February 3, 2026

20,000 vinyl LPs 407: Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd

 ~  
Del Serino & William Sanford  ~ Pretty "Boy" Floyd 
vinyl LP front cover 
 cover photo by 
photo of album cover by Styrous®


Today is the birthday of Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Born on February 3, 1904, in Adairsville, Georgia, he was one of the most notorious bank robbers in history and one of the nation's most celebrated criminals.         
 
It was during the Dust Bowl at the height of the Great Depression, one of the worst periods in the history of America. People could not find work, were starving and losing their homes to Corporate Banks; vicarious liability had not been established until decades later. Although Floyd was considered an outlaw by the US government, he was a folk hero to many because while robbing a bank he would burn the mortgages own by the bank and often leave money for those in dire need.  
 
He was immortalized in a song by Woody Guthrie, which was covered in a faster version by The Byrds, and by the fictional Joad family in the John Steinbeck 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath for which Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize and is considered his masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.         
 
 
Del Serino & William Sanford  ~ Pretty "Boy" Floyd 
vinyl LP back cover 
 cover photo by 
photo of album cover by Styrous®
 
 
Floyd's body was placed on public display in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. His funeral was attended by between 20,000 and 40,000 people and remains the largest funeral in Oklahoma history. He was buried in Akins, Oklahoma.          
     
 


   



 
 
 The Audio Fidelity label was a record company based in New York City, most active during the 1950s and 1960s. They are best known for having produced the first mass-produced American stereophonic long-playing record in November 1957 (although this was not available to the general public until March of the following year). The label was renown for the quality of its pressings.                     
 
 
 
 
 
Each recording was encased in a thick plastic casing to avoid scratches.       
   

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

   
Tracklist:
       
Side 1:
        
A1 - Pretty Boy Floyd Theme - 1:58
A2 - Speakeasy - 7:28
A3 - Kansas City Caper - 2:17
A4 - Between Two Loves - 2:54
A5 - Pretty Boy Blues - 2:19
       
Side 2:
       
B1 - Pyromania - 1:52
B2 - Easy Beat - 4:26
B3 - He Moves Me - 2:42
B4 - Requiem - 1:52
B5 - Affair At The Local Bank - 2:31
B6 - Dust - 1:40
        
Companies, etc.
       
    Copyright © – Audio Fidelity, Inc.
    Published By – Vernon Music Corp.
    Lacquer Cut At – Olmsted Sound Studios
    Pressed By – Abbey Record Manufacturing Co., Inc.
        
Credits:
       
    Composed By, Arranged By – William Sanford*, Del Serino
    Conductor – William Sanford*
    Producer, A&R – Sidney Frey
    Vocals – David Boots* (tracks: A5)
        
Notes:
       
Abbey Record Manufacturing Co., Inc. pressing denoted by "ABM" in runouts, this release list credits without spaces on bottom of labels.
       
Barcode and Other Identifiers
        
    Rights Society: ASCAP
    Matrix / Runout (Side A etched): AFSD # 5936A OSS Stereo # 021560 3 ABM
    Matrix / Runout (Side B etched): AFSD # 5936-B-R 4-7-60 ABM (OSS-3-2-60) A
 
Del Serino And William Sanford* – Pretty Boy Floyd
Label: Audio Fidelity – AFLP 1936
Format: Vinyl, LP, Mono, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1960
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack

         
Viewfinder links:        
         
The Byrds            
Bob Dylan     
 
      
 Del Serino        
        
Net links:        
 Oklahoma History & Culture ~ Floyd, Charles Arthur (1904–1934)          
Tattoo Archive ~ "Pretty Boy" Floyd        
        
YouTube links:        
        
Arizona's Dust Bowl: Lessons Lost (documentary) (56 mins., 45 secs.)     
The Byrds ~ "Pretty Boy" Floyd             
Dust Bowl documentary (22mins., 21 secs.)       
Bob Dylan ~ "Pretty Boy" Floyd       
Woody Guthrie ~ "Pretty Boy" Floyd                       
         
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Tuesday, February 3, 2026