Hit of the Week records: An introduction and an UNISSUED disc!

[@davidanderson8500]

I cornered Ellington after a concert in Topeka, Kansas around 1970 and asked if Harlem Hot Chocolates was his band. He got a funny look on his face and said it could have been - said they used a different name for different labels. He did mention Victor in particular.

[@mojoglow]

Topeka here! Right on. ✌️🎶❤

[@JDlupin]

15 cents in todays money is about $1.98, the 50 cent label would cost about $9.50. This is based on 1931. Thank you for this video

[@MarkAtnip]

You are most welcome. One of these days I will be doing a video about the Victor Rigoletto disc which had a price of $6 printed on the label. It was largely a marketing gimmick, as people that purchased a Victrola were allowed to pick a free disc to take home, so most people chose the one with the $6 price tag instead of a good blues record :)

[@tedlawrence4189]

Keep in mind, some people would rather hear the Quartet, than a blues singer.

[@johnleifert3205]

Thanks for a most interesting look into the Hit of the Week label! However, a very strange thing happened as I was listening to Vaughn de Leath singing "Am I Blue?" and that I was not listening to de Leath. I was listening to EVA TAYLOR!! Now, I don't want people to lambast me saying "You're crazy!" - but if it IS Taylor, you have a performance by a Black singer who recorded very few vocals with White orchestras. I have played this a number of times, and each time Taylor creeps closer in my eyes. At any rate, a fascinating item and I am so glad you have it!!

[@jonnoring7225]

Wow, definitely Eva Taylor!!!

[@manidig]

I think the speed is off and this record needs to come down about 4 percent. Then Vaughn will sound more like the Vaughn we usually hear. This sounds like a white band to me. Similar personnel to The New York Twelve.

[@DavidBrewer-c6w]

The Harlem Hot Chocolates record of "Sing, You Sinners" is Ellington's band using a stock band arrangement written by Frank Skinner. I used to have a band that played these old stock arrangements, including this one. They were available for 75 cents to a buck fifty in the music departments of department stores back at that time. A lot of bands would buy these and adapt them to their own style.

[@LudiusQuassas]

Hit of the Week Records are an amazing example that cheap doesn't always mean bad. It's quite impressive that so many famous musicians recorded for this label, and shows the incredibly high standard in musical convention when it came to recordings. Pretty much everything you could buy was good, as long as it wasn't a pretentious director like Art Kassel or similar.

[@rimshot9421]

I also have the archeophone records cd releases of The Complete Wolverines 1924-1928 & King Oliver OFF THE RECORD and there Excellent ! I just like to let folks know about it. Thanks again .

[@j.pablop.1998]

New subscriber here!! I love your channel and 78 rpm records! Greetings from Chile! 🎶

[@alexmckenna1171]

That was WONDERFUL! Many thanks. Now I've had to down-size from 10,000 78s to about 50, it cheers me up to hear good stuff.

[@78urt]

I remember hearing this on the nauktion last year, good stuff

[@caroltenge5147]

Great number, I could listen to it all day.... Ill buy one.

[@vinylman1973return]

I love Hit Of the Week records of "Go Home And Tell Your Mother" by Don Voorhees. Because there is Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey!

[@rimshot9421]

Great disc ! Thank you for sharing this . I have the HIT of the Week cd sets and your right, they did a great job on them . Keep up the excellent work !

[@MarkAtnip]

The HOTW CD sets were done by Rich and Megan at Archeophone records. They are at the pinnacle of 78rpm reissues. (and they are great folks as well) They collect Grammy nominations like I collect Brunswick Radio Transcriptions... a few per year : )

[@JamesIrwins78s]

Great recording!

[@Emiliee]

Thank you for uploading this!! So amazing

[@oldradiosnphonographs]

I got a 1907 Marconi record from Bob Roberts which was the precursor to the Durium HOTW record. It’s amazing they manage to play on machines that commend such a high tracking force at the time.

[@MarkAtnip]

I need to do some more research into the Marconi discs. They apparently required proprietary needles for playback, however I haven't been able to determine what was different about them. The technology was certainly amazing. In addition to the requirement for special needles, they were often re-releases of previous recordings, but were much more expensive than the originals, which were still available, which might be another reason they didn't last long. Your comment about tracking force is very valid as well. Apparently they tended to slip on turntables. Thanks for the comment. Marconi discs will show up here eventually.

[@thelindyhopfox]

This was great to watch! Your content is super informative and i love the presentation. I love hit of the week records but I've only come across one here across the pond. Again thank you for the video!

[@MarkAtnip]

Thank you. I have been collecting records for decades, but other than one video I did about 20 years ago, I am new to video. As for Hit of the Week on that side of the pond, you should be able to find some of the Durium discs, which are pretty much the same thing. Keep an eye out for the little (3" to 7") advertising discs. They are a lot of fun and were issued in multiple countries over there!

[@Cont0rt]

I always wondered what those hit of the week records were. I keep seeing them on the78prof's channel. I always archive my records on my other KZbin channel since I have a lot of music by New Zealand artists and artists Noone really remembers like Dick Robertson, Howard Morrison, Etc.

[@luvmyrecords]

The sound of the band is quite similar to the Dorsey Brothers (I'm thinking specifically of "Have a Little Faith in Me," issued on Perfect and other Pathe labels.) It's a shot in the dark; those who know T.D.'s early playing style better than I do would judge better if the 'bone solo indeed is Tommy Dorsey.

