FolkLib Index - History of Discography and Discographers

      This page lists books I own that contain information about discography and/or discographers. It also lists links to discographers who have been documented on this site. The need for this page was prompted by the publication of Bruce Epperson's 2013 book, More Important Than the Music: A History of Jazz Discography. Looking for on-line information about the discographers he listed revealed nothing at all for many of them. Although his book focuses on Jazz Discography only, this page will cover discographers who have documented in print* all genres of music.
      Books / Discographer names
Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) / Wikipedia / Join ARSC now!
Wikipedia: Discography / Category:Discographies / Category:Discographers / Record collecting
      * = "in print", i.e. discographies which appear ONLY on-line, or which exist ONLY in downloadable digital format (Kindle, etc.), are not eligible for ARSC Awards

"More Important Than the Music: A History of Jazz Discography",
by Bruce D. Epperson 1957-, 2013, 284 p.
Chicago, IL / London, U.K.: The University of Chicago Press
022606753X  0-226-06753-X  978-0-226-06753-7  2013-016636  9-780226-067537

Other related books I own:

#xw -- Allen, Walter C., ed., "Studies in Jazz Discography I", 1971 {A}
      Publisher: Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University / IJS: (Wikipedia) (Director 1976-2011: Dan Morgenstern)
      Stanley Dance "Neglected Ares of Discographical Research", p. 38-40
      Walter C. Allen "The Negro Newspapers as Source Materials", p. 64-71
      Walter C. Allen "Definitive Discography", p. 102-5
Carey, Dave, Albert J. McCarthy & Ralph G.V. Venables (Vol. 1 only), "Directory of Recorded Jazz and Swing Music" (aka "The Jazz Directory")
      Volume One, A B, 7/1949, p. 1-178 {A}
      Volume Two, C D, 10/1950, p. 179-363 {A}
      Volume Three, E F G, 5/1951, p. 365-551 {A}
      Volume Four, G H I, 2/1952, p. 553-738 {A}
      Volume Five, J-Kirk, 1/1955, p. 739-925 {A}
      Volume Six, Ki-Lo (Kirkeby-Longshaw), 1957, p. 927-1112 {A}
Foreman, Lewis, "Systematic Discography", 1974 {A}
#ol -- Morgenstern, Dan, "Living With Jazz: A Reader", 2004 {A}
"Discography: The Thankless Science", p. 545-57
Schleman, Hilton R., "Rhythm on Record", 1936, reprinted 1978 {A}
#ww -- Shepherd, John, David Horn, Dave Laing, Paul Oliver & Peter Wicke, ed. "Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume I: Media, Industry and Society", 2003, ISBN: 0-8264-6321-5 {A}
"Discography", p. 14-7

Other Related on-line articles:
Note: EBSCO articles require that you either have a login username and password from an EBSCO approved facility, or you must access their database on the actual site of that facility. All the EBSCO articles listed here were fully accessed on 9-02-2014 at the "Search Catalog or Databases" labeled computer in the Lane Library at Ripon College, "Databases & Journals / Select a Site / EBSCO E-Books".
Atkins, Jerry - "Magnificent Obsession: The Discographers"
"first published in edited form in Jazz Journal International, November and December 1982, later in expanded form in the IAJRC Journal, Winter 1989-90"
Gilks, John - EBSCO: "Michael Smith (1922-2008) - a noted discographer and former FRMS Chairman"
Classic Record Collector, Autumn 2008, Issue 54, p. 8
The article presents an obituary for Michael Smith, a noted discographer and former chairman of the Federation of Recorded Music Societies (FRMS).
Harris, Horace Meunier - EBSCO: "Orin Blackstone: The Pioneer American Discographer"
IAJRC Journal, Sep 2009, Vol. 42, Issue 3, p. 8-11
A biography of Orin Blackstone, the pioneer American discographer
Kernfeld, Barry & Howard Rye - "Comprehensive Discographies of Jazz, Blues, and Gospel, Part 1" / "Part 2"
      Notes, Second Series, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Dec., 1994), pp. 501-547 (Part 1)
      Notes, Second Series, Vol. 51, No. 3 (Mar., 1995), pp. 865-891 (Part 2)
      Published by: Music Library Association
Patmore, David - EBSCO: "The Indefatigable Discographer"
Classic Record Collector, Summer 2009, Issue 57, p. 48-52
An interview with classical discographer Philip Stuart
Sheatsley, Paul B. - "A Quarter Century of Jazz Discography" [Archive.org], Record Research, Issue 58. February 1964, p. 3-6
      Record Research [Archive.org], many issues of this 1955-1995 periodical are on-line ( Public Domain Mark 1.0)

