PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh record store owner has found what he calls “the holy grail of 78s” in a box of old albums he picked up for $50.
Jerry Weber says he discovered a copy of the second song ever recorded by Mississippi blues legend Robert Johnson, “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom.”
Weber tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the record is in good shape. He pegs its value at $6,000 to $12,000.
Collector John Tefteller specializes in rare blues and jazz records and estimates there are perhaps 15 to 30 copies of the record in existence in that condition.
Johnson was a blues master who died in 1938 at age 27. His landmark recordings were reissued in the 1960s, influencing Eric Clapton and a host of other rock ‘n’ roll icons.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.