When did they stop making 78’s LP records?
Is there value to these records I found?
What should I do to preserve them?
I just cannot explains how exited I am right now.
I guess I am a little excited!
78s are not “LP”. LP (“Long Play”) was the name given to the 33 1/3 format when it came onto the market after WWII. 78s were phased out in the US in the 1950s.
You can get 78’s by the car load in most thrift shops. Unless the record has some historical importance value is likely to fairly moderate at best. Look on eBay for pricing references.
Thank you for the clarification. I have 20 some records from the 50’s. I would tend to think that they are special. Any advise on preservation is appreciated.
These are from a private collection. The popular records of the time perhaps, I have not gone through them yet, but suspect they are terrible hard to find original prints.
Do not rain on my parade just yet.
As stated previously, 78 RPM records do not have much value except for rare or some special releases. As a method of reproducing music, they suck big time. Any of the significant music originally released on 78’s is now available in other formats. Most were released in paper sleeves which did not protect the record very well. 78 RPM record sleeves in good condition are worth many times more than the record themselves. The last 78 was produced in the mid 60’s, even early Beatles songs were available on 78’s. These are worth only about $10 each. I spend a lot of time scouring through antique and thrift stores and I don’t see many anymore, there just isn’t much a market for them anymore.
I bought a large collection of 78’s at a storage unit auction about 10 years ago and thought I hit the motherload. I then bought a value guide and found most were only worth a buck or two each. I was able to sell some on eBay, I ended up selling most to a second hand record store for 25 cents each. Old 78’s are worth more as a decorating item than as a method of listening to music.
Hmm, it’s starting to get a bit cloudy in this thread.
The first major American record label to stop issuing 78’s was Mercury Records, which stopped producing them in 1958. They were issued in Asia and Africa well into the sixties, mainly because “wind-up” phonographs were still being used in areas without electricity and these phonographs only played 78s. I remember a website that listed Beatles 78s released for the Indian markets, with the last released in 1966.
Not completely related… I found a 45 that was made in 2001. P.O.D.'s Youth of the Nation. The other side, can’t remember what song.
It confused me.
Record companies came up with 33 1/3 RPM LPs and 45 RPM singles in the late forties. These new (for the time) technologies had less noise and distortion and better frequency response than 78s, and LPs had a much longer playing time. They gradually phased out 78s as consumers shifted over to the new formats. Most companies had stopped making 78s entirely by 1960, although they continued to make them in some countries (like India, where they issued Beatles records on 78).
It’s hard to say what your records might be worth without knowing exactly what they are. For example, early rock-and-roll on 78 can have value if the records are in decent shape. Perry Como records are worth little. A 78 with most of the music worn out of the grooves usually isn’t worth anything, although there are exceptions for exceedingly rare records.
Can you give us some idea of the artists, labels and condition of the records?
45s are still produced (as are LPs and 10" discs) to this day for a number of markets. There still exists a market for subscription 45 services, for sites using vinyl jukeboxes, and for jukebox collectors. (I seem to recall many, perhaps most, such subscription services are for country/western markets, last time I looked). A lot of punk, rock, and indie groups still release full albums on LP, and singles and EPs on 45-- both to keep some indie cred, as well as to appeal to collectors who prefer the sound and aesthetics of vinyl. 12" 45s are still incredibly common in the DJ/dance music market. I think there is also a contingent of audiophiles who keep other artists churning their releases out on vinyl.
One odd-ball format release I vaguely recall-- Rob Zombie and/or his band White Zombie released one of their mid-90s albums on 8-track.
Had a chance to thumb through the first stack. Looks like Blues;
Willie Mabon
Chess Records
Worry Blues
I don’t Know
Muddy Waters
Chess Records
Country Boy
All Night Long
BB King
RPM
3 O’clock Blues
That Ain’t the Way to do it
Chuck Willis
Okeh
Caldonia
My Story
Sunnyland Slim
Hy-Tone
Keep Your Hands Out of My Money
My Heavy Load
Pretty cool even if there are worthless.
The second stack looks more like Big Band stuff.
Their condition seems poor-ish, but they do play. Any cleaning tips?
bat312, IANASerious Collector, but those titles look like they might be worth something. “Race” records, including early blues, suffered from a lack of serious interest at the time, low volume of production, and the market was a low-income demographic where they were less likely to be preserved over time. These factors, coupled with a modern resurgence in interest for the genre, makes some titles quite rare, i.e., valuable.
In contrast, my family turned up their nose at such low-class pop culture and bought only Mozart and opera on 78’s. They are in plentiful supply today, so sell for very little if eBay is any indication.
Fishbicycle should be along soon to help with the cleaning and restoration questions better than I can.
Please move to Café Society or IMHO if appropriate.
