December 2008
December 25
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Coca-Cola
"The Pause That Refreshes"
(from 1937 ad)
You
Can't Cry Over My Shoulder
Park Lane Orchestra
Vaughn DeLeath, vocal
1927
(Brunswick 3513-B)
You're
The One For Me
Park Lane Orchestra
Vaughn DeLeath, vocal
1927
(Brunswick 3513-A)
Here is a record that I have had
for several years in horrible condition and have FINALLY been able
to acquire a copy of in decent shape. This recording of "You
Can't Cry Over My Shoulder" would rate very high on any "best dance band
recordings of the 1920s decade" list that I might come up with.
The song and arrangement is infectiously peppy and the band is nice and
"hot." The semi-conversational vocal by Vaughn DeLeath is also
especially memorable and towards the end of the recording DeLeath returns
for very jazzy and almost improvisational sounding reprise.
My old copy of this recording was thoroughly worn out and listening to
this upgrade copy and hearing all of the various subtleties that were previously
overwhelmed by surface noise has been pure joy.
Vaughn DeLeath, unfortunately, is
largely forgotten today and is an artist that I think is very deserving
of a renaissance. The flip side, "You're The One For Me" has
her performing in a more conventional style. On all of her
recordings, her voice has a certain quality that I am at a loss for words
to adequately describe other than by saying that I find it to be very haunting.
My favorite DeLeath recording - and the one I find most haunting - is her
version of "There's A Cradle In Caroline" which I featured, along with
s few others, in the August 14, 2005 update which you can access in the
"Previous Selections" archive below.
In addition to her vocal accomplishments,
DeLeath was known as the "first lady of radio" and is credited for radio's
first live vocal performance dating back to an experimental broadcast conducted
by inventor Lee DeForrest in January 1920. She also performed
on early experimental television broadcasts as early as 1928.
Throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s she was prominent on radio
and recorded for several labels including Edison, Brunswick and Crown.
DeLeath was also became one of the first females to run a radio station,
WDT New York.
The Park Lane Orchestra was a Brunswick
recording pseudonym for the Harry Reser Orchestra. Most Park Lane
Orchestra recordings I have come across are excellent - though, unlike
other Reser recordings under various pseudonyms, for whatever reason,
Reser's trademark peppy banjo solos seem to be absent from Park Lane Orchestra
sides.
- 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.
EXTRA
This section will present
78 rpm recordings that do not fall within the range of the vintage pop
and jazz fare that I usually present. Here I will feature
recordings from a wide variety of eras, musical genres and nationalities
as well as occasional spoken word recordings.
Winter
Wonderland
Richard Himber And His Ritz Carlton Orchestra
Joey Nash, vocal
1934
(Victor 24757-B)
Were
You Foolin
Richard Himber And His Ritz Carlton Orchestra
Joey Nash, vocal
1934
(Victor 24757-A)
Since this update falls on Christmas,
I thought it would be nice to feature a Christmas song for the "Extra."
Unfortunately, I do not have a whole lot of Christmas themed 78 rpms
in my collection - in part because I have made no special effort to specifically
acquire such recordings and, in part, because the era's much higher prices
for recordings made strictly seasonal offerings much more rare than they
are today.
But I do have this recording of
"Winter Wonderland" in my collection, though it is, unfortunately, not
in the best of condition and I had to work pretty hard at cleaning it up.
According to vocalist Joey Nash, writing in the 1970s, this was the very
first recording of the song which is now considered an enduring seasonal
classic - and it came very close to never having been made.
Nash first learned of the composition from a fan who happened to be the
brother of lyricist Richard Smith. After seeing a handwritten manuscript
and listening to a home made recording of the song, Nash discovered that
its publisher had pretty much forgotten its existence. Nash
introduced the song on one of Himber's radio broadcasts and it was scheduled
to be part of the band's October 23, 1934 Victor recording session.
Because of technical difficulties, the recording session fell behind and
time ran out without the song being recorded. Himber himself had
already left the studio. Nash felt very strongly about making the
record and persuaded his fellow band members to stick around a bit longer.
The band agreed - but on the condition that it would be a one-shot deal
and if anyone made a mistake that would be it. Unlike today where
musicians are able to record individually with everything being "mixed"
together afterwards by sound engineers, in the 1930s, if someone made a
mistake during a recording session the band had to record over and over
again until the performance was perfect. Fortunately, that one-shot
take was perfect and we are therefore able to listen to it today.
- 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.
December 18
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
J. A. Henckels
Twin Blades
(from 1929 ad)
Havin'
Lots Of Fun
Al Handler's Alamo Cafe Orchestra
1926
(Columbia 866 D mx 142969)
Oh
How She Could Play A Ukulele
Al Handler's Alamo Cafe Orchestra
1926
(Columbia 866 - mx 142977)
This weeks's selections come courtesy
of the collection of regular guest contributor Matt
From College Station.
I have not been able to locate much
biographical information about Al Hanlder other than that he led a jazzy
Chicago area dance band that cut a handful of sides for Columbia in 1926
and 1927. The Alamo Cafe was a Chicago nightclub. By
mid 1927, the band was recording under the name of Al Handler and
His Hotel Davis Orchestra. "Oh, How She Could Play A Ukulele"
was one of many song titles that came out of the 1920s fad for the Hawaiian
guitar.
- 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.
EXTRA
This section will present
78 rpm recordings that do not fall within the range of the vintage pop
and jazz fare that I usually present. Here I will feature
recordings from a wide variety of eras, musical genres and nationalities
as well as occasional spoken word recordings.
Lady
Play Your Mandolin
The Revelers
1931
(Victor 22622-A)
Blue
Again
The Revelers
1931
(Victor 22622-B)
The Revelers were an extremely popular
vocal group in the 1920s and early 1930s that performed on vaudeville,
radio and records. The Revelers' success and style were also a major
source of inspiration for the famous German vocal group The Comedian Harmonists.
Nick Lucas and The Havana Novelty
Orchestra both had hit recordings of "Lady Play Your Mandolin" in 1930
(The Havana Novelty Orchestra version is featured in the September 1, 2005
update). Nick Lucas recorded for Brunswick which had been purchased
by Warner Brothers Pictures on the premise that the record label and the
studio could both benefit from cross promotion. Perhaps with
that in mind, in 1931 the song was featured in and became the title of
the very first release of Warner Brother's long running Merry Melodies
cartoon series. You can view the cartoon version on YouTube
here.
Abe Lyman's Orchestra played the musical accompaniment on the cartoon -
with the credits making due note of the fact that Lyman recorded for Brunswick.
- 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.
|