Zorch's Inner Sanctum

Some (darkly) sweet sounds for December

2011-12-22T00:00:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, I downloaded a most intriguing compilation/mixtape from http://holywarbles.blogspot.com/2011/11/va-dark-sweets-soothing-sounds-of.html . I then played it. About halfway through, I heard Nat Shilkret's Bolero, and a bit later on, Madame Riviere's Paahana Hula. I said to myself "Interesting...these sound like my copies!" I thought the pattern of clicks and noises on those cuts (which are unique as fingerprints) sounded a little too familiar to be merely coincidental...maybe I caught someone with his hand in my cookie jar.

So I wrote in and asked if those were, in fact, my transfers. The Wise Old Owl at the Warbles thanked me for not losing my cool, and confessed that they were indeed "borrowed" from my blog.

Now, I have no problems with people downloading my materials...nor do I mind my records being used in someone else's blog. But I must ask for credit somewhere in the posting (just as I give credit to someone else if I borrow something for mine). Actually, I'd appreciate advance notice, if only to prepare some sort of response...at the minimum a plug for the borrowing blog, and perhaps a special cut or two in dedication.

There are now links to my blog on my two cuts at the Warbles.

Actually, I'm rather flattered to hear some of my records being used as part of a larger audio collage. And Dark Sweets is just too fine a compilation for me to nitpick much.

Now that's all been said, here are some tasty sides for friends Moahaha and Owl at Holy Warbles:

I recently found this somewhat battered, but very interesting 78...it was loved a little too much, and it had seen some moisture at some time in the past eighty years, making the gold print on the green Columbia label extremely faint. But I could (barely) make out the word "Criolo" and thought I'd take a chance on it. I'm glad I did!

It's by a Cape Verdean/American group...I can't find much info on them, but according to http://www.afropop.org/multi/feature/ID/881 Johnny Perry’s Instrumental Criolo Trio featured the legendary fiddler Boboy de Tai of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

W110838-2 Five D'Outobro - Waltz Johnny Perry's Portuguese Criolo Trio Columbia 1069-X
http://www.4shared.com/mp3/Mg6hNmO6/Johnny_Perry_Portuguese_Criolo.html
(5 October 1910 is the date that Portugal overthrew its monarchy and declared itself a republic. But Cape Verde didn't become independent from Portugal until 5 July 1975.)
W110839-1 San Vincente - Polka Johnny Perry's Portuguese Criolo Trio Columbia 1069-X
http://www.4shared.com/mp3/fXWptoQv/Johnny_Perry_Portuguese_Criolo.html
NYC, June 1929: exact personnel unknown.
I fell in love with this record...they remind me of the other two early Columbia Cape Verdean 78s I have.

A few years ago, an old 78 collecting pal of mine gave me a copy of Cabo Verdranos Peca Nove (Cape Verdean Piece Number Nine) by Abrew's Portuguese Instrumental Trio. I was very much impressed, especially by the fiery fiddling on the bridge. When I played it for a group of collectors a short time later, they were equally impressed. Eventually it showed up on the Old Hat compilation Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow!

The tango on the other side is lovely...but there is a serious flaw in my copy. There's a deep thumbnail-sized edge flake that made the first half-inch of the record unplayable. I filled the divot in with nail polish. The damaged section still goes "thunk, thunk, thunk," but at least it can now be played.

Last year I found a second record from the same session! This record has an edge flake, too...although it's not as bad. And the overall condition is a little rougher. Oh, well. These X-series (originally for export) Columbias aren't very common. I'm glad I have these records...in any condition. (I had to borrow this scan from Popsike until I get my scanner going again)

W112794-2 Masurka Do Meu Pae Abrew's Portuguese Instrumental Trio Columbia 1131-X
http://www.4shared.com/mp3/M1DOIvqj/Abrews_Port_Inst_Trio_-_Masurk.html
W112795-2 Abrew's Portuguese Jazz Abrew's Portuguese Instrumental Trio Columbia 1131-X
http://www.4shared.com/mp3/4Hi3ma0Z/Abrews_Port_Inst_Trio_-_Abrews.html
W112797-2 Tango Portuguez Abrew's Portuguese Instrumental Trio Columbia 1129-X http://www.4shared.com/mp3/5AEzSL8l/Abrews_Port_Inst_Trio_-_Tango_.html
W112799-2 Cabo Verdranos Peca Nove Abrew's Portuguese Instrumental Trio Columbia 1129-X
http://www.4shared.com/mp3/MNKWoBsK/Abrews_Port_Inst_Trio_-_Cabo_V.html
NYC, February 1931: exact personnel unknown.

I'm tickled to see the Little Brothers performing a modern version of Peca Nove:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wetm75ScZ0

Hmmm...no Christmas songs yet? Oops! Here's one!

Since all the Cape Verdean sides were on green-label Columbias, I think I'll include one that was on a red one:

W141283-1 At The Christmas Ball Bessie Smith Columbia 35842
http://www.4shared.com/mp3/yDyDnKn0/Bessie_Smith_-_At_The_Christma.html
NYC 18 November 1925: Bessie Smith, vocal; with Joe Smith, cornet; Charlie Green, trombone; Fletcher Henderson, piano.

Why this lovely side stayed in the can until 1940 is anybody's guess.

I also want to thank Radioman David G. and Joan McG. for their kind donations a while back...I'm sorry it took so long for me to get around to acknowledging you.

Happy holidays to one and all.....

Lee Wiley and Friends - 10 April 1940

2011-10-25T10:26:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Ronster for getting me this early birthday present!

Here's the complete session (including breakdowns) of 10 April 1940, featuring one of my favorite singers, Lee Wiley...she's joined by an all-star lineup including The Bunster...four songs were recorded. They're all gems (especially Find Me A Primitive Man). They were originally issued as half of her Songs of Cole Porter album, on the Liberty Music Shop label.

The LP issue is the limited-edition Blu-Disc T-1013.

This one's dedicated to the Providence League of Wiley Fans...especially to The Beard (get better soon, y'hear?).

1-3 Let's Fly Away
4-9 Let's Do It
10-11 Hot House Rose
12-20 Find Me A Primitive Man
(actually #19 is studio chatter only)
NYC, 10 April 1940: Lee Wiley, vocal with Bunny Berigan's Music: Bunny Berigan, trumpet; Joe Bushkin, piano; Sid Weiss, bass; George Wettling, drums.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ICJC4ATS

Enjoy....

Clippings

2011-07-16T23:21:00.015-04:00

No music to listen to today, just some interesting advertisements I found online in the Baltimore Afro-American...

...and that's just scratching the surface. There are hundreds of record ads, personal appearance plugs, pictures, and articles out there.

Then I spotted this sad news item:

...it was buried under a large (unrelated) picture on the front page of the 1 January 1927 issue.

I was shocked...the name "Eleanora Gough" (misspelled on the article) was familiar...and this website explains why http://www.victoriansecrets.net/billiebalto.html . There's even a picture of 219 South Durham Street as it appears today.

I can't add any comment here...it's just sad that the first real newspaper article about Billie Holiday has to be something this awful.

I'll have something more cheerful next time around.

PS. I suppose I should mention this website http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Holiday,Billie.html, which gives the actual information from Billie's birth certificate...she was born "Elinore Harris," although some early documents give other spellings of her first name. "Fagan" was the maiden name of Sadie (Billie's mother), which explains why I usually found that name in Billie's biographies, although "Gough" was in some listings)...Philip Gough married Sadie five years after Billie's birth.

A dozen silly sides (from Harmony and Diva)

2011-07-09T01:00:00.011-04:00

I'm finally getting around to writing again...

I've been quite busy with side projects and have had some weird problems with my scanner. It took the following picture

and promptly gave up the ghost. I've deleted, downloaded and reinstalled new software and drivers for the scanner (several times), but nothing seems to work.

So...I'll use the one picture I have for the time being. Someday, more scans will appear.

This odd old Diva 78 was part of a recent project. I was digitizing some old Columbia dime-store material...sides published under the Harmony and Diva labels (and Velvet Tone, too...but the sides included here aren't on that label). While I was recording these sides, I was struck by how many of them were of silly little novelty songs that few people remember. I thought I'd share some of the sillier ones with you...

Let's start off with the battered Diva above, shall we?

150615-3 Kitty From Kansas City Milt Coleman Diva 3185-G
http://www.4shared.com/audio/pPa8aR9L/Milt_Coleman_-_Kitty_From_Kans.html
150616-3 Around The Corner Milt Coleman Diva 3185-G
http://www.4shared.com/audio/xOZKW33X/Milt_Coleman_-_Around_The_Corn.html
NYC, 30 June 1930: Milt Coleman, vocal; unknown band.

There's an amusing film clip of Rudy Vallee singing Kitty From Kansas City here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GHKElE2NH8.

The above pair of sides are the only electrically-recorded songs in this post. The next ten were recorded using the old acoustic method.

Here are four really odd songs by Marion Try Slaughter, better known as Vernon Dalhart. Dalhart recorded under several pseudonyms, "Al Craver" seems to have been used exclusively for Columbia's 15000-D Old Time Tunes (country) series, and the Harmony labels used Mack Allen, especially on the novelty numbers...like these:

147055-5 The Frog Song Mack Allen (Vernon Dalhart) Harmony 783-H
http://www.4shared.com/audio/nmQCzXfm/Mack_Allen_-_The_Frog_Song.html
147056-4 Sing Hallelujah Mack Allen (Vernon Dalhart) Harmony 783-H
http://www.4shared.com/audio/2WhEYiwc/Mack_Allen_-_Sing_Hallelujah.html
NYC, 4 October 1928: Vernon Dalhart, vocal & harmonica; Adelyne Hood, vocal; possibly William Carlino, banjo; unknown, guitar.

148443-1 Ain't Gonna Grieve My Mind Any More Mack Allen (Vernon Dalhart) Harmony 903-H
http://www.4shared.com/audio/5UyRaD5f/Mack_Allen_-_Aint_Gonna_Grieve.html
148444-1 King Of Borneo Mack Allen (Vernon Dalhart) Harmony 903-H
http://www.4shared.com/audio/1yKw8t00/Mack_Allen_-_King_of_Borneo.html
NYC 16 April 1929: Vernon Dalhart. vocal; Adelyne Hood, vocal & piano; unknown, fiddle; unknown, banjo; unknown (Dalhart?), whistling.

