Billie Holiday Strange Fruit / Fine & Mellow 78 rpm Record Commodore
$
132
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Description
Billie Holiday's masterpiece recording "Strange Fruit / Fine and Mellow" 78 rpm on Commodore maroon label Early 40s
Record shows average wear with notable scuffing and a few light scratches. No deep gouges or heavy scratches. Pictures attempt to show the true wear (best shown near the light source in first photo). There are a couple tiny nicks (size of the tip of a marker) on the run-in before the start of Strange Fruit and similar on the run-in of Fine & Mellow (one slightly larger like a flake but still confined to first half of run in). Pictures attempt to show all this. Shellac still has decent gloss.
Overall grades in the V range with low level static throughout playback and only occasional crackle. No clunks, music plays over static.
Here's a short clip, recorded with a phone: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nOGGsMpA6hkgp-vWo6WOu0WGvdXitLdF/view?usp=sharing
Strange Fruit is a stunning performance that many regard as the most important song of the century, and here it is on the original format, the closest we can get to Billie being in the room. A true piece of history pressed into shellac.
Fine & Mellow gets overlooked because of the preeminence of Strange Fruit. It's also a great example of a love song by Billie Holiday in her vocal prime. "Love is like a faucet / it turns off and on..."
Will ship carefully in packing peanuts between cardboard. Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions. No questions asked returns within two weeks.
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