      Other Related articles I have not seen, yet, which are listed in John Shepherd's, "#ww - Continuum Encyclopedia" (above), p. 17:
      Exception, "{A}" = I own a copy of this article
Bakker, Dick M. 1990, "Discographies and Discographers", Discographical and Micrographical Basics 4: 28-32, iv (1990), Feb, 28
Epperson, Bruce. 2008, "Uncertain and Unverifiable: Jazz Metadiscography and the Paradox of Originality", ARSC Journal, Vol. 39, No. 2, Fall 2008, p. 215-39 {A}
Godrich, John. 1969, "Discographical Games People Play", Storyville 23: 175-78
Gronow, Pekka. 1968, "Discography as a Science", Jazz Monthly 152: 9-12
Patrick, James. 1973, "Discography as a Tool for Music Research and Vice-Versa", Journal of Jazz Studies 1(1): 65-81

Discographer names listed by Epperson:

"first generation of discographers":

p. xiv scan

Walter C. Allen -- 192?-1974
Orin Blackstone -- 1907-1980
Charles Delaunay -- 1911-1988
George Hoefer -- 1909-1967
Edgar Jackson -- 1895-19??
"second generation": [all deceased] (Epperson, p. xiv - p. xiv scan)
Dave Carey -- 1914-1999
Ernie Edwards -- 19??-19??
Jorgen Grunnet Jepsen -- 1927-1981
Albert McCarthy -- 1920-1987
Brian Rust -- 1922-2011
Paul Sheatsley -- 19??-1989
Laurie Wright -- 1929-2010
discographer names listed in his acknowledgements: (Epperson, p. xvi - p. xvi scan)
Steve Albin -- 19??-
Robert Campbell -- 19??-
Michael Fitzgerald -- 19??-
Barry Kernfeld -- 1950-
Tom Lord -- 19??-
Dan Morgenstern -- 1929-
Erik Raben -- 19??-.
Allan Sutton -- 19??-