I can imagine some of my audience wondering why Harmony was still recording acoustically as late as 1929 (most of the other labels switched over to microphones by 1926 or so). It all goes back to Harmony's parent company, Columbia. In 1923, they started releasing records using their "New Process" of recording and pressing. In 1925, the New Process was already obsolete, replaced by the new system installed by Western Electric. So, rather than completely scrapping the expensive equipment that was less than two years old, the Powers That Be (er, Were) decided that the older equipment could be used to produce cheaper records for the five-and-ten-cent stores. That's why almost all of the Harmony/Diva/VelvetTone records were acoustic (although those by Annette Hanshaw and a few other artists were all electric). Finally, they switched over to electrical recording exclusively in late 1929.

144037-3 Fifty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong Joe Candullo Orch Diva 2409-G
http://www.4shared.com/audio/PmA0yT7l/Joe_Candullo_-_Fifty_Million_F.html
144035-2 Go Wash An Elephant (If You Wanna Do Something Big) Joe Candullo Orch Diva 2409-G
http://www.4shared.com/audio/eUrwqp0P/Joe_Candullo_-_Go_Wash_An_Elep.html
NYC, 18 April 1927: Joe Candullo, violin & conductor; Izzy Friedman, clarinet & saxes; others (2 trumpets; trombone, 2 saxes; rhythm section) unknown; Irving Kaufman, vocal.

The vocal on Frenchmen was credited to "Pierre LaFond," but it was our old friend Irving Kaufman. I rather like the opening quote of Gounod's Funeral March For a Marionette (the theme from Alfred Hitchcock Presents) at the beginning of Elephant.

One of the most popular downloads from This Humble Blog is The Whoopee Hat Brigade by The Six Jumping Jacks, a (contractual) pseudonym for Harry Reser's band. They specialized in performing "nut jazz," silly songs with hot solos and strange instrumental effects...and most of their sides have vocals by drummer Tom Stacks.

This pair has Red Nichols sitting in:

142240-1 I'm Just Wild About Animal Crackers Seven Wild Men (Harry Reser) Harmony 193-H
http://www.4shared.com/audio/Fj8YKv7o/Seven_Wild_Men_-_Im_Just_Wild_.html
142241-2 The Lunatic's Lullaby Seven Wild Men (Harry Reser) Harmony 193-H
http://www.4shared.com/audio/yaLigWq3/Seven_Wild_Men_-_The_Lunatics_.html
NYC 24 May 1926: Harry Reser, banjo & conductor; Red Nichols, cornet; Sam Lewis, trombone; Larry Abbott. clarinet & alto sax; Norman Yorke, tenor sax; Jimmy Johnston, bass sax; Bill Wirgis, piano; Tom Stacks, drums & vocal.

Ken Gillum sings and plays another version of The Lunatic's Lullaby (complete with the verse and a second chorus!) in a 1931 The Two Daffodils radio show here....

http://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/2008/04/15/the-two-daffodils-pgm-2080/

...listen to the whole show! It's a hoot!

The Rust discographies give a generic personnel listing for the following...it's probably similar to the last record, but Nichols isn't present. Larry Abbott's comb-and-paper is quite audible, though...

143265-2 (Cock-a-Doodle I'm Off My Noodle) My Baby's Back The Night Club Orch (Harry Reser) Harmony 345-H
http://www.4shared.com/audio/mAKU9tk1/The_Night_Club_Orch_-__Cock-a-.html
143267-3 Oh How She Could Play A Ukulele The Night Club Orch (Harry Reser) Harmony 345-H
http://www.4shared.com/audio/NRVMXsiI/The_Night_Club_Orch_-_Oh_How_S.html
NYC, 6 January 1927: Harry Reser, banjo & conductor; featuring Larry Abbott, comb & reeds; Tom Stacks, drums & vocal.

Well, that's it for now...hope these sides tickled your funny bone.

Oh, I made a CD of these (and a few other amusing American records) and gave it to the British Ambassador of Mirth and Merriment, Neil Innes. I hope he and his lovely wife enjoyed some of it between gigs.

He was on an extensive tour of the States and Canada. His records (especially with the Bonzos and Rutles) have been favorites of mine for the last 35 years or so...the disc was a token of thanks for the many smiles and belly laughs this gentleman has bestowed.

That's the Ego-Warrior salute, by the way...

Seven Wonders and Seven Wonderful Sides (and some Yogi as well!)

2011-02-19T18:00:00.015-05:00

We in the northeast have been hit fairly hard by Ol' Man Winter this year...we've had three or four substantial snowfalls already (there are still Snowbankzillas here and there two weeks after the last one), and the temperature often hovers in the single digits (Fahrenheit, that is).

When the winter doldrums set in, I like to dig out upbeat music from warmer climes.

Here's a ten-inch LP that followed me home from a yard sale a few months ago:
It's a demonstration record for the 1956 Admiral hi-fi system...and it's also a soundtrack from the Lowell Thomas Cinerama spectacular Seven Wonders Of the World (that's right...it's two! two! two LPs in one! Sorry. it doesn't have a drop of Retsyn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8zwnXjIjPM should explain the reference to an old Certs commercial to non-Yanks.). There are short snippets from (among others) a Watusi ceremony, an Indian wedding, and an Italian tarantella.

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD Various artists Admiral Hi-Fi Demonstration Record (unnumbered)
1. "Metropolitan Rhapsody", introduction

2. Train Effect
3. French Can-Can
4. Percussion Effects
5. "Genghis Khan" Indian Sequence
6. Native Elephant School
7. Native Indian Music and Wedding Procession
9. Tarantella
9. Japanese Percussion Sequence
10. Watusi Native Dance
11. Finale - "Metropolitan Rhapsody"
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KOJB21DP
All in all, it's a pleasant fifteen-minute excursion to Somewhere (Anywhere!) Besides New England.

There was something maddeningly familiar (to me, anyway) about the (anonymous) announcer's voice. After the third or fourth intro, I realized that he was Hanna-Barbera voiceman Don Messick.

(A few years after this LP was recorded, Messick did the voice-over for some educational film strips made by the Bowman company...they were probably made for some high school auto shop course. I have three or four of the seven-inch soundtrack discs. Messick is credited properly on those labels. I suppose I could post one or two of them if there's enough intere$t.)

Messick did the voice for Yogi Bear's nemesis Ranger Smith and his little pal Boo-Boo, too. And Boo-Boo, Yogi, Ranger Smith and company are all in the following LP that features soundtracks from four Yogi Bear cartoons. I find it a little unsettling when an unfamiliar announcer's voice (Howard Berk, who also wrote the commentary) describes a scene that doesn't translate well to the audio-only world. Still, it's fun to hear these voices (and music and sound effects too) again. And I've always liked Daws Butler...he's also on that Jim Backus Christmas 45 I posted back in 2007.

YOGI BEAR AND BOO BOO Colpix CP-205
1. Big Brave Bear
2. Robin Hood Yogi
3. Brainy Bear
4. Buzzin' Bear
1961: Daws Butler and Don Messick, voices; Howard Berk, announcer; stock music (by John Seely)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=45917YRD
The front cover had all kinds of extra "decoration" left by a previous owner...

...which came off quickly with a paper towel. The LP itself is, to steal a Yogi-ism, cleaner than the average kiddie record.

"Boo-boos" can also mean little mistakes. Hmmm...I can think of lots of this other type of Boo-Boos on record labels...the info on the label has something wrong with it. I think I'll post a couple of them now.

The boo-boos I'm listing here are real honest-to-goodness mistakes...I'm ignoring items that have the wrong label pasted on the record, or records deliberately issued under pseudonymous credits (usually for contractual reasons)...

This one's a bit weird...it's a classic 78 (well-played by the original owner) by the Benny Goodman Sextet. On the label, there's a credit to trombonist George Auld.

Of course, Auld played tenor sax.

In the Russell and Hicks BG On The Record, they report (slightly edited for clarity):
The initial Columbia release, 36099, erroneously credits George Auld with a trombone, not tenor sax. Later releases corrected this mistake, but George had some fun with it while it was current.

CO 29942-2 A Smo-o-o-oth One Benny Goodman Sextet Columbia 36099
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/1CEsi-QA/Benny_Goodman_Sextet_-_A_Smo-o.html
CO 29943-1 Good Enough To Keep Benny Goodman Sextet Columbia 36099 http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/V1LF-to4/Benny_Goodman_Sextet_-_Good_En.html
NYC, 13 March 1941: Benny Goodman, clarinet; Cootie Williams, trumpet; George Auld, tenor sax (not trombone); Johnny Guarnieri, piano; Charlie Christian, guitar; Art Bernstein, bass; Dave Tough, drums.

Of course, Good Enough To Keep was quickly retitled Air Mail Special, but that's a different story.

I recently found this pleasant, if not too exciting country record, which was credited to the wrong singer completely!

There really was a "Doc" Roberts who recorded for Gennett and Champion.
For some unknown reason, Decca, who revived Champion in the mid-1930s, reissued two Dick Parman sides, but put them out under Roberts's name!

14492-A Rock All Our Babies To Sleep "Doc" Roberts (actually Dick Parman) Champion 45099
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/_etk6pg3/Dick_Parman_-_Rock_All_Our_Bab.html
14493-B She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain "Doc" Roberts (actually Dick Parman) Champion 45099
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/erIMOtTY/Dick_Parman_-_Shell_Be_Comin_R.html
Richmond, Indiana, 1 December 1928: Dick Parman, vocal & guitar; Asa Martin, harmonica.

To be fair to the Decca Champion folks, Asa Martin often played harmonica on records by the real "Doc" Roberts...perhaps that's the reason for the confusion.

More Boo-boos some other time.

In the same little stack of 78s which contained the Roberts/Parman record, I found this very unusual item:

Most Publix records had black and gold labels and drew from Columbia's Harmony/Diva/Velvet Tone dime-store stock, but this is obviously quite different!

This Ballyhoo record was sent to Publix theatres in 1929 to advertise Paramount's new feature, Innocents of Paris, featuring Maurice Chevalier. Columbia must have balked at the idea of using any of the soundtrack featuring Chevalier, who was a Victor artist. So they had Irving Kaufman, the usual vocalist for the Harmony labels to sing and announce as well!

176015-1 Innocents of Paris Ballyhoo Uncredited artist (Irving Kaufman) Publix (unnumbered)
NYC 1929: Irving Kaufman (uncredited), vocal and announcement; studio orchestra.
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/8BRbxXwo/Uncredited__Irving_Kaufman__-_.html

Note the matrix is in that special 17xxxx Personal series Columbia used for paying clients...that Bernie Cummings/Humming Bird Mills Christmas record I posted in 2007 is another.

