To those of us who remain fascinated by the vintage blues of the 1920's and 30's the news of long lost 78's surfacing from that era is enough to get one dizzy. The Paramount label, in particular, is the object of much lust among collectors and fans. The label released a steady flow of jazz, gospel and superb country blues recordings by such artists as Son House, Tommy Johnson, Blind Blake, King Solomon Hill, Charley Patton and Blind Lemon Jefferson amongst many others until the label went under in 1932. Their Race series started with issue No 12000 and finished with No 13156. The latter issues were pressed in such small numbers that copies of many releases have not survived or remain unfound. Today, Paramount 78s are the most fervently sought of all vintage blues records and can command huge prices in auction. In recent years there have been some amazing, one-of-a-kind Paramount discoveries that are sure to get the heart racing of country blues fans.

  In 1930, Arthur Laibley who had produced Charley Patton’s last session for Paramount, stopped in Lula to arrange another session with Patton. Patton was famous throughout the Delta and had already recorded close to forty sides for Paramount. Patton told Laibley about Son House and two other musicians Willie Brown and Louise Johnson. The group headed to the Paramount studios in Grafton, WI, where House recorded six songs at the session, three of which were long enough to fill both sides of a 78: "Dry Spell Blues," "Preachin’ The Blues," and "My Black Mama." Two songs, "Clarksdale Moan" and "Mississippi County Farm Blues" were issued as a 78, but no copy has ever been found - until now that is! Circumstances are hazy as to it's discovery but it is apparently safe and sound with a collector in the Midwest. "It's not in the best of shape as a lot of obscure blues records are but we'll clean it up as much as possible," says richard Nevin of Yazoo Records. "Mississippi County Farm is extremely strong. It's sort of a variant of See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, which most people know from Blind Lemon Jefferson and many other people. It's the same melody but done in a very powerful style...different words of course. And the other side [Clarksdale Moan], I don't know what you would call that. It's a bit offbeat, different than other Son House stuff. I don't know what the melody would relate to. It doesn't jump out at me. That's a good side. Mississippi County Farm is a great side." Both songs have been released on the compilation called "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" from Yazoo Records.

 Another song from this session, an unissued test of Son House's "Walking Blues," was not found until 1985. This was part of a major discovery of Paramount test pressings made in Waukegan, Illinois in November 1985 by collectors Mike Kirsling and John Willard. Of the 42 single and double sided tests that were discovered on that occasion, most blues and gospel items have since been reissued on various Document and Yazoo CDs. Noted blues researcher Gayle Dean Wardlow shed some light on this remarkable discovery. "As far as country blues are concerned, this is one of the greatest discoveries in record history. ...They are one sided and two sided tests, with white labels. Some of them have writing on them some are just blank. They all have master numbers, except for "Walkin Blues". ...Nobody even knew that this Son House record existed. The 78's were mostly in excellent-minus condition. Also found was an untitled Tommy Johnson test pressing since issued on Document as "Boogaloosa Woman"/"Morning Prayer." Yazoo has issued "Morning Prayer" with the title "Button Up Shoes." Several of the other records have yet to be issued including sides by Rev. Emmet Dickenson, Alice Moore, Papa Charlie Jackson, Blind Blake, possibly Tampa Red & Georgia Tom (two takes of an untitled and unissued recording) among several others. As record collector John Tefteller noted regarding the records: "They were all sold to Nick Perls [Yazoo Records] and then have been scattered since then....Richard Nevins (who bought Perls collection after he died) has most of the best ones. Pete Whelan has most of the rest of them...but the [other] ones...I don't know where those are as they are not the high powered country blues ones. Perhaps because they were not high powered country blues those were just traded to collectors."

 If the newly discovered Son House 78 was the holy grail of blues discoveries, close behind would have to be the lost 1930 sides of Willie Brown. Brown was a close friend of Robert Johnson, Charley Patton and Son House. He was arguably the quintessential accompanist of his era, playing second guitar on many of Patton's records as well as backing House. "M & O Blues" backed by "Future Blues" is the only record that exists from Brown's 1930 session. He made two other records which have never been found: Paramount 13009 "Kickin' In My Sleep Blues/"Window Blues" and Paramount 13001 "Grandma Blues"/"Sorry Blues" which was not even know to exist until John Tefteller found Paramount artwork advertising this record in 2002. Tefteller is offering a $20,000 reward for either record in playable condition. Brown recorded only one more song fro the Libray of Congress in 1941.

