VARSITY & ROYALE 78 RPM RECORDS - HISTORY & DISCOGRAPHY - SAVE $10 - SHIPS FREE

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Eli Oberstein’s United States
Record Corporation
 
A History and Complete
Discography, 1939–1940

By Allan Sutton
and the Record Research Associates

 
298 total pages • Illustrated
7" x 10" quality softcover

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Eli Oberstein — the man Artie Shaw once called “a horror” — was notorious for business conduct that ranged from short-sighted to occasionally illegal, overshadowing his early accomplishments.

Oberstein's Varsity and Royale labels were hailed as promising new entries when they launched in 1939. A year later, Oberstein's United States Record Corporation collapsed into bankruptcy — but not before he's assembled a substantial, and often intriguing, catalog for Varsity and Royale.

This volume covers USRC's complete output — its many original recordings as well as its imfamous reissues of material from Crown, Gennett, Paramount, Ultraphone, and others.

The Varsity portion substantially updates and expands on Mainspring's now-discontinued Varsity Discography CD. The Royale portion is being published for the first time and includes many hard-to-find details, such as details of the Ultraphone, Artiphone, and other foreign recordings that Oberstein reissued pseudonymously.

Other features include an illustrated USRC history and a balanced, objective biography of Eli Oberstein. There’s also a discussion of original-vs-dubbed masters, including a summary of comparative testing by the author and by the RR group. 

As an added feature, you'll find excerpts from the original record reviews in publication of the day, including Jazz Information and The Steinway Review. (NOTE: The Wright Record Corporation's late 1940s–early 1950s issues on the revived Varsity and Royale labels will be the subject of a future study.)

ALLAN SUTTON is the author of numerous books on early sound recordings and recording history, and winner of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.

THE RECORD RESEARCH ASSOCIATES (Walter C. Allen, Len Kunstadt, George Blacker, Perry Armagnac, et al.) was a group of well-known discographers and writers affiliated with Record Research magazine. In 2011, Mainspring Press acquired the group's research materials and the exclusive publication rights to their data and unfinished manuscripts, which it is in the process of updating and completing.
 

“Mainspring Press has a reputation for commitment to serious discographical
research and superb quality book production.”
— Vintage Jazz Mart

“Significant contributions to discographic research.”
— Notes (Music Library Association)

Visit the Mainspring Press website and blog for free articles on vintage cylinders and 78 records

GUARANTEE: If you are dissatisfied with your purchase for any reason, you may return it postmarked within 14 days of receipt for a refund of your purchase price, shipping fee if applicable, and U.S. return-shipping fees (U.S. addresses only, limited to actual cost at USPS Media Mail rates). Returns must be received in clean, unused condition. Refunds are made only to the PayPal account that was used for the original purchase.