FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 13, 2012
Two weeks ago, Fred Bozeman, of Los Angeles, requested a list of the world's most valuable soundtracks and original cast records.
Since then, we have listed 42 records ranging from $1,000 to $2,000.
In this final group, we have 13 entries, with values from $2,500 to $10,000.
The format is as follows:
TITLE - Type of recording (Year issued) - Label name and number (Country where manufactured)
Description or additional notes, if any
Artist(s) on the disc. Does not include film and show cast members — even famous stars pictured on the cover — unless they are heard on the record in some fashion (singer, instrumentalist, narrator, etc.)
Entries in the same price range are alphabetically by title.
$2,500 CARNIVAL ROCK / TEEN AGE THUNDER - Soundtrack (1955) - No label name or number used (USA)
Red vinyl with white label. Promotional issue only for which no covers were made. Has nine tracks from "Carnival Rock" and one from "Teen Age Thunder," both produced by Howco International
Bob Luman; Tony Williams and the Platters; David Houston; Shadows; James Burton; Susan Cabot
HARD DAY'S NIGHT, A - Soundtrack (1964) - Odeon OP-7123 (Japan)
Red vinyl. Includes Odeon obi
The Beatles
JAMBOREE! - Soundtrack (1957) - Warner Bros. (USA)
Front cover is a slick pasted on plain cardboard cover. Notes on back side are printed directly on the cardboard, where no slick was used. Promotional issue only
Jerry Lee Lewis; Connie Francis; Fats Domino; Buddy Knox; Jimmy Bowen; Charlie Gracie; Slim Whitman; Perkins; Frankie Avalon; Four Coins; Carl Jodie Sands; Count Basie; Joe Williams; Andy Martin; Martha Lou Harp; Paul Carr; Lewis Lymon and the Teenchords; Ron Coby
LA PISCINE - Soundtrack (1969) - United Artists SR-300 (Japan)
Includes United Artists obi
Michel Legrand and Orchestra
$3,000 MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR - Soundtrack (1967) - Capitol SMAL-2835 (USA)
Has "Demonstrator Not for Sale" in red text on a sticker, applied to labels on both sides, as well as the front cover.
Promotional issue only. Includes 24-page booklet
$3,500 SPEEDWAY - Soundtrack (1968) - RCA Victor LPM-3989 (USA)
Monaural (LPM) pressing. Includes a bonus 8" x 10" photo, and a red sticker on the front cover announcing it: "Special Bonus! Full color photo of Elvis with this album. This offer for a limited time only!"
Elvis Presley
$4,000 ELVIS: ALOHA FROM HAWAII VIA SATELLITE - TV Soundtrack (1973) - RCA Victor VPSX-6089 (USA)
Two black vinyl QuadraDiscs. Has "Sneak Preview - Chicken of the Sea Sponsors Elvis Presley's Greatest TV Performance" sticker on the shrink wrap, at lower right corner of front cover. Also has QuadraDisc and "Includes 8 Songs Never Before Recorded" (contents) stickers on front cover. In-house issue by the Van Camp Seafood Company, maker of Chicken of the Sea tuna.
Elvis Presley
NATION'S NIGHTMARE (TRAFFIC IN NARCOTICS/CRIME ON THE WATERFRONT) - Radio Cast (1951) - CBS XTV-15688/15692 (USA)
Described on the album as "A report of crime in America in 1951 documented with tape recordings from back rooms and front offices of the underworld. This record presents two of the series of six memorable broadcasts heard by millions during the summer of 1951 over the facilities of the CBS Radio Network." Side 1: "Traffic in Narcotics" (broadcast July 19, 1951); Side 2: "Crime on the Waterfront" (broadcast August 16, 1951). With "award-winning cover art by Andy Warhol"
Bill Downs (narrator)
$5,000 LOVING YOU - Soundtrack (1957) - RCA Victor LPM-1515 (USA)
Picture disc, with Side 1 having the same artwork as on the 1960 "G.I. Blues" LP. Side 2 has music, but there is no photo used. Plays five songs from the standard "Loving You" album, three from the film, "Loving You"; "Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do"; and "Lonesome Cowboy," and two non-film tunes: "Blueberry Hill" and "True Love." Side 2 has instrumentals by unidentified artists that have nothing whatsoever to do with Elvis. Whether this experimental disc is from the 1960s or '70s is not yet known
Elvis Presley
ELVIS: ALOHA FROM HAWAII VIA SATELLITE - TV Soundtrack (1973) - RCA Victor VPSX-6089 (USA)
Two blue vinyl, experimental QuadraDiscs. Never issued commercially in this format
Elvis Presley
ELVIS IN CONCERT - TV Soundtrack (1977) - RCA Victor APL2-2587 (USA)
Two blue vinyl, experimental discs. Never issued commercially in this format
Elvis Presley
$6,500 KING CREOLE (Volume One) - Soundtrack (1959) - RCA Victor EPA-5122 (USA)
Extended play 45 rpm, with four tracks. Maroon label (not black). Gold Standard Series reissue of a 1958 EP
Elvis Presley
$10,000 CAINE MUTINY - Soundtrack (1954) - RCA Victor LOC-1013 USA)
Recalled shortly before release, with very few copies making their way into circulation. Has original music and dialogue from the film, including the entire court martial scene. Identification numbers are mechanically stamped into the vinyl trail-off. Near-perfect reproductions, made in 1993, have those numbers hand-etched
Humphrey Bogart; Jose Ferrer; Van Johnson; Fred MacMurray; Robert Francis; May Wynn; Jo Ann Greer (singing voice of May Wynn); Max Steiner and Orchestra
IZ ZAT SO? Of the 55 most valuable soundtracks and original casts, all but 18 are U.S. issues. The exact overseas breakdown is: Italy (9); Japan (6); Greece (2); and Cuba (1).
However, if the list began at $100, instead of $1,000, all 46 of these exotic ports of call would be represented: Argentina; Australia; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Cuba; Czech Republic; Denmark; France; Germany; Greece; Guatemala; Hong Kong; Hungary; Iceland; India; Iran; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Korea; Lebanon; Mexico; Netherlands; New Zealand; Persia; Portugal; Philippines; Russia (U.S.S.R.); Singapore; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; Thailand; Turkey; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Venezuela; Yugoslavia; and Zimbabwe.
Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368 E-mail: jpo@olympus.net Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com
All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.
Copyright 2012 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Exclusive Permission
