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Dismuke's Hit Of The Week
Previous Selections
September 2005






September 29, 2005

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
Webster's New International Dictionary
Webster's New International Dictionary
G.&C. Merriam Co., Springfield, Mass.
(From 1931 ad)


 
You Try Somebody ElseClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Majestic Dance Orchestra 
Glenn Cross, vocal                          1931
(Romeo 1755-B mx 10902)

An Evening In CarolineClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Majestic Dance Orchestra
Smith Ballew, vocal                         1931
(Romeo 1755-A mx 10987)

 
The record from which this week's selections come is, unfortunately, not in the best of shape - especially during the opening few seconds of each side.  But since I have become rather addicted to the very nice jazz violin solos after the vocal on "You Try Somebody Else" I cannot resist including it here. 

The Majestic Dance Orchestra was a recording pseudonym used by several record companies and a variety of bands recorded under it.  In fact, while both of this week's selections were issued  under the pseudonym, they are performed by different bands.  Vic Irwin's Orchestra was the band on "You Try Somebody Else" and the Merle Johnston Orchestra performed "An Evening In Caroline."  Unfortunately, I have very little information about either band. I do know that  Merle Johnston was a saxophonist with the Ben Selvin Orchestra but he also made recordings under his own name in the late 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. 
 
 

I Did What I Could With My Gas MaskClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
George Formby And His Ukulele           1941
(Regal Zonophone MR-3463 mx CAR-6042)

Hold Your Hats OnClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
George Formby And His Ukulele           1942
(Regal Zonophone MR-3654 mx CAR-6363)

Thirty Thirsty SailorsClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
George Formby And His Ukulele           1942
(Regal Zonophone MR-3654 mx CAR-6362)

Guarding The Home Of The Home GuardsClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
George Formby And His Ukulele           1940
(Regal Zonophone MR-3411 mx CAR-5907)

I Wish I Was Back On The FarmClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
George Formby And His Ukulele           1940
(Regal Zonophone MR-3411 mx CAR-5908)

George Formby was one of the highest paid entertainers in Great Britain in the early 1940s and his unique brand of humor and Lancashire dialect made him especially popular with the working class.  Early in his career, Formby purchased a ukulele and took a dare to play it in one of his stage performances.  The enthusiastic response of the audience was such that it became a permanent part of his act. 

All of the selections here were recorded while Britain was engaged in World War II and there are a number of references to war time life.  During the War, Formby toured extensively and entertained an estimated 3 million Allied troops. 

Additional biographical information about Formby can be found at this website
 


September 15, 2005
 
 


This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
Philco Radios
(Click on image for larger view)
Philco
A Musical Instrument of Quality
(From 1933 ad)


 
Ro-Ro-Rollin' AlongClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Anson Weeks & His Hotel 
Mark Hopkins Orchestra                     1930
(Columbia 2211-D mx 150518)

If I Had A Girl Like YouClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Anson Weeks & His Hotel
Mark Hopkins Orchestra                     1930
(Columbia 2211-D mx 150449)

You've Got EverythingClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Anson Weeks And His Orchestra
Bob Crosby, vocal                              1933
(Brunswick 6661 mx SF66A)

I'll Be FaithfulClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Anson Weeks And His Orchestra
Pete Fylling, vocal                              1933
(Brunswick 6661 mx SF67A)
 
 

The Anson Weeks orchestra was one of the best known West Coast society bands of the 1930s.  From 1927 through 1934 the band had a very successful engagement at the Peacock Court ballroom in San Francisco's Mark Hopkins Hotel.   National exposure through its 1931 coast-to-coast Lucky Strike Magic Carpet radio program on NBC and its recording contracts with Columbia and Brunswick records enabled the band to travel to New York in 1934 for a long engagement at the St. Regis Hotel followed by tours to other cities.  In 1941 Weeks was involved in a serious bus accident which badly injured his right arm and forced him to leave the music business.  In the late 1950s he came out of retirement and formed a 7 piece hotel band which regularly performed at the top San Francisco hotels, including the Mark Hopkins.  In the mid 1960s, the band moved to Sacramento where Weeks spent the remainder of his life .   More information on the Anson Weeks Orchestra as well as some interesting audio files can be found at The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco

This week's selection "You've Got Everything" is a recording I first heard on Rich Conaty's The Big Broadcast and I was eventually able to locate and purchase my own copy.   The vocalist on the recording was Bing Crosby's then unknown kid brother Bob.  Two years after this recording, he assumed leadership of the remnants of the Ben Pollack Orchestra and made it one of the more successful bands in the country.  However, Bob Crosby's first major show business break was when he became a vocalist for Anson Weeks in 1931. 
 