And the same recording is on the flip side.

Here's a side for Dave Whitney, local trumpeter/vocalist extraordinaire, who also runs a fine blog http://petekellysblog.blogspot.com/ . I know he's a fan of the Three Stooges (I confess that I am fond of some of their short films as well)...I think he'll like this record.

It's the only record that Leroy Shield recorded under his own name. Shield is best remembered for composing and recording all that wonderfully familiar music used in the Hal Roach comedies (Our Gang, Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, etc.).

The vocalist on the otherwise snoozy Big Trail is Bud Jamison, who was a regular in the early Stooges shorts. The flip side, the mildly un-PC Sing-Song Girl (James Blackstone is vocalist this time) was covered around thirty years ago by R. Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders.

61027-4 Song of the Big Trail Leroy Shield/Victor Hollywood Orchestra Victor 22548
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/mg6Lc1pj/Leroy_Shield_-_Song_of_the_Big.html?sId=19eM3S45jIUOzucc
61026-4 Sing-Song Girl Leroy Shield/Victor Hollywood Orchestra Victor 22548
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/Ej8AJfDr/Leroy_Shield_-_Sing_Song_Girl_.html
Hollywood, 26 September 1930: Leroy Shield, conductor: unknown personnel; James Blackstone or Bud Jamison, vocals.

That's all folks...

Christmas With The Beers Family

2010-12-23T23:32:00.008-05:00

It's Yuletide again, and this year I've been quite busy with all kinds of time-consuming personal stuff (which I won't bore you with)...I did have a little time to digitize a nice holiday-related album for all of yez...

Here's a pleasant (and unfairly forgotten) LP from 1965 or so:

There is hardly any info out there on the Beers Family, other than the standard online biography:
The Beers Family was a traditional folk group active between 1958 and 1972, led by Bob Beers (b. 1920 -- d. May 26, 1972) and featuring his wife Evelyne and their daughter Martha (who joined in 1964). They played traditional Scots-Irish music on traditional instruments like the psaltery. In 1966, they began hosting the Fox Hollow Festival on their farm in the Adirondacks. Bob Beers was killed in an automobile accident in 1972, but his wife and daughter continued to perform and to stage the festival.

Also, Martha (usually known as Marty) was married to folk musician Eric Nagler from 1968-77, and the Fox Hollow Festival ran from 1966-1980. Evelyne Beers died in October 2009.

The liner notes offer a little more info, mostly about the songs:

Christmas With The Beers Family Columbia MS 6335
1965: Robert, Evelyne & Martha Beers, vocals; Robert Beers, psaltery; others unidentified.
1. Three Little Drummers
2. O Holy Night - Cantique de Noel
3. Christmas Hornpipe
4. La Virgen Lava Panales
5. The Holly Bears a Berry
6. What Child Is This?
7. Cherry Tree Carol
8. Away by the Manger So Mild
9. The Seven Joys of Mary
10. Mary's Little Boy Child
11. The Peace Carol
12. Silent Night, Holy Night
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3RX5MB6D
The Beers Family's Away by the Manger So Mild is a reworked Pharaoh's Daughter...also known as Little Moses on a 1928 Carter Family record. I rather like its almost limerick-like meter...

I had hoped to show a YouTube clip of the Beers Family in action, but apparently any film of them has been yanked by the Powers That Be. I hope the Powers don't yank this album too...only a couple of songs from the LP show up on a Beers compilation CD.

I think this album should be reissued...until that time comes, enjoy it as mp3s.

And Happy Holiday Season to one and all...

Songs from a fine concert...

2010-11-19T00:00:00.002-05:00

The other day (6 November), the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse in Franklin, Massachusetts hosted a terrific concert...folk/roots music legends Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur were the headliners.

If, by some sad twist of fate, you don't know them, or the fact that they played together in Kweskin's Jug Band forty-something years ago, here they are in 1967 performing a song familiar to Sanctum readers (from their enigmatically titled LP See Reverse Side For Title):

Never Swat A Fly Jim Kweskin Jug Band Vanguard VSD-79243 (See Reverse Side For Title)
http://www.4shared.com/audio/EgtezIhG/Jim_Kweskin_Jug_Band_-_Never_S.html
1967: featuring Geoff Muldaur, lead vocal; with Jim Kweskin, Maria D'Amato (Muldaur), Bill Keith, Fritz Richmond.

After the show, I talked for a minute with both musicians, and told them about my blog, mentioning that it had two rare versions of Never Swat A Fly... forgetting that the links to those records I originally posted in 2007 were down (to make room for newer stuff).

Oops!

Those songs are re-posted below:

According to Geoff, the band learned the song from this record:

64608-2 Never Swat A Fly McKinney's Cotton Pickers Victor 23020
http://www.4shared.com/audio/tgPY4hZ3/McKinneys_-_Never_Swat_a_Fly.html
NYC, 4 November 1930: Don Redman, conductor; Joe Smith, Rex Stewart, Langston Curl, trumpets; Ed Cuffee, trombone; Don Redman, Benny Carter, Edward Inge, Prince Robinson, reeds; Todd Rhodes, piano; Dave Wilborn, banjo; Billy Taylor, tuba; Cuba Austin, drums; Bill Coty, vocal.

The clarinet soloist is a young Benny Carter.

The song came from a rather strange 1930 science-fiction/comedy/musical film, Just Imagine. I got a copy of the film a while back. Frank Albertson and Marjorie White do their version of Never Swat A Fly here...splices and all:

Never Swat A Fly Frank Albertson & Marjorie White Just Imagine soundtrack
http://www.4shared.com/audio/4gWRPzbu/JUST_IMAGINE_Soundtrack_-__Nev.html
1930;

These two versions, from rare Brunswick-recorded radio discs, are reposted especially for Geoff and Jim, with many thanks for a great show:

XE-35018 (excerpt) Never Swat A Fly The Mirth Quakers from Mirth Quakers, show P, part 4
http://www.4shared.com/audio/kqCgRaOe/Mirth_Quakers_-_Never_Swat_A_F.html
NYC ca. 4 November 1930: Jerry Macy, Norman Brokenshire, vocal; probably Murray Kelner, violin; others unknown.

Notice how they changed the lyrics from "with you" to "with Sue!" not that anything's wrong with that!

XE-35335 (excerpt) Never Swat A Fly Irving Kaufman from Novelty Special, show J, part 2
http://www.4shared.com/audio/K2LtgxBR/Irving_Kaufman_-_Never_Swat_a_.html
NYC 7 November 1930: Irving Kaufman, vocal; personnel uncertain, but my guess is that the band contains Mike Mosiello, trumpet; Andy Sannella, alto sax; and (definitely) Joe Venuti, violin.

Kaufman muffs the words "Here is the motto," somehow getting it "Here is the mos' moto." It's interesting that Brunswick didn't do a retake. They probably figured that the record would be played once over the air, and that would be it...the records were supposed to be returned or destroyed.

Kweskin and Muldaur didn't swat flies that night, but they did perform a whole bunch of other fine stuff. I think I'll post the original versions of some of those other songs:

Here's some fine hot fiddlin' by the legendary hellraiser Prince Albert Hunt:

400435-A Blues In A Bottle Prince Albert Hunt's Texas Ramblers OKeh 45230
http://www.4shared.com/audio/jDydUtx1/Prince_Albert_Hunt_-_Blues_In_.html

San Antonio, 8 March 1928: Archie "Prince" Albert Hunt, fiddle & vocal; unknown, guitar.
Frank Stokes and Dan Sane recorded several sides as the Beale Street Sheiks for Paramount...Kweskin and Muldaur played two Stokes songs that night (Downtown Blues was the other):

4773-1 Sweet To Mama The Beale Street Sheiks (Stokes and Sane) Paramount 12531
http://www.4shared.com/audio/cF1FbBoQ/Beale_Street_Sheiks_-_Sweet_To.html
Chicago, ca. August 1927: Frank Stokes, guitar & vocal; Dan Sane, guitar.

The Jug Band recorded this Leroy Carr song on that See Reverse Side For Title album

C-6092- Papa's On the House Top Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell Vocalion 1593 http://www.4shared.com/audio/3tjK7FV4/Leroy_Carr_-__Papas_On_The_Hou.html
Chicago, 9 September 1930: Leroy Carr, piano & vocal; Scrapper Blackwell, guitar.

Poultry in motion!!

The Chicken Mississippi John Hurt Vanguard VSD 79248 (The Immortal Mississippi John Hurt)

http://www.4shared.com/audio/tFi0UFt1/Mississippi_John_Hurt_-_The_Ch.html

1966: Mississippi John Hurt, vocal & guitar.

Oddly enough, two of the songs performed that night were originally recorded in Johnson City, Tennessee on the same day, probably within minutes of each other! The first was the classic version of Cuckoo by Doc Watson's mentor, Clarence (Tom) Ashley:

149251-2 The Coo-Coo Bird Clarence Ashley Columbia 15489-D
http://www.4shared.com/audio/zGYxrAmE/Clarence_Ashley_-_Coo_Coo_Bird.html
Johnson City, TN, 23 October 1929: Clarence (Tom) Ashley, vocal & banjo.

There is apparently nothing known at all about the Bentley Boys, other than the fact they recorded only two sides on the same day (and nothing else)...

149254-2 Down On Penny's Farm The Bentley Boys Columbia 15565-D
http://www.4shared.com/audio/MZUAvfnp/Bentley_Boys_-__Down_On_Pennys.html
Johnson City, TN, 23 October 1929: Unknown, banjo, guitar & vocal.

Folding money (and not some weird tarnish) is the subject of the next goodie, by the great Memphis bluesman, Furry Lewis.
42425-2 I Will Turn Your Money Green Furry Lewis Victor V-38506
http://www.4shared.com/audio/FwvM-cqP/Furry_Lewis_-_I_Will_Turn_Your.html
Memphis, 28 August 1928: Walter (Furry) Lewis, vocal & guitar

Oh, did you ever see the Burt Reynolds comedy W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings? Furry's featured fairly prominently...

The perennial folkie favorite Fishing Blues was in the playlist too...
C-2003- Fishing Blues Henry Thomas ("Ragtime Texas") Vocalion 1249
http://www.4shared.com/audio/OtLT92bP/Henry_Thomas_-_Fishing_Blues.html
Chicago, 13 June 1928: Henry Thomas, vocal, quills (panpipes) & guitar.

