1. Cf. my paper ‘Research on Rebetika. Some Methodological Problems and Issues’, Journal of Modern Hellenism 6 (1989) 177–190.

2. 1–6. K. REGAL 14C034–70364/70366, 14C034–70378/70380.

3. Cf. the series To 1–5, Greek CBS 82290, 82303, 26116, 26117, 28118. Another reissue that should be mentioned here in this connection is the slightly more informative To 1922, ACBA 1132/1133, which contains at least approximative datings of the individual tracks. On other reissues made by the Center there is absolutely nothing, as for instance on the Batis album, AФ ACBA 1131, and on the LPs in the series all of which despite the title have nothing whatsoever to do with America, except for the inclusion of one or two tracks by Katsaros. It would seem that the only thing American about these recordings is the rather irrelevant fact that they have been pressed in the US from Greek masters, and therefore supposed to be of better technical quality. On the most recent LP in the series (vol. 6) the front cover rather comically states that these discs have been cleaned in the United States!

4. Greek-Oriental. Smyrnaic Rebetic Songs and Dances. The Golden Years 1927–1937. The LP was reissued in Greece by the Falireas Bros. (AФ 930). The title of the LP is something of a misnomer, since the oldest track on the record is from ca. 1913.

5. It should be emphasized that the only relevant master-number is that on the original issue. The masternumbers allocated to reissues in Greece, England or in the US have no value for the dating of the recording. Where the companies use catalogue-number with the digits A and B for each side of the disc as master-numbers (as did many smaller labels) the master-number has no particular value. This is why it is important to quote the original issue of a given recording, or at least state the nationality of the label.

6. This record is not yet in the 1934 Greek Parlophone catalogue.

7. Roza Eskenazi’s record H on Greek HMV AO 2141 came out in early 1934.

8. Except, of course, for Yiorgis Batis’ first recordings, which were made in 1933, but were held back until Markos Vamvakaris’ first discs in 1934 had proved the commercial viability of bouzouki-accompanied rebetika.

9. The only serious attempt at a reliable listing of recordings of a prewar rebetika artist is Panayotis Kounadis’ and Spyros Papaioannou’s detailed — but incomplete — listing of Yiorgos Kavouras 49, December 1981). The same authors’ articles on pre-1922 discs also contain a lot of useful and relevant information for the discography needed so badly 38–44, January-July 1981).

10. In the Atlas catalogue from 1927–1928 (on this see further below) the highest catalogue number in Victor’s 68000 series is 68791. In their articles in the journal April 1981, p.32 Kounadis and Papaioannou gave a date between 1925 and 1930, though such uncertainty is hardly necessary when we know the catalogue number.

11. Gauntlett, Stathis, Carmina rebetica Graeciae recentioris (Athens 1985) 32 n.185 Google Scholar; Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 8 (1982–1983) 83 n.28. An updated Greek version of Gauntlett’s book has now been published by the University of Crete.

12. In his paper Gauntlett mentions that some records by Ioannidis and Katsaros have the text on the label ‘Made and patented 1913’. This has nothing to do with the actual date of the recordings, except of course that they are later than 1913, but with the taking out of the patent for the recording process used. Unfortunately, Tasos Schorelis in the sleeve notes to the LP 1901–1913 on Greek CBS 53753 for mysterious reasons committed the absurd error of regarding these patent dates as the actual dates of the recordings, with the result that Marika Papaghika was represented as having made a recording in 1901! It seems that neither Gauntlett nor Kounadis-Papaioannou have found the explanation for Schorelis’ error, though they view his dating with scepticism, as one must.

13. We know that master number 206198 was recorded in March 1929, see Ethnic Recordings in the USA. A Neglected Heritage (Library of Congress, Washington D.C. 1982) 169. Gauntlett in his paper, p.82, mistakenly asserts that the disc was issued in 1925.

14. 14. We should also notice in this connection that there is a record by Tetos Dimitriadis called simply issued on Victor 58057 (from 1930–1931?). No doubt this was not a rebetiko recording, but rather some kind of light entertainment.

15. It is interesting that on HMV AO 2124 (from 1933) Asikis’ song H by Ambatzi is not called ‘rebetiko’.

16. The word ‘rebetis’ occurs for the first time in Greece in Markos Vamvakaris’ first recording from 1933, and the word ‘rebetiko’ in a song by Bayanderas from 1935

17. The date of these records is not known, though it would appear that DG 124 is from 1930, given that DG 126 by Kostas Roukounas is from 1930, cf.Schorelis, T. and Ikonomidis, M., (Athens 1974) 111.Google Scholar

18. 1 have used a handwritten copy of the Odeon catalogue in the archive of Markos Dragoumis at the Center for Asia Minor Studies, Athens. One of these records can be identified as Odeon GA1296

19. I owe my knowledge of this catalogue to the courtesy of Helen Papanikolas who kindly gave me a xeroxcopy.

20. This is probably from 1925, but we have no reliable evidence.

21. This was recorded in Athens, but I do not know whether there is a Greek issue or whether it also carried the description on the label.

22. On this see my paper ‘Rebetica in the United States before World War 2’ from the Theodore Saloutos Conference on Greek American Experience, to be published in the proceedings, edited by Charles Moskos and Dan Georgakas.