SH Spotlight Benny Goodman on RCA-Victor, 1937, recorded in Hollywood, wonderful sounding records. Give a listen

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Jan 17, 2016.

  1. hbbfam

    hbbfam Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chandler,AZ
  2. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    Nothing special. I went with a stock Audio-Technica cart. My good Technics deck was stolen after I did a local charity benefit and I haven't replaced it yet. Bought a cheap AT a few years ago as a back up and it has become my daily driver until I can save up for something better.
     
  3. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    Speaking of 1937, I just bought two copies of this on 78. Fingers crossed that at least one makes it in one piece. Grabbed the Ella version as well. I'm curious to compare the SQ now. [Ella's version was 11/05/36 and Hunt's was 1/14/37 so there may not be much difference].
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2020
  4. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I have an Audio Technica TT, which I bought because it plays 78s. It has served me well with all formats. AT makes some excellent carts/styli IMO. I have their mono cart/stylus combo and a high-end microline (which I probably didn't need, but I was curious about how the next step above an elliptical would sound). I also have the
    AT95E, which came with the TT. I recently loaded it on a headshell so I could experiment with it on older vinyl. It has a larger radius than my elliptical, which I use on more recent records, but a smaller "footprint" than my .7 mil conical. I often use the latter on some of those thinner-sounding recordings like Goodman's Jazz Concert No.2.
     
  5. BillyBuck

    BillyBuck Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    When I was just out of college in the mid-90s, I drummed in an 8-piece swing band that toured a circuit primarily based in San Francisco and LA. It was a mini scene led by the bands Royal Crown Revue (fantastic) and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (meh). For about four years we played to consistently packed houses of period-attired dancers, and many of them were absolutely amazing.

    There were definitely a few former rock and punk musicians “posing” as swingers is the scene, but we, like many, went in whole hog. In the tour van it was solid Basie, Goodman, Ellington, Shaw, Charlie Barnet, Louis Jordan, Cab, Chick Webb, etc, along with lots and lots of “muggles” consumed. We had no clue what was happening in pop or alternative music at the time, and to this day I think we picked a good period to miss.

    Benny’s Carnegie Hall 38 was a staple in every house we crashed in on tour, as was Joe Jackson’s “Jumpin Jive” (which is really a piece of work because it was his regular band playing very credible jazz). I studied Krupa, Jo Jones, Chick, Sid Catlett, and my avatar, the great but troubled Dave Tough who played with Goodman after Krupa left. At the time, 78’s were still easy pickins at the thrift shops, and I had a collection that went from Fletcher Henderson on up to Bird and Diz on the Dial and Musicraft labels, as well as almost every side Basie released on Decca.

    Like any scene, things started changing as it grew. There started to be more of the hey-ho daddy-o cornball music (as we called it) and the true swing got shuffled off to Buffalo. It only lasted a few years, but it was a great time. One of my last shows with the band was for a post-Grammy party at Chasen’s in 96 when Stevie Wonder won his lifetime achievement award. He showed up at the party and sat in with us, along with the now-deceased Roy Hargrove. That night I met Chuck Berry, John Popper, Fran Drescher, Ru Paul, and Sheryl Crow. Good times.
     
  6. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    The first Benny Goodman Orch. 78 record I ever heard in my life. Scroll Victor.

     
    Exotiki likes this.
  7. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Not the best 78 setup. Ortofon stylus options for 78 are few. Get a Dual 1009, 1010, 1015, 1019, 1209, or 1218, install a Shure M 44 cartridge body, with suitable styli, and a preamp with the correct curves. Enjoy!!!
     
  8. Perisphere

    Perisphere Forum Resident

    I have that album. Turns out that noise reduction used with the 35mm equipment is good old Dolby A!
     
  9. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    It is written that Helen Ward hated this song. Thought it was trivial. Turned out to be a big hit for BG and others.
     
  10. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    This thread pushed me over the top...