I should mention that I also thoroughly enjoyed the opening act, Eric Royer's one-man band. At one point in the set, he asked for requests. I yelled out "Pretty Polly!" Eric's off-the-cuff rendition was one of the best I've ever heard.

There are several recorded versions of this old murder ballad...the one by Dock Boggs is great, but my favorite is the one recorded by B. F. Shelton.

39736-2 Pretty Polly B. F. Shelton Victor 35838
http://www.4shared.com/audio/kb3uARBW/B_F_Shelton_-_Pretty_Polly.html

Bristol, TN. 29 July 1927: B. F. Shelton, vocal & banjo.

If you noticed that this performance seemed a little longer than the average 3-minute 78, you're right. It came out on a 12-inch 78...

By the way, Polly is descended from a much longer ballad called The Gosport Tragedy, first published around 1767...in the longer version, Polly is pregnant, the murderer goes to sea and is followed by Polly's ghost. The Library of Congress has an early broadside of the ballad:

After the show I told Eric that I thought the old Alfred Karnes song We Shall All Be Reunited might be a good end-of-set piece. It would make a good encore, too...

47234-2 We Shall All Be Reunited Alfred G. Karnes Victor V-40076
http://www.4shared.com/audio/vpPg9hi5/Alfred_G_Karnes_-__We_Shall_Al.html
Bristol, TN, 28 October 1928: Alfred G. Karnes, vocal and harp-guitar.

Yes, this song has been posted here before, but it's so good I can't resist. I've used it as a closing for many mix discs and for those Grits Radio shows.

And I close with it this time too.

PS. I turn 54 today...you can cut off my leg and count the rings...

Hallowe'en 2010

2010-10-28T17:00:00.056-04:00

It's Hallowe'en season again! Here's a triple-decker spook-tacular...with a little chaser!

The first album is a lot of fun...I'm dedicating it to the memory of the trombonist/bandleader Buddy Morrow (born 1919 as Muni Zudekoff, aka Moe Zudekoff) who passed on about a month ago (27 September 2010).

This album is often quite reminiscent of Morrow's previous Impact! and Double Impact! LPs, both of which sold like hotcakes. There are a couple of poems narrated by Keith McKenna, as well as a couple of twistaroos sung by The Skip-Jacks.

POE FOR MODERNS Buddy Morrow Orch RCA Victor LSP-2208
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XUWU5M62

1. The Murders In The Rue Morgue
2. Annabel Lee (Keith McKenna, narrator)
3. The Gold Bug
4. A Descent Into The Maelstrom
5. The Bells (The Skip-Jacks, vocal)
6. The Fall Of The House Of Usher
7. The Pit And The Pendulum
8. Ulalume (Keith McKenna, narrator)
9. The Black Cat
10. The Raven (The Skip-Jacks, vocal)
11. Quoth The Raven
12. The Tell-Tale Heart
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XUWU5M62

The other day, I stumbled across another adaptation of Poe's The Raven here: http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=YoYos ...it's a 1966 garage rocker from Brooklyn.

And you can hear Fred Astaire's Raven-inspired Me And The Ghost Upstairs here http://zorchv38.blogspot.com/2010/08/just-fax-maam.html(shameless self-promotion, eh wot?).

The second LP is a rare one, indeed!

It's one of the strangest spoken-word albums I've ever heard...and one of the best. It's by "stand up tragedian" Theodore Gottlieb (1906-2001), who was usually billed as Brother Theodore. There's a very good website about him here http://www.brothertheodore.net/ , so I'll get out of the way and let you listen.

Oh...the first cut is a somewhat Lorre-esque adaptation of Poe's necro-dontal tale Berenice, and The Willow Landscape is from a story by Clark Ashton Smith.

CORAL RECORDS PRESENTS THEODORE Brother Theodore Gottlieb Coral CRL 57322

1. Introduction and Berenice
2. The Willow Landscape
3. Curse of the Toad
4. Quadrupedism

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2TYUAGLB

Some may recognize Theodore's distinctive voice from this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLssei0sId0

You'll see a much more recent snippet of his Quadrupedism monologue (along with some other diversions) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_KrhFBUTe4&feature=related

You can also hear a "straight" reading of Berenice here http://librivox.org/horror-story-collection-005/.

My third album isn't really spooky at all, but there is a neat black cat on the cover:

It's a musical adaptation by Alan Rawsthorne of six of T. S. Eliot's poems from his Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats...it's short and sweet (and a helluva lot easier for me to enjoy than that Webber thing on Broadway that drew from the same source). The narration is by Mr. Chips, Robert Donat (mmmmm....doughnuts).

OLD POSSUM'S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS 10" Angel 30002

Six Poems by T. S. Eliot
Musical Setting By Alan Rawsthorn
Robert Donat, speaker.
The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by the composer
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PTMTGDUM
1. Overture
2. The Naming Of Cats
3. The Old Gumbie Cat
4. Gus, The Theatre Cat
5. Bustopher Jones: The Cat about Town
6. Old Deuteronomy
7. The Song Of The Jellicles

This LP came in a deluxe box and has a four-page booklet (included in the .zip file).

Since Track 5 is about as cat named Bustopher Jones, and it's on a (big) ten-inch LP, I think I'll give my good friend Buster's blog http://big10inchrecord.blogspot.com/ another plug.

And here's a little lagniappe, borrowed from my good pal, D Burns:

78264 A Cat-Astrophe Columbia Band Columbia A 2855

http://www.4shared.com/audio/IC699ouP/Columbia_Band_-_A_Cat-Astrophe.html
NYC, January 1919.

The flip side is dedicated to my neighbor, Ronster:

78285-3 Slim Trombone Columbia_Band Columbia A 2855
http://www.4shared.com/audio/L_VFuOm_/Columbia_Band_-_Slim_Trombone.html
NYC, 3 February 1919.

And that'll do it for now...hope you dug it (up).

A Helpin' Of Selvin!

2010-10-19T22:00:00.011-04:00

My, my, my...things are hoppin' with the Blog...the Wilmoth Houdini Calypsos album has generated a LOT of traffic, thanks to fellow bloggers at http://easydreamer.blogspot.com/2010/09/hot-dogs-made-their-name.html and http://flashstrap.blogspot.com/2010/09/stone-cold-dead-in-market-wilmouth.html (he also loved the Calypso Carnival LP...maybe Sony ought to reissue it?). And my humble blog is in the list at the bottom of the page at http://yourpaldoug.blogspot.com/ .

So, I'm a bit more inspired than usual!

Every now and then, we 78 collectors find strange items like that oddball Ambrose test pressing I posted last month...the matrix number on the label doesn't match the one in the wax. And the title wasn't listed.

Sometimes we find oddities in the discographies, like the following four sides. They're labeled as being performed by three different orchestras, but they're actually all led by the ubiquitous Ben Selvin...and all recorded the same day!

This French Odeon has two Selvin sides, issued in the States on Harmony and Velvet Tone (on consecutively issued records, not back-to-back as they are here).

The first side is of a rather pretty De Sylva-Brown-Henderson composition, If You Haven't Got Love.

351074-2 If You Haven't Got Love Phil Hughes High Hatters (French) Odeon 250.092

http://www.4shared.com/audio/HvcqKHpt/Phil_Hughes__Selvin__-_If_You_.html

NYC, 21 July 1931: Ben Selvin, conductor; large studio orchestra.

There's an interesting clip of Gloria Swanson singing the song here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTGjxbWWCWQ

The flip side is a perky Irving Berlin song, Me. The muted trumpet solo is by Manny Klein.

351063-2 Me Frank Auburn Orchestra (French) Odeon 250.092

http://www.4shared.com/audio/r5hwDaqb/Frank_Auburn__Selvin__-_Me.htmlNYC, 21 July 1931: Ben Selvin, conductor; large studio orchestra.

Oh...there were a couple of other future "big names" in this session, as you'll see momentarily. I'm keeping them up my sleeve for the time being.

You might notice that the above two sides are in the mysterious 350000 matrix series that Columbia used for many sides issued by their dime-store labels (Harmony, Diva, Velvet Tone and Clarion) at the time. The following sides are in the conventional Columbia 140000-150000 series.

Here's another version of the same tune...again, it's recorded on the same day with the same orchestra, but with a completely different arrangement.

151695 Me! The Knickerbockers Columbia 2502-D

http://www.4shared.com/audio/aTkvQZG0/Knickerbockers__Selvin__-_Me.html

NYC, 21 July 1931: Ben Selvin, conductor; large studio orchestra.

Notice that the Columbia adds an exclamation point to the title! I think this version is the better of the two, but I'm partial to BG solos.

Also, you'll hear this particular record as part of a Skinner’s Romancers transcribed radio show here http://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/2010/08/12/skinners-romancers-pgm-2/

I'll finish this section with the flip side, a fluffy bit of froth (or is it a frothy bit of fluff?):

151694 Slow But Sure The Knickerbockers Columbia 2502-D

http://www.4shared.com/audio/lYBL7304/Knickerbockers__Selvin__-_Slow.html

I found this recording in another Skinner show: http://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/2010/09/28/skinners-romancers-pgm-3/

And here's the complete (more-or-less) scoop on the previous four sides:

NYC, 21 June 1931: Ben Selvin, conductor; large studio orchestra featuring (among others) Manny Klein, trumpet; Tommy Dorsey, trombone; Benny Goodman, clarinet; Hymie Wolfson, tenor sax; Dick Robertson, vocal.

While I'm a-Selvin', I think I'll play this rarity...it's in Columbia's short-lived 18000-D Longer Playing Series. Forgive the condition...it's very rough at the beginning and is a little blasty on certain high notes. But records in this series are quite rare...this is the only one I own.

255000-1 Medley - "Face The Music" Ben Selvin Orch, with Kate Smith, Jack Miller, and The Three Nitecaps Columbia 18000-D
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/fl7OXVv2/Selvin_Smith_Miller_3_Nitecaps.html

I've included pictures of both labels...mainly because I'm too lazy to type out the individual songs...

255001-2 Medley - "Hot-Cha" Ben Selvin Orch, with Kate Smith, Jack Miller, and The Three Nitecaps Columbia 18000-D
http://www.4shared.com/audio/v5Nl9AEP/Selvin_Smith_Miller_3_Nitecaps.html

NYC, 22 March 1932: Ben Selvin, conductor; large studio orchestra; Kate Smith, Jack Miller, and the Three Nitecaps, vocals.

