June 2005
June 23, 2005
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
(Click On Image For Larger View)
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
(From 1931 ad)
What
Do I Care?
Imperial Dance Orchestra
Rodman Lewis, vocal
1930
(Perfect 15274 B mx 9298)
Just
Can't Be Bothered With Me
Bert Lown And His Biltmore Hotel
Orchestra
Buddy Blue, vocal
1930
(Perfect 15274 mx 9323)
This week's selections come from
some of my recent acquisitions of records from the old Perfect label.
I have always enjoyed finding Perfects because I think the artwork with
the two worshipping ladies kneeling down before the sun made it one of
the more attractive record labels. Unfortunately, the company's
recording techniques were often far from being "perfect."
These first two selections I think
are excellent examples of very early 1930s dance band music which was still
under the "hot" jazz influence of the "Roaring '20s." By 1933,
many dance bands had adopted a much smoother and more "mellow" sound.
The Imperial Dance Orchestra in
this week's selection was a recording pseudonym for Adrian Schubert and
his Salon Orchestra. Other bands recorded under the pseudonym as
well, most notably the California Ramblers. Schubert was a Musical
Director for the Plaza Music Company which produced a number of record
labels such as Banner, Regal and Domino. His output for Plaza was
very prolific. When Plaza merged with Cameo Records (which
had previously acquired Perfect and its parent label, Pathe) in 1929
to form the American Record Corporation Schubert continued to record for
the new company before moving to the newly formed Crown label in 1930.
I am very fond of this recording
of "What Do I Care?" and think it is a very catchy tune. This particular
recording was also issued in Britain on the Imperial label. Perhaps
because the label was called "Imperial" the pseudonym used on the
British release was the Hollywood Dance Orchestra. "Rodman
Lewis," the vocalist, was also a pseudonym. The actual vocalist was
Harold "Scrappy" Lambert.
Bert Lown and His Biltmore Hotel
Orchestra was an actual band which appeared at New York's Biltmore Hotel
from late 1929 though the summer of 1932. The band achieved brief
popularity on the strength of a hit recording of one of Lown's own compositions,
"Bye Bye Blues." Until he began recording for Victor in September
1930, Lown was not under contract with any particular label.
In January 1930, for instance, the same month that it recorded this
Perfect issue for the American Record Corporation, Lown's band also
made records for Columbia's subsidiary label Harmony and for Hit of the
Week.
The actual vocalist on "Just Can't
Be Bothered With Me" was Smith Ballew. At the time, Ballew's
dance band was under exclusive contract with the Okeh label.
Since Ballew was very much in demand as a studio vocalist, he continued
to accept work for other record labels recording under the name "Buddy
Blue." Smith Ballew was recently profiled in my May 26, 2005
update.
The
Peanut Vendor
Don Carlos And His Rumba Band
1930
(Perfect 15401-A mx 110316)
Sweet
Amorita
Don Carlos And His Rumba Band
1930
(Perfect 15401-B mx 110286)
"The Peanut Vendor" ("El Manisero"}
was one of the songs that helped spark the 1930s Latin music craze in the
United States. The tune was composed by Havana pianist
Moisés Simóns in 1928 and became very popular in Cuba.
The song was popularized in the United States by Cuban bandleader
Don Azpiazu with English lyrics by his sister-in-law Marion Sunshine,
and Wolfe Gilbert. The song is still performed by a variety of artists
even today.
Unlike "The Peanut Vendor" Don Carlos
and His Rumba Band was anything but Cuban. The band's name was a
recording pseudonym for the Lou Gold band. Gold was another highly
prolific recording studio bandleader in the 1920s and early 1930s.
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.
Yearning
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Bob Wills, vocal
1939
(Vocalion 04934 mx DAL 624)
Do
You Ever Think Of Me?
Jimmie Davis, vocal
1937
(Decca 5400-B mx 61812)
Honky
Tonk Blues
Jimmie Davis, vocal
with Brown's Musical Brownies
1937
(Decca 5400-A mx 61872)
I have a lot of fun putting together
these "extra" updates. It is interesting to be able to explore and
present music ranging from grand opera to - well, the kind of stuff featured
in this update.
As is the case today, in certain
parts of the United States during the 1930s, what we now call "country
and western" was more popular than the more mainstream popular music of
the day. I have mixed feelings towards 1930s country records.
Some of them I really enjoy - especially the Western Swing.
Others are just way too rustic for my taste.
As is also the case today, the lyrics
for this genre of music were often quite dismal and depressing.
This week's recording of "Honky Tonk Blues" is a somewhat mild example
of this. I do not doubt that getting drunk in a cheap bar and ending
up in jail is something that certain people of a certain demographic can
relate to. But I am not sure why anyone - including such people
- would wish to contemplate such things as a form of entertainment.
However, if one ignores the words, the recording is kind of catchy with
a great beat and interesting piano and violin solos.
