Spin And Win
Vinyl records have been making a comeback over the last few years, but we aren't here to talk about the latest LP in our collection. Rather, we want to point out the ones that—should you find them in your collection—well, they could be worth some big bucks.
The Quarrymen: In Spite Of All The Danger/That'll Be The Day (1958)
Before The Beatles, before Ringo Starr even—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison were The Quarrymen, and they released a two-track, 10-inch record. Now, originally there was but one copy of this thing. Then McCartney bought it and put out 50 more albums—giving them as Christmas gifts to family and friends.
Should you, or anyone in your family, have been one of these friends, and have a copy lying around...Well, they've sold in the past for anywhere from $13,000 to $260,000.
Phil Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Velvet Underground & Nico: The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
The debut, self-titled album by The Velvet Underground & Nico is already famous for its banana peel cover art by pop-art icon Andy Warhol. But wait, don't get too excited just yet. Because every album has the Warhol banana on it. The one you're looking for has a banana peel that you can literally peel off.
Verve Records, Wikimedia Commons
The Velvet Underground & Nico: The Velvet Underground & Nico
The earliest version of the record had the peelable banana, while almost all the reissues didn't. Which makes those peelable ones very rare...and very valuable.
In fact, in 2002, a record collector named Warren Hill bought one of these rare albums at a flew market for 75 cents. He, and obviously the person selling the record, had no idea it was so rare. Hill would eventually throw it up on eBay and sell it for $25,200. Talk about profit margin!
Bob Dylan: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
Bob Dylan's second album features such classic songs as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". But if your version of the album also has "Rocks and Gravel", "Let Me Die in My Footsteps", "Gamblin' Willie's Dead Man's Hand", and "Talkin' John Birch Blues"—then you could have tens of thousands of dollars coming your way.
Bob Dylan: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
You see, just prior to releasing the album, Dylan made some last-minute changes to the song list—replacing four of the tracks with the ones mentioned earlier. There were some records pressed with those songs, but it wasn't too long before Columbia switched them back for all subsequent pressings.
So how much is one of those early versions worth? Well, one surviving stereo copy sold for $35,000.
Rowland Scherman, Wikimedia Commons
The Beatles (White Album) Originals From 1968
Before you run to your record collection to grab your copy of The Beatles (aka The White Album) you need to know what you're looking for (trust us, we did the same thing). So, here's the deal: Back in 1968, when the fab four released their self-titled masterpiece, they, and studio executives, were given special copies stamped with special serial numbers.
The Beatles (White Album) Originals From 1968
The serial numbers begin with A00000, followed by a number: A0000011, A0000018, etc... Well, there weren't very many of these "A00000..." copies pressed and that rarity (along with it being The Beatles) makes them valuable. In 2013, the very first copy of the White Album (A0000001) sold for $35,000. In 2014, copy A0000023 was auctioned off for $13,750.
The Beatles: Yesterday And Today (1966)
Talk about polar opposites. While The Beatles album is nothing more than a completely white sleeve, the original album cover for the band's 1966 album, Yesterday And Today featured the guys with big smiles on their faces and bloody doll parts in their hands. Honestly, we're surprised this cover even made it to the original printing. But it did.
The Beatles: Yesterday And Today (1966)
Not only that, it made it all the way to stores before the backlash from consumers forced Capitol Records to recall the 750,000 albums that had already been shipped to stores (at a cost of $250,000). But before they were sent back, some were sold and now those albums with the doll parts can sell for anywhere from $15,000-$30,000.
Prince: The Black Album (1987)
Prince's untitled follow-up to his Sign o' the Times album became known as The Black Album because of the completely black sleeve with no title and not even any credit to Prince himself on the cover. At least, that is what the plan for it was—until Prince became convinced that the album was evil and demanded it be pulled just a week before it was set to be released to the world.
Prince: The Black Album (1987)
However, the record company had already produced about half a million copies of the album which they then had to destroy (they were already sitting on loading docks ready to be shipped out to all the record stores). But, as you may have guessed, a few copies made it out safely and those rare finds are worth a very nice chunk of change...
