Surprise record purchase - Ed McCurdy

Subject: Surprise record purchase
From: GUEST,John Hindsill
Date: 27 Mar 02 - 12:28 AM

Today, whilst browsing the used record bin in a music store I came upon an LP entitled WINDJAMMER Folk Songs of the Sea. The performer was listed as Chad Willis & the Beachstones, a person I have never heard of. The label, Spinorama, was probably one of those $1.98 exploitation companies whose wares were found in drugstores and the like back in the '50s and '60s, but it was worth buying for what the store was asking...maybe there would be a gem or two, here. Well, it turns out the Chad Wills sounds identical to (pause for effect) Ed McCurdy! And indeed it is. Have any of you had this type of find, where a performer used a pseudonym because of contractual reasons, or the company did so for knock off purposes?---John

Subject: RE: Surprise record purchase
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Mar 02 - 02:51 AM

John - you might get more responses if you put Ed McCurdy's name in the thread title.

Michael

Subject: RE: Surprise record purchase
From: GUEST,Les B.
Date: 27 Mar 02 - 03:27 PM

John: Seems like a good while back there was a thread here at Mudcat on this subject, but I can't find it. As I remember Blind Boy Grunt, aka Bob Dylan, and Lonesome Luke, aka Hank Williams, were among those identified.

I'm also finding that a lot of the old timey american country artists from the 1920's & 30's used several different names to do the same songs for different record companies - Grayson & Whitter had several incarnations.

Another thing the string bands did was use several names for the same fiddle tune, apparently to make their play list look more diverse. That's probably where the old saw, "They all sound like 'Soldier's Joy'" comes from !

Subject: RE: Surprise record purchase
From: Wesley S
Date: 27 Mar 02 - 04:25 PM

John - When I worked in record stores in the 70's we would occasionally see the wrong LP that had been put into a record sleeve. Eat A Peach by the Allman Bros had all sorts or records in it. But that doesn't sound like the case here. Interesting.

Subject: RE: Surprise record purchase
From: John Hindsill
Date: 27 Mar 02 - 08:45 PM

Les B, I have heard some Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter, and Sheb Wooley used another name for novelty songs. Paul Weston and Jo Stafford recorded as Darlene & Jonathan Edwards (or some such). But these were instances of using a different (usually comic) persona, as it were. But thanks for the response.

I have also had the misfortune to buy duplicate records put out on different labels, with different art work etc., but the exact song program on the discs...Mary McCaslin, Dave Van Ronk and Travis Edmunson duplicates come immediately to mind.

John

Subject: RE: Surprise record purchase
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 28 Mar 02 - 02:08 AM

Years ago, I released an album which was pressed in Nashville. In one of the batches, the pressing plant switched my label with the label on an album of marches by the Michigan State Marching Band. Imagine the surprise of the folks who bought our records. Thank heaven they had a sense of humor, and that the pressing plant made good their mistake. Kept a copy for my files, though!

All the best,

Seamus