One
Night Alone With You
Harry Hudson's Melody Men
1930
(Edison Bell Winner 5176 mx 13043)
I
Found You
Bidgood's Good Boys
1931
(Broadcast 748 B)
Now
I'm In Love
The New York Night Birds
1931
(Broadcast Twelve 2535 A)
Here are some early 1930s recordings
from British 78 rpms courtesy of the collection of regular contributor
Matt From College Station.
While the Great Depression was worldwide
in scope and quickly spread to the United Kingdom, the British record
industry was not as devastated by it to the degree that the United States
record industry was. As a result, it is sometimes much
easier to find early 1930s recordings of popular American artists on British
pressings than on their original American releases.
As was the case in the United States,
a great many popular dance records sold in the United Kingdom during the
Depression were on low-priced bargain labels, or, as they were known in
the US, "dime store labels." And, like their American counterparts,
the British bargain labels employed in-house bandleaders whose output was
issued under a variety of pseudonyms.
The first two selections are of
in-house orchestras led by pianists named Harry.
Harry Hudson was an in-house
bandleader for Edison Bell which was one of the first record companies
in England. The firm was acquired by British Decca in 1933.
Hudson recorded both under his name and under different pseudonyms.
Later on, from 1947- 1953, Hudson was well-known as the pianist on Britain's
first radio quiz program Have A Go.
Harry Bidgood was the in-house bandleader
for the Broadcast/Broadcast Twelve labels which were manufactured by the
British Vocalion company. The company was originally a subsidiary
of the Aeolian Company which manufactured the Vocalion label in the United
States. After Aeolian sold the US Vocalion label to Brunswick the
British subsidiary continued on separately. In 1927 the company discontinued
its namesake label in favor of the Broadcast label. The company
was acquired Crystallate Records in 1932 which discontinued the Broadcast
label in 1934. Similar to the consolidation that took place in the
American record industry in the 1930s, Crystallate was, in turn,
swallowed up by British Decca in 1937. As with Harry Hudson, Bidgood's
recordings were issued both under his name and under pseudonyms.
I am pretty sure that the New York
Night Birds was a pseudonym and not the name of an actual band. I
do not have any additional information about the recording - but since
it is on the Broadcast Twelve label, I suspect it is possible that
it could be the Harry Bidgood Orchestra.
- Dismuke
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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
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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.
Love
Walked In
Josephine Bradley And Her Ballroom Orchestra
circa late 1930s
(Polydor 624102)
Sweet
Genevieve Palais Glide
Josephine Bradley And Her Ballroom Orchestra
circa late 1930s
(Polydor 624102)
Josephine Bradley was famous in
Great Britain as the "Queen Of The Ballroom." She was highly respected
both as a dancer and a dance instructor.
These recordings come from a release
on the German Polydor label which was apparently intended for sale in Britain
or perhaps some other English speaking country. Unfortunately,
I do not the information necessary to date the record. My guess
is it is from about 1938 based on the fact that that was the year "Love
Walked In" was popular as a result of being featured in the movie musical
The
Goldwyn Follies. The song was actually composed by George
Gershwin in 1930 but it wasn't until 1937 that Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics
for its inclusion in the film.
Both of these recordings sound very
similar to those of the Victor Sylvestor Orchestra, another British band
that specialized in ballroom dance music.
Note: A reader was kind
enough to write in to inform me that both recordings were made in London
in 1938. "Sweet Genevieve" was recorded on Feburary 25 and "Love
Walked In" was recorded on June 24.
- 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.
