Priority Mail as it is my understanding that USPS Media Mail is not reliable to Military Mail addresses.
Attention International Buyers: I will ship using USPS First Class International Parcel (to selected countries with e-Delcon service) or by USPS Priority International Mail (worldwide). Please note that the buyer is responsible for any customs that may be charged by the country to which this is delivered.
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