This is a treasure I picked up at Uncle Murray’s record sale purely for the cover art. I mean, come on! Who doesn’t want to know what that’s all about? But man, what a score this turned out to be.
Kid Sheik was the nickname of New Orleans trumpeter George Colar. He played Dixieland jazz up until his death in 1965, but listen: this is a very rare treat. Kid Sheik was profiled in an eleven minute documentary made during the Kennedy era. Only two prints exist, but fortunately Folkstreams put it out on the intergooglewebtubes for us. I’ll shut up and let Sheik tell his own story. You don’t want to blow past this — it’s pure magic:
As for the album that led me down this bunny hole, Sheik’s Swingsters, you can pick up a CD copy for around sixteen bucks on Amazon. I can’t get a good read on vinyl prices, but $15-$50 looks like the range. Happy hunting.
Categories: From the Stacks, Music
That was just………stunning.
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Wasn’t it? What a treasure.
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It never ceases to warm the cockles when you see people of that vintage and provenance expound gently on things they clearly adore.
He was a fine fellow.
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Yes indeed. If ever there was a “why it (music) matters” story, Kid Sheik nailed it.
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Beautiful. Isn’t it amazing where a random acquisition can take you?
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