 

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. 
 
 

Windy WillieClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
New York Military Band           1919
(Edison 50677-L mx 6949-B)

Manhattan Beach MarchClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
New York Military band            1919
(Edison 50677-R mx 6986-C)
 

Both of these selections come from an old Edison Diamond Disc. 

"Windy Willie" is described as a "characteristic march" and when I first saw the record, I expected  it to be a more or less typical march.  To my very pleasant surprise, it turned out to be an enjoyable ragtime selection.  Its composer, Frank Hoyt Losey, is best remembered as a composer of marches though he did have a number of ragtime songs to his credit as well. 

"Manhattan Beach March" was composed by John Philip Sousa in 1893 and is one of his more famous marches.  Manhattan Beach was, at the time, a very popular New York resort where Sousa's band had a long term engagement.

I have not been able to locate any definite information about the New York Military Band featured in the recording.  It is possible that the band's name was merely a recording pseudonym used by Edison.  On the other hand, at the time, there was a real life New York Military Band which was quite popular and, in 1920,  became known as the Goldman Band which continues to perform to this day. 



September 1, 2005
 
 

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
White Rock Mineral Water
White Rock
The Leading Mineral Water
(From 1932 ad)



 
 
 
 
 

New Internet Radio Station Review

Radio Moscow  Classic Russian popular and patriotic music of the 1930s and 1940s

I am pleased to introduce a brand new vintage music Internet radio station that is operated by my friend and occasional Hit of the Week and Radio Dismuke contributor Christian Kohlhaas.  Radio Moscow is a  Live 365 station which features Russian popular and patriotic recordings from the 1930s and early 1940s.

Until I knew Christian, I had very little exposure to the kind of recordings that were produced and popular in the Soviet Union during the 1930s.   Some of the recordings heard on the station are what I would have expected them to be like - very somber and heavy.  Others, however, were surprisingly lighthearted and pleasant.  Many of the ballads are very melancholy but beautiful and some of the dance bands were every bit as upbeat and jazzy as their Western counterparts.  For a country that had only limited contact with the West, its popular recordings, nevertheless, show a very definite influence by the era's popular music trends in the United States and Western Europe. 

Sadly, the world from which the recordings came was not a pleasant one.  The Soviet Union was one of the bloodiest and most brutal tyrannies the world has ever seen.  It was a country ruled by an oppressive and insidiously evil collectivist ideology headed up by a dictator who murdered many tens of millions of people and turned life into an impoverished and frightful hell for those who managed to remain alive.  Joseph Stalin was responsible for the murder of far more people than even Adolf Hitler - and, along with Hitler, he plunged Europe and eventually the world into the deadly bloodbath of World War II exactly 66 years ago today.  One can only imagine what a cultural and spiritual lifeline that peppy Western style dance bands such as Alexander Varlamov and His Jazz Orchestra (of which I have become a big fan) must have been for a great many people who were helplessly trapped in such a nightmare. 

Christian, who developed his interest in vintage Russian recordings as a result of his hobby of World War II reenacting, has strived to be very authentic in presenting a representative cross section of the sort of music that the Russian troops on the front lines of World War II would have been familiar with at home before the war as well as the sort of propaganda and motivational music they would have been exposed to while in the military.  As a result, some of the recordings reflect history in ways that can sometimes be a bit disturbing. For example,  I will hear a song on the station that I think is very pretty and pull up the Live 365 player window to see what it is called - only to discover that it is a song praising one of the bloodiest mass murderers in human history.  It is probably a good thing I do not speak Russian because, judging by some of the song titles which have been translated into English, there are some very enjoyable and pretty tunes in the playlist which probably have lyrics espousing views that I would  consider to be thoroughly repugnant.  It is very sad to realize that such pretty music was reduced to propaganda by the very worst sort of people.  Fortunately, those of us who do not speak Russian can enjoy the music and be happily oblivious to any totalitarian messages that the lyrics might contain. 

