Any resemblance between the North Albany Archive of Recorded Sound and the boxes of 78s sitting in my basement is purely coincidental.

These 78s were purchased in the mid-to-late 1990s as part of my research into the early history of country music. They encompass a variety of early country styles, from old-time fiddle music to Western Swing. Many have never been released on LP or compact disc. Virtually all the recordings are from the electrical recording era (ca. 1927) through to recording ban of 1942.⁽¹⁾

I transfered the discs to tape when I was a grad student at the University of Illinois. The transfer was done in a lab, using the best 78 player I had access along with a decent equalizer. They were converted to MP3 form on my Mac, using a MOTU PCI card and Audio Desk. Beyond some basic equalization during the tape transfer, there has been no additional manipulation of the files. Many of the recordings have significant audible surface wear, evident in the transfers. I’m not John R.T. Davies. Deal with it.⁽²⁾

There is approximately five hours of music that I’m presently sifting through. Some of the material represents some amazing performances that should be preserved for posterity. Some of it is little more than archaic pop culture ephemera. I will not post all of it, as some of it will be redundant with material already available on Archive.org and/ or commercially available reissues.

The recordings are made available here for research purposes. If you are the owner of a copyright that you believe has been violated, please send appropriate notice to the site administrator, and the offending file will be removed.

⁽¹⁾ There may also have been some other things happening in the world at this time.
⁽²⁾ If you understand this reference, the odds are quite good that you spend too much time reading liner notes.