Musical Hoaxes

[paul secor]

I was listening to Otis "Elevator" Gilmore: Cincinnati's Finest today. It was recorded by American blues/rock guitarist Danny Adler, and sold to Flyright Records in England as music recorded by an obscure Cincinnati bluesman who had worked as an elevator operator. The record was released in a small pressing in 1989 before the hoax was discovered.

I know of a few musical hoaxes from the more distant past: Steve Allen recorded two LPs by supposedly obscure pianists, The Discovery of Buck Hammer and The Wild Piano of Mary Anne Jackson.

And in the late 1960's there was the Masked Marauders hoax created by Rolling Stone magazine.

Does anyone know of others in the same vein?

[Larry Kart]

I can think of some David Murray records.

[Rooster_Ties]

What about the mid-60's Danish(?) LP that purports to be a bunch of real red-hot Jazz musicians from the USA. And they're even pictured on the cover. When it's actually all European players, but the pic is literally four young-ish 20-something black guys they found on the street who all looked the part. And they handed them instruments, and had them pose like musicians for the cover...

'Cept the the trombone player CLEARLY has no earthly idea how to hold the damn thing.

I can see the cover in my head (yellow and orange lettering?), but can't remember enough of the title to even google it.

I'm sure half-a-dozen people here know exactly the one I'm talking about. "Something, something, something jazz from the US" - or words to that effect.

Hillarious cover.

[Niko]

it's this one

https://www.discogs.com/Jon-Eardley-Jazz-From-The-States/release/3178918

a Jon Eardley album produced in the Netherlands with a mostly Belgian band... some of the tunes are actually new interpretations/titles for old Jon Eardley compositions from 1950s prestige albums (forgot the details), the producer reused some of the song titles (but not the music) on this record here

https://www.discogs.com/Walt-Lemon-Und-Rhythmusgruppe-Dreamin-Piano/master/1204392

There is also a Finnish record, this one,

https://www.discogs.com/Suurorkesteri-Tanssin-Iloa-Suurorkesterin-Tahdissa/release/1395897

that combines tracks from the Eardley album with tracks from another Dutch/Belgian production

https://www.discogs.com/The-St-Tropez-Jazz-Octett-Jazz-Goes-Swinging/release/2688989

I wouldn't consider these hoaxes but rather a business model that seems strange to us nowadays...

Edited October 24, 2018 by Niko

[king ubu]

Joye Hatto, of course ...

 

[soulpope]

In the 70`s it was quite usual for britisch Soul DJ`s to "cover up" artist and even titles of Soul 45`s to maintain the rarity/collectability of these platters ....

[Big Beat Steve]

27 minutes ago, soulpope said:

In the 70`s it was quite usual for britisch Soul DJ`s to "cover up" artist and even titles of Soul 45`s to maintain the rarity/collectability of these platters ....

No doubt they picked this up from the Jamaican Sound System DJs who went to extreme excesses in trying to guard their secrets and "advance knowledge" vs their (purported) competitors. Can happen even with DJs in more modern times. 
But the music itself still was the real thing throughout and not something MARKETED from the start as something totally different. So these things are not comparable at all with what the thread starter is getting at.

6 hours ago, paul secor said:

I was listening to Otis "Elevator" Gilmore: Cincinnati's Finest today. It was recorded by American blues/rock guitarist Danny Adler, and sold to Flyright Records in England as music recorded by an obscure Cincinnati bluesman who had worked as an elevator operator. The record was released in a small pressing in 1989 before the hoax was discovered.

I know of a few musical hoaxes from the more distant past: Steve Allen recorded two LPs by supposedly obscure pianists, The Discovery of Buck Hammer and The Wild Piano of Mary Anne Jackson.

Does anyone know of others in the same vein?

 

That first one you show is amazing. Flyright? not surprising. They indeed packaged this in the typical artwork style of the Flyright and Krazy Kat labels that reissued a lot of blues and R&B obscurities back then. This one would have fitted right into their line of releases by The Great Gates, Charlie Gonzales etc. and many other obscure artists from the 50s and no doubt would have fooled me too.

Pianists seem to have been a favorite in this field. I remember a jazz radio show along these lines from sometime in the 70s. Might have either been around Carnival or Halloween when the show host played an entire show of piano boogie "field recordings" by a "newly rediscovered and previously unrecorded old master of the 88s" from somewhere in the honky tonks of the Deep South who went by the name of
ALEX CLAMPSAVER.

Who??

Well, at the end of the show the host gave it away ... just a spoof and an anglicized version of the name of famous German boogie pianist
AXEL ZWINGENBERGER (those who are familiar with German around here will understand and appreciate the play on words in this "literal" translation of the name). Fun anyway ...

 

Edited October 24, 2018 by Big Beat Steve

[soulpope]

25 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

No doubt they picked this up from the Jamaican Sound System DJs who went to extreme excesses in trying to guard their secrets and "advance knowledge" vs their (purported) competitors. Can happen even with DJs in more modern times. 
But the music itself still was the real thing throughout and not something MARKETED from the start as something totally different. So these things are not comparable at all with what the thread starter is getting at.

Partially disagree .... unissueds tracks were pressed on acetates with cover-up company labels, artists and even song titles and "marketed" this way .... nevertheless do not intend to derail this thread any further ....

[Bill Nelson]

When you're as good as Jo Stafford and Paul Weston, you can pull pranks like this:

 

[JSngry]

[John L]

They still sell on places like Amazon and iTunes a number of Magic Sam (the West Side Chicago blues giant)  albums that are not Magic Sam at all.   No matter how many people tell them about it, they just keep selling them as Magic Sam albums.    

This one is supposedly a Ron Thompson concert:

 

[bluenoter]

The illustrious Hans Groiner (do y'all know who his alter ego is?):

 

[mikeweil]

[Rooster_Ties]

 

[mikeweil]

 

[paul secor]

30 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

 

A hoax - or just a weird lady?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I dare say it's fairly famous but Chris Farlowe recorded 'Stormy Monday blues' pts 1 & 2, which was issued on Island Records Sue label under the name of 'Little Joe Cook'.

I got it and thought, "there's something funny about this," so I wrote to Island and asked what US label had recorded it. Island always mentioned the original label except when it was one of Juggy Murray's labels, but this was obviously not one of those. Chris Blackwell wrote back to say it was recorded by an obscure label from the southern states, which was a self-evident lie as to an R&B fan, there ain't no such thing

What got me is that I used to see Farlowe live every other Saturday night at the Blue Moon Club at Hayes Football Club, and I didn't recognise him!!!!

MG

PS - here's a pic of the 45

 

MG

 

[bluenoter]

9 hours ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

I dare say it's fairly famous but Chris Farlowe recorded 'Stormy Monday blues' pts 1 & 2, which was issued on Island Records Sue label under the name of 'Little Joe Cook'.

 

AFAIK, that's not an example of a hoax; it's just using a pseudonym to designate the recording artist for a piece of music that's not meant to be a joke.

Edited October 26, 2018 by bluenoter

[medjuck]

Does  "Jonathan and Darlene Edwards" count. 

[JSngry]

COULD they count?