Those discographers above and all others I have documented on this site:
A
Steve Albin -- 19??-
      Coordinator, with Michael Fitzgerald of the website www.jazzdiscography.com
Walter C. Allen -- 1920-1974
      Editor of "Studies in Jazz Discography I", Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, 1971
B
Orin Blackstone -- 1907-1980 (Epperson p. 49, etc.)
Tim Brooks -- 1942- -- Wikipedia -- ARSC Awards (ARSC member)
Walter Bruyninckx -- 1932- -- Wikipedia
      Co-author with Domi Truffandier - "85 Years of Recorded Jazz (1917-2002, A-Z, Complete)" 2004
      Author: "Modern Jazz: Modern Big Band, Vol. 1, A-K", 1986? {A}
C
Robert Campbell -- 19??-
Dave Carey -- 1914-1999 (Epperson p. 64)
      Co-author, with Albert J. McCarthy & Ralph G.V. Venables - "The Directory of Recorded Jazz and Swing Music" (aka "The Jazz Directory")
D
Stanley Dance -- 1910-1999 ,dj265 ,rc265 ,xr559 -- Wikipedia
R.D. Darrell -- 1903-1988 (Epperson p. 21)
Charles Delaunay -- 1911-1988 -- Wikipedia
Kurt R. Dietrich -- 1951-
      Author: "Duke's 'Bones: Ellington's Great Trombonists", 1995, Appendix II, p. 205-211, "Discographical Information" {A}
      Author: "Jazz 'Bones: The World of Jazz Trombones", 2005, 611 p., D-72108 Rottenburg N., Germany: Advance Music, ISBN: 3-89221-069-1, ISBN-13: 978-3-89221-069-6, LC: ?, UPC: 8-05095-19106-6
Robert M.W. Dixon -- 1939- -- Wikipedia
      Co-author with John Godrich & Howard W. Rye "Blues and Gospel Records: 1890-1943, 4th ed." {B}
      1997, 1424 p., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 0-19-816239-1, ISBN-13: 978-0-19-816239-1, LC: 96-006715, UPC: 9-780198-162391
      Like most Jazz discographies of pre-1950 recordings, this is a "Session Discography" of when each title was recorded, and not a list of the 78's actually released.
E
Ernie Edwards -- 19??-19??
Bjorn Englund -- 19??- (Epperson, p. 20)
Bruce D. Epperson -- 1957- (ARSC member)
F
Ted Fagan -- 1921-1987 (Epperson p. 196)
      Co-author with William R. Moran, see ARSC's (Association for Recorded Sound Collections) EDVR Project History
EDVR (The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings) (2008-2013)
aka ADP (American Discography Project)
"DAHR (Discography of American Historical Recordings)" (2013-)
Leonard Feather -- 1914-1994 -- Wikipedia
Michael Fitzgerald -- 19??- (ARSC member)
      Founding editor of the website Current Research in Jazz
      Author: Coordinator, with Steve Albin of the website www.jazzdiscography.com
Lewis Foreman -- 19??-
      Author: "Discographies: A Bibliography of Catalogues of Recordings, Mainly Relating to Specific Musical Subjects, Composers, and Performers, 1973
      Author: "Systematic Discography", 1974
      Author: "[Sir Arnold] Bax: A Composer and His Times", 2007, ISBN: 1843832097
G
Milton Gabler -- 1911-2001 -- Wikipedia
Bob George (aka B. George) -- 1949- -- Wikipedia
      Co-author with Martha DeFoe: "Volume: International Discography of the New Wave", 1980, ISBN: 0960577807
Ira Gitler -- 1928- Wikipedia
      Author: The Masters Of Bebop: A Listener's Guide Paperback, 2001
      Author: Jazz Masters of the '40s, 1975 (1st ed.), 1984 (2nd ed.)
John Godrich -- 1927?-2000?
      Co-author, see: Robert M.W. Dixon
H
George Hoefer -- 1909-1967
I
J
Edgar Jackson -- 1895-19?? (Epperson, p. 20)
Jorgen Grunnet Jepsen -- 1927-1981
K
Barry Kernfeld -- 1950- -- Wikipedia
Karl Emil Knudsen -- 1929-2003
L
Tom Lord -- 19??- -- Wikipedia based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada.
M
Albert McCarthy -- 1920-1987 -- Wikipedia
      Co-author, see: Dave Carey
Bob McGrath -- 19??- (ARSC member)
      Author "The R&B Indies, 1st ed., 2000"
      Author "The R&B Indies, 2nd ed., 2007", 4 volumes partial book details
William R. Moran -- 1919-2004 (ARSC founding member) (Epperson p. 196)
      Co-author, see: Ted Fagan
Dan Morgenstern -- 1929- -- Wikipedia (ARSC member)
      Director 1976-2011 Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University / IJS: (Wikipedia)
Gary E. Myers -- 1942-
      Author: Do You Hear That Beat, 1994
      Author: On That Wisconsin Beat, 2006, both biographies and discographies of Wisconsin Pop/Rock/Soul/Country artists that recorded between 1950 and 1969
N
Tim Neely -- 1961-
      Author: Goldmine Price Guide to 45 RPM Records, 1996, and over 17 other Pop/Rock discographies, some of which have not been added to my bibliography pages yet
O
Paul Oliver -- 1927- -- Wikipedia
Jerry Osborne -- 1944?-
      Author of the 9 volume (1959-1967) - "The Complete Library of American Phonograph Records",
      a discography of LP, 45 and EP releases year by year, listed by artist, label and song/album title, as well as many other Pop/Rock/Country discographies
P
Hugues Panassie -- 1912-1974
Q
R
Erik Raben -- 19??-.
      Author - "A Discography of Free Jazz", 1969 - "Jazz Records 1942-80: A Discography", 1980/1995 (8 volumes, stopped publication after just letters A-G)
Michel Ruppli -- 1934- -- ARSC Awards
Brian Rust -- 1922-2011 -- Wikipedia -- ARSC Awards
      See my Brian Rust Bibliography page
Howard W. Rye -- 19??-
      Co-author, see: Robert M.W. Dixon
S
Hilton R. Schleman -- 19??- -- Wikipedia
      Author of "Rhythm on Record", 1936, reprinted 1978, 0-313-20257-5, 77-28303
Paul B. Sheatsley -- 19??-1989
Michael Smith -- 1922-2008
Richard K. Spottswood -- 1937- -- Wikipedia -- ARSC Awards (ARSC member)
Martin C. Strong -- 1960- -- Wikipedia -- ARSC Awards
Philip Stuart -- 1944- -- ARSC Awards
      Author: The London Philharmonic Discography
      Author: Igor Stravinsky--The Composer in the Recording Studio: A Comprehensive Discography
Allan Sutton -- 19??- -- ARSC Awards (ARSC member)
      Author of - "Cakewalks, Rags and Novelties: The International Ragtime Discography (1894-1930)", 2003
T
U
V
Ralph G.V. Venables -- 1914-2003
      Co-author, see: Dave Carey
W
Joel Whitburn -- 1939- Wikipedia
Laurie Wright -- 1929-2010 -- ARSC Awards
X
Y
Scott Yanow -- 1954- -- Wikipedia
Z
Sources of Discographer names and information:
      {A} = books I own
      {I} = UW Oshkosh Polk Library

