The record with the white labels is a two sided test pressing. It is pressed [not cut like an Audiodisc] by a record processing plant for a company that was planning to issue the coupling commercially. These turn up, sometimes with writing on the labels, sometimes blank. It could be a dub of already issued recordings, which would account for the muffled sound. As mentioned, the first side is "One O'clock Jump". From about 1945 onwards, from which this likely dates, there were many small record labels and some piracy going on.

Fitz Herbert is actually an amazingly skilled player.

My grandfather made acetate "home" recordings in the 1940s-50s (I wish I had them!) The big "beef" of course ,was if you blew a sour note, you were stuck with it. He was so damn glad when magnetic tape became affordable for mere mortals!

Here you go: "LOAFIN': w Ervin Drake, m Jack Danis & Fitz Herbert. (c) 9Jun45; EP133985. Commercial Music Inc. (PWH); 1Nov72; R538005." From "Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series" So Ervin Drake, huh? He's like ... legend Edit: found only sheet music refrences - "First Line: I live a life of ease doin' as I please. Chorus: Loafin', loafin' 'neath the sun at noon" Also found two records - "Vienna, My City of Dreams"(on ebay) and "Don't Be Cross"(on archive.org) both from Spiro Records and on both he plays on organ, so you're probably right.

Here’s my thrift store acetate story. A few years back, I found a very old looking single-sided 78rpm acetate with a plain brown center label while I was shopping at at a junk/antique shop while on vacation in Deadwood, SD. I paid a quarter for it. Written in pencil on the label was “Hard Hustlin’”. That’s all. I did research based on the inner groove matrix number and eventually determined that it was an entirely unknown alternate take of a performance by blues singer/pianist Moanin’ Bernice Edwards. It was recorded in Grafton, Wisconsin in the early 1930s for the legendary and long defunct Paramount “race records” label. It was almost certainly the only surviving copy of this unissued and very different sounding recording of Hard Hustlin’ Mama. Being an avid pre-war blues fan, I knew that collectors paid crazy money for many Paramount titles, so I contacted both the world’s foremost authority on the Paramount label and the leading US rare record auction house. The expert offered me only $100 bucks for it, so I consigned it to the auction. It sold for a whopping $2,500. Quite a payoff for an investment of a quarter. So, research your acetates.

The best garage sale record I’ve found, was a 45 RPM record of the first moon landing audio. (Apollo 11) It was narrated by Hugh Downs and released by MGM records. It even has the original sleeve. I’ve converted it to MP3 and I’ve scanned the front and rear of the sleeve. One of these days, I’m going to upload it to my KZfaq channel.

Fitz sounded pretty good, considering his background: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitz_Herbert 😁

You should post those acetates to "Internet Archive"! Those are cool AF (as "the kids" say.)

My grandmother played piano at silent pictures back in the day. That old upright 50s sound really took me back to my youth, listening to her play for fun when I was 4 or 5. Thanks for posting. Right in the feels.

Home recorded/maturely recorded 78s are one of the most interesting things in all of the format itself. These are the ones that should have the most effort taken to save them for future generations, more than anything commercial. Sure they may be hit and miss in terms of quality and content, but these ones specifically will show culture and life that any record label wouldn't for one reason or another. Among other reasons also, for almost every recording without fail, it's only that one copy that still exists today. It is entirely realistic that no one will ever find a copy of it again.

Never cease to entertain me with the unusual thrifts or the garage sales. Whoever this man was he was a very good piano player more importantly you have brought his music back, at least these songs for all your subscribers to hear.

You found some "keepers" in my humble opinion. Thanks for the memories and music! It's a shame someone with all that talent has been forgotten except for a few recordings and notes in a "listing".

Sorry, just have to chime in on the 'Fitz' thing... Names beginning with 'Fitz' such as Fitzsimmons (originally of Norman origin, but now commonly found in Irish names) are often shortened to simply Fitz, or Fitzie.

That guy is a fantastic piano player.

