January 2003
January 30, 2003
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Hotel McAlpin, New York
Largest hotel throughout the world.
25 stories, 1620 rooms.
Cost $13,500,000
(from 1914 postcard)
My
Little Nest (Of Heavenly Blue)
Ernie Golden
and His Hotel McAlpin Orchestra
1926
(Brunswick 3220-A)
This pretty tune comes from the
1922 Franz Lehár operetta Frasquita. Lehár
was the undisputed king of the so-called "Silver Age" of Vieneese Operetta
which lasted from around 1905 through the 1930s. The song is more
commonly known by the name "Frasquita Serenade" and a number of jazz and
swing renditions have been recorded over the years. An mp3 file of
a recent but enjoyable example can be found here.
I have not been able to locate much
in the way of biographical information on Ernie Golden - but he and his
Hotel McAlpin Orchestra made a number of records for Brunswick during the
1920s. New York's Hotel McAplin was the largest hotel in the world
when it opened in 1912. The building, now known as the Harald
Towers, still stands with its original exterior intact. Its interior,
however, has been converted into apartments.
January 23, 2003
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Baltimore Mail Line
Weekly Sailings To And From Europe
(from 1938 ad)
Forget
If You Can
Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra
Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard,
vocal 1938
(Bluebird B-7825-B)
Most people today associate Ozzie
Nelson and his wife Harriet Hilliard with their popular 1950s sitcom The
Adventures of Ozzie And Harriet. During the 1930s, however,
Ozzie fronted a popular dance band with Harriet serving as the band's vocalist.
Both can be heard on this week's selection. More information
about the life and career of Ozzie Nelson can be found here.
January 16, 2003
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Kellogg's PEP Bran Flakes
(from 1930 ad)
My
Future Just Passed
The High Hatters
Frank Luther, vocal
1930
(Victor 22444-B)
I featured a recording of this song
by Annette Hanshaw two weeks ago - but I thought it would be interesting
to present a somewhat different version. The song was performed by
Buddy Rogers and Kathryn Crawford in the 1930 Paramount musical picture
Safety In Numbers. The High Hatters were a Victor records in house
studio band conducted by Leonard Joy.
January 9, 2003
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
The Westbrook Hotel
Fort Worth, Texas
(from circa 1910s post card)
Click here
to read about how Fort Worth's Westbrook Hotel was sadly the last home
of Irene and Vernon Castle, the world famous dancing team who invented
the Fox Trot and started the popular dance craze of the 1910s and 1920s. |
Maori
Victor Military Band
1913
(Victor 35304-B)
This pretty ragtime tune was composed
in 1908 by William H. Tyers. The song experienced a brief revival
in 1930 when Duke Ellington recorded a jazzed up version on Brunswick.
I don't think the Victor Military Band version does the song much justice
- but it is the only early recording of the song that I have so far been
able to locate. My favorite version of "Maori" was recorded by the
Green Brothers' Marimba Orchestra a few months after Ellington's.
January 2, 2003
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
(from 1930 ad)
My
Future Just Passed
Annette Hanshaw
1930
(Velvet Tone 2178-V mx 150588)
Annette Hanshaw is one of my favorite
vocalists and is the artist that I get the most comments about in email
from site visitors. While she has been all but forgotten by the general
public, thanks to several CD reissues in recent years, her work is
gaining a new and enthusiastic audience.
Despite the fact that Hanshaw's
records sold well, Columbia Records relegated her efforts to its
subsidiary bargain labels so as not to anger the notorious gangster "Moe
the Gimp" Snyder who was married to and managed the career of rival
vocalist Ruth Etting. Etting was billed as "The Sweetheart
of Columbia Records" and Snyder apparently felt that there was only room
for one "sweetheart" at Columbia. Many of Hanshaw's recordings during
her years at the Columbia subsidiary labels were issued under the pseudonyms
of "Gay Ellis" "Dot Dare" and "Patsy Young."
During the early 1930s, Hanshaw
was prominently featured on several network radio programs and received
offers to go to Hollywood. Despite her fame and popularity,
Hanshaw did not enjoy the pressures of show business and permanently retired
in the mid - 1930s to become a housewife.
Happily, a Canadian CD label, Sensation
Records, is currently in the process of reissuing all of Hanshaw's known
recordings. To date, three CDs in the series have been issued and
they can be purchased through the World's
Records website - simply enter "Annette Hanshaw" in the search box.
My recommendation is to start with Volume Six which I think contains some
of her best recordings.
For more information about Annette
Hanshaw and to view a number of interesting photographs of her, visit AnnetteHanshaw.com
You can also view a video clip of Hanshaw's only known film appearance
by visiting this
website.
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