Jim Saxe wrote:
<
have no date printed on the label. And even where publication
dates are given on the label or packaging, they typically won't
be included in listings of the records in printed or online
catalogs.
It has occurred to me that one might go through the archives of
_Sets in Order_ and/or _American Squares_
http://newsquaremusic.com/ASDindexUNH.html
http://newsquaremusic.com/sioindex.html
(many thanks, btw, to Gardner Patton for digitizing these, to
the publishers for granting permission, and to the University
of Denver and the University of New Hampshire for hosting),
looking at, say, the last issue published in each year and
noting the catalog numbers of records reviewed or advertised,
especially those indicated as being new. This information
might provide a rough timeline from which one could guess the
approximate issue dates of other records made by the same
companies.
It has also occurred to me that someone might already have
compiled such a timeline, whether based on magazine ads or
on other sources of information. *** Do any of you know of
such a thing?
I am of course aware that various complications might come up…>>
Jim, I had to laugh at the timing of your query. A few hours before you posted it, I was online reading the early mimeographed issues of American Squares (AS), to which I had never had access before, and noticing that they contain more
precise information about record release dates than most other sources I’ve seen. Editor Charley Thomas, who wrote the AS record reviews during his tenure there, frequently mentions that a particular album is “just out” or writes that he’s looking forward
to receiving it. Reading this digitized treasure trove made me think, for the umpteenth time, how nice it would be if such a database existed.
Back in the pre-Jurassic era when I was newly interested in all things squaredancical, I began a list (in hard copy – no home computers in those days) of all the records I encountered. It included label, number, title, and I think artist(s),
but not release date. From time to time I’ve contemplated starting a computerized discography, but (1) I thought someone might have beaten me to it, and (2) I had no idea whether anyone but me would find any value in it. It would necessarily be a labor of
love, and I have higher priorities at the moment (such as writing Volume Two of my caller’s textbook, dealing with squares in depth, which I hope will earn me a dollar or two). It could conceivably be crowdsourced, but we’d need to be clear on how we’d defend
the date we assigned to a recording, if it wasn’t taken from a producer’s catalog.
I’d love to have a complete discography, with caller’s name, musicians if known, key, tempo, playing time, arrangement (AABB? Tags? Number of choruses?), source for date, a field for comments on the music or dance figures, and links to
audio clips of tracks we think are historically significant or particularly nice. But who would host it, and who would take overall responsibility for it? I have some of the knowledge and skills, but not the time or the access to computer resources. I’d certainly
be interested in collaborating on such a project. (There is an excellent online Gilbert & Sullivan Discography, a one-man labor of love, but it excludes most 78 and 45 rpm singles and EPs. Even if it were to include them, I believe there are only hundreds
of G&S recordings, whereas square dance releases run to many, many thousands.)
If Jim or anyone else is wondering about the dates of specific recordings, feel free to ask on this list. I have a lot of knowledge rattling around in my head, gleaned from reading and re-reading old magazines and collecting records. Stig
Malmo, probably the world’s most assiduous collector of square dance ephemera, probably knows a lot that I don’t. Don Ward has connections in the recording world and is another good source of specialized information. The other “core consultants” to the Square
Dance History Project (Bob Dalsemer, Larry Edelman, Phil Jamison, Bill Litchman, Jim Mayo) each know a lot about their specialty. Phil Jamison in particular has made an in-depth study of called records that pre-date the mid-20th-century revival;
his finds date from 1924 to 1933. Phil has made audio files of these records available on his website (www.philjamison.com) in connection with his masterful book _Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics_. He set out to
write a history of Southern Appalachian dance, but in the process he gives a thoughtful and fairly comprehensive overview of the entire arc of country-dance history in the U.S.
If anyone on this list is new to the world of square dance records, let me say that it’s sizable and largely undocumented. As mentioned above, there have been thousands of releases, mostly singles. In both the pre-revival and revival eras,
every major recording company issued square dance albums and/or singles, as did many smaller companies specializing in country music. Many of these records were made by some of the top country bands of their day, under their own names or pseudonyms. In addition,
since the late 1940s, companies devoted to square dance recordings have come and gone; typically two to three dozen have existed at any one time. Some such companies were one- or two-hit (or -flop) wonders, but some have lasted for decades, issuing hundreds
of titles. The whole field is ripe for research.
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.