I have a couple of other single items from other rare series...like this Cajun piece from 1929:

110552-2 Poche Town Joe Falcon with Clemo & Ophy Breaux Columbia 40506-F

http://www.4shared.com/audio/7nbLsXKo/Joe_Falcon_-_Poche_Town.html
110553-2 Osson Joe Falcon with Clemo & Ophy Breaux Columbia 40506-F

http://www.4shared.com/audio/MIxW3M3N/Joe_Falcon_-_Osson.html
Atlanta 18 April 1929: Ophy Breaux, fiddle; Joe Falcon, accordion & vocal; Cleoma Breaux (Falcon), guitar.

This was in the rare Columbia 40500-F Arcadian-French Series...all were reissued in OKeh's 90000 series, which are probably just as rare as these are.

Osson is awesome (sorry!)...this one's in such great condition I didn't need to use any noise reduction or other enhancement.

_______________________________________

This lovely record is in the strange Columbia 40000-D series...which was apparently used only on the West Coast...outside of a couple of extraordinarily rare jazz/dance pieces (The Curtis Mosby record in this series is particularly sought-after), it consisted mainly of Hawaiian sides by the likes of Sol Hoopii and Benny Nawahi.

This one features Tau and Rose Moe, recorded in Japan in 1929:

32265 Lei I Ka Mokihana Madame Riviere's Hawaiians Columbia 40005-D
http://www.4shared.com/audio/FvWsenal/Madame_Rivieres_Hawaiians_-_Le.html
32258 Paahana Hula Madame Riviere's Hawaiians Columbia 40005-D
http://www.4shared.com/audio/yyvavMBF/Madame_Rivieres_Hawaiians_-_Pa.html

Tokyo, 1929: featuring Rose Moe, vocal; Tau Moe, guitar.

Let's stay with Hawaiian music (and return to French Odeon) for this favorite of mine:

According to the liner notes of Tickling the Strings (Harlequin HQ CD 28), not much is known about the husband-and-wife team of Kanui and Lula. They were based in Paris at the time of the recording, and Lula danced the hula and played ukulele.

The Parlophone issue of Oua Oua apparently sold quite well in the UK. Brian Rust mentions it in his book on record labels.

My copy is on French Odeon...

KI 6090-2 Tomi, Tomi Kanui & Lula
(French) Odeon 166.670

http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/u_-bb_AQ/Kanui__Lula_-_Tomi_Tomi.html

KI 6089-2 Oua Oua Kanui & Lula (French) Odeon 166.670

Paris, 21 June 1933: Kanui, guitar & vocal; Lula, ukulele.

http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/IynCOIbK/Kanui__Lula_-_Oua_Oua.html

A few years ago, the Max Brothers did something very weird with this record (which is rather weird itself...to me it sounds like a demented Elvis channelling Lassie)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBFr-J4nUdo

I'll finish up with a couple of sides by the "French Bing Crosby," Jean Sablon.

Looking at the label, you'd never guess that this record has some splendid guitar work by Jean-Baptiste Reinhardt...that Django cat.

CL-5487-3 Cette Chanson Est Pour Vous Jean Sablon (French) Columbia DF 1847

http://www.4shared.com/audio/e0ElSuof/Jean_Sablon_-_Cette_Chanson_Es.html

CL-5518-1 Rendez-vous Sous La Pluie Jean Sablon (French) Columbia DF 1847

http://www.4shared.com/audio/qFN926QN/Jean_Sablon_-_Rendez-Vous_Sous.html

Paris, 12 July 1935: Jean Sablon, vocal; Stephane Grappelly, violin & piano; Django & Joseph Reinhardt, guitars; Louis Vola, bass.

Monsieur Grappelli hadn't changed the spelling of his surname yet, so I'll use the original spelling here.

...and that'll do it for this installment.

10 October '10!

2010-10-10T13:58:00.030-04:00

So...it's the tenth of October 2010!!! Or 10/10/10!!

Here's a little pop-oriented Ellington item with three Tens in the title...

64812-1 Nine Little Miles From Ten-Ten-Tennessee Duke Ellington Cotton Club Orchestra Victor 22586
http://www.4shared.com/audio/fnNMTYQL/03_Nine_Little_Miles_From_Ten-.html
NYC, 21 November 1930: Freddy Jenkins, Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, trumpets; Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol, trombones; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, saxes; Duke Ellington, piano; Fred Guy, banjo; Wellman Braud, bass; Sonny Greer, drums; Smith Ballew, vocal.

Let's get a "unRaveled" with two unusual adaptations of a familiar classic:

81369-1 Bolero Jacques Fray & Mario Braggiotti Victor 24563
http://www.4shared.com/audio/4j21RHov/Fray__Braggiotti_-_Bolero.html
NYC, 7 February 1934: Jacques Fray & Mario Braggiotti, piano duet.

63369-1 Bolero Nat Shilkret / Victor Orchestra Victor 22571
http://www.4shared.com/audio/hU88ntGT/Nat_Shilkret_-_Bolero.html
NYC, 3 October 1930: Nat Shilkret, large studio orchestra.

Why those Boleros?

Hardy, har, har....

Now for something completely different...a rather late entry in Columbia's 15000-D Old-Time Tunes (country) catalogue:

151987-1 I'm Tying The Leaves Hinkey Myers Columbia 15725-D
http://www.4shared.com/audio/1uS9kFWS/Hinkey_Myers_-_Im_Tying_The_Le.html
Atlanta, 30 October 1931: Hinkey Myers, vocal; Sarah Dye, piano
Oh well, so the song's a bit maudlin, and she sounds like Annette Hanshaw with hiccups.

But the flip side is something extraordinary...a nice semi-jazz offering:

W151993-1 Memphis Peggy Parker Columbia 15725-D
http://www.4shared.com/audio/5hDYuRDV/Peggy_Parker_-_Memphis.html
Atlanta, 30 October 1931: Peggy Parker, vocal; with Perry Bechtel's Orchestra: Perry Bechtel, guitar; Jean Egart, trumpet; others unknown.

Sadly, both of these sides represent the only issued performances of these singers...I suppose we could be grateful that Hinkey Myers's I'll See You Again remained in the can, but someone should try to locate Peggy Parker's You're Not The Same.

And that's "thirty" for now...or is that "three tens?"

My new toy!!

2010-09-27T17:28:00.013-04:00

This weekend, I got an inexpensive (ten simoleons!) used scanner (didja see the two new scans on the last post?)...and Blogger has a peachy new interface I need to get used to. And I have three somewhat mysterious/exotic songs to post too...

Here are a couple of unusual sides by Hindustani Chotey Khan on Sarangi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarangi). I can't read the title to these songs...Murari gave me transliterations of the titles:

OE 1443 Piloo Barva Mr. Chotey Khan Indian Megaphone J.N.G. 11

http://www.4shared.com/audio/RheAUS_f/Chotey_Khan_-_OE_1443_2.html

OE 1444 Tilak Kamod Mr. Chotey Khan Indian Megaphone J.N.G. 11

http://www.4shared.com/audio/_2tuPqUe/Chotey_Khan_-_OE_1444.html

Mr. Chotey Khan, sarangi; Sj. Anath Bose, tabla.

This weird British test pressing I found many years ago...

...apparently the engineers didn't know the title (note the smudged question mark).

Maybe it was the discrepancy between the matrix number in the wax and the one on the label that flummoxed him.

DR11471-1 ? (Bert)Ambrose Orch UK Decca test pressing

http://www.4shared.com/audio/pTej5CRi/Ambrose_-____DR_11471-1__2.html

It's a strange piece of music, reminding me of what might result if someone like Reginald Foresythe wrote for the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra.

...and there you go! ~~Three items~~ that will have to remain nameless for the time being. Hope you dug them.

~~Well, now there's only one nameless item...~~

Bandman wrote in that he thought the mystery Ambrose cut might be Dance of the Potted Puppet from 1947, with clarinet passages by Carl Barriteau. A quick phone call to my good friend Rich Trahan (who has a copy) confirmed that it is.

Here's a review of the record from the 29 November 1947 Billboard:

And thanks again to Murari, Bandman, and Rich for the help!

More Calypso: Wilmoth Houdini

2010-09-16T02:29:00.007-04:00

I've noticed that some of the most-downloaded albums in Ye Olde Zorche Bloggue are those that feature calypso music (at last count, 210 on the Sir Lancelot set and 278 on Calypso Carnival).I think I'll post some more...it's a 6-song album (three 78s, actually...and there's a nice descriptive booklet, too!) by legendary calypsonian, Wilmoth Houdini.
CALYPSOS Wilmoth Houdini Decca Album 78
66526A Monkey Swing Decca 18005-A

66528A He Had It Coming Decca 18005-B

66523A Welcome of Their Majesties Decca 18006-A

66527A Hot Dogs Made Their Name Decca 18006-B

66525A Roosevelt Opens The World's Fair Decca 18007-A
66524A Johnny Take My Wife Decca 18007-B

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6SY9FWI5

NYC 11 September 1939: Wilmoth Houdini, vocal; with the Royal Calypso Orchestra.

Yes, it appears that all six songs in this album were recorded at that one session. Four of them were about then-current events...the New York World's Fair (where Houdini performed), the arrival of the British King and Queen in June, and the menu for the Royal Picnic held at FDR's estate on the 11th (more on the visit here http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/royalv.html), and a murder that occurred in Port-of-Spain's Grass Market.

You can find a bit more on Mr. Houdini at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmoth_Houdini , but they give the composition date of He Had It Coming as 1946, which is six years after this recording. Time ran an article about the composer as well (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,933584,00.html).

In October 1945, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan recorded their spirited version of the song, calling it Stone Cold Dead In The Market. It sold quite well in the summer of 1946.
73073 Stone Cold Dead In The Market Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan Decca 23546
http://www.4shared.com/audio/WpTP-xl6/Ella_Fitzgerald__Louis_Jordan_.html
NYC, 9 October 1945: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan, vocals; with Louis Jordan's (somewhat augmented) Tympany Five: Aaron Izenhall. trumpet; Louis Jordan, alto sax; Josh Jackson, tenor sax; William Davis, piano; Carl Hogan, piano; Jesse Simpkins, bass; Eddie Byrd, drums; Harry Dial, maracas; Vic Lourie, claves.

The following year, Tiger Haynes and The Three Flames covered another song from this album (which Houdini himself had previously recorded in 1932):
CO 37383 Johnny Take My Wife The Three Flames Columbia 37321

http://www.4shared.com/audio/8gxVCYSH/Three_Flames_-_Johnny_Take_My_.html
NYC 17 February 1947: Tiger Haynes, vocal & guitar; Roy Testamark, piano; Bill (Averill) Pollard, vocal & bass.

