Walsh, Jim, 1903-1990

Ulysses "Jim" Walsh (1903-1990) was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1903. Best known for his "Favorite Pioneer Recording Artists" column that appeared in Hobbies magazine for over forty years (1942-1985), Walsh was recognized as one of the greatest collectors and authorities on popular acoustical-era recording artists and recordings. His radio program, Walsh's Wax Works, which aired in Tennessee and later Virginia, showcased recordings from his collection; he also contributed to Variety and the New Yorker, among other publications. Through correspondence and meetings, Walsh fostered relationships with recording artists, collectors, and dealers, as well as his readers and listeners. He was posthumously awarded the first Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.

From the description of Papers from the Jim Walsh collection, 1867-1987, and undated (bulk1913-1985). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 482381319

Biographical Note

Journalist and collector Ulysses "Jim" Walsh (1903-1990) was born in Richmond, Virginia, on July 20, 1903. Best known for his "Favorite Pioneer Recording Artists" column that appeared in Hobbies magazine for over forty years, Walsh was recognized as one of the greatest collectors and authorities on popular acoustical-era recording artists and their recordings.

Walsh took an early interest in records, amassing a sizable collection and encyclopedic knowledge by the time he was a teenager. He began writing for newspapers in the late 1920s and had articles published in specialty magazines about recording artists. In 1934 Walsh moved to Johnson City, Tennessee, to become a reporter for the Johnson City Press, a job he would hold for nine years. Ulysses Walsh acquired the nickname "Jim," which he went by for the rest of his life, while working for the Press . While living in Tennessee in 1939, Walsh began hosting a radio program on local station WJHL. His program Walsh's Wax Works showcased old recordings from his collection and gave him a forum to discuss the lives and accomplishments of the artists whose music he played.

In 1942 Walsh began writing his column on early recording artists for Hobbies magazine. The column, originally called "The Coney Island Crowd," was soon renamed "Favorite Pioneer Recording Artists," the name under which it continued to be published through 1985. The column focused particularly on popular and vernacular recordings made before 1909, including jazz, humor, minstrel, and vaudeville; the focus was later broadened to include those artists who recorded before the dawn of electric recording techniques in 1925. In the following years, Walsh became well known among collectors as the authority on these early popular recordings. Although best known for his Hobbies columns, Walsh reached an even wider audience through his contributions to Variety and The New Yorker, among other publications.

In 1943 Walsh moved to the town of Vinton, Virginia, adjacent to Roanoke, and joined the staff of the Roanoke World News . At the same time, he made connections with radio station WDBJ in Roanoke and resurrected his show Walsh’s Wax Works . After a short run, he moved the show to radio station WSLS, where it was broadcast through 1960.

Walsh continued to collect recordings, playback equipment, and reference resources such as record catalogs, magazines, and advertisements. For many of his favorite artists, such as Billy Murray, Al Jolson, Harry Lauder, and Vernon Dalhart, he collected nearly every recording they had ever made. Walsh became a great correspondent, fostering relationships with recording artists, collectors, dealers, and his readers and listeners. In later years, he traveled to gatherings of early recording artists and collectors, meeting many of the artists he had idolized as a child.

Walsh was a lifetime bachelor and had a deep devotion to his many cats. He gave updates on his "family of cats" in much of his correspondence and occasionally in his columns; he even arranged to have poems published under the name of his favorite cat: Professor Plum Duff Walsh, Ph.D.

During the late 1970s and 1980s Walsh’s health declined, and he complained of memory loss. In May 1985 his last column was published in Hobbies . He died in 1990 after several years of residence in nursing homes. Walsh was posthumously awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) in 1991.

From the guide to the Papers from the Jim Walsh Collection, 1867-1987, and undated, 1913-1985, (Recorded Sound Reference Center, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Library of Congress)