Posted 3 years ago
Kaplang
(1 item)
Found this 9 1/2” 33 1/3 demo record in a box of LPs I purchased. The person I bought the collection from didn’t know anything about it. The side 2 label makes reference to Frank Sinatra but it might not be the singer. The numbers on side 1 look like an address and some old phone numbers that used letters for the first 2 characters back in the old days.
Anybody have any information to shed some light? Google searches I did turned up nothing.
What about Jim or James Nichols?
Kaplang, Cool. :-)
So, a 33 1/3RPM record with what looks like four tracks on Side 1, and an unknown number of tracks on Side 2.
Because of the size of the record, it's probably not a Voice-O-Graph recording:
https://voiceograph.com/history-of-voice-o-graph
Are there any matrix or stamper codes in the vinyl near the end-groove?:
https://ourpastimes.com/how-to-decode-matrix-stamper-numbers-on-vinyl-lps-12248312.html
In the meantime, we work with what we have:
SIDE 1
(SIDE 1)
DEMO RECORD
JAMES NICHOLS
817 1/2 LA JOLLA
OL 3 - 0294
MA 9 - 4789
SIDE 2
TO
PATTY - GERI - JACKIE
AND FRANK SINATRA
LOVE & KISSES
Jim Nichols (signature)
That "817 1/2" suggests an address in a multi-unit building.
"LA JOLLA" has a West Coast USA sound to it. Not necessarily the city of La Jolla, CA, but perhaps another city with a street named that. Los Angeles has/had an address of 817 1/2 N La Jolla Avenue:
817 1/2 N La Jolla Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
https://goo.gl/maps/i12pwuRVhw6Mg7q77
I say "has/had," because the most recent Google Street View from January 2021 shows new construction in progress, but there was a pre-existing, multi-unit building in that location as recently as April 2019.
If those numbers are Los Angeles telephone numbers from the era in which exchange names were in use:
In 1958, due to increased consumer demand for individual telephone numbers, the telephone company began phasing out old exchange names for all numeric telephone numbers or "All Number Calling" (pretty much gone by 1963).
City Exchange Letters Exchange Name Number
Beverly Hills OL OLeander 65
Beverly Hills OL OLive 65
Beverly Hills OL OLympia 65
Alhambra MA MAin 62
https://www.laalmanac.com/communications/cm01e.php
The year 1963 would have been right smack in Sinatra's Rat Pack era.
I really have nothing solid to support this, but I suspect this might be a record made by or for an amateur (James Nichols) who had access to professional record-making equipment.
It could be a pre-1963 recording, but not necessarily. If the handwriting belongs to Jim Nichols (it probably does, because he signed it), he might have persisted in the casual use of telephone exchange names after their official use had ended.
Have you tried to play the record?
I agree...need to spin it up!
Kaplang, Let me clarify: I suspect what you have is a recording made by a fan of Frank Sinatra (James Nichols), and/or for a small group of Sinatra fans (Patty, Geri, and Jackie).
If you haven't yet played it because you're afraid of damaging what might be a valuable recording, you could take it to a professional, and have them convert the contents to audio files that could be played on a computer.
OH YES -- we need to know what kind of music is trapped in those grooves -- who knows, maybe there's also some words of introduction (or something) also on there that'd explain who/what it all is?!!!
No, apparently I can't stop. };-)
If you use Google Satellite View to look at 817 1/2 N. La Jolla Avenue in Los Angeles, CA, you'll see two street numbers (815 and 817):
https://goo.gl/maps/UyfG4pYy89ToDDN48
I suspect that's a matter of the multi-unit building built on the lot in 1924 that has been demolished since the property was sold in 2020, and now the address is and will be simply 815 N. La Jolla:
*snip*
The property is located in one of the trendiest and prime section in Los Angeles, sitting south of Santa Monica Boulevard, North of Melrose Avenue and just west of Crescent Heights. Ready for rehab or redevelopment or development opportunity. Legal 3 unit Triplex R2 zoning on a sizable 6550 square foot lot offers many possibilities.
*snip*
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/815-N-La-Jolla-Ave-Los-Angeles-CA-90046/20787737_zpid/
AnythingObscure, Good point about a potential introduction. :-)
Kaplang, Something that I've neglected to address is the stated diameter of this disc. Is it truly 9.5 inches?
That would be unique. The ten inch format is known, but I have yet to see any other mention of a 9.5 inch format:
https://thevinylfactory.com/features/freaky-formats-the-odd-sized-records-you-never-knew-existed/
https://www.piratespress.com/products/10-vinyl/