Billboard's reviewers (in the issue of 17 May 1947) didn't much care for it...

...which may be one reason this didn't sell nearly as well as their previous record, their cover of Jack McVea's Open The Door Richard. I don't care...I rather like the side, but the Houdini one is better.

Finally, I offer a couple of interesting airchecks I found a few years ago in a stash of 78s...sometimes those home-recordings contain gems like these:

-- Sweet Sue / Hand To Mouth Boogie Adler, Ross & Burns Aircheck
5 September 1944: Larry Adler, harmonica; Shirley Ross, piano; Bob Burns, bazooka.
http://www.4shared.com/audio/lXcLwnkq/Adler_Ross__Burns_-_Sweet_Sue_.html
I assume that this is from Burns's program...he seems to be the host, anyway.

And here's a little thing by Tommy Dorsey:

-- It's Never Too Late To Pray Tommy Dorsey Aircheck

http://www.4shared.com/audio/Mmw9OmGe/Tommy_Dorsey_-_Its_Never_Too_L.html

circa 1945: Tommy Dorsey, trombone solo.

...and yes, according to Tommy Dorsey, his friend (the composer) Willard Robison's last name was pronounced "ROBE-is-son."

One last point...I recently received a very generous donation from our pal The Mad Doughnut Man, who hosts the terrific Original Bandbox show Thursdays on WRDV (http://www.wrdv.org/)

This entire post is for you, my friend!!! And thanks again!!

Just the FAX, Ma'am!

2010-08-19T22:28:00.000-04:00

Around a year and a half ago, I posted that unusual 7-inch Hires Root Beer advertising record by Blossom Dearie. Apparently, it's quite rare and isn't in the standard discographies (is it in the online Lord discog yet?). It certainly got a lot of downloads...350 at last count (200 for the Meet side, 150 for the Theme). Of course, The Whoopee Hat Brigade still gets the most traffic...532 downloads and counting.

Here's another strange 7-inch 33, pressed on lovely (if a little scuffed) blue vinyl:

I had no idea what it was when I bought it, but I reckoned that any record with Bud Shank, Buddy Collette and Milt Bernhart must be interesting...especially since it was on the FAX label, an early-1960s label that specialized in somewhat smutty standup comedy and music.

Once I heard the Trailer Sound Track (track 6), it became obvious that these cuts were from the soundtrack of a rather obscure nudie movie called Bachelor Tom Peeping. It's obscure now, but apparently it was a favorite of Russ Meyer.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210560/

I was able to pin down the complete personnel and (approximate) recording date at http://www.lastudiomusicians.org/Jazz%20on%20Screen.pdf

BACHELOR TOM PEEPING
USA 1962
Music Directed/Conducted by: Alex Sandford
Soundtrack Personnel: Irv Bush, Joe Graves, trumpet; Milt Bernhart, trombone; Al Maebe, bass trombone; Ira Westley, tuba; Bud Shank, Buddy Collette, alto sax; Lew Ellenhorn, bass clarinet; Jack Nimitz, baritone sax; Walt Ritchie, bassoon; Victor Feldman, Emil Richards, vibraphone; Bill Kraft, drums.

BACHELOR TOM PEEPING Soundtrack Alex Sandford Orch FAX FAXMPS 2201

1. Candy Apple Corvette (main theme) (featuring Bud Shank)
2. Bachelor Tom's Theme (featuring Buddy Collette)
3. Heavenly Bodies Mambo
4. The Grandma Bit (featuring Milt Bernhart)
5. Tom's End (end title)
6. Trailer Sound Track

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QR61M848

I thought I'd give the jazz nuts scans of both labels (if I didn't, somebody would ask me to anyway) along with the the music, which is pretty good! Some of it reminds me of the jazzier cues used in Hanna-Barbera cartoons (is Alex Sandford a pseudonym?)...and the strange sound effects at the end of the trailer may have been borrowed from H-B as well.

I don't see 45s pressed by FAX very often...here's one of them:

It seems to be a sampler of material taken from their Wild Party Songs series of LPs (see http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/drinkingsongs/html/sounds/fax-records.htm for info
on them). Many of these songs were recorded previously by Oscar Brand. I like Brand's versions better, but these aren't bad either.

WILD PARTY SONGS Unidentified artists FAX EP-BA/BB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YVEXE20X

1. Black-Eyed Susie
2. Blinded By Turds
3. Get Along Home Cindy
4. Pinto Pony

Oh, I have no idea why FAX (obviously) dubbed in crowd effects between the cuts, but they're there...

Rrrr....this one's for you and your pals...
___________________________________________
Recently, this record followed me home...

101197-1 You Started Me Dreaming Wingy Mannone Orch Bluebird B-6359 http://www.box.net/shared/uqg26l99cx
101198-1 Tormented Wingy Mannone Orch. Bluebird B-6359
http://www.box.net/shared/2bzx0els1r
NYC: 9 April 1936: Wingy Mannone, trumpet & vocal; Joe Marsala, clarinet; Matty Matlock, Eddie Miller, clarinet & tenor saxes; Conrad Lanoue, piano; Nappy Lamare, guitar (and speech on Dreaming); Artie Shapiro, bass; Ray Bauduc, drums.

These were the first two sides that Mannone recorded for Bluebird (with a pickup band, consisting mainly of sidemen from Bob Crosby's orchestra). And it's a Buffy! (No, not a slayer of the undead, it's a Bluebird with that creamy-yellow label that 78-collectors love!)

The B-side, Tormented, is a particularly enjoyable Will Hudson song...which was stuck in my head for quite a while. Then I remembered a rather unusual version of the same tune by jazz harpist Casper Reardon:

P-19095-1 Tormented Casper Reardon, his Harp and Orch Liberty Music Shop L 193
http://www.box.net/shared/x41o4inl2x
P-19094-1 In A Sentimental Mood Casper Reardon, his Harp and Orch Liberty Music Shop L 193
http://www.boxcn.net/shared/vftr68hha5

NYC 23 April 1936: Casper Reardon, harp; unidentified accompaniment (drawn mainly from Lud Gluskin's orchestra)

I'm rather fond of the Ellington cover on the flip side too...
___________________________________________

Finally, I'd like to acknowledge a few new donations to the blog...with a few more cuts that are tokens of thanks...

One donation came from Ted Hering...whose name is quite well-known among Spike Jones fans. Here's an item that should interest him...a Fred Astaire side!

LA 2239-A Me And The Ghost Upstairs Fred Astaire Columbia 35815
http://www.box.net/shared/rhaphu6462
LA, 22 September 1940: Fred Astaire, vocal & dancing; Studio orchestra with (among others) Mannie Klein, trumpet; Charles LaVere, piano; Perry Botkin, guitar; Lindley Jones, drums.

Well...this Poe-influenced side has a set of tuned cowbells, played by Lindley Jones (Spike to you and me). I wonder if this is the first time his bells show up on record...

I also got a donation from good friend AJ...he's a confirmed Prezaholic. Here's Lester jamming with Benny, Bunny, Roy, and Teddy, from a 1938 broadcast...buried in a Bunny Berigan CD:

-- I Know That You Know WNEW Jam Session Soundcraft SC-5005 (CD)
http://www.box.net/shared/dfr92j9sdr
NYC, 6 July 1938: Bunny Berigan, Roy Eldridge, trumpets; Benny Goodman, clarinet; Lester Young, tenor sax; Teddy Wilson, piano.

Whew...it doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Here's a cut for another friend who shall remain ~~hoaxless~~ nameless. He surprised me recently by singing this forgotten (and politically incorrect, but this was the 1920s!) vaudeville-era song...

73425-D Bologny George McClennon's Jazz Devils OKeh 8337
http://www.box.net/shared/6cni3rl9td
NYC 11 June 1925: George McClennon, vocal; probably Eddie Heywood, piano; others (cornet, trumpet, alto sax, banjo, drums) unidentified.

Most of McClennon's records feature his squawking "gaspipe" clarinet...this one doesn't.

And last but not least, here's a very odd cut for Mr. dBurns:

-- Why Don't You Grow Right? Unidentified performer Magnadisc (unnumbered)
http://www.box.net/shared/1cuz2kjrda

This gem was taken from a (badly-recorded and worse-pressed) record of a musical revue evidently staged by the Class of 1952 at CalTech (there are many references to CalTech, as well as one to a 1952 Rolls Royce). Can anybody out there give me more information about this revue?

Again, I thank my patrons...if anybody else would like to donate a little $omething, they'll get a song dedicated to them too!

That'll nail the seeds to the roof for now...maybe I can get 'em to grow right.

Thanks! (featuring Hank, Barney, and Tut!)

2010-06-03T00:23:00.001-04:00

Yep...it has been a while, hasn't it? Sorry 'bout that!

First thing, I want to thank a couple of patrons who donated a bit to El Bloggo...the first donation came in within twelve hours of the first appearance of the Paypal button. So, as a token of thanks, here's a great (if somewhat forgotten) side by the Claude Thornhill band.

CO 32936 Buster's Last Stand Claude Thornhill Orch Columbia 36858
http://www.box.net/shared/erxyz2hcm5
NYC, 19 June 1942: large orchestra...best-known musicians here are Randy Brooks, Conrad Gozzo, trumpets; John Graas, French horn; Danny Polo, clarinet; Barry Galbraith, guitar; and Gil Evans did the arrangement...

In late April, my Scrabble-playing friend Jawn took me to see one of my all-time heroes, Neil Innes.

I've been a fan of the Bonzo Dog Band since I first heard them, around 1974...Dr. Demento played them and I was hooked immediately.

In addition to being one of the lead Bonzos (the late Viv Stanshall was the other one), Neil was a co-creator of The Rutles, as well as the "Seventh Python." He can be seen and heard quite a bit in The Holy Grail...here's some footage from the show (no, I didn't take it...) in which he talks about his experience and sings a couple of songs from the movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR1_9AxEBSk

If you're not familiar with the Bonzos (and why aren't you?) there are quite a few video clips of them in general circulation...the best ones are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbLDI5lNdRQ and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hcZ4s9cvpw . Neil's guitar solo on the latter is just amazing...

Neil did a one-man show...one of the best shows I've ever attended, I might add.

'Twas a terrific "unbirthday" present, my friend...thanks again for taking me!

