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Now available: The Mike and Meyer Files by Joe Weber and Lew Fields

With their potent mixture of slapstick and fractured German dialect comedy, the pioneering vaudeville duo of Joe Weber and Lew Fields can rightly be called the granddaddy of all American comedy teams. Now for the first time, all of the pair’s comedy recordings have been masterfully restored and compiled in one collection that tells the story of this hugely influential duo. The Mike and Meyer Files includes a 32-page booklet with new scholarship by celebrated authors Trav S.D., L. Marc Fields, and Richard Martin. Order today »

Lambert Yiddish Cylinders Added to the National Recording Registry

The Yiddish selections issued on Lambert cylinders from 1901-1905 have just been added to  National Recording Registry. These recordings were researched and preserved on our 2016 compilation Attractive Hebrews: The Lambert Yiddish Cylinders, 1901-1905.

Three GRAMMY Nominations for Archeophone

Grammy nominations have been announced, and three of our releases—4 Banjo Songs, Alpine Dreaming, and The Product of Our Souls—have been nominated in the field of Best Album Notes. Hats off to our writers, Dave Gilbert, Jim Leary, Richard Martin, and Ted Olson. And congrats to our esteemed friends and fellow nominees! The winner will be announced February 10, 2019.

4 Banjo Songs featured in The Washington Post

4 Banjo Songs, our collection of banjo recordings by Charles Asbury, is featured in today’s Washington Post. Read Geoff Edgers’ terrific piece and listen to the podcast.

TODAY IN ACOUSTIC HISTORY

PRAISE FOR ARCHEOPHONE

  • “Truly epochal reissues, which unearth completely forgotten chapters of musical history. The tiny Illinois-based Archeophone label has been doing that kind of archaeology for several years now, almost single-handedly championing the popular music of the acoustic recording era.”
    Jody RosenSlate.com
  • “In the digital age, when liner notes have been reduced to a song name scrolling across a streaming playlist, the husband-and-wife team of [Richard] Martin and Meagan Hennessey are an anomaly. They gather rarities from the earliest era of recordings, research the music and put out entire books of analysis alongside the music.”
    Geoff EdgersWashington Post

      FROM OUR BLOG

      Some Thoughts on Charles Asbury’s Race and the Question of Passing

      Archeophone’s 4  Banjo Songs, 1891-1897 by African American recording pioneer, Charles A. Asbury, is nominated for Best Album Notes, written by myself (Richard Martin) and Ted Olson. We’re very appreciative for this recognition, but there is a misapprehension floating around out Asbury’s background that needs addressing. Some reviewers have summed up the notes by saying … Continue reading Some ...→
      posted: January 4, 2019

      Helvetia Records: Unrealized Ambitious Dreams

      With the recent acquisition of Helvetia 1002, our upcoming set, Alpine Dreaming, will now have every known release put out by the small Helvetia label in the early 1920s. Thanks to Eric Gallinger for contributing that record to the effort. Eric found the disc at an estate sale in Oregon and, inspired by his wife’s … Continue reading Helvetia Records: Unrealized Ambitious Dreams→
      posted: June 20, 2018

      Mystery Banjo Players Identified?

      Last week we wondered whether record titles, such as those listed in a ca. 1891 catalog of the New Jersey Phonograph Company, might not all have been actually recorded. Then we traced the offerings of Charles Asbury in New Jersey/U.S. Phono. Co. and Columbia catalogs from 1892 through 1897 to see which of his records … Continue reading Mystery Banjo Players Identified?→
      posted: May 9, 2018

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