Elektra Records Master Discography: Browse

Elektra EKLP 1 (Mono) - Matrix E1 LCC 2237 / E1 LCC 2238

Released: March 1951

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: Jac Holzman

Recorded: Peter Bartók studio, New York

12-inch album with the company credited as Elektra Records, 54 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis, Maryland. A note on the sleeve says: New Songs marks the first release of Elektra Records which shall continue to offer disks of unusual and worthy musical fare.

John Gruen lived in Greenwich Village and had a varied career beyond his early composing. This included time as an art critic, dance critic, book buyer, publicity director and photographers' agent, and he went on to be a photographer under his full name of John Jonas Gruen.

The recording was done in the New York studio of Peter Bartók (son of composer Béla) and the Jac supervised the second, satisfactory, mastering at RCA himself.

This disc has also been listed (eg in Schwann June 1953) with the title 'Gruen: Poetry set to Music' but that was almost certainly an invention of the catalogue in the absence of real information.

Elektra EKLP 2 (Mono) - Matrix JH 505 A/B

Released: 1952

Production: Jac Holzman and Edward Tatnall Candy

Engineering: Edward Tatnall Candy

10-inch LP. Credited to the Elektra-Stratford Record Corp at 361 Bleeker Street, New York City. In the sleeve notes to the Rhino compilation CD ("Mountain Hearth and Home" - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7867) Jac Holzman writes that the recordings on this LP had been made by Edward Tatnall Candy over a period of time and that different recordings were at slightly different speeds.

At the time of the Jean Ritchie LP, Jac Holzman was so young that her contract was signed by Jac as 'a minor' represented by his father, Dr Jacob Holzman.

This is where the story really starts after the 'diversion' of EKLP 1. There were a few Jac Holzman 78s of folk music including sides by Jean Ritchie ("Old Virginny" c/w Jubillee" with number JH 502), Frank Warner ("Battle of Bull Run"/"Unreconstructed Rebel" c/w "Got the Whole World in His Hand"/"Hold My Hand Lord Jesus" starting the series with number JH 501 and "Gilgarry Mountain" c/w "Blue Mountain Lake" with number JH 503) and Glenn Yarbrough ("Follow the Drinking Gourd" c/w "The Reapers Ghost" with catalogue number ST-3 and matrix number JH 506 A/B) . Incidentally it was spelled Yarborough on this last disc. Some of these 78s were badged 'Stratford' (eg the Yarbrough) and some 'New York State Historical Association' (the Ritchie certainly) and I assume that the recordings on the 78s were those used on the relevant LPs, but I don't know for sure until I hear the discs. (Thanks to Joel Bresler and Cary Ginell for the track info.)

This leaves us with a gap in the JH series at 507 and also suggests that the Yarbrough record was released after Elektra started its 10-inch folk series.

Elektra EKLP 3 (Mono) - Matrix JH 504 A/B

Released: November 1952

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album. Frank was a musicologist and collector and he was responsible for the popularisation of 'Tom Dooley', one of those songs that was eventually done to death during the folk revival.

As mentioned in my note for EKLP 2, some of the songs on this Frank Warner LP were released on 78s: "Battle of Bull Run"/"Unreconstructed Rebel" c/w "Got the Whole World in His Hand"/"Hold My Hand Lord Jesus" on JH 501 and "Gilgarry Mountain" c/w "Blue Mountain Lake" on JH 503. As I don't have copies of the 78s I don't know whether they are the same recordings.

Elektra EKLP 4 (Mono) - Matrix JH 508 A/B

Released: 1953

10-inch album. Two cover variations: the earlier with a stark black and white drawing with a black stripe angled down the left-hand side with two stringed guiter-like instruments ... and the latter with a colour wash over a line drawing of a 'minstrel' looking over towards a castle. There was no second volume of this disc and only the label mentions the 'Vol 1'.

Elektra EKLP 5 (Mono) - Matrix JH 509 A/B

Released: March 1953

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: Maya Deren

10-inch LP with a cover illustration by Teijo Ito. The recordings were made using a wire recorder during ceremonials near Criox-Des-Missions and Pétionville in Haiti by Maya Deren. Deren was an avant-garde film maker who had received the first Guggenheim grant for experimental film. With this money she bought the wire recorder used for these recordings, amongst others. The recordings are now held in the Boston University Library's special collections of Maya Deren. Her definitive book on Voudoun, 'Divine Horseman: The Living Gods of Haiti' was also published in 1953.

Elektra EKLP 6 (Mono) - Matrix JH 510 A/B

Released: April 1953

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album. Cover drawing by Maurice Sendak.

