# Looking for an old jazz recording

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-old-jazz-recording/348283>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 14, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-old-jazz-recording/348283 "2006-03-14T05:14:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![caymus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@caymus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caymus28)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-old-jazz-recording/348283/1 "2006-03-14T05:14:04Z")

</div>

A friend of mine swears that he has heard an old recording by Earl Bostic of the song “So Rare,” and all searches only turn up a recording by Jimmy Dorsey, and my google-fu is lacking at this point, anyone know if Bostic actually recorded this song?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-old-jazz-recording/348283/2 "2006-03-14T05:27:36Z")

</div>

Chuck Haddix hosts a program called [The Fish Fry](http://www.kcur.org/fishfry.html) on our local PBS station. He is the director of the [Marr Sound Archives,](http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/marr.html) a specialty library with extensive jazz recordings, and is quite knowledgeable in this area. Betcha anything he’ll know. You can contact him [here.](http://www.aes.org/aeshc/send_email.cfm?id=28)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-old-jazz-recording/348283/3 "2006-03-14T05:57:24Z")

</div>

Not as a leader, according to Tom Lord’s _Jazz Discography_ where Bostic’s listings can be found in Volume 2 on pages B677 to B684. I do not have either the song or performer indices for this series so I do not know if he may have recorded this song as a sideman on someone elses session.

I also did do a Google search with no hits on a Bostic recording; however, the aforementioned Dorsey and Shearing recordings are referenced often for this song.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-old-jazz-recording/348283/4 "2006-03-14T06:41:18Z")

</div>

FWIW, according to the same reference source (different volume, etc) these are the two listings that I can find for _So Rare_ by the Dorsey’s:  
[ul]  
[li]July 28, 1937 by Tommy Dorsey and the Clambake Seven and Orchestra[/li][li]November 11, 1956 by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra as a part of a AFRS Broadcast[/li][/ul]  
BTW, Bostic is **not** a sideman on either recording, and it is not listed in the discography for the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra.

Hope this and the previous post help.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-old-jazz-recording/348283/5 "2006-03-14T12:44:14Z")

</div>

Since this involves the Arts, let’s move it to Cafe Society.

**samclem**