Interview with Rare Blues Collector John Tefteller, who bought at $37,100 record

John Tefteller is a well-known rare blues record collector. In 2013, Tefteller purchased Alcohol and Jake Blues by Tommy Johnson (1930), a very rare blues 78 rpm record, on eBay for $37,100.

Tommy Johnson made five records for the Paramount label in 1929 and 1930. Johnson, unrelated to bluesman Robert Johnson, was a little known and very under-appreciated singer/guitar player from Crystal Springs, Mississippi.

I love collecting records (mainly 33 rpm). However, being the budget-conscious (i.e. cheap) record consumer, I will gripe when paying over $37 for a record at Amoeba Music while John Tefteller paid $37,100 for one.

What made this Tommy Johnson blues record so rare? How did Tefteller get into collecting 78 rpm records? What advice does he have for folks wanting to get into collecting 78 rpm records? John Tefteller was kind enough to speak to me and provide insights on the unique world of 78 record collecting.

Why is Alcohol and Jake Blues by Tommy Johnson the rarest blues record?

Thats not the rarest blues record. Its complicated when you say rarest. The way I look at it, rarest means that only one copy remains in existence. Then, you can call it the rarest.

What makes these blues 78s so rare today?

In the 1920s and 1930s the companies that produced these records made limited copies of the records for a limited audience. That small audience, through time, either broke, wore the records out or threw them away. The record companies rarely kept any masters and there was no way to trace the purchasing and selling of the music. Read the rest