SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON DOWN+OUT MINT ORIG'59 LP BLACK LBL

$

1,000

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·       SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON - DOWN AND OUT BLUES – ORIGINAL 1959 CHECKER RECORDS MONO LP 1437

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       MONUMENTALLY RARE ORIGINAL BLACK, MATTE (NOT GLOSSY), CHECKER MONO LABEL WITH SILVER PRINT (ONLY THE THIRD COPY WE HAVE SEEN IN ALMOST 40 YEARS OF COLLECTING).

·      We firmly believe that this is one of the Greatest Blues recordings ever made,  and easily one of the top-10 Finest Harmonica (Harp) Blues albums of all time (the other nine runner-ups being:  (1) ‘The Best of Little Walter’ by the late great Little Walter, (2) ‘Found Love’ by Jimmy Reed, (3) ‘Hoodoo Man Blues’ by Junior Wells, (4)  ‘The Soul of Blues Harmonica’ by Shakey Horton, (5) ‘Mouth Harp Blues’ by Shakey Jake, (6) Slim Harpo’s ‘Raining in my Heart’ , (7) Lazy Lester’s ‘True Blues’ and (8 thru-10) the select recordings by the John Mayall Bluesbreakers, Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Sonny Terry.

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       ORIGINAL, THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)

·       ORIGINAL, FIRST VERSION OF THE COVER WITHOUT CHESS CATALOG NUMBER “BOXED” IN UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

·       THE RECORD HAS A 'SHELDON’ STAMP IN THE TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) AREA, WHICH IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED A PROOF OF AUTHENTICITY OF THE FIRST PRESSING.

·       As far as we know, this album is currently out of print and unavailable on Compact Disc, or in any other format.

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you'll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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Sonny Boy Williamson was only allowed this lone, album in his lifetime (it remains debatable if this was because powers-that-be at Chess records were skeptical of his commercial appeal or if he was simply unable to concentrate on recording an album’s worth of material because he was drunk out of his mind most of the time). Whatever the case, his 1959 ‘Down and out Blues’ remained his one and only album he ever saw released in his lifetime, and it virtually defines Chess brand of Chicago Blues at the end of the 1950s.  In the wake of his passing,  Chess label would release four more albums between 1965 and 1968 – he also had three albums co-credited with the Animals, the Yardbirds and the very young Jimmy Page -  but none of them are as representative of Williamson’s mastery of mouth harp as is this masterpiece – truly and genuinely one of the top-10 most important blues albums of all time. The original 1959 pressings are for all practical purposes impossible to find in any condition – and finding another NEAR MINT copy is truly a mission impossible, something we would forcefully discourage you from trying.

Before you pass up on this copy, be aware of this: in our 40-year long collecting career, this is THE FIRST, THE ONE AND THE ONLY (AND PROBABLY THE LAST) mint copy of this album we have come across. If you miss out on this one, you may have to wait 40 years to find another one. We do not exaggerate one bit by telling you that this may be the only such copy you will find on (or off) eBay in quite awhile.  Consider yourselves duly forewarned, folks!

For additional historical information on this album, including track listing ►click here

THIS IS A RESERVE AUCTION!

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·       CONDITION:

·       RECORD

 (IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL  AS  (WEAK) NEAR MINT. Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs -  are (barely) visible, but are probably inaudible,  and do not affect visual integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

(c)           The album comes with its original, 'rice paper' inner sleeve (how appropriate for an album by Rice Miller a/k/a Sonny Boy Williamson), typically used in the 50’s and very early 60’s which has - apparently with success- shielded the vinyl from the harmful impact of elements over many years! We believe that, despite great technological progress, these early 'rice paper' inner sleeves provided a degree of protection MUCH HIGHER than any other material used ever since.

(d)          Mono pressing of this title is much rarer, and by far more  preferable to its FAKE ("electronically rechannelled") stereo counterpart. We estimate that FAKE stereo copies of this album outnumber monos by a ratio of at least 10:1.

(e)           The record has a "deep groove" (an indent in the label about 1/2-inch from the edge of the label, which on SOME labels is associated with very early or first pressings).

(f)            True Stereo copies of this album are NOT known to exist.

(g)          Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·       COVER

THE COVER IS NICE --- ABOUT EXCELLENT OR VERY GOOD+++.

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-         Cover has some light ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 2 (front side) and 3 (back side)

-         Cover shows JUST A HINT of yellowing on back side, apparently from aging.

-        Minor, barely visible, discoloration (color fading) noted on one 1/8-inch wide strip of cover along the spine  (VISIBLE ON BACK SIDE ONLY)  ; apparently, the cover was stored with its spine was facing the sunlight

-         Minor shelf wear noted on the spine (nothing significant)

-         Cover has a few tiny wrinkles along the spine (nothing significant)

-         Cover has a minor wrinkle (crease) in the cardboard base on the front panel

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE COVER:

-        No split seams

-        No cut-out (drill) holes.

-        No cut-out corners

-        No saw-marks or indents

-        No dirt/dust rubbing stains (friction marks caused by rubbing against other covers)

-        No writing

-        No stamps

-        No tearing: no chips, dents or nicks on the seams

-        No peel-off marks

-        No stains

-        No mold or mildew spots

-        No stickers or labels

-        No water damage

-        No razor marks, scratches, pressure marks, lines, streaks, or  cuts.

-        No warping

-        No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-        No glue traces or wax residue.

-        No bar codes

-        No RIAA stamps or stickers. 

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

We offer THREE postage rates for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for domestic, and First Class, Priority International Mail, and Express International Mail for international orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND that you pay for USPS International Priority Mail OR International Express mail when making a payment in order to obtain tracking information, which is NOT available for First Class International shipments.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates ►click here. While you can be rest assured that ►our packaging is careful, sturdy and impact-proof, please note that damage, loss or theft in transit is always possible, and in the case of some countries even PROBABLE. To discuss this potential problem and ensure flawless delivery, please contact us thru eBay BEFORE placing a bid.

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE WITHIN 7 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED (THE BUYER PAYS FOR THE RETURN POSTAGE); Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be eligible for a refund Some restrictions apply. Please read our complete refund policy before placing a bid. ►Click here  for the full text of our policy

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