A few months ago I started — or restarted — my physical media collection journey with movies and music. I’m no serious collector searching for the rarest master or original pressings, but this time around I’ve learned so much more about the vinyl collection process and the varied levels of enthusiasm that come with it. Now there’s this. Originals are one thing and conceivably valuable, but I never knew it could go as deep as this new auction of music archives.
Country music fans — or deep enthusiasts rather — can bid on rare acetates, reference discs and sales awards in Wax Poetics’ The Denny Purcell Archive: Nashville Acetates & Masters happening now online.
The 11-lot auction featuring some of country music’s most recognizable voices along with some queer icons.
The discs span 1976–1989 and includes materials by Dolly Parton, k.d. lang, Charley Pride, Chet Atkins, Larry Gatlin, and more from the vault of Nashville mastering engineer Denny Purcell and offered through his nephew, Brady Purcell worked alongside his uncle from 1987 to 1992.
A prominent figure in Nashville, Denny Purcell worked with artists including Garth Brooks, Chet Atkins, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Ronnie Milsap and Waylon Jennings. He co-founded Georgetown Masters with his career amassing more than 500 gold and platinum recordings. Georgetown was named Billboard’s “Mastering Facility of the Year” in 1998. He died in 2002.
Among the highlights are two Dolly Parton acetates of “He’s Alive,” from her 1989 album White Limozeen. The selection also includes a 1988 lacquer of k.d. lang’s “Lock, Stock and Teardrops.”
A 1988 reference cut of Chet Atkins’ record C.G.P. includes his interpretation of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” while a test pressing of Juice Newton’s album Ain’t Gonna Cry carries a note from Denny to Brady’s mother. Many items carry the engineers’ grease-pencil notes and scribing. How’s that for your collection?
Additional lots feature materials by Michael Martin Murphey, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Roy Clark, Gail Davies, Kathy Mattea, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, The Bama Band, Narvel Felts, Austin Roberts, Rafe Van Hoy and others.
The auction also includes a Trisha Yearwood platinum sales award, framed by Nashville’s Al’s Custom Framing, a maker of RIAA awards, alongside a Ricky Van Shelton RIAA platinum award and a Marty Stuart RIAA gold award.s
For those deep dive music collectors out there or die-hard fans, the auction runs through Dec. 5. Me? You can find me bidding my entire paycheck on WhatNot
–Rich Lopez