The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A buddy of mine just gave me some really nice Rickey Nelson records all on Mercury 78 rpm disc. I have the same songs on 45's and a couple of his 33 LP's. I had no clue they were still making rock & roll records (rock-a-billy) in the 78 format? When did the 78 format actually cease to exist as far as late 1950's and early 1960's recordings? Especially rock & roll records? He also gave me a couple of Elvis Presley recordings on the Sun label, also in the 78 rpm format. I am now very curious about the cut-off date for 78 rpm recordings in general.

Almost all 78rpm records were deleted from the UK HMV catalogue on 28 February 1961, and the remainder were withdrawn from 31 March 1962.

Depends on where you look.
1959-1960 is what I think of as the cutoff in the U.S.A.

But there were 78's issued in poorer technologically lagging countries well into the 1960's
The Indian Beatles 78's are a famous example. I think those stopped in 1968.


You were lucky to be gifted Elvis Sun 78's. Collectors will pay good money for those if they're in good condition. But I don't generally regard most rock & roll 78's that were issued before about 1956 as remarkable finds. Especially a big hit like Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock which is common to find on 78.

briankeith wrote:A buddy of mine just gave me some really nice Rickey Nelson records all on Mercury 78 rpm disc. I have the same songs on 45's and a couple of his 33 LP's. I had no clue they were still making rock & roll records (rock-a-billy) in the 78 format? When did the 78 format actually cease to exist as far as late 1950's and early 1960's recordings? Especially rock & roll records? He also gave me a couple of Elvis Presley recordings on the Sun label, also in the 78 rpm format. I am now very curious about the cut-off date for 78 rpm recordings in general.

It varies by country. In the USA, anything 1958 or later would be considered "late" for a 78. The last Presley 78 issued in the USA was RCA Victor 7410 I Got Stung/One Night, which was apparently only distributed to DJs and jukebox companies and is therefore highly desirable. (The Collector's Guide to Victor Records says it's also the last RCA Victor 78 title, period.) In the UK, the 78 with those titles is fairly common, and at least 3 more Presley titles were issued there.

78s were issued in (among other places) South Africa, the Philippines, and (especially) India into the 1960s. There are several Beatle 78s available that were pressed in India.

Rick(y) Nelson records in the USA would have been on the Imperial label and are quiet scarce on 78. I'm not sure where your Mercury discs are from.

Presley 78s are all worth good money. Even a wall hanger would cost you $50+, and clean ones are $200-$300 and up.

52089 wrote:Presley 78s are all worth good money. Even a wall hanger would cost you $50+, and clean ones are $200-$300 and up.

Unless they're bootlegs, of which there were many of, including the Sun 78s, there are many ways to tell if they're bootlegs, a couple of good pictures would determine that.

Ricky Nelson also had "I'm Walkin'" which was issued on Verve.

Sean

52089 wrote:
Presley 78s are all worth good money. Even a wall hanger would cost you $50+, and clean ones are $200-$300 and up.

The RCA Victor records weren't that uncommon or valuable that many years ago. But as with many Elvis collectibles, they may have got elevated value now.

I got my Elvis RCA 78's simply finding them in second hand heaps, and left some that were too beat up. But I've never found a Sun. I don't think those got much distribution outside the southern U.S.A. so you'd have to look there.

Bootlegs can be spotted after a bit of research. The matrix numbers in the dead wax are a dead give-away. New/re-issue labels can be bought on the internet and transfered to run-of-the-mill 78s. Imagine paying premium cash for a Sun label "Mystery Train" which in reality is Swing And Sway with Sammy Kaye.

When 78 RPM production ended does indeed vary by country. Here is an overview created by various members of 78-L, with some additional notes of my own. No doubt there are errors!

