8 to the Bar credited to (Johnson - Ammons) 8 to the Bar 8 to the Bar is a studio album released by Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons in 1941 on Victor 78rpm set P-69, record numbers 27504 through 27507. It was recorded in two sessions, May 7 and June 17, 1941. It was reissued by RCA Victor in 1952 as a 10-inch LP record as LPT-9. In the United Kingdom, this LP was released by the Gramophone Company as HMV DLP 1011. It was also released as a set of four 45rpm discs, WPT-14. The album peaked at number 2, in 1945, on
Nanook of the North plays music on a gramophone and tries to explain how a man 'cans' his voice. Bending forward and staring at the machine, Nanook puts his ear closer as the trader cranks the mechanism again. The trader removes the record and hands it to Nanook who at first peers at it and then puts it in his mouth and bites it. The scene is meant to be a comical one as the audience laughs at the naivete of Nanook and people isolated from Western culture. In truth, the scene was entirely scripted and Allakariallak knew what a gramophone was. It has