Elektra EKL 7 (Mono) - Matrix JH 511 A/B

Released: 1953

10-inch album. Cover variations seen are printed with different coloured ink: 'green/brown' and 'red/pink'.

The cover is by Maurice Sendak and there are more Sendak illustrations in the booklet.

Elektra EKL 8 (Mono) - Matrix JH 512 A/B

Released: June 1953

Production: Jac Holzman and Kenneth S Goldstein

10-inch album. Heraclio Cordero plays second guitar. The sleeve features a superb line drawing by Maurice Sendak. Two variants known; one has green spot colour for the text and the other has red.

Elektra EKL 9 (Mono) - Matrix JH 513 A/B

Released: November 1953

Production: Jac Holzman and Kenneth S Goldstein

Engineering: Jac Holzman

10-inch album.

Elektra EKL 10 (Mono) - Matrix JH 514 A/B

Released: November 1953

Production: Jac Holzman and Kenneth S Goldstein

10-inch LP. Lawless lists this as being titled 'American Folksongs of Sadness and Melancholy', which is the title on the label but the subtitle on the sleeve.

The cover was Bill Harvey's first for Elektra - he went on to be art director for the label - although he is quoted as saying he thought this recording was 'the most god-awful music I ever heard'. Bill's son recalls that the drawing was of his young sister Jo-Anne, sleeping.

There's no connection, but there are drawings on the walls of a Metro station in Brussels - Maelbeek - which look uncannily like Bill's line drawing on this sleeve. The booklet includes a photo of Hally, looking very cheerful indeed!

Elektra EKL 11 (Mono) - Matrix JH 515 A/B

Released: November 1953

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album. Two covers known, one showing a drawing of a young woman in a forest (signed C Brown) and the other based on a playing card motif, as used for the 12-inch reissue on Elektra 131.

Elektra EKL 12 (Mono) - Matrix JH 516 A/B

Released: November 1953

Production: Jac Holzman and Kenneth S Goldstein

10-inch album with cover art by William S Harvey.

Elektra EKL 13 (Mono) - Matrix JH 517 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Described by Time Magazine (on April 19 1954) as 'An informal collection of old pulse-bumpers, many of them all but forgotten'.

This sleeve is one of Bill Harvey's best illustrations. 10-inch album.

Elektra EKL 14 (Mono) - Matrix JH 518 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Recorded: New York

10-inch album. Alec Stewart credited on guitar ... but it is actually Alec Seward aka Guitar Slim. This set wlso released on Vogue LDE 137 and these recordings, or most of them, are the ones that appear on Riverside 644 with Kenneth S Goldstein as producer and Jac Holzman credited as engineer with a recording date of December 1953 in New York.

'The Fox Chase' explains the origin of the 'Wailin and Whoopin' tour-de-force that Sonny always used to play: the harp is imitating the baying of the hounds as they chase the fox.

Elektra EKL 15 (Mono) - Matrix JH 519 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Recorded: New York

10-inch album. The disc matrix numbers accidentally reversed the A and B sides but the labels ignore the mistake and are correct. Alec Stewart is actually Alec Seward aka Guitar Slim.

Also released on Vogue LDE 165 - BBCGLI omits 'Down in the Bottom Blues' but this hasn't been checked against a disc. These recordings, or most of them, are the ones that appear on Riverside 644 - Talkin' 'Bout the Blues - with production credited to Bill Grauer or Kenneth S Goldstein and Jac Holzman credited as engineer.

Of course, despite what the label says, it is 'Changed the Lock on my Door', not 'Chain ...' and although this album is usually billed as a Sonny Terry LP, it is more of a joint effort than EKL 14 as Alec sings some of the songs.

Elektra EKL 16 (Mono) - Matrix JH 520 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album.

The copy of this in my collection refers to Ed McCurdy's 'Sin Songs' LP, which was EKL 24. Since this was released later it may be that this disc has more than one edition.

Elektra EKL 17 (Mono) - Matrix JH 521 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album. All the tracks except 'Chitarra Fiorentina' were reissued as half of EKL 221.

A stereo version of 'Sul Capello' turned up on the stereo sampler SMP-4X but was the original mono recording with an extra instrument added and both panned to create a stereo track.

Elektra EKL 18 (Mono) - Matrix JH 522 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album.

Elektra EKL 19 (Mono) - Matrix JH 523 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Leonard Ripley and Jac Holzman

Engineering: Leonard Ripley

Recorded: Paris, December 27-28 1953

10-inch LP.

