Okeh 8657
February 23, 2007 by nonotes
From to time, the original 78 rpm record of “St. James Infirmary” as performed by Louis Armstrong pops up on eBay. I watch the bidding, but I don’t get involved. I’d love to own the thing itself, but my turntable doesn’t do 78, and then there’s the matter of the cost. In the most recent auction for a copy of Okeh 8657 (”in stunning E+ condition and is still in its original Okeh sleeve”), which ended Wednesday, the winning bid was $245.28.
A little more than I’m willing to pay.
A couple of years ago I did some research into the song "St. James Infirmary," wrote up what I found, emailed that essay to friends and posted it on my web site (as part of a series of "Letters From New Orleans," as I was living in that city at the time). Based on the feedback, I wrote a second version of the essay, and asked for more feedback. Based on that, I wrote a 