Here is the full list of what I have found;
Willie Mabon
Chess Records
Worry Blues
I don’t Know
Muddy Waters
Chess Records
Country Boy
All Night Long
BB King
RPM
3 O’clock Blues
That Ain’t the Way to do it
Chuck Willis
Okeh
Caldonia
My Story
Sunnyland Slim
Hy-Tone
Keep Your Hands Out of My Money
My Heavy Load
Frank Sinatra
Columbia
Cradle Song
Nancy
Mahalia Jackson
Apollo
Move on up a Little Higher
Part 1 & 2
Lowell Fulson
Swing Time
Blue Shadows
Low Society Blues
Earl Hines
RCA Victor
Skylark
Water Boy
Sarah Vaughan
Columbia
Ave Maria
City Called Heaven
Sarah Vaughan
Music Craft
The One I Love
What a Diff’rence a Day Made
Sarah Vaughan
Music Craft
Love Me or Leave Me
Gentalman Friend
Woody Herman
Decca
The Music Stopped
I Couldn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night
Estelle Edson
Black & White
I Changed the Lock on the Door
Don’t Drive this Jive Away
Nat King Cole
Capital
I’d Like to Make a Million
Lush Life
Nat King Cole
Capital
Exactly Like You
My Mother Told Me
Nat King Cole Trio
Capital
Portrait of Jenny
An Old Piano Plays the Blues
Nat King Cole Trio
Capital
I Miss You So
I Think I Get What You Mean
Nat King Cole Trio
Capital
Mona Lisa
The Greatest Inventor
Nat King Cole Trio
Capital
The Best Man
For Sentimental Reasons
Billy Eckstine
MGM
Two Loves Have I
Fool That I Am
Billy Eckstine
MGM
Stardust
I Wanna Be Loved
Billy Eckstine
MGM
Mr. B’s Blues
I’m Falling for You
Billy Eckstine
MGM
If Love is Trouble
Body and Soul
Louis Jordan
Decca
Choo Choo Ch’Boggie
That Chick’s too Young to Fry
Louis Jordan
Decca
Buzz Me
Don’t Worry ‘Bout That Mule
Louis Jordan
Decca
Jack, Your Dead
I Know What Your Puttin’ Down
Arthur Big Boy Crudup
RCA Victor
That’s Your Red Wagon
I Don’t Know it
Ruth Brown
Atlantic
R.B. Blues
He Treats Your Daughter Mean
Lionel Hapton
MGM
Helpless
Samson’s Boogie
Lightning Hopkins
Aladdin
Shotgun Blues
Rollin’ Blues
Ralph Willis
Jubilee
Somebody is Got to Go
Blues, Blues, Blues
Memphis Slim
Hy-Tone
Cheaton’ Around
A Letter Home
Memphis Minnie
Okeh
Me and my Chauffeur
Can’t Afford to Love my Man
Broonzy Big Bill
Okeh
Getting Older Every Day
Rockin’ Chair Blues
Joe Turner
Atlantic
Chains of love
After my Laughter Came Tears
Leo Parker
Chess
Reed Rock
Candlelight Serenade
Lloyd Glenn Trio
Swing time
Blues Hangover
Traveling Time
Lloyd Glenn
Swing time
Rocking After Midnight
Everyday I Have the Blues
Elmo James
Trumpet
Catfish Blues
Dust My Broom
Sonny Terry
Capital/Americana
Whoppin’ the Blues
All Alone Blues
Eddie Vinson
Mercury
Kidney Stew Blues
Old Maid Boogie
Eddie Boyd Trio
JOB
I’m Pleading
It’s Miserable to be Alone
Eddie Boyd
JOB
Five Long Years
Blue Coat Man
Go look those up on GEMM* and see what they’re going for. I looked up the first 4 in your last post and one was $20, one was $50 and one was $7 (the other not listed, far as I could tell).
Granted, GEMM is just record dealers selling records at their own prices but comparing your collection to what they’re selling at will give you an idea of “worth” without you having to go find a price guide.
*Search hint: go to the site, type in, say BB King in the search box and hit “GO.” Then when the results come up, click the “Filters” link in the gray box at the top of the results. Go to search filters and choose “Music Only, Vinyl Only.” Save your filter and it will be applied to all future searches for the session. Since they don’t have a 78 search, this is the best you can do.
However, some of the insignificant music is now commanding breathtaking prices. There really are people who will pay $20-$100 and sometimes even more for platters by now-forgotten dance bands from the depression years. I know; I’m one of them.
Thank you… great site!
Thanks Zipper and Doug.
A few of them seem to be rare.
I will get to work on cleaning and storage. After drying can I seal them in zip lock baggies?
-bat
There are a lot of good records in this collection. Even some of the ones that aren’t rare have some value as long as they aren’t too worn. For example, some of the blues records might be worth $8 to $12 each.
Whoever originally bought these records had good taste. There are some great artists in there - Muddy Waters, BB King, Lightnin’ Hopkins (one of my favorites), Elmore (not Elmo) James. On the jazz side, Earl Hines and Sarah Vaughn are always worth listening to.
Do you intend to keep these records, or will you sell them? If you’re going to keep them I can give you advice on how to play them and care for them. If you want to sell them, I can give advice on different ways to go about it.