First blank label recording was "One O'Clock Jump."

The white label 78 is “Nothing” by You Know Who and His Orchestra on the Nothing label from the 1940’s. Some interesting long lost big band music on there, but sounds like Glenn Miller or Artie Shaw, or Tommy Dorsey, or Benny Goodman.

It was very professionally played. Fitz wasn't an occasional key slapper. That was brilliant. Thanks VW...You should get a VW transporter (split window of course) and paint your logo on it..

"A Trick on the Piano" sounds like a legit children's vinyl audiobook. Can I put this in my mixtape as a bonus track?

When I see a new VWestlife video, my day is so much better!

Thank you for posting this. I really appreciate the background research on Fitz Herbert. It is so interesting to listen to small nuggets of the past like this, and to know a little something about the people that created them.

you should totally post these acetate transfers to the internet archive or your other vinyl channel if you have time! these are really unique and have a lot of charm to them

I found a blank sealed Sony HF cassette tape from 1992 at my local Salvation Army store, for 25 cents.

I see those mystery records from time to time, if they're a buck or less, I usually buy them.

Pretty good performances I must say. Thanks for sharing your curious finds like this. I absolutely love finding unlabeled/weird/promo records, it's always fun to discover the mysteries held on these.

I've got a recorded 8" 33 from "RecorDisk" (395 Broadway, New York) that I found at a thrift... No artist, but sounds like a husband and wife belting out the songs "If You Knew Susie" and "Little White Lies", and having a good time by the sound of it!

My first CD player looked a lot like that. I also purchased the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. I'm amazed I kept buying CD's

Fascinating. My Mom had a recording of my Grandad (just his voice) from the mid-1950's in the cedar chest. It was recorded in Wildwood, when WW was the place to go if you were a middle-class family. When my Mom died, Dad burned every thing in the cedar chest. My Mom's wedding dress, her dress when they first met at a USO dance, a lock of my hair from my first haircut, even my birth certificate. Then he smashed up the cedar chest...

Fitz is a very accomplished pianist! Nice arrangement! Side two is a blast! That record is a treasure!

the guy who ran the cornerstore near me up until his death went by fitz and fitzie; his name was actually fitzgerald.

Discogs sez: >> Ernest Hayward Fitzherbert Sr. (1923-2015) or his stage name "Fitz Herbert" was quite possibly one of the founding members of the Savoy Record Label. He was a pianist and organist.

Nice video. The (home) recorded blanks are always the most interesting records!

aaah! i am just getting into 78s and was trawling net archives for them earlier... nice to see this!

I just found a collection of 8” acetate records in my basement. I thought they were shellac but nope, glass platters with some kind of thin coating. Very cool.

So great! I can’t remember the last time listening to a live band or even the piano in person for that matter

I wonder if the first, untitled, record could belong to someone who was in the band and 'home' recorded a practice session on tape and then had 2 tunes put on record.(?) Fitz Herbert was a brilliant pianist. (and a bit of a comic).

:D - some great finds there, well done!

"Fitz" is also a nickname for the Irish name "Fitzgerald". John Fitzgerald Kennedy is an example of this name, though I'm not sure if our former President (or others in his illustrious family) were referred to within family and close friends as "Fitz", I seem to recall that his very father was sometimes called "Honey Fitz".

I think that first acetate might be Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges.

i LOVE that you still spelled it "Pianio" heeheehee

Just wondering if you could please do a video tour of your entire record collection? I'm really interested in seeing it

Can you do digital transfers of both sides of the acetates?

I'll bet the blank label 78 is a test pressing. A serious collector or jazz expert could tell you who the band is and the name of the tunes. As for the acetate ( the Audiodisc), that sounds to me like a demo (demonstration) recording. You've got some interesting material here!

Great finds!!!

CD player: the laser pickup is stuck on the outer side. It should seek to the center as soon as you turn it on (as in press play when it's closed). If it doesn't, it's stuck. Try moving it a little by hand (might require a bit of force) and see if it gets unstuck.

