SH Spotlight Bob Furmanek's research leading up to the first year of stereo records. It is fantastic reading..

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Jan 7, 2018.

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  1. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    He was more of an 'electrophile' than an audiophile, but just as exciting.
     
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  2. Bob Furmanek

    Bob Furmanek Forum Resident

    Send him this March 1957 article in Popular Mechanics on page 138: House of Electric Nerves

    Popular Mechanics
     
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  3. lennonfan1

    lennonfan1 Senior Member

    Location:
    baltimore maryland
    the interesting thing for me in looking through all that is how rock and roll doesn't really appear until late '58, even though it was a national craze since '56 and of course there was Elvis and Buddy:)
     
  4. Bob Furmanek

    Bob Furmanek Forum Resident

    Elvis' 1957 binaural recordings at Radio Recorders were not meant for stereo release and were done for mixing purposes only. The same with the multi-track movie sessions for Fox (Love Me Tender) and MGM (Jailhouse Rock.)

    The King Creole Radio Recorders sessions (January 1958) and the RCA Nashville sessions in June 1958 (meant for singles while he was in the Army) should have been done for stereo release but sadly, were not. I suspect it was due to stereo being a high-ticket item and not really intended for a younger audience. There's a reference to that in the June 23 clipping about stereo singles with the high price of LP's not being attractive to teeners.

    The Jack Scott October 18 release on Carlton would be the first rock and roll album with the mid-December Champs release being the first instrumental.
     
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  5. Bob Furmanek

    Bob Furmanek Forum Resident

    This was just sent to me and has been added to the stereo discs article:

     
  6. thrivingonariff

    thrivingonariff Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    "Do they like music or are they in love with equipment?" Now what kind of question is that!

    "Record shops have turned into glossy cathedrals." Works for me!

    Great one, Bob. Thanks.
     
  7. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    Bsnpubs.Com has done extensive research on stereo singles.
     
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  8. EasterEverywhere

    EasterEverywhere Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albuquerque
    Have so many of those records.

    Don't forget the two LPs Ward Martson put out for Bell Telephone of the Bell Labs experimental recordings of Stokowski and The Philadelphia Orchestra.Found a couple copies of both.

    Bell Labs/Leopold Stokowski "Early Hifi" Test Recordings
    Stokowski, Harvey Fletcher, and the Bell Labs Experimental Recordings
     
  9. Bob Furmanek

    Bob Furmanek Forum Resident

    Yes but I found some incorrect data on there (including the Bel Canto sampler listed for December 1957 release) and wanted to do original research in documented, primary source materials.
     
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  10. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    Looking forward to it. Your own research on stereo tapes and LPs is PHENOMENAL. Thank you!
     
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  11. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Bob Furmanek, I appreciate your thorough research and gathering these historical articles into one great history of Stereo LP discs. This is excellent and bookmarked. Thank you for this resource.
     
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  12. TonyCzar

    TonyCzar Forum Resident

    Location:
    PhIladelphia, PA
    "Is it a soft spot for a tweeter that holds these faces enthralled?"
     
  13. McLover

    McLover Senior Member


    Also, thanks for the information on identifying earliest variants of Stereo LP discs on quite a few labels, that is nice information to know as I collect early Stereo discs.
     
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  14. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    I have a friend of mine, the owner of the Yahoo reel to reel group who owns an Ampex 612 Stereo tape player. He also owns an A 121 Ampex Stereo tape player, mono recorder, and the matching walnut speaker/amplifiers. It's been in his family since 1958.
     
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  15. Bob Furmanek

    Bob Furmanek Forum Resident

    Thanks Joel but my research in this area is pretty much finished.

    What I might do over the next month or so is add to the LP article in order to bring it to a full year from the official first release by Sid Frey of the four stereodisks in mid-February 1958. I'll see what the next few weeks are like with our 3-D restoration workload but if I can, I'll definitely add to that article.

    Thanks everyone for your kind words. I was hoping the documentation would find a good level of interest and your comments have been very gratifying!
     
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  16. Bob Furmanek

    Bob Furmanek Forum Resident

    Thanks, I tried very hard to only use first pressing covers in the article. I'm not 100% certain on the Benny Fields/Colpix album so if anyone can confirm, please let me know.

    I've been trying to understand why RCA did not record the 1958 Elvis sessions in stereo. The best I can guess is that KING CREOLE was initially planned for EP release only (the album came later and Elvis had to approve) and the other sessions that year were all intended for singles.

    Anyone have additional thoughts?
     
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  17. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    King Creole I don't know, but for the other singles I think because the RCA Nashville studio wasn't equipped for stereo at that time — IIRC Steve might have pointed that out. If he had recorded those songs at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, they most likely would have been stereo. The first Everly Brothers recordings in stereo were the result of the Nashville studio getting the equipment, again IIRC.
    Again with the Elvis singles, there might have been a situation where the second Elvis Gold Records LP could conceivably have been a mix of stereo and fake stereo if Nashville had stereo in early '58..
     
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  18. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    And what perplexes me even more is why all the stereo master takes from Follow That Dream, recorded beautifully at Studio B, were not preserved. IMO, the "binaural" Angel from the Follow That Dream FTD set is the best, most realistic recording I've ever heard. It's like Elvis is in the room with you.
     
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  19. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    FYI, this site claims the King Creole sessions were recorded binaurally. Click on Notes at the bottom of the page if the info is not visible.
    Elvis Presley Recording Sessions
     
  20. vwestlife

    vwestlife Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    How about the early 1950s Cook binaural LPs designed to be played with two styli on a Y-shaped tonearm? The left and right channels were completely independent tracks on the record.

     
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  21. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    Hmmm, now I see that some of those singles sessions were at Radio Recorders. I'm at a loss, then.
     
  22. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam

    Thanks for those links, I will spend some time with them later.
     
  23. Bob Furmanek

    Bob Furmanek Forum Resident

    Vwestlife, did you see the binaural material in the stereo disc article?

    The FOLLOW THAT DREAM three-track masters went to the Mirisch Corporation during production of the film. I guess they never went back to RCA? There are two surviving stereo tapes on "Angel" - a two track and three track master.

    There are references in 1955/1956 articles that RCA was recording "important" sessions in stereo. That means mostly classical, orchestral and some pop. I suspect Elvis was considered more a singles artist and stereo LP's for teens were not yet a consideration.

    There's an article somewhere in my research files that discusses the audience for stereo in 1958: it's doctors, lawyers and business professionals making big bucks. Most certainly not the rock and roll buyers!
     
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  24. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    Which is likely why a lot of Atlantic rhythm and blues material recorded that year only saw stereo release well into the 1960s.
     
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  25. Crimson Witch

    Crimson Witch Roll across the floor thru the hole & out the door

    Location:
    Lower Michigan
    fabulous reading !

    cheers and many thanks to
    Mr. Furmanek, all those involved in the making of this history, and as always, to our gracious host Mr. Hoffman for the invaluable resource of this site and its content and contributors !
    :cheers:
     
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