"Do You Ever Think Of Me" and "Yearning"
do not feature such dismal lyrics - perhaps because both selections are
country adaptations of more mainstream pop songs dating back to the 1920s.
I enjoy the steel guitar effects that can be heard on both recordings.
Bob
Wills was one of the top names in Western Swing and made many rather
good recordings. Jimmie
Davis was a popular 1930s country and western crooner who later became
Governor of Louisiana on two occasions. Davis was not
the only prominent politician whose career was launched by country music
success. W.
Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, the flour mill manager turned broadcaster who
originally discovered Bob Wills used his fame to become Governor of Texas
as well as a U.S. Senator.
June 16, 2005
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Chrysler
Chrysler Six Roadster
Chrysler Imperial Eight Close
Coupled Sedan
Chrysler Eight DeLuxe Coupe
(From 1931 ad)
Note: This week's updates
(the regular update as well as the "extra") come courtesy of guest contributor
Christian Kohlhaas who has provided both the music and the commentary.
My only contribution was to transfer and digitalize the recordings.
Mr. Kohlhaas has been collecting 78 rpm records for only a couple of years
but has already put together a very interesting and diverse collection
- as evidenced by the excellent selections he has chosen. You can
read more about Christian Kohlhaas as well as view his photo and contact
information by clicking here.
Too
Tired
The Ambassadors
1924
(Vocalion A 14928)
Indian
Love Call
The Ambassadors
1924
(Vocalion A 14928 )
Both of the above acoustic selections
highlight the jazzy dance music style of the mid 1920s. The arrangement
of "Too Tired" is particularly good, and "Indian Love Call" gets very jazzy
towards the end. These recordings feature Phil Napoleon on trumpet
and Miff Mole on trombone. Mole was an influential figure in the
early 1920s jazz scene, and recorded many songs, often paired with Red
Nichols. This particular record is one of the first 78s I ever bought
and it helped spark my interest in 1920s hot dance and jazz music.
The jazz and hot dance recordings of the mid 1920s immediately prior to
the advent of electrical recording technology in 1925 have a very distinctive
sound which I find quite enjoyable.
By
My Side
Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra
1931
(Hit Of The Week 1150)
Whistling
In The Dark
Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra
1930
(Hit Of The Week 1144)
Sam Lanin was a prolific bandleader
of the period who employed many top-notch musicians. Miff Mole, Bix
Beiderbecke and Eddie Lang played in his bands for instance. The
two selections here both come from cardboard "Hit of the Week" discs and
both feature catchy numbers. Lanin's rendition of "Whistling in the
Dark" I believe is excellent, with a distinctive early '30s sound to it.
"By My Side" was another popular song of the early '30s and is quite interesting
as well.
- Christian Kohlhaas
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.
Die
Ganze Welt Ist Himmelblau
Marek Weber And His Orchestra
circa 1930
(Victor 6126-B)
Es
Muß Was Wunderbares Sein
Marek Weber And His Orchestra
circa 1930
(Victor V-6126-A mx BD9210)
Du
Schwarzer Zigeuner
Continental Dance Orchestra
circa 1936
(Radiodisque R8112A mx1155)
Heißes
Blut
Continental Dance Orchestra
circa 1936
(Radiodisque R8112 B - mx 1156)
The "Extra" selections this week
highlight German recordings from the 1930s. The German musical scene
of the '20s and '30s featured many superb musicians and songwriters, many
of whom were forced to flee the country as the Nazi Party increased in
strength. Marek Weber himself fled Germany in the '30s, eventually
ending up in the United States. I think that both of his recordings
on this update are excellent, and also feature fine vocals (in German of
course).
I have no information about the
"Continental Dance Orchestra." It might be a recording pseudonym
or the name of an actual band. Both selections were recorded in Europe,
as indicated on the record label. "Du Schwarzer Zigeuner" was a popular
song in Europe at the time, and was recorded by many bands including English
ones. I think it has a very haunting melody and I never seem to tire
of listening to it. European tango music was outstanding too, and
I think "Heißes Blut" is no exception.
- Christian Kohlhaas
June 9, 2005
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
(Click on image for larger view)
NYK Line
Motor Ships To The Orient
(From 1933 ad)
Shuffle
Off To Buffalo
Leon Nash And His Orchestra
Bob Gordon, vocal
1933
(Crown 3468-A mx 2617)
You're
Getting To Be A Habit With Me
Elmer Feldkamp And His Orchestra
Elmer Feldkamp, vocal
1933
(Crown 3468-B mx 2019 )
Here are two selections from the
highly successful 1933 Warner Brothers movie musical 42nd Street.
The film is still widely available today on DVD and VHS and is recommended
for its entertaining musical numbers and its Busby Berkeley choreography.
