And So We Continue……

I am back to updating the blog – at least for a while.   This time around I will probably focus pretty heavily on recordings that I either enjoy or find interesting and which are not a fit for inclusion in Radio Dismuke.   But, never fear – I will definitely include some the material that I am working on for Radio Dismuke as well.

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“The King of Rags” – 1907

Victor 16821B

“The King of Rags”
Arthur Pryor’s Band
1907 (Victor 16821-B)
The King Of Rags

 

This nice ragtime piece, subtitled as “A Two Step Oddity” was composed by Sherman Swisher.  As far as I can determine this was the only musical work that Swisher ever published.

This selection was recorded on September 12, 1907 but the record was not issued until November 1911.  It remained available in the Victor catalog through January 1927.  My particular copy was pressed sometime between 1914 and 1916.

There was a completely different song named “King of Rags” that was composed by Bob Haney and published in 1900.  I have not been able to find any indication that the earlier song was ever recorded.

Posted in 1900s, 1900s Popular Music, 1910s, 1910s Popular Music, Acoustic Recordings, American Recordings, Ragtime, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Anson Weeks & His Hotel Mark Hopkins Orchestra – 1929

Columbia1742 D

 

“Ploddin’ Along”
Anson Weeks & His Hotel Mark Hopkins Orchestra; Warren Luce, vocal
1929 (Columbia 1742 D mx 147835)
Ploddin’ Along

“Senorita”
Anson Weeks & His Hotel Mark Hopkins Orchestra; Warren Luce, vocal
1929 (Columbia 1742 D mx 147834)
Senorita

 

Here’s a record that I have recently digitized and will soon be added to the Radio Dismuke playlist.

Anson Weeks was a popular West Coast bandleader who, for many years, performed and broadcast out of San Francisco’s Hotel Mark Hopkins.   This record is a good example of the diversity of the era’s popular music: “Ploddin’ Along” is up-tempo and full of “Roaring ’20s” exuberance while “Senorita” is a haunting tango.

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

Marino Marini – 1958

Durium DC 16632

 

“Volare (Nei Blue Dipinto Di Blue)”
Marino Marini And His Quartet
1958 (Durium DC16632 mx ID5837)
Volare (Nei Blue Dipinto Di Blue)

“Come Prime”
Marino Marini And His Quartet
1958 (Durium DC 16632 mx 5965)
Come Prima

 

This is the newest record I have featured on this blog.  It was recorded in Italy in 1958 with this particular pressing being issued in the UK market in 1959.  By then most records were being issued on either 45 rpm singles or 33 rpm LPs for albums.  But there were still some households that had older record players capable of only playing 78 rpms. Thus the 78 rpm record wasn’t completely phased out in the Western countries until around 1960.

Marino Marini  is an artist I became familiar with though some 45 rpm records that I have been digitizing for a family member who traveled through Europe in the late ’50s and early ’60s and bought records along the way.

One of the recordings was Marini’s “La Panse” which I found particularly impressive (someone has uploaded it to YouTube at this link – though  I probably ought to warn that some of the images on the video associated with it are mildly NSFW).   A few days after I digitized the 45 rpm of “La Panse'” I stumbled across this Marino Marini 78 rpm in my own collection.  I remembered buying the record not for any musical content that might be on it but rather because it was the first time I had come across a post-war Durium record – a label that was a surviving descendant of the Depression era Hit of the Week records.

Hit of the Week was an inexpensive single sided paperboard record sold at newsstands during the worst years of the Great Depression.  The company that manufactured them was Durium Products – named after the patented resin that was applied to the paperboard and which made such records possible.  The records were initially successful and subsidiaries were formed in Great Britain and in Europe where they were marketed under the Durium name .   The American label ceased production in 1932 but the British and European branches fared better with Italian Durium surviving until 1989.  Between 1957 and 1968 the Italian company issued records for the UK market under the Durium name – which is what the record here is.  All such UK Duriums from the tail end of the 78 rpm era were distributed by Decca.

Marini was one of many artists to record “Volare.”  You can read more about the song and its history at this link.  Of the two recordings featured here, I enjoy “Come Prime” the best.