Elektra EKL 20 (Mono) - Matrix JH 524 A/B

Released: 1954

10 inch LP. With Anatoly Malukoff (guitar). The name is sometimes misspelled as Raven in listings but Hillel Raveh was to appear again on Elektra ... on EKL 171, 'A Concert with Hillel and Aviva'. Curiously, the sleeve notes and booklet translations are credited to 'Mrs Anatoly Malukoff' rather than giving her own first name.

Elektra EKL 21 (Mono) - Matrix JH 525 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album. An alternative title for this album was 'Folksongs (and 2 1/2 that aren't) Once over Lightly' and the label adds 'Alan Arkin sings 'em, plays guitar too!'.

Elektra EKL 22 (Mono) - Matrix JH 526 A/B

Released: 1954

10-inch album. With Phil Raiguel on guitar, banjo and fiddle.

Elektra EKL 23 (Mono) - Matrix JH 527 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: Diane Hamilton

Recorded: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

10-inch album. Diane was a member of the Guggenheim family, working under a pseudonym. This set of field recordings (recorded on tape) consists of solo and group singing (in Gaelic, English and 'mouth music'), pipe and fiddle. This disc dates from the time when Diane funded and set up Tradition Records with Paddy Clancy (of the Clancy Brothers) although my guess is it was completed before the new label was set up, and hence is on Elektra.

In 1955 Diane travelled to Ireland and taped the first set of Irish traditional music to be recorded actually in Ireland. This was issued on Tradition under the title 'The Lark in the Morning'.

Elektra EKL 24 (Mono) - Matrix JH 528 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album. In the sleeve notes Ed writes: "I have led a rather varied and active life - and for various reasons consider myself well qualified to sing about SIN".

Elektra EKL 25 (Mono) - Matrix JH 529 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album.

Elektra EKL 26 (Mono) - Matrix JH 530 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album.

Elektra EKL 27 (Mono) - Matrix JH 531 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album.

Elektra EKL 28 (Mono) - Matrix JH 532 A/B

Released: 1955

Engineering: Leonard Ripley

Jim Fawcett (an American stationed with the US armed forces in Germany at the time) was not credited on the sleeve or label. In the booklet, Jac Holzman and Leonard Ripley explain that they had been advised that some people just wouldn't 'tolerate' flamenco played by an American. They considered giving him a Spanish-sounding pseudonym but decided instead to limit his credit to a mention in the booklet. In fact, Fawcett had been taught by a family of Spanish gypsies who lived in America: the only way he could find a teacher appropriate to his ability. He appeared on (AFAIK) one other LP, 'Dos Flamencos' on Liberty with Niño Marvino released in 1960; but there he does seem to have used a pseudonym, calling himself Jaime Grifo. 10 inch LP.

Elektra EKL 29 (Mono) - Matrix JH 533 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Leonard Ripley

Recorded: Paris

10-inch LP. The recording equipment mentioned on the sleeve for this LP is different to that specified for the earlier Abbaye disc so these must be later sessions.

Elektra EKL 30 (Mono) - Matrix JH 534 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: Jac Holzman

10-inch album. While the labels refer to the 'ensemble', the cover is a little more forthcoming and credits Ti-Roro, Alphonse Cimber and others.

Elektra EKL 31 (Mono) - Matrix JH 535 A/B

Released: September 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch LP. Mildred Clary plays occasional lute. Tracks also used on EKL 221 although some of the titles are given slightly differently.

Elektra EKL 32 (Mono) - Matrix JH 536 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

10-inch album. This disc marks the start of a long and fruitful collaboration between Jac Holzman and Theo Bikel. Bikel was well-known as an actor but his talent for languages and natural showmanship gave him a substantial parallel career as a singer. This was his first recording and Jac Holzman tells of first hearing him at during a 'pass-the-guitar-around' at a party and eventually persuading him to record. This disc appears with both 'calligraphy' and 'atom' label designs and with extra songs added this disc was reissued as EKL 132.

Theo almost book-ends Elektra's folk era since the final 300-series album (326 - 'Songs of the Earth') was by him with the Pennywhistlers.

Elektra EKL 35 (Mono) - Matrix DBH T4X (Both sides)

Released: 1956

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: David Hancock

10-inch record from the days when Herz were 'cycles per second'. Only 1500 discs were produced with 500 being run from each stamper to ensure quality. The two sides were identical apart from the colour of the print on the label so that as one became worn the other could be used instead.

AFAIK, this is one of only two 10-inch albums to appear with an 'Atom' label design as well as the more usual 'Caligraphy: the other is the Theo Bikel LP EKL 32.

Elektra EKL 701 (Mono) - Matrix JH 701 A/B/C/D

Released: July 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Double 10-inch album, John Henry takes up both sides of one of the two discs. Later issued as a single 12-inch disc on EKL 123.