Check out this Novelty Personal Greeting Record from 1949!
Yeah, you read it right: Happy Birthday to Etheldra. Definitely the first time I’ve ever come across this rare name. The record is yet another dubplate instant master that was popular in the 40′s and 50′s. For a quarter, you’d get a personalized record. In this case, it sounds like standardized ‘happy birthday’ with some awfully dated lyrics:
Happy Birthday to-day; may your Birthday be gay…
This version of the song has a generic woman singing the lyrics, and what sounds like the local operator chirps in with the name of the birthday name in the midst of the song. It sounds a bit odd, but comes across OK. It’s easier than having someone do a perfect singing take multiple times a day. In this case, you simply wait for your cues. The operator (also a woman, but a different voice than the main vocalist) also finishes the song with a shout-out to the birthday person, adding yet another hint of personalization to your custom birthday greeting!
Flip The Dubplate Over!
This record, like many instant dubplates, is one sided only, and plays back at 78rpm for about a minute of audio.
You can see the label has come off the back, revealing the metal plate that the acetate is attached to. This record is very heavy and durable because of the metal plate. It’s also very small, just over 5.5″ round, smaller that a usual 45rpm record.
