Family & Social Life

Charlie Christian with the Minton's House Band. side 1: Charlie's Choice [part 3]; side 2: Stompin' at the Savoy [part 1] (Vox 16067), from the album, Charlie Christian Memorial (Vox VSP 302).
78 rpm. Tracks for this album were recorded in 1941 and issued by Vox in 1947.

This album features artwork by American painter, printmaker, and teacher, Daniel (Dan) Shapiro (1920-1982). He created the artwork for several albums including recordings by Louis Armstrong, Alex Wilder, Charlie Christian, Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf, and Richard Dyer Bennett. Shapiro’s works were first exhibited at the Cooper Union Art School in 1940 and 1941. He had much success with his solo shows in the 1960s at the University of California at San Francisco, Cellini Gallery, San Francisco Museum of Art, and Rice University in Houston.

Eddie Condon and his Orchestra. side 1: Just You, Just Me; side 2: Atlanta Blues (Decca 23720),from the album, Jazz Concert at Eddie Condon's (Decca A-490).
78 rpm.

The cover art for this album was made by Canadian-American commercial artist, fashion illustrator and graphic artist Jean Baird Buckley (1916-2015). Baird was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and as a child moved with her family to Brooklyn, New York. Baird graduated from Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, majoring in art. Subsequently, she attended Pratt Institute for two years. Baird began her career as a staff artist for Montgomery Ward, and afterwards worked as a fashion illustrator for several New York department stores. She worked as a graphic designer for Hearst Publications and then as an art director for Abbot Kimble Agency. Before her marriage to Frank Buckley in 1948, Baird designed album covers for Decca Records. Later in her career Baird Buckley studied at the Art Students League in New York and as a thriving artist her work was featured in over 10 public exhibitions. For 20 years Baird Buckley was an instructor in tonal drawing and oil painting at the Somerset Art Association in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

McCravy Brothers. side 1: Jacob's Ladder; side 2: Dip Me in the Golden Sea (Davis DA-20-1/2), from the album, Religious Songs by the McCravy Brothers (Davis DA-20).
78 rpm. Side 1 was recorded in 1930 and initially released on Crown 3078. Side 2 was recorded in 1931 and initially released on Crown 3205.

Crown Records was a budget label started by the Plaza Music Company after its merger with the American Record Corporation (ARC) in 1930. Crown oversaw the Homestead Records mail order label from ARC. Crown and its subsidiaries were active until 1933.

Bob Wilber and his Jazz Band. side 1: Limehouse Blues; side 2: Zig Zag (Circle J-1064), from the album, Bob Wilber Jazz Band (Circle S-24).
78 rpm.

This album was designed was by Jimmy Ernst (born Hans-Ulrich Ernst, 1920-1984), a German-born American painter.

various artists. side 1: Flip and Jazz [part 3]; side 2: Honeysuckle Rose (Vox 16029), from the album, WNEW Saturday Night Swing Session, Vol. 1 (Vox VSP 303).
78 rpm

WNEW (AM 1130) was a New York based radio station. This recording features jazz radio broadcasts from the station, recorded in 1947.

Oak Ridge Quartet. side 1: Gonna Move This Wicked Race; side 2: Turn Your Radio On (Capitol 48022), from the album, Songs from the Grand Ole Opry (Capitol AD 86).
78 rpm.

The cover art for this album was made by Carlos Andreson. Andreson, also as Anderson, (1905-1978) was an American painter, lithographer, and teacher. A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Andreson studied at the University of Utah, then subsequently in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Berlin. In 1933, Andreson returned to the United States, creating paintings and drawings of early pioneer life for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and teaching at Utah Arts Center. After the start of WWII, Anderson was commissioned by Abbott Laboratories to paint medical subjects at the stateside Naval hospitals. Andreson moved to San Francisco after the war where he produced artwork for the Oakland Army Base.