Legacy Recordings

A cover image from the November 1945 “Coda,” Columbia Masterworks’ monthly classical music update. Artwork by the now-legendary Columbia staff artist Jim Flora.

November 3: Not only is today Lulu’s 58th birthday, she can also celebrate the 39th anniversary of her biggest hit, the Epic Records release “To Sir With Love,” sitting atop the US singles charts (November 3, 1967).

November 2, 1964: Performing “Donna The Prima Donna” live on the U.K. tv show Ready Steady Go, Dion becomes annoyed by the on-stage dancers and walks off mid-song. Here’s Dion’s 1964 lp for Columbia, complete with misspelled last name (it’s DiMucci).

OCTOBER 30 - Singer, songwriter, muse and agitator, Grace fronted the Jefferson Airplane/Starship aggregation for over twenty years of classic recordings on RCA.

October 26, 1963: Bob Dylan’s performance at Carnegie Hall is recorded for release by Columbia Records. However, nothing from the show is issued until 1971, when “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” appears on Greatest Hits, Volume II.

October 27, 1933: Floyd Cramer, Nashville’s all-time top session pianist, is born in Louisiana. Cramer had a string of his own hits for RCA Victor in the 1960s, as well as playing on sessions with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Perry Como, Chet Atkins, and pretty much everybody else.

Today we present an item from advertisements past: this promotional item from the fall of 1970 proclaims Bob Dylan’s new album, “New Morning,” a masterpiece. They were right: “New Morning” is our favorite unsung Dylan album and we recommend you give it a new spin if it’s been a while.

Play New Morning by Bob Dylan for free on Rhapsody

Summer is here. Here’s another terrific drawing from the pen of Jim Flora, the legendary art designer for Columbia and RCA in the 40s and 50s. From summer 1953, this is a cover for “Coda,” Columbia’s classical music publication.

Today is the 75th anniversary of the birth of John R. Cash. Johnny’s stature as an authentic American legend only grows as the years pass on; his Columbia recordings form one of the towering bodies of work in music. We salute the Man In Black today with an early shot from the SONY BMG archives.

The Victor Talking Machine Company’s employee publication, “Voice Of The Victor,” had some remarkable cover art. Here, from the July 1916, we see staff entering the doorway of the “New Executive Building” in Camden.