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At the Minstrel Show: Minstrel Routines From the Studio, 1894-1926 coming soon

Coming soon: At the Minstrel Show. This 2-CD compilation features 51 selections recorded between 1894 and 1926 and 56 pages of notes by Tim Brooks, author of the just-released McFarland book The Blackface Minstrel Show in Mass Media. Many of the selections are discussed in the book. Learn more and sign up to find out when it goes on sale →

Arthur Fields Anthology: Singer, Songwriter, Soldier now available

Our newest release is a career retrospective of the great Arthur Fields, who had a long and prolific career as a songwriter, vaudevillian, recording artist, radio personality, and music publisher. Featuring 26 tracks and a 32-page booklet with notes by Grammy-nominated author Ryan Barna, Anthology: Singer, Songwriter, Soldier tells the story of Fields’ four-decade recording career, taking you on the journey from his very first recording (1914’s “Along Came Ruth”) to his last (a 1951 home recording of some of his hits, captured on wire). Learn more and order »

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.

TODAY IN ACOUSTIC HISTORY

PRAISE FOR ARCHEOPHONE

  • “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
  • “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

      FROM OUR BLOG

      Meet Johnnie Myers

      Some of you like to research the old acoustic-era artists, searching for authoritative answers to their dates of birth and death or greater details on their lives than has been known heretofore. Maybe you have had the experience of digging in on an artist in newspapers, genealogy records, and other online archival databases, only to … Continue reading Meet Johnnie Myers→
      posted: January 7, 2020

      Questions about the Yiddish Lambert Cylinders on the National Recording Registry

      Earlier this year, the Library of Congress released its 2018 inductees onto the National Recording Registry. The oldest items preserved onto the Registry for their “cultural, historical, and aesthetic” significance are titled thusly: Yiddish Cylinders from the Standard Phonograph Company of New York and Thomas Lambert Company. Here’s the Library’s description: These cylinders originally produce...→
      posted: August 27, 2019

      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

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