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.
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| SHOW BOAT 78 rpm record album cover |
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| 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.
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| No. 5076 - MAKE BELIEVE |
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| CAN'T HELP LOVIN' DAT MAN |
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| BILL |
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| 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.