Acetate records are still used in the underground dance music scene for DJ use especially in the UK. Dubplates were a factor in creating entire genres such as dubstep.

Amazing blast from the past on the part of the record player.

I like collecting acetates from the thrift store, it’s like mystery and I like it :D

Great finds 👍

Nice finds. The Unique by my area has been pretty disappointing lately, and we lost the lease to the warehouse back in June (we had tons of vintage tech, thankfully 90% of it was saved)

I did find an obituary for a Ernest Hayward Fitzherbert Sr. who died in 2015 and had New Jersey connections... The obit also states: "He was a member of the VFW and American Legion, and frequently played organ or the piano at their events." Maaaaaaaybe???

Interesting finds! I like the aesthetic of that player. They are totally going for a classroom player look with the big-old speaker on the front. I seen a similar one at fye not too long ago but they dont make the older style with the multiplay stack option anymore. Iv been after a working califone/audiotronic player for some time now and just about gave up. They always get destroyed in shipping, or are received nonworking every time. I got to turn one into a padded storage box for my cables though!

Got my aiwa from a flea market with rechargable batteries still in it! Both items are great

Home recorded records were infamous for their poor sound quality; therefore, they were seen as more of a novelty than a “real” record. Yes, it was an interesting way to capture Uncle Fitz on the piano, but no one took these home made recordings seriously. It’s not surprising that tape became the go to format after this, both for the improved sound quality and the fact that you could re- record over the tape and it was possible to edit the recordings as well. Therefore you weren’t stuck with Uncle Fitz’s mistakes (or anyone else’s, for that matter)!!! An interesting piece of history that is rarely discussed....good job!

Savoy records was founded by Herman Lubinsky in 1942, just before the AFM recording ban took place (union musicians were not allowed to record commercially for virtually all recording companies until they settled their differences with the majority of those labels, towards the end of 1944).

Those big bands on record remind me of when I lived in Charleston, SC and I went to a old school jazz bar

Your dry wit when commenting always bowls me over with laughter sometimes (your best audio equipment - the Crosley). How remarkable was Fitz on the "pianio"? You might try to lookup any surviving family member who would probably enjoy having that particular recording! I envy you the big band disc how ever the sound quality! Any of those portable CD players were junk. I went thru two name brand ones in six months and gave up on them. They had a very short "play" life. I invested in an FM/MP3 player-recorder which still delivers beautifully with 19 years, and counting, of use!

Really nice findings!

Fitz was the man the piano man well at least he was for Christmas of 1956

The first side of the first record you played sounded very similar to 'Royal Garden Blues'.

Love a good pianio recording.

@13:32, and from that anecdote came Joanie Sommers' "Johnny Get Angry", and Poe's "Angry Johnny" a few years later... 😉

I had a few blank-label discs from an estate sale.... STAG PARTY stuff! FUN! Most of the home-made records I've acquired have silent grooves because the idiots who made them couldn't figure out how to get audio to the cutter. The few with actual sound generally have poor amplitude so hearing what is on them isn't easy. One exception: A 12" blank with only a short item at the outer edge that seems to be some kind of ham-radio joke.

I know, but I wish it was "Like The Wind", The Most Mysterious Song of Internet...

Wow, you found a good one!

When you were touching the grooves of the mystery records I was thinking of the prison visitation guards from Arrested Development, “NO TOUCHING!”

That pressing of the Johnny Cash album is at least from 1973, when Columbia Records started using that label with their name going along the perimeter of the label. The original pressing from 1969 would have the old "360 sound" label, which I've seen issued up to late 1972.

Today on V westlife's grates and classics, we've got a real treat for you today! Only on, v, westlife, radio! :-)

regarding the '22' in the address, it's a postal zone, a precursor to the zip code, and in fact the zip of 444 madison ave is 10022.

What an interesting find

I got a DJ promo of that cash album.

