Information/Write-up
The Most Valuable Canadian 45rpm of All Time
This is it: the most valuable 45rpm record ever released in Canada, a recording where the dawn of Canadian rock (“Aurora”) meets its earliest ruler (“The Sultan”). Pressed in late 1963 on Winnipeg’s obscure V Records label, The Sultan b/w Aurora was the debut, and only, single by Neil Young’s first band, The Squires. At just 17 years old, Young recorded these two Shadows-inspired instrumentals in a two-track session at CKRC Radio on July 23, 1963.
"It was my first recording session and I was just glad to be there for the experience, but I was still searching for the right sound."
– Neil Young
Locally pressed in a run of fewer than 300 copies, the record was sold only at Winnipeg shows and never commercially distributed. V Records was best known for polka and Ukrainian folk music—making this lone rock release all the more anomalous. Over time, the single vanished into legend, its value rising in step with Neil Young’s towering legacy.
Produced by Harry Taylor and engineered by Bob Bradburn, the single captures two sides of a restless young guitarist. The Sultan is a bold, cinematic twanger punctuated by a crashing gong, while Aurora—named for the Roman goddess of dawn—offers a gentler, melodic contrast. Together, they reveal a rare and candid window into Neil’s earliest creative spark.
"I started off writing instrumentals. Words came much later. My idol at the time was Hank B. Marvin… he was the hero of all the guitar players around Winnipeg."
– Neil Young
Though the Squires later recorded more material, including “I Wonder,” an early version of Don’t Cry No Tears, those sessions remained unreleased until Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 (2009). By then, the master tapes for The Sultan and Aurora were long lost, and the box set relied on vinyl-sourced transfers cleaned up for archival release.
Early collector sales in the 2000s saw VG copies reach $4,000 CAD. In the years since, values have climbed to $6,500 USD, cementing The Sultan as the most valuable 45rpm in Canadian history. In a twist worthy of collector folklore, a Chicago vinyl digger once stumbled upon three near-mint copies at a resale shop, buried among a stack of polka 45s from the same label. How they ended up there remains a mystery, only adding to the mythos surrounding this elusive and iconic Canadian recording.
More than just Neil Young’s first single, The Sultan b/w Aurora is a symbolic cornerstone of Canadian music history: the ruler and the rising light. A humble 45 that now reigns as Canada’s ultimate vinyl artifact.
-Robert Williston
Neil Young: lead guitar
Allan Bates: rhythm guitar
Ken Koblun: bass
Ken Smyth: drums, gong
Produced by Harry Taylor
Engineered by Bob Bradburn
Recorded at CKRC Studios, Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 23, 1963
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