"pulled from distribution" Mickey Katz record on eBay

[farfl <farfl...>]

I'm very suspicious of the "rare" Mickey Katz single ("Gefilte In The
Pale") being offered on eBay.
Since the bidding is up to around $75 US, and I know some folks wait
until the last 30 seconds to bid, I thought I'd offer a "heads up".
I have been involved with both of the recent CD reissues of Katz
material, and I was lucky enough to get to go through the Capitol
archives to pick tracks for issue and also to glean recording
information.  I did not once see any mention of the record that is being
offered.  There is no mention of the recording in "Papa Play For Me",
Mickey Katz's autobiography.
The record number on the label shown is actually from "There's A Hole In
The Old Iron Curtain", with the exact same timing, 2:35, and Mel Blanc
on vocals.  Note that the Seller actually credited Mel Blanc as being on
the other side of this record, and not the "Pail" track.  Yet, here is
Mel's credit on the "Pail" side.  It's our belief that record numbers of
rejected recordings are not reused, and so it is strange that this
recording should share the same record number as "Hole In The Old Iron
Curtain".
"By The Beautiful Sea" by Spike Jones and His City Slickers was also
pulled from distribution, but the record number was not reassigned to
another record.
I e-mailed the Seller and asked to hear the record over the phone, and
asked when the best time to call was.  I never received a reply.
One of my colleagues, also a "Katz Scholar" e-mailed the Seller to ask
what the record's matrix number is.  No reply either!
The most telling clue to this suspected hoax is the label itself.  I
blew the label picture up in Photoshop; the font for the title is
crystal clear, while the rest of the
label is a bit blurry.  Two of his letters are anti-aliased, and there's
a bit of the record label that's been erased in Photoshop to accomodate
the new title.
Try it yourself! Looks mighty suspicious.
Just thought I'd let you know.
Best Regards,
Steven.


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