November 2009
November 8
This
week's Hit of the Week is
brought
to you by
The new
Hot Hot
Hottentot
Angry
Are
You Sorry
I
Can't Get Over A Girl Like You
Here are some dance
band selections from the mid-1920s. 1925 was important in
the history of recorded sound as that was the year that Victor and
Columbia jointly introduced and switched over to microphone-based
electrical recording from the old acoustic recording horns.
Roger Wolfe Kahn's recording of "Hot Hot Hottentot" was recorded on
March 10, 1925 using Victor's old acoustic equipment. The
recordings of "Angry," "Are You Sorry," and "Fooling" were all made a
few months later using the new electrical process. The
side-by -side comparison here illustrates the dramatic improvement the
new technology offered. Two of the artist
credits acknowledge venues their bands were associated with at the
time: New York's Biltmore Hotel and the Paradis Cafe in Washington,
D.C. "I Can't Get Over A
Girl Like You" is from the musical revue LeMaire's Affairs named after
producer Rufus LeMaire. The show debuted in Chicago in 1926 with
a cast which included Sophie Tucker and bandleader Ted
Lewis. The production was so successful that LeMaire took
it on the road and booked it in New York City where it opening show at
the then brand new Majestic Theater. On the road between
Chicago and New York, LeMaire decided to replace Tucker with Charlotte
Greenwood and make changes to the sketches and costumes. The
revised New York production was a flop and closed after less than two
months. After this update was
put together, I realized that I featured the Johnny Hamp recording of
"Angry" a few years ago. However, since I have much better audio
restoration equipment than I did then, I decided to go ahead and
include it with the improved audio file.
- Dismuke If you have questions or comments about the music or would simply enjoy interacting with friendly people who share your interest in it, join in the conversation on Dismuke's Message Board. November 3
This
week's Hit of the Week is
brought
to you by
Clyde-Mallory Lines
Broadway
Baby Dolls
Wishing
And Waiting For Love
Here are two songs
from the 1929 First National picture Broadway
Babies. Alice White sang both of the songs in the
film. You can see a video of White's performance of
"Broadway Baby Dolls" in the film at this link to
YouTube.com. The vocalist on this
recording of "Wishing And Waiting For Love" is Belle Mann,
the flapperesque in-house vocalist for the Victor Talking Machine
Company in the late 1920s. When the producers of the 1930
film Showgirl In Hollywood
decided that Alice White's voice was not good enough for one of the
songs in the picture, her performance was dubbed by Belle Mann doing
the vocal. You can also see that on YouTube at this link.
The White/Mann performance starts 3:15 into the clip.
- Dismuke
If you have questions or comments about the music or would simply enjoy interacting with friendly people who share your interest in it, join in the conversation on Dismuke's Message Board. |
|
|
|