 

Posted in Electrical Recordings, Other Foreign Recordings, Postwar Recordings | Leave a comment

Frieda Hempel & Hermann Jadlowker – 1911

OdeonLX99904

 

Traviata “So hold so reizend”
Frieda Hempel and Herm. Jadlowker
1911 (Odeon LX 99904 mx XB5182)
Traviata 1 Akt So hold so reizend

Traviata “Jetz, mein Alfred, gehn wir”
Frieda Hempel and Herm. Jadlowker
1911 (Odeon LX 99903 mx XB5181)
Traviata IV Akt Jetz mein Alfred gehn wir

 

Here are two selections from Giuseppe Verdi’s famous 1853 opera La Traviata.   Each recording comes from a separate single-sided German Odeon disc.  The catalog numbers on the two records are in consecutive order and were apparently part of a series.  Unfortunately,  I do not have information as to how many records were part of the series beyond the two here.   The discs are slightly larger than standard American and British records of the era – 10.63 inches verses 10 inches.  The blank backs feature a large and very attractive embossment of the Odeon logo.

Frieda Hempel and  Hermann Jadlowker were both internationally famous operatic stars during the early decades of the 20th century.

Posted in 1910s, Acoustic Recordings, German Recordings, Opera | Leave a comment

4th Of July Music – A Vintage Independence Day Concert

Columbia A-3317

 

 

“American Patrol”
George Hamilton Green (Xylophone solo with orchestral accompaniment)
1919  (Columbia A 3317 mx 78862)
American Patrol

“National Emblem March”
United States Marine Band (Lieut. Wm. H. Santelmann, Director)
1914 (Victor 17577 A)
National Emblem March

“Bombasto March”
Arthur Pryor’s Band
1909 (Victor 16316-A)
Bombasto March

“Sousa Medley March”
Pietro Deiro (Accordion solo)
1916 (Victor 17921 A)
Sousa Medley March

“Blaze Away March”
Pietro Deiro (Accordion solo)
1916 (Victor 17921 B)
Blaze Away March

 

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays – and one of the things I think makes celebrating it so fun is the festive marches that are part of traditional 4th of July concerts and fireworks exhibitions.  It is one of the few occasions when late 19th and early 20th century music is remembered and still part of popular American culture.

In that spirit, here is a collection of such music recorded between 1909 and 1919.  If you enjoy the selections here, be sure to also check out the posting I put up last July 4th featuring marches composed by John Philp Sousa as performed by Sousa’s own band.  Last year’s posting is just as timely today as it was one year ago  – which is one of the nice things about this kind of music.  All of the songs here were written over 110 years ago  – yet they are timeless.  Also, if you enjoy these selections, check out the other posting I put up today of recordings from the flip sides of some of the records featured here that are also worth a listen but do not particularly fit this posting’s Independence Day theme.

Many will be more familiar with our first selection “American Patrol” through the top selling 1942 swing version recorded by Glenn Miller’s orchestra.  But the song, composed by Frank White Meacham, dates back to 1885.  Here it is performed by ragtime era xylophonist George Hamilton Green with a military band accompaniment.

“National Emblem March” was composed in 1902 by Edwin Eugene Bagley, though it was not published until 1906.  Here it is performed by the United States Marine Band under the direction of German born conductor William H Santelmann who led the band from 1898 to 1927.   A few decades later, his son William F Santelmann led the band from 1940 to 1955.  Established in 1798, The United States Marine Band’s recording history dates back to the the early 1890s when it began making cylinder records for Columbia – it was the first well-known musical ensemble to make commercial recordings.  Today, the band is the oldest continually active professional musical organization in America.

“Bombasto March” was composed in 1895 by Indiana born composer Orion R. Farrar.  It is performed here by Arthur Pryor’s band.  Pryor had a long association with John Philip Sousa and, for a time, was a soloist and assistant conductor for Sousa’s own band.   Because Sousa had an intense dislike for the phonograph and recorded music, a large number of the recording sessions by the John Philip Sousa band were, in fact, led by Arthur Pryor.

Speaking of John Philip Sousa,  our next selection is a medley of Sousa marches performed by accordionist Pietro Deiro who, along with his brother Guido Deiro, became famous through vaudeville and helped popularize the piano accordion.   Pietro Deiro made recordings for Victor while brother Guido recorded for Columbia.   On this recording Pietro performs a medley of “Washington Post March” “El Capitan” and “Stars And Stripes Forever.”

On the flip side, Deiro performs “Blaze Away March” which was published in 1902 and composed by Abe Holzmann who was best known as a composer of ragtime.

Have a festive and fun 4th of July!