 Less well known than House or Brown is the mysterious King Solomon Hill. Hill signed to the Paramount label in 1932, soon traveling to Grafton, Wisconsin to record six tracks - two of them alternate takes - which comprise his known discography; songs like the eerie "Gone Dead Train" and "Down on Bended Knee" are masterly performances featuring Hill's eerie falsetto and raw, unorthodox guitar work. In 2002 Tefteller went to Grafton and discovered the long lost Hill 78 "My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon"/"Times Has Done Got Hard" in mint condition. Not much is known of Hill - whose real name was Joe Holmes. He was closely connected to Sam Collins and traveled with Blind Lemon Jefferson and Rambling Thomas. He roamed through Louisiana and Texas playing and in 1932 was invited to record for Paramount along with Ben Curry and Marshall Owens. After this lone session, Hill returned to the juke joint circuit, eventually vanishing from sight; reputedly a heavy drinker, he died of a massive brain hemorrhage in Sibley, Louisiana in 1949.

 A couple of other long lost Paramounts were discovered in the 1990's although they didn't garner the same level of excitement as some of the previously mentioned ones. One was the missing Henry Townsend cut for the label in 1931. The record wound up in the collection of Pete Whelan who noted "it's not in great shape, but one side is really good, the one side, apparently, Henry Townsend didn't remember making, which was "Jack Of Diamonds Georgia Rub," but he remembered the other side, "Oh Doctor, Oh Doctor." The other record was Bumble Bee Slim's "Rough rugged Road Blues"/"Honey Bee" cut at his first session in 1931. The record was found by Jerry Zolten at a yard sale in rural Pennsylvania.

  In addition to discovering the King Solomon Hill, Tefteller also uncovered a huge cache of Paramount promotional material. Paramount marketed their "race records", as they were called, to African-Americans, most notably in the pages of the Chicago Defender, the African-American newspaper and sent promotional material to record stores and distributors. Tefteller bought a huge cache of this artwork from a pair of journalists who rescued them from the rubbish heap some twenty years previously. The depression essentially killed off Paramount's advertising budget so many of these images were never sent out and hence have not been seen by anyone since they were first produced. In addition Tefteller also unearthed the only known full length portrait of Charlie Patton. Prior to this the only known photo of Patton was a small grainy head shot. Tefteller has been presenting these ads in his "Classic Blues Artwork Calendar" for the past few years and plans on issuing a book of the artwork.

 In around 2001 yet another important batch of records came to light. A box of unissued Paramount and QRS test pressings (the QRS material likely obtained by Paramount from Art Satherley in 1930/31) has been found by an antique dealer in Wisconsin. The circumstances surrounding the actual discovery are unclear. A total of 29 Paramount and 18 Q.R.S. single and double sided test pressings were consigned to Kurt Nauck in Texas for disposal at auction and have since been sold. Of the blues and gospel items, some of the artists included: Charles Avery, Blind Bogus Ben Covington, Paramount AllStars, Frank Palmes, Charlie Spand, Tommy Johnson, Irene Scruggs w/Blind Blake among others. It's not clear where some of these records ended up or if they will be reissued on CD. What is known is that Tefteller purchased the following: Irene Scruggs w/Blind Blake, one of the Frank Palmes, Bogus Ben Covington and two of the three Hometown Skiffle tests as well. In addition he purchased the Tommy Johnson test pressing of "I Want Someone To Love Me" for over $12,000. The record has since been issued on a CD that accompanies one of Tefteller's calendars. As for the others, Tefteller said, "I have not yet issued them... but they will find their way onto future calendars as bonus tracks."

 In November 1929 at the Paramount Recording Studios in Grafton, Wisconsin, four songs were recorded at 78 rpm by a Louisiana street musician named Joe Sheppard who, on the run from the law, used the name Blind Joe Reynolds. Within a year, the four songs were released on two records. Neither record sold well, but almost 40 years later, one of the two attracted the attention of Eric Clapton who heard the song "Outside Woman Blues" on a reissue album. In 1967, Clapton and his Cream bandmates Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce recorded a more modern day version of "Outside Woman Blues" on their classic LP "Disraeli Gears."

