Acc. by Prairie Ramblers
Vocal with String Band Accomp.
Patsy Montana (vocals), Salty Holmes (rhythm guitar), Chick Hurt (mandola), Jack Taylor (bass), Alan Crackett (fiddle).
Recorded February 20, 1940, Stevens Hotel, Chicago, IL, mx: WC-2939-A (A), WC-2940-A (B).
Images
Number:1432953 THUMBNAIL Uploaded By:fixbutte Description: A Side Label
Number:1432954 Uploaded By:fixbutte Description: B Side Label
You're right, I forgot that earlier Vocalion 5000 Country series (which apparently lasted from 1926 to 1933) although I have added three records of George Reneau from 1926 here myself.
Perhaps my use of the word "overlap" is what's throwing you here. What I mean to say is that there have been two completely distinct series of records on the Vocalion label which had a 5000 numerical sequence. They were not concurrent, but by virtue of their existence they present a potential source of confusion for collectors, particularly since some of their content was similar in nature. The overlap in their number sequences runs from 5000 to 5504, which are the starting and ending numbers of the shorter of the two sequences. There probably was a reason for putting the "0" at the beginning of the numbers in the 1939-1940 series, but I doubt that it was meant to distinguish the series from the earlier one. The two series were issued by completely different managements. The team responsible for the later series may not even have known of the existence of the previous series.
You can see the complete lists of both series on the ODP website (78 rpm discography). One is dated 1939-1940 and is referred to there as the Pop Series. The other is dated 1926-1933 and is referred to as the Country series. To see all the involved numbers you will have to open three separate segments of the overall Vocalion listings.
It is interesting that Rust, in his American Record Label Book, says literally nothing about both these record series, although they were entirely American product and safely within the time frame he set himself. There is rather more about them in Tony Russell's "Country Music Records, A Discography 1921-1942", but you have to look under Brunswick/Vocalion to find the info on the 1926-1933 "Country" series, and under ARC to find what there is (even then it's not much) about the 1939-1940 series.
Not sure what you want to say, slholzer. As far as I see there are no numerical overlaps in the Vocalion 5000 numbers, and this record here, provided with the initial "0", is definitely not part of the pop series, as the "0" rather tagged "race" (R&B) and "hillbilly" (C&W) records.
There were overlaps indeed in earlier Vocalion numbers from 3000 on. These numbers, however, were not assigned twice from the beginning, but the overlaps were caused in 1938, when ARC (American Record Company) deleted its "dime store" labels (Melotone, Banner, Perfect, Oriole, Romeo) in favor of Vocalion. Several records from these labels were reissued on Vocalion using older catalog numbers of pop records with an additional "0", e.g. Vocalion 03097 that was on Perfect/Melotone 6-05-59 before. (In contrast Vocalion 3097, by Henry "Red" Allen, was already released in Nov. 1935 and possibly not in print anymore in 1938, when Vocalion 03097 came out.)
The Vocalion Pop Series, of which this disc is a part, and the Vocalion Country series, of which it is not a part, had a numerical overlap from numbers 5000 through 5504. Confusion and occasional acquisitions of unwanted records can result. Historically, auction lists and catalogs have not been especially reliable about preserving the initial "0" which is your best clue for distinguishing the two series at a quick glance. Many computers (mine included) will not print the initial zero unless forced to do so by special formatting. It therefore becomes especially important that you know and communicate which artists and titles you are seeking, rather than relying on a numerical checklist.