Both selections come from an old
Crown record. Crown was a bargain label that was sold through the
F.W. Woolworth dime store chain. It was one of the very few American
record labels to have been founded during the early 1930s. Its output
of dance band recordings was often quite excellent and the label is popular
with vintage record collectors. Crown records sold for 25 cents
each and, for a while, they even boasted a playing time of 5 minutes per
side. Unfortunately, many people during the Depression years
of the early 1930s could not spare even an extra 25 cents (about $3.70
in today's money) for luxuries such as phonograph records, especially when
the popular tunes of the day could be heard for free on the radio.
Crown folded in late 1933, less than 3 years after its founding.
I have not been able to locate any
information about Leon Nash and His Orchestra. I am not sure whether
Nash was a real person or a recording pseudonym. His orchestra,
however, recorded several sides for Crown.
Elmer Feldkamp was an early 1930s
crooner who was quite prolific in the recording studios singing with a
variety of bands on different labels. Beyond that,
I have not been able to locate much information about him other than the
fact he also played the clarinet and the alto sax and that he died in 1938.
You will, unfortunately, hear a
slight bit of distortion on the very loudest notes on "Shuffle Off To Buffalo."
At first, I thought I might have had the volume turned up too high when
I transferred the recording to my hard drive. But it turned out that
the distortion is inherent in the record itself. The grooves
appear to be in decent shape so I am not sure if the distortion is a result
of a technical error in the recording studio or whether a previous
owner of the record attempted to get more than the recommended one play
per steel needle on their wind-up phonograph and ended up wiping out the
grooves on only the loudest portions. I am inclined to suspect
the latter. A great many records were badly damaged by owners who
were either too cheap or too poor to change out their needles after every
play.
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.
It
Made You Happy When You Made Me Cry
Honey Duke And His Uke
1926
(Harmony 306-H mx 142949)
Thinking
Of You
Honey Duke And His Uke
1926
(Harmony 306-H mx 143120)
American popular culture witnessed
a number of rather zany and sometimes bizarre fads during the 1920s: flagpole
sitting, raccoon coats, dance marathons, psychoanalysis, mahjongg - and
ukulele playing.
This week's "Extra" selections feature
Johnny Marvin, a very popular 1920s vocalist and ukulele player.
"Honey Duke and His Uke" was a pseudonym that he sometimes performed under
in vaudeville and on records. One of Marvin's fans was the
Prince of Wales and, on a 1928 trip to England, he presented the Prince
with a ukulele and reportedly gave him some lessons. For a
while, Johnny Marvin had his own radio program. In the 1930s, he
moved to California and wrote songs for Gene Autry movies.
June 2, 2005
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
(Click on image for larger view)
Dodge Brothers - Detroit
(From 1935 ad)
Copenhagen
Oriole Orchestra
1924
(Brunswick 2752-B)
My
Rose Marie
Oriole Orchestra
1924
(Brunswick 2752-A )
The full name of the band featured
on this week's selections was Russo and Fio Rito's Oriole Terrace Orchestra
named after co-leaders Dan Russo and Ted Fio Rito. The Oriole Terrace
was a popular Detroit nightclub which, in 1924, briefly employed a chorus
girl who performed under the stage name of Bille Cassin. That chorus
girl later became famous under a new stage name: Joan Crawford.
Fio Rito, who was also a very prolific composer with over 100 songs to
his credit, assumed sole control over the band in 1928 and it remained
active into the 1950s.
I think this recording of "Copenhagen"
is outstanding. The song, an early jazz classic, was
composed by Indiana bandleader Charlie Davis and was first recorded on
May 6, 1924 on the Gennett label by The Wolverines, a Midwestern territory
band which is best remembered as the first band that legendary cornet player
Bix Beiderbecke worked for. The Oriole Orchestra version of "Copenhagen"
was recorded on October 18, 1924.
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.
All
Over Nothing At All
Aileen Stanley - Billy Murray, vocals
1922
(Victor 18943-A)
I'll
Stand Beneath Your Window To-night And Whistle
Aileen Stanley - Billy Murray, vocals
1922
(Victor 18943-B)
Billy Murray was the best known
and most recorded American vocalist of the first two and a half decades
of the 20th century. He made his first recordings in San Francisco
in 1897 for a local cylinder record company. By 1903 he was a regularly
making records in New York for the major record labels of the day.
Murray's voice and style of singing was well-suited for acoustical recording.
However, with the advent of microphones and the introduction of electrical
recording in 1925, public taste began to change in favor of "crooning"
and Murray's popularity went into decline. During the 1930s, he did
voice work for a number of Max Fleicher cartoons, including a few Betty
Boop features, and continued to make occasional recordings as late as 1943.
Aileen Stanley performed in cabarets
and vaudeville before appearing in the 1920 Broadway review Silks And
Satins. That same year she began recording for the Victor Talking
Machine Company where she was paired with Billy Murray on a number of recordings.
Both of these recordings were already
a bit old fashioned when they were issued in 1922 and are more typical
of the novelty vocal recordings of the 1910s.
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