    Ever since I reinvigorated my Benny Goodman interest in mid-2018 (I've been a fan since I was young and in HS band in 1988), I've been filling out my Goodman collection. I started with a robust amount of his work that I've collected over the years, but had a great deal of confusion about what was out there until finding another thread on this site and was pointed to the Connor and Jessop biodiscographies.

    I've been holding back on collecting his 78s after a series of very bad experiences collecting Ella Fitzgerald's 78s... I swore off the fragile dust-pies. However, after reading this thread and some of the enthusiasm here, I ordered a very literal "pile" of Goodman's from this website.

    I've received 61 discs including the 10" and 12" versions of Sing, Sing, Sing, a copy of Ella's Goodnight My Love (which I could never find back in the late 90s), and numerous other gems including the 12" version of "Oh Baby" on Columbia. I ordered a a 78 cartridge for my Audio-Technica turntable and a splitter to route the stereo out to one channel to accommodate the mono discs.

    THESE ARE FANTASTIC.

    The sound quality is superb on the Victor Circles, and I'm not the best at hearing minor sound differences - but I have a new-found love of these discs. I'm quite lucky that the discs themselves are in unreal good condition. My 12" of Sing, Sing, Sing has only two audible "pops". I just don't know how I got so lucky with this collection. My favorite is Sing Me a Swing Song. Unreal how nice it is.

    So thanks for the conversation!
     
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  11. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

  12. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    Its like butter...
     
  13. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    Holy moly!
    My recent acquisition of Goodman Victor 78s included 2 Ella copies of Goodnight, My Love / Take Another Guess, one copy of the Francis Hunt version, and two copies of this:
    [​IMG]
    I am in heaven. These are killer diller!!!
     
  14. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    Well, this came today and what a great tune! These Victors are knocking my socks off.
    (Not my original photo).
    [​IMG]
     
  15. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    And I was quite fortunate to find both the 12" and 10" versions of this minor Goodman hit...
    [​IMG]
    (not my image file, but could be). The "C-28-1" on the left gives this away.
     
    Dan C likes this.
  16. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    Since this is a thread about 78s, does anyone know if I added this passive device to my line would it it remove the RIAA EQ curve coming out of my turntable? Thanks in advance.
     
  17. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Pretty lucky I found a very clean copy of this 12" several years ago. It rocks like crazy. I should dig it out and play it on our recently restored Zenith console, I bet it'll sound crazy good.

    dan c
     
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  18. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    I was cryptic in my last post, but any version of the 12" disc with the C 28-1 (/2) on the left of the label comes from this set.
    [​IMG]
    It is a truly wonderful set as is the version of Sing, Sing, Sing. I only wonder why it didn't get the Victor Scroll label since Sing was recorded before Victor shifted to the Circle label. Maybe the others were after so they did it for consistency?
     
    Dan C likes this.
  19. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Man, that even sounds good on my iPhone.
     
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  20. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    I blame you for my new found obsession with 78s in general and Goodman's Victors specifically.
    Gawd they sound good.
     
  21. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Keep 'em on RIAA.
     
  22. ella_swings

    ella_swings Forum Resident

    Will do.
    You know, those were the days when people from bottom to top cared about their craft.

    It still shows.

    God bless 'em. Its 80-some years later and we still get enjoyment.
     
  23. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Truth.
     
  24. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    I was asked: Why keep it on RIAA for 78's? I've tried every curve, each record company had their own. Sometimes each studio used by each record company had their own. IOW, Decca Chicago studio sounded different from the LA studio and the NY studio.

    Bascially, all you get off of RIAA is double the surface noise and not much else.

    If you want to get the best from RIAA for records older than 1950 or so, get a cheap graphic EQ and bump up the 3k a little bit.

    That's it!
     
    McLover likes this.
  25. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    RIAA boosts the bass though, right? Would you then goose treble a bit and cut some bass to compensate on 78s? It does seem like a fool’s errand to try for perfect 78 eq so maybe I’m overthinking it.

    dan c
     

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