#po -- ASCAP "The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 2nd ed.", 1952 {A}
      Gabler 171
#pp -- ASCAP "The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 3rd ed.", 1966 {A}
      Gabler 246
#pq -- ASCAP "The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th ed.", 1980 {A}
      Gabler 174
#ns -- Balliett "Jelly Roll, Jabbo & Fats: 19 Portraits in Jazz", 1983 {A}
      Delaunay 3-15, Panassie 3-15
#nx -- Cook "Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia", 2005 {A}
      Delaunay 159, Feather 198-9, Gabler 215, Jepsen 321, Morgenstern 445, Panassie 480, Rust 550
#xu -- Epperson, "More Important Than the Music: A History of Jazz Discography", 2013 {A}
      see the list above
#qv -- Feather & Gitler, "The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz", 1999 {A}
      Feather 221-2,
#wd -- Holmes, "American Popular Music: Jazz", 2006 {A}
      Feather 69-70
#sp -- Kay "International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, 11th ed.", 1988 {A}
      Kernfeld 486
#dj -- Kernfeld "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Vol. One, A-K", 1988 {A}
      Allen 16, Dance 265, Delaunay 282, Feather 357-8, Hoefer 531, Jepsen 614
#ch -- Kernfeld "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Vol. Two, L-Z", 1988 {A}
      McCarthy 59, Morgenstern 134, Oliver 268, Panassie 284, Ruppli 401, Rust 405
#rc -- Kernfeld, "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz" (in one volume), 1994 {A}
      Allen 16, Dance 265, Delaunay 282, Feather 357-8, Hoefer 531, Jepsen 614, McCarthy 727, Morgenstern 802, Oliver 936, Panassie 952, Ruppli 1069, Rust 1073
#xr -- Kernfeld, "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Volume 1", 2003 {I}
      Allen 39, Dance 559, Delaunay596, Feather 746-7
#xs -- Kernfeld, "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Volume 2", 2003 {I}
      Gabler 1, Hoefer 259-60, Jepsen 412, McCarthy 647-8, Morgenstern 819
#xt -- Kernfeld, "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Volume 3", 2003 {I}
      Oliver 191, Panassie 222, Ruppli 471, Rust 480
#uu -- Kinkle "The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz 1900-1950, Volume 2", 1974 {A}
      Feather 895-6
#mp -- Larkin "The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Volume 2", 1992 {A}
      Feather 847-8
All books I own by the above Discographers:

