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A BRIEF AND INCOMPLETE HISTORY OF BOOTLEGS


In 1969 bootleg rock records made their appearance in the United
States and Europe. Previously bootlegs consisted mainly of Jazz and
Blues artists. These, however, did not receive the attention that rock
bootlegs did as the artists were not big money-makers. Dean Meador,
writing in Hot Wacks Quarterly (A History Of Bootleg Recordings, Issue
#4), traced bootlegs back to the turn of the century.

"Mapleson, the librarian of the Metropolitan Opera at that time,
received a cylinder recorder from Thomas Edison. He took his gift up
into the fly-loft on several occasions during the Met's 1901-03
seasons and recorded bits and pieces of performances. Even though
Mapleson had his machine a long way from the stage area and his medium
had limitations (his cylinders ran for only a few minutes at a time,
making it impossible to capture all of a long aria or duet), he
produced an astonishing number of unique recording documents."

"Mapleson and his cylinders provided a taste of actual performances
during that period. Mapleson gave collectors a chance to obtain and
hear performers, singers, artists and speakers of that era who never
appeared on commercial recordings, others in roles they didn't
duplicate on authorized discs."

The record that started it all for rock boots was Bob Dylan's Great
White Wonder. This double album originally came in a plain white
jacket without any printed label or title. Since sound recordings did
not receive copyright protection in the USA until February 15, 1972,
GWW received wider distribution than the bootlegs of today. However,
claims that it sold some 350,000 copies are extremely unlikely. It is
further interesting to note that when Columbia Records released the
same material in authorized form years later as The Basement Tapes the
official version sold quite well.

A distinction had best be made at this point between bootleg, pirate
and counterfeit records. A bootleg consists of unreleased material
recorded at concerts, studio outtakes, and radio or TV broadcasts. A
pirate album consists of released material without attempting to make
the LP look like an original. A counterfeit album is an exact copy of
an officially released album.

Record industry spokespeople often include bootlegs with counterfeit
and pirate recordings when making statements about the loss of revenue
from record piracy. Bootlegs, with their small pressings, should not
be included in this figure as the record labels do not lose revenue
from a recording which is not in their catalog.

These same spokespeople completely overlook the historical
significance of bootlegs as well. While this is obvious when speaking
in terms of opera, jazz and blues boots, rock has not been around for
the same amount of time. With rock's seemingly unending loss of
performers due to untimely deaths, this will soon become evident.
Albert Goldman, in his bestseller Elvis, is one of the first
biographers to appreciate the historical significance bootlegs have.

"Not just the man but the performer continued to emerge after his
death. Though RCA had nothing better to offer than gleanings from its
soon-exhausted archives, the record bootleggers, those great friends
of the fans, cut the legal knots that had long restrained the release
of Elvis's most significant live sessions. The legendary Elvis of the
Louisiana Hayride, the Dorsey Brothers shows and the Hawaiian benefits
appeared. All the jams from the Singer Special were offered in two
beautifully-packaged albums from California that far surpassed both in
interest and in appearance any legitimate offerings of RCA Victor. In
yet another illicit release came at last the most sought-after tape in
the history of rock 'n' roll: the fabled 'Million Dollar Quartet,' an
impromptu sing in the Sun Studio around Christmas 1956, by the three
greatest heroes of rockabilly: Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins
(minus the anticipated fourth voice, Johnny Cash). Though in this
instance the reality of the recording hardly matched the glamour of
its legend, the value of the disc as a document was enormous. At last
you were inside the Sun Studio listening attentively as Sam Phillips'
greatest singers did what they most enjoyed doing: pickin' and singin'
their favorite rock songs and hymns."

Currently the average pressing in the USA of a bootleg is 1,000
copies; in Europe 500 to 1,000 copies; and a few hundred copies in
Japan. Australia, which just recently became a steady source of
supply, quite likely has runs as small as Japan. Canada deserves
mention if only for the fact that an entire run of Bruce Springsteen
boxed sets was seized before they could be distributed. With that
exception, Canada is not a bootleg-producing country.

All of the early American bootleg labels have ceased operating. This
is the case with Rubber Dubber, Immaculate Conception Records (ICR),
Contraband Music (CBM), Dittolino Discs, Kustom Records, Trade Mark Of
Quality (TMOQ), Pig's Eye, Highway Hi Fi (HHCER), Phonygraf and one
outfit that used a different name for each release (Hen, Steel Led,
etc.). Their product was a thick, black record in a white jacket. To
simplify matters they are referred to in this text as White Cover
Folks (WCF).

The second generation of bootleggers, which includes Wizardo Records
(WRMB), Idle Mind Productions (IMP), Hoffman Avenue Records (HAR), K&S
Records and The Amazing Kornyfone Record Label (TAKRL), is also out of
business.

At the present time the vast majority of releases is coming out of
Europe. If anything, the Europeans have improved on their sound
quality and packaging, both of which they have been leaders in for
years. Most of their product matches, and in some cases surpasses,
legitimate record releases.

(December 22 1985 Kurt Glemser - Editor of Hot Wacks - Books I thru XI)

The Last 10 Years

1986 saw the rise and fall of Box Top Records. This label re-released
many old classics, most on colored vinyl, from original plates. These
came in a thin cover with a color snap-shot of the artist on the front
and a sticker with the song listings on the back. Titles were
rubber-stamped on the front. In the spring of 1987, after two years of
production, Rock Solid Records/International Records
(RSR/International) also went out of business.

1988 witnessed the short-lived return of the Trade Mark Of Quality
(TMOQ or TMQ) and The Amazing Kornyphone Record Label (TAKRL) labels
working together to provide 'A High Standard Of Standardness'. Records
came in one-color covers with the artists' name and the album title on
the front and a jacket-sized label logo on the back. There were two
separate batches of releases and each had the song listings for albums
in that batch on sheets enclosed in the record jackets. Each release
was limited to 500 copies.

1989 brought the introduction of the bootleg CD and the demise of
vinyl. In some cases bootleg CDs are a waste of technology since these
are taken from the original boots of the same name, not new or better
sources. After all, who wants a bad recording containing pops and
crackles that'll last forever. In other instances when a good source
is available, such as with Ultra Rare Trax Volumes 1&2 (The Beatles)
or Dallas '75 Volumes 1&2 (Led Zeppelin), the results are incredible.

1990 through 1995 can only be described as the time of the bootleg CD.
Using loopholes in the copyright laws of some European and Far East
countries, bootleggers flooded the market with CD re-issues of old
boots as well as a wealth of new, often soundboard, recordings.

Many of the items coming out of Europe were available in North America
through mail-order and, because of various copyright laws, in stores
in Europe and Japan. However, recent changes in European, US and
Canadian laws are hindering production and distribution. There is some
speculation that this may all come to an end with these changes but I
suggest that the action will just relocate. As long as fans crave the
live and unusual, the bootlegger and bootlegs will exist.

Please note, The Hot Wacks Press does not sell the records or CDs
listed in its books, these are discographies not a catalogs. Most of
these items are long out of circulation and not available.

(January 1996 Bob Walker - Editor/Publisher of Hot Wacks Books XII to
Supplement 4).

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