Neil signed a couple of 45s for me (a promo of the Bonzos' I'm The Urban Spaceman and the store-stock issue of the Rutles' Doubleback Alley...I wonder how many copies there of that single...I haven't seen any since I bought mine back in 1978) and posed for a couple of pics with Yers Truly. I was so tickled I forgot to mention to Neil that I am a collector of 78s (some of the sillier Bonzo songs came from old 78s as well). Here's hoping he sees this posting...he is indeed quite a nice chap...

Anyway, I met a couple of folks at the show and we shared a table. Rob and I immediately started talking about old records and musicians...and Rob's wife and Jawn both thought that it was amazing that our tastes were so similar.

A couple of days after the show, Rob donated a double-sawbuck to the blog...and here's a thank-you song for him as well...I know that Roger Ruskin Spear (another ex-Bonzo) did this song on one of his solo LPs. I just happened to have the song on my hard drive.

48578-3 All by Yourself in The Moonlight Irving Aaronson Commanders Victor 21867
NYC 16 January 1929: Large dance band...a young (18!) Artie Shaw is in the sax section.
http://www.box.net/shared/6oyz9cn4j0

Oh, what the heck...here's the flip side! It's a dandy version of a (soon-to-be) standard.

48577-6 If I Had You Irving Aaronson Commanders Victor 21867
http://www.box.net/shared/zyiuahunb4
Same session.
Whew...now the dedications are out of the way! Again, I thank my patrons...wish I had more of them.
___________________________________________

Jawn and his wife took me to Tanglewood a couple of years ago to see legendary jazz pianists Ahmad Jamal and Hank Jones. That was another fine show...

A few weeks ago, Hank Jones died at the ripe old age of 91. He was active pretty much until the end.

I thought I'd present one of Hank's early albums...it was recorded in 1947.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5VDNX5RC

HANK JONES' BE-BOP PIANO Mercury Album A61
1. Tea For Two
2. Yesterdays
3. You're Blase
4. Night We Called It A Day
5. Blues For Lady Day
6. Blue Room

probably NYC, September-October, 1947: Hank Jones, piano solos

Here's one of the labels...it has a doozy of a typo:

"A Lady Day?" Were there more than one? The only Lady Day I know was Billie Holiday (No, Doris doesn't have that nickname, although I'm sure she's a very nice lady). And I wonder how "traditional" this blues is...it's probably a Jones original.

_______________________________________

Now for something completely different (hmmm...another Python reference!)...my pal D Burns (who celebrated a birthday last weekend!) let me borrow a rather amusing Edison Diamond Disc by Billy Jones and Ernest Hare.

One side has the 1923 hit inspired by the popular comic strip, Barney Google (Yes, I suppose you could Google Google is you wanted to...).

8923 Barney Google Billy Jones and Ernest Hare Edison 51155 http://www.box.net/shared/hnzxarzqkq
NYC, 13 April 1923: Billy Jones and Ernest Hare vocals; with orchestra.

The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in late 1922 inspired this amusing ditty from the pen of Harry Von Tilzer, which was on the flip side:
8929 Old King Tut Billy Jones and Ernest Hare Edison 51155 http://www.box.net/shared/5i7mhuctzc
NYC, 17 April 1923: same personnel.

Those sides are a lot of fun, aren't they?

Are there any other pieces of popular music that deal with any archeological digs? I can't think of any...

Now, here's where things start to get a little weird.

Columbia also issued their versions of Jones and Hare's Tut and Google...back to back, like the Edison! Here they are:

80967-2 Barney Google Billy Jones and Ernest Hare Columbia A3876 http://www.box.net/shared/zjd2m8prvp
80968-2 Old King Tut Billy Jones and Ernest Hare Columbia A3876
http://www.box.net/shared/9in4s4ze5v
NYC, 14 April 1923: Jones and Hare, vocals; orchestral accompaniment.

There's a bit of confusion regarding the recording dates. The Abrams database gives 13 April 1923 for both Columbia sides, which is also the date for the Edison Google. Were they in two different studios (singing the same song) on the same day?

FLASH! Luis wrote in to say the Columbia Master Book gives the following day, 14 April as the date. My date has been corrected. Thanks!

Also, it appears that Jones and Hare (also known as The Happiness Boys and The Interwoven Pair, after their hosiery-making radio sponsor) were free-lancing in the recording studios...they appear on just about every label in the 1920s.

I suppose I should mention here that there's an extra verse on each of the Edison recordings that aren't on the Columbias. Even with those extra verses, those are fairly short performances for Edison...Diamond Discs often contain around five minutes of music per side.

A few days later, Columbia recorded Frank Guarente's Georgians (a small jazz group taken from Paul Specht's band) doing their versions of those two songs.

And, wouldn't you know it, Columbia had to issue these versions back-to-back, too!

80992-4 Old King Tut The Georgians Columbia A3902
http://www.box.net/shared/4a6m9k1mur
80993-5 Barney Google The Georgians Columbia A3902 http://www.box.net/shared/yzzh34bas0
NYC 27 April 1923

Had enough Tutandgoogle?

No?

It appears that another friend of mine, Victrolaman, has posted his copy of the Edison Tut on Youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucEKLzkCv14
No, it's not quite the same...it's a different take from D Burns's copy (the spoken intros are slightly different)

And there's an alternate take of the Edison Google as well...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJr85QVsYf8 (notice that Billy Jones inserts a little laugh at the 0:41 mark that's not on D Burns's copy).

Whew...

With all the back-to-back stuff, perhaps we should sing a quick chorus of Zombie Jamboree?

I wonder if I should mention Victor Buono here...

Nah, I guess not. Tut, tut, tut. Maybe I'll save that for a featurette on recordings by villains on the original Batman TV show. Quite a few of them made records...

'Til the next time, and avoid any strange curses, okay?

A record rescue

2010-03-06T21:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry I've been away...I just haven't had a lot of time to work on Ye Olde Zorche Bloggue. So I'm posting a good-sized bunch o' sides for y'all. Enjoy!

Many of us in the 78-collecting field have gotten phone calls from people who have 78s and just want them out of their attics and cellars. Most of the stuff we see is the stuff that sold well in its era: pop vocals and pop bands (and I'm including anything from Billy Murray to Rosemary Clooney, and Paul Whiteman to Glenn Miller). Oh, and lots of classical! I'm not saying that any of these are bad...no sir! It's just that these records are too common for most of us to really bother with.

I recently went on such a rescue...in this case the person actually carted the records to a convenient location in Providence. Of course, there was a lot of 1940s-50s pop stuff. But there was a large batch of early 1930s records on Brunswick and Victor (and hardly any other labels from the period!). Many were well-loved by their original owners and show obvious signs of wear, others were in better shape. Still, it was a very pleasant surprise to see and hear some of these sides...and I think I'll share some of the more interesting ones with you.

Much of that early 1930s material featured two of the better crooners of the day, Al Bowlly and Bing Crosby.

It's true that many of the Decca sides by Bing can be safely ignored (although there are some gems there too), but I've found that his earlier records on Brunswick tend to be rather good. Some are fantastic, like these two which also feature the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra:

B-13149-A Someone Stole Gabriel's Horn Bing Crosby Brunswick 6533 http://www.box.net/shared/41al175v9h
B-13150-A Stay On the Right Side of the Road Bing Crosby Brunswick 6533 http://www.box.net/shared/g1h3xzl725
NYC, 14 March 1933: Bing Crosby, with Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, featuring Bunny Berigan, trumpet; Tommy Dorsey, trombone; Jimmy Dorsey, clarinet and alto sax.

This one surprised me a little...Bing is accompanied by Helen (Mrs. Jesse) Crawford's pipe organ:

E-37474-A Can't We Talk It Over Bing Crosby Brunswick 6240 http://www.box.net/shared/d77404xb5s
NYC, 21 December 1931: Bing Crosby, vocal; Helen Crawford, organ of the Paramount Theatre.

Yes, this one was pretty well worn...as was its other side, which features Bing with the Mills Brothers:

E-37467-A Dinah Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers Brunswick 6240 http://www.box.net/shared/n5kcvasyv5
NYC 16 December 1931: Bing Crosby, vocal; Mills Brothers, vocal and instrument imitations; studio orchestra with the Dorseys and Bunny Berigan.

It's fun trying to figure out where the band leaves off and the Mills' instrument-imitation takes over.

Here's one of my favorite songs of the period, Blue Prelude:

B-791-A Blue Prelude Bing Crosby Brunswick 6601
http://www.box.net/shared/cg3gydo1gy
Los Angeles, 13 June 1933: Bing Crosby, vocal; Jimmie Greer Orch.

And there's another in a similar down-and-out mood, Black Moonlight, from Bing's picture Too Much Harmony.

LA-4-A Black Moonlight Bing Crosby Brunswick 6643 http://www.box.net/shared/852vjnguto
Los Angeles, 27 August 1933: Bing Crosby, vocal; Jimmie Greer Orch.

Notice the little tympani fills...they add just a little oomph to the record, don't they?

Let's cheer up a bit with this one, from Bing's last session for Brunswick (a month later, he started to record for Decca). It was also from Bing's picture She Loves Me Not:

LA-182-A I'm Hummin' - I'm Whistlin' - I'm Singin' Bing Crosby Brunswick 6938 http://www.box.net/shared/kzdrkuc8b6
Los Angeles, 5 July 1934: Bing Crosby, vocal; Irving Aaronson's Commanders.

...and I'm movin' on to another artist...

There were a few Paul Whiteman records in that early 1930s stash...these two feature the irresistable team of Johnny Mercer and Jack Teagarden.

81715-A Fare-Thee-Well to Harlem Paul Whiteman Orch Victor 24571 http://www.box.net/shared/hfyfmhmyc5

NYC, 16 February 1934: featuring Johnny Mercer and Jack Teagarden, vocal; Teagarden's trombone too.

Nice side, even with the somewhat dated stereotype! This record must have sold fairly well, for they came back two months later with a sequel:

82320-A Christmas Night In Harlem Paul Whiteman Orch Victor 24615 http://www.box.net/shared/beryd5qiei

NYC, 17 April 1934: Johnny Mercer and Jack Teagarden, vocal; Teagarden's trombone too.

Mercer's on the next side as well, along with Peggy Healy .

84010-1 Pardon My Southern Accent Paul Whiteman Orch Victor 24704 http://www.box.net/shared/897k8nxxug

The flip side has a strange little song, with a slightly warped history lesson:

84011-1 Here Come The British Paul Whiteman Orch Victor 24704 http://www.box.net/shared/klzpvrbj74

NYC, 18 August 1934: featuring Peggy Healy, Johnny Mercer, vocal; John Hauser, British patter on the second side

And here come the British indeed...Ray Noble, freshly arrived in New York and working with a new band that Glenn Miller put together for Noble. Noble took his vocalist Al Bowlly along for a while.

