The forefathers of rock Elvis Presley and The Beatles may hold the crown of having the most collectible records ever, but its a little-known 1930s blues player from Mississippi that now enjoys being the producer of the most expensive 78rpm release ever.
Not that Tommy Johnson, who recorded just five singles for the Paramount label, or his estate will ever see any of the $37,100 as part of the sale of one of his early recordings, ‘Alcohol And Jake Blues’.
British collector John Tefteller is the proud owner of the vintage single, as FACT (via The Daily Swarm) reports, buying up the Tommy Johnson record on eBay for $37k – the most anyone has ever paid for a 78 – to add to his enormous library of over 75,000 blues and rock n roll 78s, which he calls the “world’s best collection of blues records and memorabilia” housed at The British Museum Of The Blues.
Even after acquiring the ‘holy grail’ of vintage Paramount recordings, the Oregon-based collector says there’s still some legendary elusive records from the era that are still waiting to be found. “Find me the missing Willie Brown or J.D. Short on Paramount label and you will see me writing really big checks,” teases Tefteller.
The 30s blues recording is believed to be just one of only two copies in existence, and in fact the collector already owns the other known copy, which he is selling to afford the cost of the newer version which Tefteller claims he “just had to have” as it is in vastly better condition, as Broadway World reports.
But Tefteller is ‘doing a Jack White‘ in his part in the record’s preservation by noting his intentions to have the tune remastered and re-released next year as part of his ongoing Blues Calendar series, which releases a series of classic artwork from recordings and releases of the 20s and 30s in a calendar format that comes complete with a compilation CD. Which is a little more accessible than the vintage collector who is releasing the world’s first acetate recording in nearly 100 years.
(Image: The world’s most expensive 78rpm record Source: eBay.com)
“I am happy to report to the record collecting world and admirers of great Delta Blues music worldwide that this newly discovered copy is in Excellent condition and will be able to be remastered to sound absolutely superb,” noted the blues aficionado upon picking up his auction win.
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Interestingly, the seller of what is now the world’s most expensive 78 wasn’t even aware of the treasure trove he had on his hands. “He absolutely did not realise what he had and how rare it was until he put it on eBay,” says Tefteller of the South Carolinan collector with the handle ‘jbookertee66‘ who had picked up the Tommy Johnson 78 as part of an estate sale.
“Within the first few hours of being listed on the auction site another collector tried to stop the sale by offering the seller $4,000.00 for the record,” recalls Tefteller, with the figure spiralling up to $16,000 until “he let the auction proceed and I was able to win it in the final moments.”
“I can’t wait to have it properly re-mastered and share it with the world” says Tefteller. “The original masters for these recordings were all destroyed by World War Two. The only way we can hear them now is rescue the few remaining commercial copies which are in private homes,” adds the collector who specialises in Paramount label recordings, already a rarity considering they were run from a Washington furniture factory between the 1920s and 30s.
If you want to hear what $37,100 gets you, take a listen to Tommy Johnson’s ‘Alcohol and Jake Blues’ below:
