Joe Taub & His Melodians

Posted on August 20, 2011 by dismuke

Eclipse 554

 

“Pettin’ In The Park”
Joe Taub & His Melodians
1933 ( Eclipse 554 mx JW1558)
Joe Taub And His Melodians – Pettin In The Park]

“I’m Suspicious Of You”
Joe Taub & His Melodians
1933 ( Eclipse 554 mx JW1559)
Joe Taub And his Melodians – I’m Suspicious Of You]

Today’s selections come from an old Eclipse record.  Eclipse records were budget priced records produced by the Crystalate Gramophone Record Manufacturing Co. as an in-house store label for the British branch of the F. W. Woolworth dime store chain.   Like other low priced records in Britain at the time, Eclipse records were eight inches in diameter as opposed to the standard ten inch size – though, through the use of slightly narrower grooves and smaller labels, they had comparable playing time.  Eclipse records were issued from 1931 through 1935 when they were discontinued in favor of nine inch Crown records.

Joe Taub & His Melodians was one of several recording pseudonyms used by Harry Leader And His Band on Eclipse.

 

Posted in 1930s, 1930s Popular Music, British Recordings, Electrical Recordings | Leave a comment

Original Dixieland Jazz Band

Posted on August 19, 2011 by dismuke

 

“Dangerous Blues”
Original Dixieland Jazz Band; Al Bernard, vocal
1921 (Victor 18798-A)
Original Dixieland Jazz Band – Dangerous Blues]

“Royal Garden Blues”
Original Dixieland Jazz Band; Al Bernard, vocal
1921 (Victor 1898-B)
Original Dixieland Jazz Band – Royal Garden Blues]

 

Here are two sides by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.  The band was formed in 1916 in New Orleans and made history a year later by being the first band to record jazz.  Al Bernard, the vocalist on both recordings, was a well known vaudeville performer.

 

 

Posted in 1920s, 1920s Popular Music, Acoustic Recordings, American Recordings | Leave a comment

Lucette Korsoff

Posted on August 19, 2011 by dismuke

Victor 52723

 

“Il Bacio”
Mlle. Korsoff of the Opera Comique, Paris
1906 (Victor 52723)
Mlle Korsoff – Il bacio (Arditi)]

Lucette Korsoff was an internationally famous soprano during the first two decades of the 20th century.  “Il Bacio” (“The Kiss”) was composed by the Italian violinist and composer Luigi Arditi.

This selection was recorded in Paris in 1906.   The artwork on the label indicates that my American pressing on Victor was manufactured sometime in either 1912 or 1913.

Posted in 1900s, Acoustic Recordings, Opera, Other Foreign Recordings | Leave a comment

Teddy Brown

Posted on August 18, 2011 by dismuke

Broadcast 473

 

“Through! (How Can You Say We’re Through?)”
Teddy Brown, Xylophone and Saxophone
1929  (Broadcast 473-B)
Teddy Brown – Through!]

“Fairy On The Clock”
Teddy Brown, Xylophone and Saxophone
1929 (Broadcast 473-A)
Teddy Brown – Fairy On The Clock]

I enjoy xylophone recordings so I was very pleased when I recently had the opportunity to acquire this record.

Born in the United States in 1900 as Abraham Himmelbrand, Teddy Brown performed in vaudeville and for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in the early 1920s.  He moved to England in 1926 where he became extremely popular and would remain for the rest of his career.

Brown was billed as “The World’s Greatest Xylophonist” and performed using a custom made six octave xylophone – two octaves more than conventional instruments.   He was also an accomplished drummer and saxophone player.   Brown fronted his own dance band and appeared as a featured soloist on recordings made by other British bands.

For whatever reason – perhaps because of Teddy Brown’s influence – xylophone records (and the use of xylophones in dance bands) were much more widespread and popular in the UK than in the USA.

Posted in 1920s, 1920s Popular Music, British Recordings, Electrical Recordings | Leave a comment

Robert Marino – 1929 French Pathé

Posted on August 18, 2011 by dismuke

Pathe Saphir N 3377

 

“A Ta Fenêtre Fleurie”
Robert Marino, vocal; M. G. Andolfi, piano
circa 1929 (Pathé N 3377 mx 201241)
Robert Marino – A Ta Fenetre Fleurie]

“Mon Coeur Est Tous Près De Son Coeur”
Robert Marino, vocal
circa 1929 (Pathé N 3377 mx 201454)
Robert Marino – Mon Coer Est Tout Pres De Ton Coeur]

 

Here is a French Pathé record.   As noted in a previous posting,  Pathé disc records used vertical “hill and dale” grooves rather than the lateral “zig zag” grooves of conventional 78/80 rpm records.  As a result of the expiration of the patents for lateral recording, by the mid 1920s Pathé had phased out its use of vertical grooves in the USA and UK.   However, because Pathé had a much larger market share in France, there was sufficient demand for vertical records in that country that the company continued to issue them through 1932.

Unfortunately, my inability to read French has made it difficult for me to find much in the way of information about French tenor Robert Marino.   I did locate a discography online (.pdf file) showing that he recorded over 60 sides for Pathé between 1928 and 1930.

I base the circa 1929 recording date on a July 1929 newspaper page (.pdf file) which included radio listings for Paris.  At 6:35 PM on July 9, Radio Paris was to air a program called A Half Hour With Pathé with “A Ta Fenêtre Fleurie” being one of the records scheduled to be played.   Presumably the records selected for play on a Pathé program would have been ones that were available for listeners to purchase.

I think both sides of this record are very pleasant to listen to.   If anyone has information about Robert Marino or a more precise recording date, please feel free to share it in the comments.

Posted in 1920s, 1920s Popular Music, Electrical Recordings, Other Foreign Recordings | 3 Comments

Henry “Red” Allen

Posted on August 17, 2011 by dismuke

 

“I Found A Dream”
Henry Allen And His Orchestra; Henry Allen, vocal
1935 (Vocalion 3097 mx 18253)
Henry Allen And His Orchestra – I Found A Dream]

“Red Sails In The Sunset”
Henry Allen And His Orchestra; Henry Allen, vocal
1935 (Vocalion 3097 mx 18225)
Henry Allen And His Orchestra – Red Sails In The Sunset]

Here’s a record by Henry “Red” Allen.   My copy is a bit frustrating because while it visually looks to be in very decent condition and it has very little in the way of normal type surface noise, there is an annoying “whoosh” sound that can be heard throughout both sides of the record.   It is beyond the ability of my audio restoration equipment to completely remove the “whoosh” noise – but I was able to quiet it down somewhat.

Posted in 1930s, 1930s Popular Music, American Recordings, Electrical Recordings | Leave a comment

Johanne Stockmarr

Posted on August 17, 2011 by dismuke

HMV DB-5261

 

“Vals 1 Gis Mol Op 24 No 2” (Chopin)
Johanne Stockmarr
1942  (HMV DB 2561 mx 2CS 2034)
Johanne Stockmarr – Vals 1 Gis Mol Op 24 No 2]

“Nocturne 1 Es Dur Op 9 No 2” (Chopin)
Johanne Stockmarr
1942 (HMV DB5261 mx 2CS 2035)
Johanne Stockmarr – Nocturne 1 Es Dur Op 9 No 2]

 

Here is one of the very few Danish 78 rpms that I have in my collection.  Johanne Stockmarr was a female Danish pianist who was well known throughout Scandinavia.  Unfortunately,  I have no way of dating this record.  Stockmarr made records between 1926 and 1942 – so it is from some point during that period.   My guess is this is from sometime in the 1930s.    Note the radio broadcasting warning at the top of the label which translates to: “right to broadcast reserved.”

Edit:  Changed date from “circa 1930s” to 1942.  Thank you to Nigel Broder  for providing this information in the comments.   Also, if you collect classical 78 rpms, it will definitely be worth your while to check out the link he provides in the comments.

 

Posted in 1930s, Classical, Electrical Recordings, Other Foreign Recordings | 8 Comments

Zez Confrey And His Orchestra

Posted on August 16, 2011 by dismuke

Victor 21845

 

“Jack In The Box”
Zez Confrey And His Orchestra
1929 (Victor 21845 B)Zez Confrey And His Orchestra – Jack In The Box]

“Jumping Jack”
Zez Confrey And His Orchestra
1928 (Victor 21845 A)
Zez Confrey And His Orchestra – Jumping Jack]

 

Here is a record that I am very fond of.  I picked it up two years ago at the Vintage Music Company in Minneapolis which I stopped at while on a road trip through Minnesota.  If you collect records and find yourself anywhere near that part of the country, it would definitely be worth your while to check them out.  It is the only brick and mortar record store I have ever visited that deals only in 78 rpm records.  They also sell and restore vintage record players from the windup era through the multi speed vacuum tube machines of the late 78 rpm and early LP era.   And, unlike most record stores, their entire inventory is alphabetized so it is  quick and easy to see whether they have what  you are searching for.    So even if you don’t find yourself in that part of the world,  if there is a particular record you have been unable to find elsewhere, you might want to send them an email to see if they have a copy available for sale.

Both of these selections fall into the genre of novelty ragtime – of which Zez Confrey was a pioneering composer.   Novelty rags were briefly popular in the United States during the 1920s and enjoyed greater popularity in Germany during the early 1930s (for an example, see my July 31 posting on Jack Bund And His Bravour Dance Orchestra).

While both of these recordings were issued under Confrey’s name,  he did not participate in the recording session and the musicians were members of Nat Shilkret’s in-house Victor studio band.  Apparently Confrey’s only contribution to the session was as composer of “Jack In The Box.”

“Jumping Jack” was recorded by Shilkret’s band with Leonard Joy directing on December 17, 1928.   A take of “Jack In The Box” from that recording session was rejected and not issued.   Shilkret was back in front of the band on January 3, 1929 when this issued take of “Jack In The Box” was recorded.

 

Posted in 1920s, 1920s Popular Music, American Recordings, Electrical Recordings, Ragtime | 2 Comments

An Evening With Paul Lincke

Posted on August 16, 2011 by dismuke

HMV EH910

 

“Ein Abend Bei Paul Lincke Part 1”
Anni Frind, Fred Drissen Und Parodisters Mit Orchester
1935 (HMV EH 910 mx 2RA 349)
Anni Frind Fred Drissen – Ein Abend Bei Paul Lincke]

“Ein Abend Bei Paul Lincke Part 2”
Anni Frind, Fred Drissen Und Parodisters Mit Orchester
1935 (HMV EH 910 mx 2RA 350)
Anni Frind Fred Drissen – Ein Abend Bei Paul Lincke Part 2]

Yesterday I featured a 1909 recording by Sousa’s band of a song composed by German composer Paul Lincke.   Here is a potpourri recording with some of Lincke’s more famous compositions, including selections from his operetta Frau Luna as well as “The Glow Worm.”

Anni Frind was a highly successful German opera and operetta star in the 1920s and 1930s.  Staunchly opposed to Adolf Hitler, she retired from the stage at the start of World War II and spent the war singing for Allied soliders and working as a volunteer nurse.  She moved to the United States in the early 1950s and worked as a singing instructor at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Fred Drissen was a German concert singer.  While he did not appear in operatic productions, he did perform opera in the recording studio and on radio.

Note the white sticker “Made In England For Radio Corporation of America” in the label image.    My copy is an imported British pressing on the HMV label with all label information in German.   The original release was on HMV’s German subsidiary label Electrola with both the German Electrola and the British HMV pressings featuring identical catalog numbers.

I am guessing that demand for this recording was  strong enough in the UK to warrant a British pressing – but perhaps not strong enough to justify label credits in English.   There was undoubtedly too little demand in the United States to justify a separate US pressing – but those interested were obviously able to obtain an imported copy through RCA Victor which had close corporate ties with HMV.

Posted in 1930s, Electrical Recordings, German Recordings, Operetta | Leave a comment

Park Lane Orchestra

Posted on August 15, 2011 by dismuke

“Do You Love Me”
Park Lane Orchestra; Al Lynch, vocal
1927 ( Brunswick 3578 B)
Park Lane Orchestra – Do You Love Me]

“Sweet Someone”
Park Lane Orchestra; Al Lynch, vocal
1927 ( Brunswick 3578 A)
Park Lane Orchestra – Sweet Someone]

Here are a couple of nice, peppy sides issued under the name of The Park Lane Orchestra which was a Brunswick recording pseudonym for the Harry Reser band.

Posted in 1920s, 1920s Popular Music, American Recordings, Electrical Recordings, Uncategorized | Leave a comment