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Release Dates & Sources

It has long been a source of concern to me that so many collector-oriented publications seem to derive their release dates using the "sounds-like-58" technique. For this reason, all dates in Rockin' Country Style were determined objectively.

Whenever possible, dates have been based on trade paper reviews. My motive in using these is that, not only is the review date a good approximation of the release date, but I believe that researchers will find it very interesting and instructive to read the reaction of contemporary music industry writers to the performances. The following source codes point to music industry sources:

• Bb ... = date the disc was reviewed or mentioned in Billboard;
• CB ... = date the disc was reviewed or mentioned in Cash Box;
• CMR/MR rev. = date the disc was reviewed in Country Music Reporter or Music Reporter;
• C&WJ = date the disc was reviewed in Country & Western Jamboree.

Second priority was given to data on the disc itself, including the following:

• on label or cover = a release date (not a copyright date) printed on the label or cover (or, in a very few cases, hand-written on a promotional copy by a disc jockey or other recipient);
• date in wax = a date etched in the dead wax;
• rel. no. code = date derived from a code within the release number;
• Cap. mx code = date derived from a year code within the matrix number of a Capitol custom pressing;
• RCA mx code = date derived from a year code within the matrix number of an RCA Custom Record Sales pressing;
• ACA master = date derived from the Audio Company of America Master Book;
• mx date code = date derived from a code within the matrix number;
• mx series = date derived from a matrix number series (primarily Rite, Southern Plastics, Monarch, and Columbia).

Especially for custom and small-label releases, I relied upon song-related dates in cases where it seemed likely that these would approximate release dates:

• BMI clear. = date the song was cleared for public performance by Broadcast Music Inc.;
• copyright = date the song was copyrighted in the United States.

For Canadian discs, the most valuable source of dating information was Ron Hall's CHUM Chart Book, although this was usually the basis for date interpolation rather than the source of a definite date.

For unissued Sun and Phillips International tracks, recording dates were taken from Sun Records: The Discography by Colin Escott and Martin Hawkins.

Finally, in a few cases I have used the legal year of publication as given on a post-1971 release or a legitimate British reissue (designated by the source "pub. date").

When all else fails, I have occasionally relied upon a few subjective sources:

• art. est. = the recollection of the recording artist;
• coll. est. = an estimate by a knowledgeable collector;
• BSN est. = Both Sides Now (for LPs);
• Haley News = Haley News (for Bill Haley releases).

All dated entries which give the source "(est.)" were interpolated or extrapolated from other releases which could be pinpointed using the sources above. Some listings indicate the source of the estimate as follows:

• Bb est. = estimate based on Billboard dates;
• CB est. = estimate based on Cash Box dates;
• BMI est. = estimate based on BMI clearance dates;
• Cop. est. = estimate based on copyright dates;
• mx est. = estimate based on matrix-derived dates;
• SPD est. = estimate based on Starday Package Deal series dates.
• OP est. = estimate based on 4 Star OP series dates.