Brian Rust

This discography documents all recordings made by this pioneering and influential record label which was active in many areas - popular, jazz, blues, country, and ethnic music during a formative and dynamic period in America's cultural history just before and during the 1920s on into the early 1930s. All known 78rpm record releases in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Japan are detailed. Also included is an essay on the history of the various corporate entities that produced the OKeh label during its initial period of operation with special emphasis on the activities of the record company in making many field recordings in locations throughout the United States and Hawaii.Laird and Rust's book is primarily comprised of an extensive bibliography and a comprehensive artist index. This publication is the definitive volume on a legendary and influential record company which played a vital part in recording many great artists including some who are still recognized as some of the finest exponents of their particular musical styles.

Knowledge of just what recordings of classical music have been issued in the Soviet Union has been very limited to date, since only a small number of such recordings have been licensed for production and sale by West European and American companies. . . . Bennett's discography of all LP recordings issued in Russia since 1951 is thus a valuable research tool for the serious record collector and music library. Choice

Standard library cataloging rules are ill-adapted for the most part to serving the needs of the users or the compilers of discographies. . . . Rust offers a [broad] view of how the discipline has developed to date, since his interests lie in jazz and popular music, where much of the early discographical work was done. Choice

Although somewhat more specialized than the Atlantic set because of Prestige's emphasis on jazz, this work is valuable for record collectors and researchers. American Reference Books Annual