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The David J. Custis American Music Library is one of the finest private collections of American popular music of the 20th Century ever assembled, is now available for inspection by interested parties. This one-of-a-kind music library is cross-referenced on over 140,000 3” x 5” file cards. He has 189 feet of 3 by 5 index cards with data on the music in his library. His cataloging include items from the old radio and television show known as "Your Hit Parade" which began on NBC on a Saturday night April 20, 1935 and ran for nearly a quarter of a century until June 7, 1958. In that time there were 1,486 songs that achieved Hit Parade status and his library contains every single one of those songs with the vast majority in near mint condition. The indexed files contain the composers names, publishrs, who had the hit recording, if the song came fromn a motion picture or from a Broadway show, in most cases lists the entire cast. Additionally there is information on when the song first appeared on the show and week-by-week its position on the Hit Parade survey, The files also contain a listing of almost anyone or everyone who ever recorded that song even many years later. Every entry is extensively cross referenced by song title, musician, singer, band leader, release date and composer. The library was created over a half-century by one of America’s most dedicated and organized collectors: David J. Custis, a direct descendent of Martha Custis Washington, wife of our first President. David started collecting records in 1942 and spent time in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during WWII. His experience there gave him a unique appreciation for music’s contribution to life and to memories, as well as an understanding of radio’s unique role in the delivery of news, information and music.
This incredibly complete and meticulously organized collection belongs in the hands of an avid collector, music company, music school or university library. There are photos attached of David and his collection enclosed for your review. We are seeking an intern who would like to scan the file cards with an OCR scanner so the collection can be digitally referenced. David is available to answer any questions and is still collecting at age 83. As soon as it is complete, a digital file of all records in the collection will be made available to interested parties. For more information, contact us at: David Custis
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The David J. Custis American Music Library goes all the way back to the early 1900’s and contains the original recordings of popular songs, music and tunes, from Dixieland to Big Bands to popular vocalists and Rock ‘N Roll bands. In addition, there is an extensive collection of classical music and opera recordings along with Country & Western, Blue Grass, Jazz, Broadway Shows and Motion Picture Sound Tracks. There are also speeches by historical figures, military and sports heroes during the period.
Over the past 66 years, David has assembled, organized, maintained and cross-referenced the entire collection, which consists of over 55,000 records in original sleeves or album covers. 
The vast majority of these records are in mint condition (97%) while the balance are in “fine” condition, with no scratches, no finger marks, no dust, no pops, no clicks and no back cues.
The library is professionally organized by manufacturer’s label and record number, and cross-referenced in the library’s files by song, singers/bands and artists that recorded that song or tune in all of its various iterations. Each file card also contains the dates that record appeared on Your Hit Parade and Billboard’s surveys of popular music. All of the 3” x 5” file cards are hand-typed on an old Royal office typewriter and need to be scanned with OCR software to be digitized and made computer-accessible.