Archeophone Records Preserves National Treasure of Sound.

Business Editors

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 2001

Archeophone Records, the world leader in reissuing early sound recordings, today announced the release of a digitally remastered CD featuring the songs and comedy of vaudeville great Bert Williams. The CD, which is the ninth one produced by Archeophone, contains Williams' final releases during the period 1919-1922, a total of 24 tracks.

Called "The funniest man I ever saw, the saddest man I ever knew" by W.C. Fields, Williams, an African-American, performed in blackface in the Ziegfeld Follies and recorded exclusively for Columbia Records with such contemporaries as Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, Nora Bayes and Marion Harris. Said Cantor of Williams, "In my seventy years, I've known many outstanding people in and out of the theater. A Will Rogers, an Al Jolson, come once in a generation. Bert Williams . . . once in a lifetime."

"We use original disc records and cylinders to create our CDs" says Archeophone Records partner Richard Martin who, with Meagan Hennessey, uses modern technology to remaster the recordings. "Our mission is to prompt study and conversation about early recorded sound and its social and cultural significance," he says.

Other CDs produced by Archeophone Records include "Phonographic Yearbooks" for the 1890s, 1912, 1920 and 1921, a complete rendering of Marion Harris' Victor releases, and "Real Ragtime," a collection of songs from the late 1800s to 1918 including such titles as "Dill Pickles Rag" and the "Hu-la Hu-la Cake Walk," performed by John Philip Sousa's band.

Hennessey sees Archeophone as a pioneer in the field of preserving these early sound recordings. "Eventually, we'd like to see music stores create a new category for CDs like these - a 'Historical' section sandwiched between blues and jazz. These recordings are the progenitors of all of our modern music. Libraries, such as the New York Public Library and the University of Michigan Library, are important customers for us now, but we believe that consumers, once they listen, will recognize that these constitute a national treasure of sound."

For now, at least, Archeophone Records' CDs are available only in selected shops and on line, at www.archeophone.com, for about $18.00 each, which includes shipping.