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From 1955 to 1959, His Master's Voice (the British arm of RCA Victor) recorded and issued 67 outstanding double-sided records of Ethiopian field music through their scarcely-found JOE series, in honor of Emperor Haile Selassie’s 25th year of reign (known as his "Silver Jubilee".) Many of these fascinating 10" 78 rpm recordings illustrate key elements of "kabacad" (translated to English as "white shoes"), a long-vanished cultural display of up-tempo music, brightly-colored visual art and vibrant high fashion which existed in Ethiopian urban centers during the 1940s and 1950s - just after Italy's second failed colonialization attempt of the country. Kabacad music (called "dunya diwani", translated to English as "the world is my poetry book") was performed by filling instrumental breaks with rhythmic handclapping (called "kasrad") and was frequently listened to in kat chewing parlors. In this collection, "La Habt Siffiya Yeteba-Reketoh-Nat" by Marian Abdulla, "Wullatchin And-Nen" by Godudo Mohamed, "Ama Ama"/"Dahier" by Ahmed Awad, "Ye Feker Selamta" by Tesfai Gabre, "Etou Min Edano" by Assafa Abatta and "Addis Ababa Biya Janoi" by Ahmed Aoud are all recordings of dunya diwani. The remaining songs are Amharic folk and sacred songs bearing a startling resemblance to the music of Egypt, Greece, and even parts of Southwest Asia due to Ethiopia's close proximity to and well-established trade routes within those regions. Regrettably, the majority of the JOE series records have not survived to the present day. In addition, of those that have survived, they are often in poor condition, and there is not even an official JOE series discography known to exist. However, the Kelly Database (in partnership with the EMI Archive Trust) has recently created an "unofficial" online discography of all the known JOE series recordings. To access this, go to kellydatabase.org and enter keyword "Ethiopia" in the Basic Search - Location field. However, please be advised that none of the listed recordings there are available for online listening. This collection is the first attempt to bring these remarkable recordings together in one place for the first time in over half a century, showcasing almost entirely-forgotten musical stylings which pre-date the Western world's folk-rock era by over 20 years. Special thanks is given to Jonathan Ward of Excavated Shellac (excavatedshellac.com) and the album "Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM" for researching these records. In addition, sincere accolades are extended to Robert Crumb and Reto Müller for providing digital transfers of "Wullatchin And-Nen", "Zaraffe", "Masanga", "Assfawossen Liull", "Taffari Macconenta Below Se Tarra", "Dahier", "Esti Ghemede Setugn", "Teuledesh Ethiopia", "Batie", "Fre Hiot", "Oudinesh - Oudinesh" and "Ere Ye Agerie Lidj".