Transcription Mystery Disc #184

This is a  78 rpm 10-inch metal-core, transcription disc. It has 3 tracks and starts at the outer edge. It's in very nice shape and required little manipulation beyond a bit of amplification to get the mp3 in this shape. It had very low surface noise. That always helps. It's dated in pencil, 10-6-46. I have no reason to doubt it. The metal core has heft, and is not as flexible as the later metal-core discs.

Richard Matthews



This disc opens with a woman speaking a single introductory sentence "This is Richard Matthews recording from his own home." Then presumably it's Richard Matthews who tears into some jazzy clarinet lines. He opens with a bit of "St. Louis Blue", then an original "Two Grunts and a Groan" then "Beal Street Blues which is introduced by a young child. Right before the recording runs out is a man's voice says Bluest Blues ever heard, Goodnight" It sounds like a tape recording. This was either very cleverly staged or done in a small home studio with a tape deck.