The Record Changer
- Places of Publication: Fairfax, VA, Washington D.C., DC & New York City, NY
- Language: English
- Date of Publication: 1942-1957
- Periodicity: Generally monthly
- Editors: Nesuhi Ertegun, William Grauer, Gordon Gullickson & Richard B. Hadlock
- Publishers: Gordon Gullickson, Changer Publications, Hadlock Publications
- Lacunae: Vol. 7 no. 1. A copy of this issue could not be located; the issue may never have been published.
- Type: Full Text
The Record Changer was the pre-eminent publication for record collectors and those interested in historic jazz during the 1940s and 1950s. From humble beginnings as a forum for record collectors to list collections for sale and items sought, it quickly gathered writers and collectors who published in journals such as Jazz Information, Jazz, and The Jazz Record, printing research articles, discographies, news, and information of interest to collectors and traditional jazz aficionados. While early issues generally contained 8-16 pages only, issues quickly grew to span 36 to 60 pages. Many articles published in The Record Changer have served as reference points and have been republished elsewhere.
The founding editor and publisher was Gordon Gullickson, a record collector and dealer in Washington, D.C. and Fairfax, Virginia. The first five issues were devoted to record collections, and in issue six, Gullickson began publishing a regular column by Neshui Ertegun, a local jazz promoter then living in the Turkish Embassy. Soon, other contributors began publishing: Eugene Williams, R. J. Carew, William C. Love, Charles Edward Smith, John Steiner, Ernest Borneman, George Avakian, Roger Pryor Dodge, and others, with Ertegun eventually becoming editor after moving to California. While the record sale lists continued to form a central aspect of each issue, the articles and forums quickly grew in importance. The artist Gene Deitch began sending in sketches, cartoons (“The Cat”, a regular feature), and other artwork; Deitch’s design aesthetics would play a great part in the modern look of The Record Changer after his appointment as art editor.
Gullickson sold The Record Changer to William (Bill) Grauer, Jr. at the start of 1948. Grauer moved the offices to New York and appointed Orrin Keepnews as assistant editor, with Ertegun serving as West Coast editor. Many prominent jazz writers in this period wrote for The Record Changer, including Charles Delaunay in France and Albert J. McCarthy in the UK. George Avakian reviewed jazz records and Edward Hill wrote on and reviewed classical music. While the primary focus was on record collecting and traditional jazz (the long record sale lists appeared in every issue), coverage of current jazz appeared regularly. After the September 1955 issue, Grauer was forced to sell the journal to Richard (Dick) Hadlock, due to the demands of running Riverside Records, which he founded with Keepnews. A publication gap ensued, with the next issue appearing in January 1957. Hadlock attempted to modernize the journal by improving coverage of modern jazz but only three issues appeared. The Record Changer ceased with the March 1957 issue.
"The Record Changer was a small and independent magazine owned and managed by Bill Grauer and Orrin Keepnews, former classmates at Columbia University who transformed the traditional jazz oriented publication into a progressive voice."
Rob van der Bliek, editor, The Thelonious Monk Reader (2001)