Prince: The Black Album (1987)
In 2016, an original promo copy from 1987 sold for $15,000—which is a lot of money, but not as much as some people got for original copies of the album that were discovered in 2017. One of those sold for $42,298, and another one found in 2018 sold for $25,000.
Allen Beaulieu, Wikimedia Commons
David Bowie: Diamond Dogs (1974)
For the album cover of David Bowie's eighth studio album Diamond Dogs, Belgian artist Guy Peellaert painted an image of Bowie as a half-man, half-dog hybrid. That wasn't such a big deal. What was a big deal was the art inside the gatefold sleeve which also showed the hybrid's ummmm...naughty bits.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
David Bowie: Diamond Dogs (1974)
Well, this was a little too much for his record label RCA, and they had the bits airbrushed for the final version of the album that hit store shelves. But guess what? Some of the non-airbrushed covers got out into the world—and in 2003, one of those copies sold on eBay for $3550. But that was when Bowie was alive. Since his passing in 2016, we can only assume the value has gone up.
EMI America. Wikimedia Commons
"Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" Demo Copy
Do you know the Frank Wilson song "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)"? You probably don't—and that's because he recorded it only as a demo back in 1965 and of the 250 demos pressed, most of them were destroyed. See where we're going with this one?
"Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" Demo Copy
Were they destroyed because Motown boss Berry Gordy didn't like it? That's one theory. But regardless of why, the fact remains that should you come across one of these rare demo copies, you could be looking at a nice chunk of change. In 2009, one sold at auction for $32,500.
Tommy Johnson: Alcohol And Jake Blues
In 1930, Tommy Johnson's album Alcohol And Jake Blues was released by the Paramount company. Five years later, all of the masters were destroyed when the label shut down. Which means, this Tommy Johnson album is very rare.
Tommy Johnson: Alcohol And Jake Blues
So rare, in fact, that in 2013, a collector picked one up at an auction for more than $37,000. And the crazy part is, this particular collector already had a copy of the album in his collection. Although, it wasn't in as good condition—so, money well spent (at least in his mind).
Blue Note 1568 (1957)
Jazz musician Hank Mobley put out anywhere from 300-1,000 copies of Blue Note 1568 in 1957 and while the music on all the copies is the same—the stickers on them aren't. You see, Blue Note ran out of labels, so while most have a label that reads "47 West 63rd NYC"—the initial, and more valuable label, reads "47 West 63rd New York 23".
Donaldson Collection, Getty Images
Blue Note 1568
The good news is that either version will get you a lot of money—a copy with the regular label sold on eBay for $10,000. The even better news is that the rarer label will get you even more than that.
Bruce Springsteen: "Spirit In The Night"
It's one of the Boss' first singles released off of his debut album. And if you have a 45 of "Spirit in the Night" (in mint condition), you could sell it for around $5,000.
Waltzes By Johann Strauss, Jr (1956 Andy Warhol Cover)
Yup, Andy Warhol again. Before Warhol was designing album covers for bands like The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground, he did a bunch of jazz and classical vinyl covers—including the seven-inch sleeve for 1956's Waltzes by Johann Strauss, Jr by the Century Symphony Orchestra.
Fritz Luckhardt, Wikimedia Commons
Waltzes By Johann Strauss, Jr (1956 Andy Warhol Cover)
The purple cover with the line-drawings of people dancing (we assume waltzing) is a great, simple Warhol—but what makes this one so special is that only seven copies exist on the planet. One of which can be seen at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Another one sold on eBay in 2012 for $5,500.
Popscreenshot, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Madonna: Erotica (1992)
It probably wouldn't shock anyone to see Madonna sucking on someone's toe on the back cover of her 1992 album Erotica. It would seem to fit the theme of the album and if you knew that toe belonged to supermodel Naomi Campbell then it makes even more sense for the time it was.
However, around the same time is when Sarah, the Duchess of York was in the press for having her toes sucked during an affair. And the whole foot thing wasn't something Warner Bros wanted to be a part of...
Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Madonna: Erotica (1992)
Thus, the company withdrew the toe-sucking cover—but not before a few copies made it out into the world. Should you have one, they're selling for about $3,000-$40,000 depending on their condition.
