Talk About Lucky

I bought a 78rpm record album of the movie musical "Show Boat" from eBay last week.  I was the only bidder so was fortunate enough to pick it up for just 99cents (plus postage). Bargain!  There were 4 / 78rpm records in the set and each record held two songs, so eight songs in all.

SHOW BOAT 78 rpm record album cover

Movie information on inside album cover

Well it arrived on Monday.  All looked good when I first opened it until I realised that the first record didn't belong to this album.  It was from the MGM film "The Merry Widow".
Oh No!  I now had an incomplete record set even though I got it at a bargain price (although most 78rpm records don't command very high prices anyway).  I contacted the seller to let him know of the mistake.  He was very apologetic and offered me some credit on his eBay site and online store.  I really didn't think 99cents would go very far but still thanked him for the offer.  I also told him that with a bit of luck I may even be able to find a copy of the missing record amongst the 500 plus 78rpm records that I had in my own collection.  Rather a hopeful notion but worth a look.

So the search began.  I was looking for a yellow and black MGM label record (No. 5076) of the songs "Make Believe" and "Why Do I Love You". I soon discovered that I didn't have many MGM records at all.  I had gone through about 75% of my records when I decided to check the ones stored in my upright gramophone cabinet.  There, sitting about half a dozen records down was No. 5076.  I couldn't believe it.  It was the exact record that I was missing from the album.  It was also the only 78rpm record from "Show Boat" that I had.  Talk about lucky.  My "Show Boat" album was now complete and all for 99 cents (plus postage).  I think the seller was as surprised as I was when I messaged him with the good news.

Below is a photo of the elusive record No. 5076 and a few photos of some of the more well known songs from this movie.

No. 5076 - MAKE BELIEVE 

CAN'T HELP LOVIN' DAT MAN

BILL

OL' MAN RIVER

"Show Boat" is a 1951 movie musical about a riverboat captain's daughter who falls in love with a romantic river gambler. It stars Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner and Howard Keel.
It was originally a Broadway stage show launched in 1927, based on a book written by Edna Ferber the year before.

Also, just as an indication of how little money most old 78rpm records realise, I once bought 100+ records on ebay for 99cents.  I felt so bad for the seller that I gave him $5.00 instead.  They are also extremely heavy so large lots are not viable to post.  This also helps keep their prices down low.