OMMA Catalogue Number

OMMA-0000

Artist

Robert Johnson

Title

“Kind Hearted Woman Blues / Terraplane Blues”

Release Details

Issued in 1937 by Vocalion as a 10-inch, 78 rpm shellac single (03416). Pressed in the United States and issued as a stock commercial release on the black-and-gold Vocalion label. The disc pairs “Kind Hearted Woman Blues” with “Terraplane Blues,” recorded by Robert Johnson in San Antonio, Texas, on November 23, 1936.

Edition & Variant Identification

Original Vocalion 03416 commercial shellac issue, black-and-gold label first-state pressing containing Take One of “Kind Hearted Woman Blues.”

This variant distinction is central to the accession. “Kind Hearted Woman Blues” was recorded in two issued takes. This copy is the Take One state, matrix SA-2580-1, the version with Johnson’s recorded guitar break. The accompanying “Terraplane Blues” side is the commercially issued take catalogued as SA-2586-1. The accession is accompanied by an original Vocalion sleeve.

Matrix & Pressing Data

Side A (stamped runout): SA-2580-1
Side B (stamped runout):: SA-2586-1

Physical Description

10-inch shellac 78 rpm single on Vocalion, catalogue number 03416. Black-and-gold Vocalion label. Original Vocalion sleeve present. The disc is an original, stock commercial issue.

Condition Report

John Tefteller’s signed letter grades the copy E and describes it as showing only slight evidence of handling. The disc is accompanied by an original Vocalion sleeve in VG+ condition.

Labels are bright and crisp, with scintillating, shiny gold printing and very minor evidences of wear around the spindle hole. Surface appears shiny and little played with no evidence of scratching or greying, with little play wear. Playback is clear, with absence of skips or unexpected crackle. No restoration, repair, lamination, crack, or edge-chip issue is documented or apparent. The period-correct sleeve is somewhat worn and soft with

Provenance

Acquired by OMMA directly from John Tefteller on June 26, 202.

The object is accompanied by a signed June 25, 2026 letter from John Tefteller. In that letter, Tefteller identifies the disc as Robert Johnson’s first record, confirms the Take One status of “Kind Hearted Woman Blues,” and describes the copy’s prior history. According to Tefteller, the record was held for decades by a long-time collector in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, who found it in leftover dealer stock in the 1960s. That collector, thought to be Daniel Levine, later sold it to Tefteller, who then placed it with OMMA.

Tefteller is a long-established specialist in prewar blues 78s, and his written object-specific statement supplies both provenance and expert variant attribution.

Market Context & Historical Notes

Vocalion 03416 is Robert Johnson’s debut commercial release and one of the most important surviving origin objects in American recorded music. Johnson’s recording career was extremely brief: public discographies document a small body of 1936–1937 recordings, made in Texas for the American Record Corporation/Vocalion system and issued during the original 78 rpm era. Vocalion 03416 is the first commercial release of that recorded legacy.

The record was made at Johnson’s first recording session, held in San Antonio on November 23, 1936. “Terraplane Blues” became Johnson’s best-selling lifetime title and is commonly described as his only record to sell in meaningful quantity during his life. “Kind Hearted Woman Blues,” recorded the same day, was Johnson’s first recorded song and exists in two issued takes. The Take One state seen here is especially important because it contains Johnson’s only recorded guitar solo, a brief but consequential passage in a catalogue that otherwise featured Johnson’s voice-and-guitar performance without guitar breaks.

This record’s significance, therefore, is three-fold. Beyond being Johnson’s first commercial issue, it is his most successful lifetime release, and holds his only known guitar solo on this Take One recording of “Kind Hearted Woman Blues.” Johnson’s later rediscovery by the rock-and-roll pioneers of the 1960s reshaped blues, folk, rock guitar, and modern ideas of the singer-songwriter.

Surviving original Robert Johnson 78s are few, condition is often compromised by shellac fragility and use, and many examples remain in long-held private collections. For OMMA, the accession is the Archive’s apex holding.

Canonical Status in OMMA

OMMA recognizes Vocalion 03416 Robert Johnson’s debut commercial release and the first physical commercial issue in the recorded career of one of the central figures in twentieth-century music.

Within OMMA, this copy occupies the highest canonical position because it is identified as the first-state Take One pressing of “Kind Hearted Woman Blues,” paired with “Terraplane Blues,” Johnson’s most commercially successful lifetime recording. The Take One state, original Vocalion issue, exceptional condition, original sleeve, and Tefteller provenance together make OMMA-0000 a foundational archive object.

References and Source Documentation

John Tefteller, personal correspondence. Signed provenance and expert-identification letter dated June 25, 2026.

Wikipedia. “Robert Johnson recordings.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson_recordings

Wikipedia. “Kind Hearted Woman Blues.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kind_Hearted_Woman_Blues

Wikipedia. “Terraplane Blues.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraplane_Blues
Used for public summary of the song’s recording date, Vocalion 03416 issue, and reported regional commercial performance.

John Tefteller. “February 23, 2023 Daniel Levine Pre-War Blues 78’s Auction Highlights.”
https://tefteller.com/html/current_auction/Tefteller-February-23-2023-Daniel-Levine-Pre-War-Blues-78s-Auction/Tefteller-February-23-2023-Daniel-Levine-Pre-War-Blues-78s-Auction-highlights.html

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. “Robert Johnson.”
https://rockhall.com/inductees/robert-johnson/

Discogs. “Robert Johnson – Kindhearted Woman Blues / Terraplane Blues.”
https://www.discogs.com/release/4159989-Robert-Johnson-Kind-Hearted-Woman-Blues-Terraplane-Blues