.JPG)
Mike’s speedboat has disappeared from behind the office. It was a bit of a target just sitting there for years, a Switzer(?). It was too hot again meaning summer is here until September. That keeps people off the streets so there was a small upsurge in business. It is bicycle weather, but I would not want to work out there. Poor Millie is wearing a full winter coat. Author's note: the following is unclear. I was asked to determine the authenticity of some Elvis 45 rpm records.
It meant working a magnifying glass, but I was able to determine that the Elvis records were not the absolute originals. This is the set of 45s a friend of mine wanted to put on the Internet. They were RCA recordings and the labels contained specific dates, like “Recorded July 2, 1956”. However, very close inspection shows a series of consecutive serial numbers etched on the platters that could not be possible unless the studio recorded only Elvis in January and again in July. Not likely.
These dates just mentioned were quite revealing. Studios were “live” in those days, so it is possible to say exactly when something was recorded. (Some of the music I record has bass tracks laid down as much as four years earlier.) Elvis often sang side A and B on consecutive dates. Some of his most enduring hits, like “Hound Dog” were side B. Another thing I didn’t know was he had the same band, “The Jordanaires” for most of his earliest material. They evaporated the instant Elvis had a hit single. Poof!
My conclusion of today is that although RCA was truthful in stating the recording dates, they used the master disks to run off a later series of copies somewhere between 1960 and 1964. My buddy has part of that set. Other things that made me suspicious were the labels slightly off center and the set contained only huge Elvis hits. When I was growing up I met a guy named Steven Giggs who had an Elvis collection, which we listened to on weekends (because he had no AC/DC). Trust me, most of what Elvis cranked out were not hits. And Mr. Giggs has since progressed to Abba.
Elvis’ tunes tend to be shorter than average, many are less than two minutes and all are less than three. Some of the rare Elvis 45s are going for $11 on eBay. These are obscure songs on red vinyl, such as Elvis singing “America The Beautiful”. Generally, the prices are around the same as 1956, a buck apiece. Trust me again, I am not an Elvis fan and most of this trivia has to do with the mechanical side of the business or it would not interest me at all.
The research for this project took me back to eBay for fifteen minutes. That was all I needed as a reminder of what a bloated corporation they evolved into. Like the tax department, they become an unwelcome partner in every transaction. I abandoned my account (back in early 2006) after just a few sales of questionable profitability, although I see others have handled the same problem with high reserve or fixed prices. At that point, is it still an auction?
Every yokel in the area was in the shop today. So was Cowboy Mike. Half my day was talking to customers, the other half I was dusting and cleaning my equipment. I have the only public keyboards in town you don’t fear to touch. What is alarming me is the increase in the number of people who have no money. I accept cash only, but the shop has a whole wall of repaired computers waiting for the customers to show up. Unlike last year, it is common to hear phrases like, “You’re not going to charge me to fix this, are you?”
Return Home
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