 The second record recorded in Wisconsin on that day, "Ninety Nine Blues" backed with "Cold Woman Blues" has been lost since it was first released in October of 1930. No copies in any condition were ever located until just a few years ago. Bruce Smith, a school teacher from Ohio with an appreciation for old blues records, was attending a teachers' conference in Nashville. With an hour to kill before catching a flight home from a school conference, he wandered into the Nashville Flea Market and found the record in a stack of old 78's. The records were without sleeves and not in particularly good condition, but the price was right at $1.00 each. He purchased three records-two were common blues records of the 1930's and the third was the long lost Blind Joe Reynolds (Paramount Release #12983.) Unaware of its value, he purchased it simply because it "looked interesting." Not realizing quite what he had, the teacher began searching the internet to figure out exactly who Blind Joe Reynolds was and if this record might be of some significance. One site referred him to Gayle Dean Wardlow's book "Chasin' That Devil Music" published by Miller Freeman Books in 1998. A chapter in that book called "A Devil of a Joe" tells the story of Blind Joe Reynolds and the significance of his recordings. It also said that there was a missing Blind Joe Reynolds recording, which turned out to be the one purchased at the flea market. Realizing he had stumbled upon a rare find, Smith contacted Tefteller for an appraisal, but ended up selling it to him for an undisclosed amount. Richard Nevins of the Yazoo label called "Cold Woman Blues" a "masterpiece." Both sides of the recording have now been remastered and has since be reissued by Tefteller on his calendar CD's and on a Yazoo label compilation. Pete Whelan, publisher of "78 Quarterly," pronounced the newly discovered record "better than 'Outside Woman Blues.' " "Sometimes songs can be long lost for good reason-they are not very good and didn't sell well because of it," Tefteller explained. "But not so in this case-this is a GREAT record. Reynolds plays a mean slide and really mumbles his way to immortality on 'Cold Woman Blues.' ...It may not be as important to Blues history as finding the long lost Son House Paramount recording of 'Clarksdale Moan,' but it's real close!"

Essential Listening

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (Yazoo): Two CD's of super rare country, blues and gospel items. Includes the recently discovered Son House masterpiece "Mississippi County Farm Blues" b/w "Clarksdale Moan." Also includes great blues performances by Luke Jordan, King Solomon Hill, Jaybird Coleman and others.

Classic Blues Songs From The 1920's Vols. 1-3 (Blues Images): Three CD's from John Tefteller's Blues Images imprint. These are included when you purchase one of his calendars or available separately. Includes newly found sides by Tommy Johnson, Blind Joe Reynolds, King Solomon Hill, Bumble Bee Slim plus many other great vintage blues.

Times Ain't What They Used To Be Vols. 1-8 (Yazoo): This series collects classic recordings from the 1920s and 30s great performances of early American rural music including fiddle tunes, rags, banjo songs, religious selections, old ballads, blues, etc. Includes newly discovered sides by Ben Covington, Tommy Johnson, Blind Joe Reynolds and King Solomon Hill.

Masters Of The Delta Blues: The Friends Of Charlie Patton (Yazoo): 23 superb country blues sides including unissued tests of Tommy Johnson ("Button Up Shoes") and Son House ('Walking Blues") plus many all-time classics.

Tommy Johnson 1928-1929 (Document): 17 great sides with informative booklet notes by Paul Oliver plus detailed discography. Includes recently found sides and test pressings of "Boogaloosa Woman", "Morning Prayer" and the only known copy of "Ridin' Horse"/"Alcohol And Jake Blues."

Too Late, Too Late Vol. 5 1927-1964 (Document): Includes the recently found Henry Townsend 78 plus fines cuts by Frank Stokes, Leroy Carr, Scrapper Blackwell and others.

Legends Of Country Blues (JSP): This 5-CD, 79-song set is a trong budget set collecting (almost) all of the early sides by Skip James, Son House, Bukka White, Ishman Bracey and Tommy Johnson.

-"Long Lost Son House 78RPM Record Found." Living Blues 181 Nov./Dec. 2005

-Interview and email with John Tefteller 2005 conducted by Jeff Harris

-Swinton, Paul. "Paramount Lost and Found." Blues & Rhythm 165 2001

-Zolten, Jerry. "The Rough Rugged Road of Bumble Bee Slim." Living Blues 135 Sep./Oct. 1997

-Dixon, Robert M. W., Godrich, John, Rye, Howard W. Blues and Gospel Records: 1890-1943. Oxford University Press, 1997.

-Pete Whelan Interview by Joel Slotnikoff (www.bluesworld.com/PeteWhelanInterview.html)

-Information taken from John Tefteller's website www.bluesimages.com