While the station does an excellent job at providing a fascinating historical glimpse at the everyday music of a time and place that most Westerners know very little about, its educational value is not my primary reason for recommending it. A great deal of the music presented on the station is entertaining, emotionally moving and very much worthy of the revival and public attention that, thanks to Christian, it will now enjoy.  If you enjoy the music on stations such as Radio Dismuke and, most especially, Weimar Rundfunk, you will probably enjoy Radio Moscow and want to make it a part of your regular Internet radio listening.   Because the station provides a variety of musical styles from the period, you most likely find yourself enjoying some songs more than others.  For that reason, my suggestion is to tune in for the first time when you are in a position to listen for at least a half hour so that you can get a representative sample of the sort of music that the station has to offer.  Above all, Radio Moscow is just one more example what a remarkable and powerful medium the Internet has become at providing a voice to music and art that previously had little chance to obtain much in the way of public attention.   My guess is that one would be very hard pressed to find another radio station with a similar format anywhere in the world, even in Russia itself.  Thanks to the Internet, Live 365 and, of course, Christian himself, the music and all of the emotions and contemplation it inspires is now available to anyone in the world who has access to a sound card equipped computer and Internet connection. 


 
 
 
 
 
Victor Scroll Label - 1930






The Peanut VendorClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Don Azpiazu And His Havana Casino Orchestra
Antonio Machin, vocal                  1930
(Victor 22483-A)

True LoveClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Don Azpiazu And His Havana Casino Orchestra
Antonio Machin, vocal                  1930
(Victor 22483-B)
 

Since I consider myself to be a fan of 1930s era Cuban dance band music,  I was very pleased when I recently acquired this record. The  record is historic not only because it sold a lot of copies at a time when, due to the Great Depression,  few people were buying records,  it was the first authentic Cuban dance band  recording to be issued in the United States and helped spark the 1930s Latin dance music craze which lasted into the 1950s.   This record was also the first to introduce "The Peanut Vendor" to the United States.  The song has subsequently been recorded by many artists over the years and is regarded as a Latin music classic.

 






Lady Play Your MandolinClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Havana Novelty Orchestra
Paul Small, vocal                  1930
(Victor 22597-A)

Mama InesClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Havana Novelty Orchestra     1930
(Victor 22597-B)

I featured both of these recordings several weeks ago when I included them in an announcement that I was unable to put up a weekly update.  Because they were not part of an actual update, they were never archived on the site.  Since that time, I have received several inquiries from people who enjoyed the recordings wanting to know where to find them again. 

I first heard this recording of "Lady Play Your Mandolin" on Rich Conaty's The Big Broadcast last year and absolutely had to have the record.  Eventually, I was able to obtain a copy and have since acquired other versions of the song as well.   Both the Havana Novelty Orchestra version and a version by Nick Lucas were among the best selling records of 1931. 

I do not have any information about the Havana Novelty Orchestra.  My strong guess is that the group was Cuban in name only and was probably comprised of American studio musicians.  (Update:  a posting in this website's Message Board confirms that the Havana Novelty Orchestra was indeed an in-house Victor band led by Nat Shilkret)
 
 

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. 
 
 

Gems Of "Havana"Click on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Victor Light Opera Company      1909
(Victor 31774 )

Argentine TangoClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Victor Military Band                   1913
(Victor 17276-B)
 

I thought I might as well carry this update's Latin American theme into the "Extra" - though the selections are mostly Latin merely by virtue of their song titles. 

Havana was an operetta composed by Leslie Stuart that opened at London's Gaiety Theatre in April 1908 and at  the Casino Theatre on Broadway in February 1909.   Stuart is best remembered as the composer of the operetta Florodora which opened in London in 1899.  The American production, which opened in 1900, was a huge hit running for an unprecedented 553 performances and was famous for its "Florodora Girls." One of the Florodora Girls was Evelyn Nesbit who, a few years later, found herself at the center of one of the first great scandals of the 20th century.   After Florodora Stuart composed several other musical productions, including Havana, which were not as successful and have been mostly forgotten.

I have not been able to find much information about "Argentine Tango."   The record's label only credits someone by the name of "Roberto" as the composer.   At the time, there was a  famous bandleader and composer of tangos in Argentina named Roberto Firpo.   My guess, however, is that Firpo was not the composer of this selection based on the fact that single name credits on Victor reflected the composers' last names.  I suppose, however, there is a possibility that there might have been some sort of error on the part of whoever put the label information together. 


 
 

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