Thousands of recordings that had been largely consigned to the realm of prehistory in the digital age have gained a new life, thanks to the tireless efforts of one man.
Cliff Bolling didn't realize what he was getting into when he picked up a copy of the first record he ever owned (Cliff Steward's “Aba Daba Honeymoon") and realized soon after that “there's a whole world of music that you don't hear anymore, and it's on 78 RPM records."
Once that first discovery started him collecting the early singles known as 78s, he decided to dub some of them to cassette for playing in his car and sharing the music with fellow enthusiasts. That was about ten years ago.
As the digital music movement started in earnest, Bolling began digitizing his records, and posted a list of first 1,500 songs he had digitized so fellow collectors could see what kind of progress he had made. Finally, he decided to upload MP3s of every song on the list so that he could access them from anywhere, and so that curiosity seekers could find them.
As things stand now, the 57-year-old Portland, Oregon, native has uploaded 3,739 MP3s, with plenty more in the pipeline.
Cliff Bolling didn't realize what he was getting into when he picked up a copy of the first record he ever owned (Cliff Steward's “Aba Daba Honeymoon") and realized soon after that “there's a whole world of music that you don't hear anymore, and it's on 78 RPM records."
Once that first discovery started him collecting the early singles known as 78s, he decided to dub some of them to cassette for playing in his car and sharing the music with fellow enthusiasts. That was about ten years ago.
As the digital music movement started in earnest, Bolling began digitizing his records, and posted a list of first 1,500 songs he had digitized so fellow collectors could see what kind of progress he had made. Finally, he decided to upload MP3s of every song on the list so that he could access them from anywhere, and so that curiosity seekers could find them.
As things stand now, the 57-year-old Portland, Oregon, native has uploaded 3,739 MP3s, with plenty more in the pipeline.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