David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Caine Mutiny Soundtrack (1954)
The Caine Mutiny was the second highest-grossing movie of the year in 1954, and earned seven Oscar nominations—including one for Best Picture and one for Best Actor for Humphrey Bogart. That same year, they also released a soundtrack album for the movie that had the score on one side and dialogue from the movie's courtroom scene on side 2.
The Caine Mutiny Soundtrack (1954)
The issue was, though, that Herman Wouk—the man who wrote the book on which the film was based—felt that the album was a violation of intellectual property and thus asked the studio to stop production of the album. They did—but not before a few copies made it out. Those rare soundtrack albums now sell for around $6,700.
The Beatles: "Love Me Do" (1962)
Yes, it's the debut single from the most popular band of all time, but that isn't what makes this one so valuable. It's a rare misprint that occurred on a few of the seven-inch single printings that had the name of session drummer Andy White instead of Ringo Starr. Those misprint singles have fetched upwards of $15,000.
Olivia Newton-John: Xanadu Picture Album
Xanadu was a musical fantasy film starring Olivia Newton-John, and—as with most musical films—there was a soundtrack album released along with the movie. Now, the odds are that if you have that soundtrack album in your collection, it is the one with a mostly all blue album cover and the "Xanadu" title in big letters written across the top-third. Unfortunately, that one ain't worth much. But...
MCA Records, Wikimedia Commons
Olivia Newton-John: Xanadu Picture Album
Should your copy of the soundtrack be one with Olivia Newton-John's face on it—well, now you got something valuable. You see, these "picture" albums were promotional items that the company produced—but John hated the picture and asked them to stop.
Supposedly, there are only 31 copies out there—with each one being worth almost $9,000.
Bert Verhoeff, Wikimedia Commons
The White Stripes: "Lafayette Blues" (1999)
In 1998, The White Stripes released their second single, "Lafayette Blues". However, on the night of the big release show the album covers for the 45 single weren't ready. So, improvising, Jack White and the head of the recording company hand painted a bunch of covers (the singles sold for $6 that night).
Masao Nakagami, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The White Stripes: "Lafayette Blues"
Six years later, in 2004, one of those singles with the hand painted covers sold for $2,700—and in 2010 someone paid $18,000 for one of them.
Michael Morel, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Depeche Mode: Music For The Masses (1987)
Considered one of Depeche Mode's best albums, any record collector and fan of the band is going to have Music for the Masses in their collection. So, does that mean that we are all sitting on thousands of dollars? Well, not exactly. Again, it comes down to which album cover you have...
Sire Records, Wikimedia Commons
Depeche Mode: Music For The Masses
For most of us, when we think of the Music for the Masses cover art, we think of a quiet, deserted landscape with three red megaphones on a pole in the forefront. It's a great image, but it's not the one that will get you $4,000-$5,000. For that, you need to have an early pressing of the orange and white album cover with a stylized megaphone image.
Sire Records, Wikimedia Commons
Nirvana: Bleach (1989)
Bleach was Nirvana's debut studio album and, these days, can fetch a pretty penny depending on what you find inside the sleeve. Or more precisely, what color.
Nirvana: Bleach
There are two different colors that have some value—the red and white marble and the white ones. There were fewer pressings of the red and white record, but because the white one is the original first pressing color, it is still worth more.
Nirvana: Bleach
In mint condition, you can get at least $1,100 for the marbled vinyl, and as for the white vinyl, you can sell those for upwards of $2,500 these days.
Sonatas For Two Violins (1964)
Leonid Kogan and Elisabeth Gilels, two virtuosos on the violin, make this 1964 classical album highly sought after by lovers of the genre—as well as record collectors in general, given that an original pressing from 1964 could fetch almost $3,000.
Vincentshibro, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ted Nugent: Cat Scratch Fever (1977)
While a mint condition Cat Scratch Fever album will only get you a little over $100—we wanted to mention it because, unlike so many on this list, there is no special version to try and find. It's just the album that any of us would've picked up back in 1977.
Long Cleve Reed And Little Harvey Hill: "Original Stack O'Lee Blues" (1927)
As far as anyone knows, there is only one copy of this 1927 single in existence—and the person who owns it is said to have once turned down a $70,000 offer to sell it. So, if you find another copy out there...
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