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Topic: Missing Charts 1940-52 book and Dates of 78's on 45worlds

27th Jan 2016, 12:56 PM
	mister_tmg Also on 78rpm Member since Apr 2012 1118 Points	Hmmm, even as a chart collector, I haven't bought that book. I'm just too sceptical of the sources, although I might get it in future. So, Appletree, does the book actually list the dates the records were shipped into stores? If so that could be a reliable answer as to when they were released. The date a record entered the chart is not, because it could have been a slow burner. "Rose Marie" by Slim Whitman was issued about 8 months before it became a hit in the UK! Quote: For example in December 1948 the book lists Doris Day & Buddy Clark - Love Somebody Columbia DB2449 in the top ten. If you look at the Sheet Music charts you see no mention of "Love Somebody". But if you look at the flip of the record you see just Buddy Clark singing "All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart". Which was in the top ten of the Sheet Music Chart in December 1948. "All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart" isn't in the book First Hits which lists the sheet music hits from that era, though I can see it in my database - I know that other charts were discovered after that book came out. I'm not so sure you can say that either book has the "wrong side"... Quote: This getting the wrong side is very common in the book, also in December 48 he lists Tony Martin and "Ah, But It Happens". Which I suspect many of you won't know. But the other side of the record is Begin The Beguine - which most will know. It could just be that "Ah But it Happens" was more popular in Britain in 1948 than "Begin the Beguine". It's a bit like comparing apples and pears though, record sales vs sheet music. Back to dating records: First Hits (written by Brian Henson and Colin Morgan) IS an excellent resource for dating UK 78s of the period. I've discussed the dating of records recently with Brian (Colin is sadly deceased) and he said a variety of sources were used - original record company booklets, new release supplements, and they also went into the BBC Written Archives which had info. The bottom line is that Jock_Girl is correct - it's very hard to accurately date 78rpm records with certainty. Getting the month is often the closest you'll be, although different discographies will often be a month in or out of each other. As for the dates, it only seems to be with the dawn of the Beatles and their instant success with new records that you find 45s with a DAY of release. I do have a David Whitfield CD on the Eclipse label where the discography actually lists the full date of release for the records. I believe the compiler, John Tracy, has access to a large part of Decca's archives. The basic problem with dating old 78s is that the information is out there, but hoarded by old collectors who aren't engaged with sites like this (or even the internet!). "First Hits" has the month of release for all songs that entered the UK Sheet Music Chart from 1946 to 1959. There's also an encyclopedia called "The Ballad Years" by Don Wicks which has Singles Discographies for UK artists during that period. The book was only available to subscribers of the magazine In Tune International in the mid-1990s, so you won't find it on Amazon or eBay. However, he did later make it available as a CD-ROM with the book chapters in Word format - much easier for searching. The price of £10 was an absolute steal too. Don is now sadly passed on. I could upload the Word files to a site like Sendspace if the Mods don't mind. Original record company new release supplements are another source, on eBay and the like. The City of London Gramophone Society has also produced a series of label listings. They are pricey, but very thorough. Recording, release and deletion dates! http://www.clpgs.org.uk/label-discographies.html The other source for this stuff is Paul Pelletier's Record Information Services booklets, which used to pop up on eBay. All the above are more reliable sources than the date a record started selling and made the charts!