I have an acetate on a label called Sellmaier Tonstudio. German, of course and has some music on both sides with German vocals. I can't remember exactly what it sounded like because I don't really have a proper way to play 78s correctly.

Interesting! The white-labels i would get from the record pool back in the day used to at least have a name scrawled on them in magic marker 😆

I recognize one of those Fitz tunes from "The Great Pumpkin" when Snoopy is dancing at the piano. I thought it was completely original to Peanuts!

"Fitz" Was the nickname for Bert Kaempfert who was also German. Maybe something in common ?

Hey vwestlife dose the cd lazer click or is there no clicing i got a cdwalkman yesterday that only works upside down

That first discs first side is One O Clock Jump.

White label 78RPM at 5:12 is definitely a bootleg Glenn Miller Orchestra recording taken from a radio broadcast; I can recall the first arrangement being Basie's One O'Clock Jump (here's a different live recording of the same tune since I couldn't find the one of this specific record: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jL2DqrZ2yq--o6M.html); however, the second side remains a mystery to me, though the trumpet and sax section is clearly Miller's; maybe I should look deeper on the myriad of Miller live broadcast recordings...

Fitz Herbert on 78 rpm Spiro: Vienna, My City of Dreams available right now on ebay

Those tips come one-each, not part of a whole set. I needed to replace an adaptor a few years ago and got that set-up at Radio Shack: You buy the wall-wart for the voltage and current you need, and they all have that same two-prong connector; (or, that tip holder on a short pair of wires) then you buy the size of tip you need, which are sold on seriously overpriced individual cards hanging from the wall. Their model is for people replacing a specific adaptor; they will put together the matching ends and keep it that way dedicated to the device it powers. It's not meant for re-configuring for different needs on the fly.

I love At San Quentin! I cannot find one locally at all at all the thrift stores here.

First song on that unlabeled acetate is “One O’Clock Jump” but I don’t recognize the band playing it or the flip side.

Man I love going to thrift stores and yard sales! What's your best find of all time, Vwestlife?

I found one of these that had a lecture some woman did about Canada.

Awesome

If you still have the CD player, please do a repair video if you can.

I have a bunch of those Record disk from my uncle, I'm 70 , most have dates in the 55 - 56 era. One has my grand mother singing in the family band, everyone played something or could sing. It is amazing. They have a metal wafer between side 1 and two. R.P.

A1 and side A2 could mean that it is part of larger volume, otherwise it should say A side and B side. As to why they were unlabeled? It could have been a test run. I've heard 78 rpm before and they usually have better fidelity than that... As for the Fitz Herbert ? I think you answered it...

I love old records still in shrink wrap.

This reminds me of Gordon Lightfoot's song, "Old Dan's Records," which happened to be 78 RPM disks. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iJ6nmMhyx-DDZI0.html

nice bro

Listening to that piano work he was no novice! And in fact,, I'd swear I've heard his voice, if in fact it was his,,, somewhere in entertainment circles!?!?!?! Hmmmm?!?!?!?!

The small radio/cd player should have a short wire antenna. Check te backside to see if there is a little whole for the antenna wire. I assume you have to solder a new wire antenna on.

I have 9 of the 12 inch audiodisc 3 of then cut at 33rpm and the rest are cut at 78rpm that I bought at a yard sale.

I would so love to be able to cut my own stereo 45rpm singles or EPs, not for public market, but for my own use, just I can do now by making my own CD compilations(though I haven't done any for a while).

Oh, hangon. "A trick on the piano" is 1940's mashups!

I love piano music!🤣

14:23 A trick on the piano: the manual mashup.

Makes you think how long ago those recordings were made, and they're still audible today, just imagine in the same length of time finding an MP3 player, even if it had been filled with music it would probably never play a sound again...

Excelente

Hey man i need help changing my stylus or my needle im not sure for my Ion profile turntable do you know of any videos? Its very similar to the one you got for 99cents 7 years ago