1958: major USA labels end production of 78s. However, Chess Records issued 78s until 1960, as did some of the four or six-selection per disk companies (e.g., Value Top Tunes), and there were some children’s 78 RPM records issued as late as 1964-65 (e.g., Disney Little Gem records).
1958 last 78 rpm on major Swedish labels, although some children’s 78 RPM records are issued as late as 1961.
1958 last known German 78 rpm
1960 last known Canadian 78 RPM
1960 last EMI 78 in the UK: Russ Conway: "Royal Event"/ "Rule Britannia
(Columbia DB 4418)
1960 (Nov) last 78 rpm in the UK on a major record label: Rikki Henderson:
"Save The Last Dance For Me"/ "It's Now Or Never" (Embassy). Note that record publishers such as Boosey & Hawkes issued 78 RPM records until 1968, although not to the general public, and certain children’s records were issued as late as 1978.
1961 Discos Columbia (Mexico) issued 78 RPM records at least until 1961, and probably later.
1962 last known Japanese 78 rpm
1963 last known Turkish 78 rpm
1964 last known Argentine and Uruguayan 78 rpm records issued
1965 78 RPM records are still being issued in Colombia (NOT necessarily by **Columbia**) at least this late
1966 last known Philippine 78 rpm
1968 last known South African 78 rpm
1971 last USSR (Melodiya) 78 RPM
1972 last known People’s Republic of China (China Record Co.) 78 RPM
1974 last Indian 78 RPM
1980 vinyl 78's reportedly still being issued in Kenya

For further info, see:

http://www.cool78s.com/index.html

Of course, vinyl 78s to be played with a 0.7 mil LP stylus continue to be produced for specialist markets. See, e.g.,

http://www.78rpm.net.nz/78s/late78s/Lat ... ecords.pdf

http://groove-o-matic.com/?2:2:2

Best wishes, Mark

victorIIvictor wrote:When 78 RPM production ended does indeed vary by country. Here is an overview created by various members of 78-L, with some additional notes of my own. No doubt there are errors!

1958: major USA labels end production of 78s. However, Chess Records issued 78s until 1960, as did some of the four or six-selection per disk companies (e.g., Value Top Tunes), and there were some children’s 78 RPM records issued as late as 1964-65 (e.g., Disney Little Gem records).
1958 last 78 rpm on major Swedish labels, although some children’s 78 RPM records are issued as late as 1961.
1958 last known German 78 rpm
1960 last known Canadian 78 RPM
1960 last EMI 78 in the UK: Russ Conway: "Royal Event"/ "Rule Britannia
(Columbia DB 4418)
1960 (Nov) last 78 rpm in the UK on a major record label: Rikki Henderson:
"Save The Last Dance For Me"/ "It's Now Or Never" (Embassy). Note that record publishers such as Boosey & Hawkes issued 78 RPM records until 1968, although not to the general public, and certain children’s records were issued as late as 1978.
1961 Discos Columbia (Mexico) issued 78 RPM records at least until 1961, and probably later.
1962 last known Japanese 78 rpm
1963 last known Turkish 78 rpm
1964 last known Argentine and Uruguayan 78 rpm records issued
1965 78 RPM records are still being issued in Colombia (NOT necessarily by **Columbia**) at least this late
1966 last known Philippine 78 rpm
1968 last known South African 78 rpm
1971 last USSR (Melodiya) 78 RPM
1972 last known People’s Republic of China (China Record Co.) 78 RPM
1974 last Indian 78 RPM
1980 vinyl 78's reportedly still being issued in Kenya

For further info, see:

http://www.cool78s.com/index.html

Of course, vinyl 78s to be played with a 0.7 mil LP stylus continue to be produced for specialist markets. See, e.g.,

http://www.78rpm.net.nz/78s/late78s/Lat ... ecords.pdf

http://groove-o-matic.com/?2:2:2

Best wishes, Mark

Excellent!


You also have a case where new vinyl 78's are pressed from old metal parts, like Historic Masters still does (since the 1970's) but I think they are unique in that.

OrthoSean wrote:

52089 wrote:Presley 78s are all worth good money. Even a wall hanger would cost you $50+, and clean ones are $200-$300 and up.

Unless they're bootlegs, of which there were many of, including the Sun 78s, there are many ways to tell if they're bootlegs, a couple of good pictures would determine that.

Ricky Nelson also had "I'm Walkin'" which was issued on Verve.

Sean

Sorry, I meant to say Presley SUN 78s are all worth good money etc. The RCA Presley 78s are certainly desirable but except for 7410 are not in the same price range as the Sun records.

You're right, I forgot about Ricky's 2 Verve records, which I have not seen on 78 but probably do exist on 78.