Elder Charles Beck (1930-1939): Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 33 1/3 rpm record album titled “Elder Charles Beck 1930-1939” recorded by Elder Charles Beck. The vinyl record (2014.98.13a) has a white label with black text. The album sleeve (2014.98.13b) has a simple white cover with black text and a photographic image of Elder Charles Beck singing at the center. Below the image in black text is [Elder Charles Beck / 1930-1939 / Complete Recordings In Chronological Order / Religious Singing with Congregation, / Piano and Trumpet Accompaniments]. At the top right is printed [EDEN RECORDS / LIMITED EDITION]. The back of the sleeve is also white with black text, reading [ELDER CHARLES BECK (1930-1939) / Complete Recordings in Chronological Order] followed by the track listing, complete withe the location and date of recordings. The recordings were done in four sessions, Jackson, Mississippi, December 18-19, 1930, and three sessions in New York City, May 8, 1937, June 16, 1937, and July 19, 1939.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930 - 1939; published after 1985
• Recorded by: Elder Charles Beck, American, 1900 - 1972
• Produced by: Johnny Parth, Austrian, born 1930
• Manufactured by: Document Records, Scottish, founded 1985
• Distributed by: Eden Records, Austrian
• Type: record covers
• Type: long-playing records
• Medium: vinyl, ink on paper
• Dimensions: Diameter (record): 11 13/16 in. (30 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (album jacket): 12 3/8 × 12 3/8 in. (31.5 × 31.5 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Gospel (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Mass media
• Topic: Preaching
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2014.98.13ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gayle Wald
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.