      -- Allen, "Studies in Jazz Discography I", 1971 {A}
      -- Blackstone, "Index to Jazz, Vol. 1", 1945 {A}
      -- Blackstone, "Index to Jazz, Vol. 2", 1945 {A}
      -- Blackstone, "Index to Jazz, Vol. 3", 1945 {A}
      -- Blackstone, "Index to Jazz, Vol. 4", 1945 {A}
#xv -- Bruyninckx, "Modern Jazz: Modern Big Band, Vol. 1, A-K", 1986? {A}
#xd -- Dance, "The World of Duke Ellington", 1970 {A}
#xe -- Dance, "The World of Duke Ellington", 2000 {A}
#oa -- Dance, "The World of Swing: An Oral History of Big Band Jazz", 2001 {A}
#xu -- Epperson, "More Important Than the Music: A History of Jazz Discography", 2013 {A}
#dp -- Feather, "The Encyclopedia of Jazz", 1955 {A}
#dh -- Feather, "The New Edition of the Encyclopedia of Jazz", 1960 {A}
#cb -- Feather, "The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties", 1966 {A}
#wl -- Feather, "The Encyclopedia of Jazz", 1984 {A}
#pb -- Feather, "The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the 60's", 1986 {A}
#sf -- Feather, "The Encyclopedia Yearbooks of Jazz", 1993 {A}
#cc -- Feather & Gitler, "The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies", 1976 {A}
#qv -- Feather & Gitler, "The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz", 1999 {A}
      -- Foreman "Systematic Discography", 1974 {A}
#dj -- Kernfeld, "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Vol. One, A-K", 1988 {A}
#ch -- Kernfeld, "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Vol. Two, L-Z", 1988 {A}
#rc -- Kernfeld, "The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz" (in one volume), 1994 {A}
#ol -- Morgenstern, "Living With Jazz: A Reader", 2004 {A}
#ju -- Neely, "Goldmine Jazz Album Price Guide, 1st ed.", 2000 {A}
#va -- Neely, "Goldmine Jazz Album Price Guide, 2nd ed.", 2004 {A}
#md -- Neely, "Goldmine Record Album Price Guide, 1st ed.", 1999 {A}
#me -- Neely, "Goldmine Record Album Price Guide, 2nd ed.", 2001 {A}
#mf -- Neely, "Goldmine Record Album Price Guide, 3rd ed.", 2003 {A}
#ww -- (Oliver) Shepherd, Horn, Laing, Oliver & Wicke, "Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume I: Media, Industry and Society", 2003 {A}
#xy -- Panassie, "The Real Jazz", 1960 {A}
#xz -- Panassie & Gautier, "Guide to Jazz", 1956 {A}
#8w -- Panassie & Gautier, "Dictionary of Jazz", 1956 {A}
#xq -- Rust with Debus, "The Complete Entertainment Discography, from the mid-1890s to 1942", 1973 {A}
#lq -- Rust, "The American Record Label Book: From the 19th Century Through 1942, 1st ed.", 1978 {A}
#sz -- Rust, "Brian Rust's Guide to Discography", 1980 {A}
#lx -- Rust, "The American Record Label Book" (updated reprint), 1984 {A}
      "an unabridged republication of the first edition..., here supplemented with author corrections."
      -- Schleman, "Rhythm on Record", 1978 {A}
Stay tuned, I haven't yet accessed the EBSCO site for these yet: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/2333898/news Death of discographer James Creighton due to protracted illness
http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/obituaries/38027057/michael-smith-1922-2008-noted-discographer-former-frms-chairman Michael Smith (1922-2008)
Home Page / Databases / EBSCO E-books / music harpists

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