Posted in 1900s, 1910s, Acoustic Recordings, American Recordings, Military Band | 2 Comments

Three Flip Sides 1909 – 1919

Columbia A3317
“Intermezzo Russe”
George Hamilton Green (Xylophone solo with orchestral accompaniment)
1919 (Columbia A 3317 mx 78861)
Intermezzo Russe

“German Fidelity March”
United States Marine Band (Lieut. Wm. H. Santelmann, Director)
1914 (Victor 17577 B)
German Fidelity March

“Guard Mount”
Arthur Pryor’s Band
1909 (Victor 16316 B)
Guard Mount

 

This update features recordings from the flip side of records used for the Independence Day posting I put up today.   These recordings are not a fit for an Independence Day themed posting – but, since I think they are nice recordings nevertheless, I decided to include them in a separate posting.

Despite the fact that “Intermezzo Russe” seems to have been fairly well-known in Europe and America around the turn of the last century, I have not been able to find out much about it or its French composer Theodore Franke.  I found a reference online to sheet music from 1896, so it dates back at least that far and possibly earlier.

“German Fidelity March” was written by German composer Hermann Ludwig Blackenburg.   Online sources suggest the song was first published in 1910.

“Guard Mount” dates back to 1888 and was composed by Richard Eilenberg who was famous for compositions such as “Sleigh Ride In St. Petersburg” and “Mill In The Black Forest” – both of which I recommend and will try to dig out and feature in a future update.

 

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The Radiolites – 1926

Columbia 793-D

 

“Sunday”
The Radiolites; Charles Kaley, vocal
1926 (Columbia 793 D mx 142872)
Sunday

“If I’d Only Believed In You”
The Radiolites; Charles Kaley, vocal
1926 (Columbia 793 D mx 142873)
If I Only Believed In You

 

Here is a fun record I obtained a few years ago as part of a large acquisition.  For whatever reason, I set it aside and did not listen to it until recently.  Let’s just say that it was a very pleasant discovery.

A number of different artists made recordings of “Sunday” – but this spiffy version is by far my favorite rendition.

“The Radiolites” was a recording pseudonym for the in-house Columbia band led by Ben Selvin.  Vocalist Charles Kaley performed on records and in vaudeville where he was billed as “The Singing Bandleader.”  Later he went to Hollywood where he starred in the 1930 musical film Lord Byron of Broadway.

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

“It’s A Long Way To Berlin” – 1917

Pathe 20266

 

“It’s A Long Way To Berlin”
Fred Fairbanks, vocal
1917  (Pathe 20266)
It’s A Long Way To Berlin

 

This weekend was the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which sparked the start of World War I – aftershocks of which continue to be felt even into our own time.

Here is a song that was popular in the United States soon after it had joined the war a few years later.   It was composed by Leon Flatow, a pianist who also wrote theme songs for silent films, with lyrics by vocalist Arthur Fields.

This recording is from a vertically cut Pathe record.  Such records had a different type of groove than the standard disc records of the day and require specialized playback equipment.  I have written about the difference between Pathe records and more conventional records in my August 2, 2011 posting.   You can hear more selections from Pathe discs in that posting as well as in my June 26, 2013 posting.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate any information at all as to who Fred Fairbanks might have been – nor have I found any sort of indication that he made any other recordings besides this one.

 

Posted in 1910s, 1910s Popular Music, Acoustic Recordings, American Recordings, Ragtime | 2 Comments

Ozzie Nelson And His Orchestra – 1937

Bluebird B 7037 A

 

“Strangers In The Dark”
Ozzie Nelson And His Orchestra; Shirley Lloyd, vocal
1937 (Bluebird B 7037 A)
Strangers In The Dark

“Happy Birthday To Love”
Ozzie Nelson And His Orchestra; Ozzie Nelson, vocal
1937 (Bluebird B 7037 B)
Happy Birthday To Love

 

While Ozzie Nelson is best remembered for his long-running radio and television program The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,  during the 1930s and early 1940s  Nelson was the leader of a popular dance band.

Both of the songs on this record are from Aquacade, a music, dance and swimming show produced by Billy Rose and first performed at the 1937 Great Lakes Exposition. Later Aquacade was staged at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

A bit of trivia about vocalist Shirley Lloyd – according to bandleader Charlie Barnett’s autobiography she and Barnett were very briefly married.  Lloyd, Barnett as well as Artie Shaw and Claude Thornhill were at New York’s Onyx Club one evening and all had too much to drink.  Barnett managed to convince Lloyd that they ought to elope so the group went to Armonk, New York where a 4 AM marriage ceremony was performed by a reluctant justice of the peace.  By the time everybody sobered up Barnett and Lloyd both realized that they had made what Barnett later described as “a serious error” and the marriage was quickly annulled without having been consummated.

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