I have several of Jelly Roll Morton’s wonderful jazz and ragtime recordings, done for musicologist Alan Lomax at the Library of Congress in May 1938. Poor audio quality but great tunes.
And you?
Billie Holiday’s recording of ‘What A Little Moonlight Can Do’, from 1935.
Probably King Oliver’s ‘Dippermouth Blues’ from 1923.
Robert Johnson from 1936.
mmm
Probably my few Abbott & Costello tracks. I don’t have exact dates for the recordings, but Who’s On First was first performed in 1938.
It appears to be a 1914 recording of Irving Berlin singing “What Am I Gonna Do?” from this excellent compilation. However, when I pick up this series off my wish list, I’ll have stuff from the 1890s! In fact, I want everything on this web site. Everything.
Elendil’s Heir, I have those Library of Congress Jelly Roll Morton recordings too!
Louis Armstrong & King Oliver recordings from 1923.
No, I was wrong – I have Berkeley March by Cullen and Collins from 1898.
ON my player? Black Betty, Leadbelly, 1939. And Looky Looky Yonder.
In MP3 form? Have to check when I get home.
I have several phonoautograph recordings dating from between 1857 and 1861 on my mp3 player (the recovered Scott de Martinville phonautograms), the Lambert’s ‘Speaking clock’ (1878), and a number of early recordings from the 1880s onwards. The oldest stuff is for classroom and research purposes, although the old stuff from the Edison era is a fun listen now and again.
If you’re talking of modern covers of oldies, I’ve got shedloads of medieval stuff lying around here, monophonic and polyphonic chant, motets, all the hot sounds of the 8th century onwards’s chart.
Probably “Surfin’” by the Beach Boys (1961).
Earliest written - Gregorian chants, I think.
Cousins & DeMoss, “Poor Mourner” – 1897. I had a notion to poke around and find an even older recording (one that wasn’t Thomas Edison’s assistant sneezing or something), but haven’t yet.
Some recordings by Scott Joplin. I don’t know the actual date of the recordings, but he died in 1917. Also some early Lead Belly, dates unknown.
And do piano rolls count? I’ve got some from around the turn of the century. (Not having a player piano, it’s kinda hard to get them on my iPod.)
panache45, the Joplin recordings were made from piano rolls, as he never made any discs or cylinder recordings. So I guess piano rolls do count.
I win the youngest-oldest recorded for now, with Best of Gerry and the Pacemakers, some of which is as early as 1963.
But like a previous poster, I also have some Gregorian Chants.
Tie. Mine is* Eight Foot Two, Solid Blue*, by Allan Sherman (1963).
Gracie Fields “Alexander Ragtime Band” from the late 30s
I’ve got a wax Edison recording of *Don’t Forget the Salvation (My Doughnut Girl)**, written by Arthur Fields, recorded on an Edison Blue Amberol 3796 in 1919.
*This is in keeping with my Fried Dough obsession
I’ve a few BBC news broadcasts from earlier, but music-wise it’s some Ligeti from 1942.
Actually, on the edit, the oldest non-news thing I have is Welles’ War of the Worlds from 1938.
I have “Rocket 88” by Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm, with vocals sung by Jackie Brenston. It was recorded in 1951 and credited by Sam Phillips, at whose studio it was recorded, as the first rock and roll song.