[@mlaprarie]

I was just about to post a comment noting that the trombonist sounds a lot like Tommy Dorsey.

[@mgconlan]

I agree. This is quite likely the great T.D. on trombone, and possibly his brother Jimmy on clarinet.@@mlaprarie

[@timothysleight844]

A great sound thank you

[@manidig]

Wow! This is a real find! At the beginning it sounds like a Red Nichols group-- there's a nice hot violin break (not Venuti but close) and the hot trombone definitely sounds like Miff Mole and Jimmy Dorsey might be doing that clarinet break. However The speed doesn't seem right. I checked the pitch and this is between B-flat and B which is typical when you play at 78.26rpm . However Vaughn's voice and some of the instruments sound a little high in pitch. Perhaps this was in A-flat?

[@deweydodo6691]

I remember 45's on the back of cereal boxes when i was young. Had to cut them out.

[@roseogrady8785]

Thank You.

[@topnotch06]

Thank you for sharing this nice disc. Are you sure about Vaughn De Leath? It sounds very much like Eva Taylor to me. She did make a recording for Durium.

[@MarkAtnip]

I have been repeatedly told that is was De Leath. I have also started to hear people offering alternatives. (Welcome Lewis, Eva Taylor, and a few others). The person from whom I acquired the disc, and the person they acquired it from both indicate De Leath, however I am not 100 % convinced. It just doesn't quite sound like her?? I defaulted to the assumption of people who know a lot more about HOTW than I do, but I should learn not to do that if I have my own doubts. Until some discographical data (recording session information, etc...) becomes available (assuming it exists) then we will have to keep guessing. Hans Koert was apparently unaware of this disc. He would have been the most likely source for information, however he is now, sadly, deceased.

[@luvmyrecords]

P.S. Thank you for this informative video and for sharing your rarity.

[@danielarick2105]

I have one Hit of The Week disc, I'm Yous,by The Benrus Radio Orchestra, actually Lanins Orchestra, I later found out

[@frankolen4137]

I have two how's swing a hammock and I'm thru with love thanks u have a great show

[@MarkAtnip]

"I'm Through With Love" is one of my favorite HOTW discs!

[@billanderson6411]

You have the TDL 4010 Preamp!! I remember it being marketed 15 or so years ago and the flexibility of EQ curves was impressive! But the unit (and the company) disappeared a while back. One question I had regarding the TDL is whether the re-eq could be done keeping the 2 channel separate or if it always sums to mono on the output. ( I try to re-eq both channels at first, then work on noise reduction later before summing the results digitally)

[@Tadfafty]

Oh yes every rare record of mine is shared. These Hit Of The Weeks seem to have aged better than shellac records did, as far as material degredation.

[@MarkAtnip]

With shellac 78's, humidity and moisture damage the surface and leave the base layer mostly unaffected, whereas with Hit of the Week, the opposite is often the case, as humidity, heat, etc damages the base cardboard layer but leaves the surface in pretty good shape.

[@Tadfafty]

@@MarkAtnip My HOTWs, at least the ones that haven't been torn, have faired quite well, they still lay flat and are flexible.

[@Tadfafty]

I guess that.... could be Vaughn De Leath. The voice sounds about right, but that's not her typical singing style.

[@lookoutleo]

Love that. I don't think any of my 78s are rare , I'll check against KZbin and anything not their I'll record and post on here

[@tedlawrence4189]

I must have at least 500 Hotw's. Do not have anything other than commercially released ones. I hate when I find them and they are warped. I bring them home and gently put something heavy on them. I keep it on there for a week.

[@vintagerpms]

Those four indentations may be ejector pin witness marks from the press

[@MAXthespicyvideomachine]

Wow, I have been looking for a copy of 'With You' for a while. You wouldn't happen to have a copy you'd be willing to sell, would you?

[@MarkAtnip]

Sadly, (as I mentioned in the video) the copy I show in the video is damaged by multiple lamination cracks and needle drops and will not play. I would be willing to bet that Scott at the Vintage Music Company in Minneapolis has a copy. Give him a call at [phone]. Tell him Mark said hello.

[@drewbieber1399]

Где можно купить иностранные пластинки 78rpm?

[@MarkAtnip]

I understand your question to be "Where can I find foreign 78rpm records?" If that is not accurate, let me know and I will try again. Foreign 78s are much easier to find in their country of origin. 78rpm.com sells foreign discs in each catalog and they are occasionally available in some of the facebook groups.

[@drewbieber1399]

​​@@MarkAtnip хочу купить диски 78rpm, иностранные (сделанные не в СССР), на том сайте что вы написали я не нашел онлайн-продажу, Facebook в России заблокирован, на него не заходит.

[@jonnoring7225]

As John Leifert noted, the singer sounds like a dead-ringer for Eva Taylor!

[@edmondedwards6729]

take out the spindle on those wobbly records....lol

[@MrSuperbatone]

Actually... NOT so unique! There were many renditions of "Am I Blue?" on various labels around the same time (ca. June, 1929) as this H.O.W. test, including many of the same musicians. On the test, I hear Joe Venuti (violin), Eddie Lang (guitar), Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey (clarinet and trombone), who also appeared on the Ben Selvin, Irving Mills, Dorsey Bros. and Ethel Waters waxings. Tommy Dorsey even plays more-or-less the same solo on some. I agree the singer sounds like Eva Taylor!

[@martinbryan3716]

I vote for Eva Taylor -- definitely not Vaughn De Leath!

[@johnm893]

i have little white lies ..