Things Written On Used LPs You've Picked Up

[ombudsman]

A couple of my favorite altered record covers:

1) a copy of "It Crawled Into My Hands, Honest" by the Fugs, with a library card and pocket still attached, showing that it was once part of a church library

2) a old home made replacement cover for "Homage to Africa" by Sunny Murray. It's plain white with the name/title and a crude drawing of a human skull in profile, and a note that helpfully points out that the shape of the continent of Africa kind of looks like a skull. Whoever made that was high.

One that is strange is my copy of "Music is the Healing Force of the Universe" by Albert Ayler. Inside the gatefold are a couple of handwritten things. One looks like a signature, but not by Albert; it isn't easy to read, could be some previous owner's name, or possibly the signature of Stafford James who plays on that record. The other looks like it says "Starwatcher", which is intriguingly similar to an Ayler song on a different record, "Sunwatcher".

[jeffcrom]

A couple of my favorite altered record covers:

1) a copy of "It Crawled Into My Hands, Honest" by the Fugs, with a library card and pocket still attached, showing that it was once part of a church library
 

OMG - That's the greatest thing ever!

[JSngry]

Dec. 25 1958

Carol Jessica Thornton

Carol,

I only hope that when you become moody,  you will play this record. Remember the wonderful times we have had as we have double dated, both this past summer and fall.

Love always,

Fay Mallette Stubbs

Underlined in the same ink is the song title "Secret Love".

http://davidwier.com/family/wier/aqwg21.htm

I guess the moral of the story is to not let your Robert Farnon records end up in Half Price Books if you have any secrets.

[rdavenport]

Resurrecting a moribund thread, I today bought some records, including Ornette Coleman's "Chappaqua Suite".

 

The inner sleeves of UK CBS LPs of that era had "The Sound Of Entertainment" printed around the label cut out. A previous owner had struck a line through "entertainment" and written "DISCORD" above. Made me smile. 

[rostasi]

On 7/28/2015 at 5:05 PM, JSngry said:

Underlined in the same ink is the song title "Secret Love".

http://davidwier.com/family/wier/aqwg21.htm

I guess the moral of the story is to not let your Robert Farnon records end up in Half Price Books if you have any secrets.

Wait, so Faye was 9 years old when she wrote this?

[JSngry]

The plot thickens...

[Niko]

They don't look that young in their college yearbook... (search inside by last name..)

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38605/

[mjazzg]

Took delivery today of a copy of Brubeck Quartet - The Riddle. There's a strip of braille on the back cover.

Thankfully I work with braille readers so I'll be able to solve the mystery. My bet's on "The Riddle" 

[russes01]

Pablo record signed by Count Basie and Freddie Green for $3.50... 

[BillF]

10 hours ago, russes01 said:

Pablo record signed by Count Basie and Freddie Green for $3.50... 

Wow!

[Hot Ptah]

I have a used LP which I purchased in the store closing sale of the Music Exchange, which was a long time, very large Kansas City used music store. 

The LP has handwriting on the back by the artist (an obscure musician, I can't remember his name), warmly presenting this copy of his album to Jay McShann.

In other words, Jay McShann or his family dumped it off at the Music Exchange after receiving it.

[Ken Dryden]

I found used LPs very cheaply which turned out to be autographed by Manny Albam and Stan Gets.

[Teasing the Korean]

Picked up - for free - Until Spring by Morton Subotnick on Columbia Odyssey.  

The previous owner - P. Dorham? - wrote on the cover, in a black sharpie:

'you Won't believe This one!  Keep the Volume Down!"

Then written beside this, in a thinner black pen:  "(yeh! you sed it- HAH!"

Then, in the thinner black pen, someone wrote the following, with an arrow pointing to the Subotnick illustration:

"No eyes-

No Brows - 

No Eyelids -

No Cheeks

No Branes!"

 

[Big Beat Steve]

On 7.12.2017 at 1:20 PM, Ken Dryden said:

I found used LPs very cheaply which turned out to be autographed by Manny Albam and Stan Gets.

If he signed it like this then that was a FAKE!

[sidewinder]

On 30/10/2017 at 5:58 PM, mjazzg said:

Took delivery today of a copy of Brubeck Quartet - The Riddle. There's a strip of braille on the back cover.

Thankfully I work with braille readers so I'll be able to solve the mystery. My bet's on "The Riddle" 

My Joe Zawinul ‘Rise and Fall of the Third Stream’ on Vortex had braille on the back too.

[Ken Dryden]

On 3/5/2020 at 1:58 PM, Big Beat Steve said:

If he signed it like this then that was a FAKE!

Damned autocorrect...

 

 

[jazzmusicdepot]

No writing on my vinyl, but inheriting my fathers vinyl collection I found out that he liked to store his oregano in the jackets. Strange...

 

[JSngry]

Are you sure it's oregano?

[slide_advantage_redoux]

In 1983 I bought a jazz lp collection from a retired trumpet player. First edition Blue Notes, Savoys, Pacific Jazz, etc. All told close to 100 records. He asked $3 each. I offered to buy the whole lot if he'd take $2 each. He accepted. The best record coup I have ever managed.

The common thread being all of them had trumpet players on them. And he wrote his name on the back of every record jacket.

On 11/3/2017 at 3:32 PM, Hot Ptah said:

I have a used LP which I purchased in the store closing sale of the Music Exchange, which was a long time, very large Kansas City used music store. 

The LP has handwriting on the back by the artist (an obscure musician, I can't remember his name), warmly presenting this copy of his album to Jay McShann.

In other words, Jay McShann or his family dumped it off at the Music Exchange after receiving it.

NICE!

[Teasing the Korean]

I have a Cannonball LP with a stamp on it reading "Stolen from Bob Williams." 

Anyone have any LPs with this stamp?

[rdavenport]

I recently acquired Bud Powell's "Time Waits" album.

The back has a sticker from "Colosseum Music Saloon" in Johannesburg.

It also has the name and address of a previous owner, in Jersey (Channel Islands, not NJ). Not that interesting, though this LP has clearly done a few air miles - from NY to South Africa, to the Channel Islands, now to Greater Manchester.  

Edited September 4, 2023 by rdavenport

[Teasing the Korean]

8 minutes ago, rdavenport said:

I recently acquired Bud Powell's "Time Waits" album.

The back has a sticker from "Colosseum Music Saloon" in Johannesburg.

It also has the name and address of a previous owner, in Jersey (Channel Islands, not NJ). Not that interesting, though this LP has clearly done a few air miles - from NY to South Africa, to the Channel Islands, now to Greater Manchester.  

I love return address labels on used LPs I pick up.  I always look for the address on Zillow so I can see where the album used to live.

[rdavenport]

22 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I love return address labels on used LPs I pick up.  I always look for the address on Zillow so I can see where the album used to live.

You piqued my interest....

Well the Johannesburg record shop is no more, and the street on which it stood looks in a sorry state on Google Maps.

The address in Jersey was actually a hotel, also no more. A 1964 tourism guide advert I found online states "This hotel offers you comfort, cleanliness and already renowned cuisine. Dancing. Radiotel in all rooms."  Radiotel, sounds very sixties.

[kh1958]

On 9/4/2023 at 12:55 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

I have a Cannonball LP with a stamp on it reading "Stolen from Bob Williams." 

Anyone have any LPs with this stamp?

Yes. I have a whole series of Stolen from... LPs.

[Eric]

Back cover of Our Thing by Joe Henderson.  Bought it used in the 1980s from one of those jazz list guys.  Of course the music is awesome.  With the drawings, perhaps my favorite record.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Eric