92748-2 Double Trouble Ray Noble Orch Victor 25105 http://www.box.net/shared/qrugr09yia
92750-1 I Wished On The Moon Ray Noble Orch Victor 25104 http://www.box.net/shared/f2ekpdp15t
NYC, 20 July 1935: Charlie Spivak, Pee Wee Erwin, trumpets; Glenn Miller, Will Bradley, trombones; Johnny Mince (born Muenzenberger, sometimes his surname is listed as "Mintz"), Jim Cannon, Milt Yaner, alto saxes & clarinets; Bud Freeman, tenor sax; Nick Pisani, Fritz Prospero, Dan d'Andrea, violins; Claude Thornhill, piano; George Van Eps, guitar; Delmar Kaplan, bass; Bill Harty, drums; Al Bowlly or The Freshmen, vocals.

If the second title sounds familiar, it's probably because you remember the Billie Holiday/Teddy Wilson version.

Here's a pair of songs written by Yip Harburg and Lewis Gensler for the forgotten musical Ballyhoo of 1932, which featured Willie Howard and a young Bob Hope. It closed after 95 performances.

B-12311-A Riddle Me This Abe Lyman Orch Brunswick 6380 http://www.box.net/shared/izqof3e3z2
B-12310-A How Do You Do It? Abe Lyman Orch Brunswick 6380 http://www.box.net/shared/57dfym0a5t
NYC, 17 September 1932: large studio orchestra actually under direction of Victor Young, featuring Bunny Berigan, trumpet; Dick Robertson, vocal (on Riddle); Harlan Lattimore, vocal (on How).

That great vocal on How Do You Do It? was by Harlan Lattimore, who was billed at the time as "the colored Bing Crosby." He almost out-Bings Bing here. He's on the next title as well.

B-13286-A That Blue-Eyed Baby From Memphis Don Redman Orch Brunswick 6560 http://www.box.net/shared/5f4h2ppv99
B-13284-A Sophisticated Lady Don Redman Orch Brunswick 6560 http://www.box.net/shared/oq0b2yvmey

NYC 26 April 1933: Don Redman, conductor; Shirley Clay, Langston Curl, Sidney de Paris, trumpets; Claude Jones, Fred Robinson, Benny Morton, trombones; Don Redman, Edward Inge, Rupert Cole, Robert Carroll, reeds; Horace Henderson, piano; Talcott Reeves, guitar; Bob Ysaguirre, bass; Manzie Johnson, drums; Harlan Lattimore, vocal.

I hate to say it, but I think that Don's record of Sophisticated Lady is better than the contemporary version by Ellington (and I like the Boswell Sisters' version even more, but that's another story).

I'll end this installment with a pair of Satches:

74896-1 He's a Son of the South Louis Armstrong Orch Victor 24257 http://www.box.net/shared/l7rujgq75n
75102-1 Some Sweet Day Louis Armstrong Orch Victor 24257 http://www.box.net/shared/f86m1hh2m9
Chicago, 26-27 January 1933: Louis Armstrong, trumpet & vocal; Elmer Whitlock, Zilmer Randolph, trumpets; Keg Johnson, trombone; Scoville Brown, George Oldham, Budd Johnson, reeds; Teddy Wilson, piano; Mike McKendrick, guitar; Bill Oldham, bass; Yank Porter, drums.

_____________________________________________

And now a word from our sponsor...

I love to share this music, and it appears that you enjoy it (even the weird stuff)! Box.net informs me of any downloads. I'd expect to see 5-10 downloads a day. Sometimes there's as many as 100! That would occur when someone downloads everything that's still available!!

Anyway...I've done it free all this time. I've never asked for a cent.

Lately, things have been a bit, er, tight at El Rancho Zorcho...rent, bills and food take just about all of my pay...it's impossible to save much of anything. I recently had a medical emergency (a blood clot in a leg...don't worry, all's well for now!) that will take a substantial chunk of what's left. And there's just not much there.

So, I'm going to have to pass the hat a bit. If you enjoy the stuff I post, maybe you could donate a little $omething to tide me over this latest financial hurdle. There's a Paypal doodad near the top of the page...if some of you can help, I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Happy Hallowe'en 2009

2009-10-29T22:35:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, I found a duplicate copy of Zombie Jamboree, the Columbia 45 by the Calypso Carnival. I posted the song last year for the Hallowe'en season (and the friend I gave it to was tickled plaid). I thought I'd dig out the LP the other day...

And here it is, the long out-of-print LP, The Calypso Carnival (Columbia CL 1003). The Carnival features four or five solo vocalists, a guitarist, a percussionist, and maybe a few other voices for the chorus. The small horn section or violinist that usually show up on calypso sides aren't on this album at all. I think the exuberance of this troupe more than makes up for the lack.

Here's the rundown of the songs, along with the featured vocalist:

The Calypso Carnival Columbia CL 1003.
1. Honey Man featuring Sammy Heyward
2. Victoria Market featuring Irene Lusan
3. Small Island featuring Irene Lusan & Lord Zebedee
4. Better Woman Than You (Gal, Tell Me That Again) featuring Irene Lusan & Amy Goodwin
5. Union Street featuring Sammy Heyward
6. Ministre A Zaca featuring Massie Patterson, Theresa Merritt, & Alfred Earle
7. Trinidad Blues featuring Lord Zebedee
8. Miss Emmalina featuring Sammy Heyward
9. Solas Market featuring Massie Patterson
10. Chicken Gumbo And The Okra Water featuring Lord Zebedee
11. Shimmy Like A Lady featuring Massie Patterson & Lord Zebedee
12. Zombie Jamboree featuring King Flash
13. Choucounne featuring Irene Lusan
14. Mama, Looka Boo Boo (Boo Boo Man) (Bonus Track) featuring King Flash
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4Y6G5XHK
Oh, by the way, Track 14, Mama Look-A Boo Boo (Boo Boo Man) was not on the LP...but it was the flip side of the Zombie Jamboree 45, so it belongs here.

Also Choucounne was quickly adapted into the easy-listening favorite Yellow Bird.

Since I was unfamiliar with the names of the vocalists, I Googled their names and found that Massie Patterson, in addition to being a veteran Broadway performer (The Hot Mikado and two editions of Green Pastures, among others) was codefendent with calypso legend Lionel Belasco against Paul Baron, Jeri Sullavan and Morey Amsterdam over the trio's song Rum And Coca-Cola, which was found to contain elements of Belasco's 1906 song L'Annee Passee. More on that fight is here http://cip.law.ucla.edu/cases/case_baronfeist.html and here http://www.rumandcocacolareader.com/RumAndCocaCola/intro.html .

Massie Patterson also compiled several volumes of calypsos with Sammy Heyward.

I also noticed that most of the songs on the LP were composed by S. C. Patterson. Perhaps S.C. was related to Massie.

If the reprise of Zombie Jamboree hasn't sated your appetite for ~~brains~~ zombie songs, here are a couple of frantic instrumental sides:

1906-2 Zombie Harlem Rascals Varsity 6014

http://www.box.net/shared/z61nu1c19h
NYC, October 1932: Large studio orchestra.

This interesting side, issued in Varsity's 6000 Race series, was originally issued on Crown 3413 as White Zombie in late 1932 (Probably just after the Bela Lugosi movie with the same title was released). The label credit went to Joel Shaw's Orchestra, but this is essentially the Gene Kardos orchestra, under the nominal leadership of Kardos's pianist.

A year and a half later, Kardos redid the chart for several ARC dime-store labels. My copy is on Melotone:

15367-1 Zombie Gene Kardos Orch Melotone M-13081

http://www.box.net/shared/9qcm276m53
NYC, 36 June 1934: Large studio orchestra.

This time around, the tempo is quite a bit faster and that somewhat annoying spooky laughter is (mercifully) missing. Also, the tuba on the Crown has been replaced by a string bass. Notice he drops out for two bars in the same place each chorus.

There is a rum and vodka-based cocktail called a Zombie...probably named for the aftereffects of overindulging in them. The recipe is here: http://www.drinkswap.com/drinks/detail.asp?recipe_id=7884 . It was this drink that Fats Waller had in mind when he sang the immortal Abercrombie Had A Zombie:

057086-1 Abercrombie Had A Zombie Fats Waller and his Rhythm Bluebird B-10967

http://www.box.net/shared/al671djo73
NYC, 6 November 1940: Thomas "Fats" Waller, vocal, piano and leader; John Hamilton, trumpet; Gene Sedric, clarinet; Al Casey, guitar; Cedric Wallace, bass; Slick Jones, drums.

All this Zombie stuff and the calypso LP reminded me of the terrific 1943 movie, I Walked with a Zombie, directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced for RKO's B-movie unit by Val Lewton.

It's one very spooky movie, full of unexpected images and drums. Lots of drums!! And there's a scene that takes place in the island's main village, with famed calypsonian Sir Lancelot singing the following:

Fort Holland Calypso Song , part 1 Sir Lancelot I Walked With A Zombie soundtrack http://www.box.net/shared/efqa8ear0g

After the James Ellison character (the Rand mentioned in the song) drinks himself into a stupor, Lancelot comes back and, slowly walking towards the nurse (Frances Dee), finishes his song:

Fort Holland Calypso Song, part 2 Sir Lancelot I Walked With A Zombie soundtrack
http://www.box.net/shared/7mtmsj40ky

Here's the Wiki...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Walked_with_a_Zombie
If you haven't seen this movie, you're in for a treat. And it's short (69 minutes) so you can sneak it in before another longer feature on your next Movie Night.

Around fifteen years ago, I found this neat album of 78s:

Calypso Sir Lancelot with Gerald Clark Keynote album K-126
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3151P2GZ

1947: Sir Lancelot, vocal; others unidentified.

1. A Night In Central Park
2. Ugly Woman
3. Scandal In The Family
4. Young Girls Today
5. The Century Of The Common Man
6. Trindad Is Changing

And the third cut, Scandal In The Family, is a retitled Fort Holland Calypso Song (also known as Shame And Scandal)!

What the heck, here are a couple of other semi-spooky sides for your enjoyment:

TB 2266-2 The Night Ride Ambrose and his Orchestra Decca 992

http://www.box.net/shared/xigvg0nc2q

London, 29 June 1936: Large British orchestra, with (American) Danny Polo on clarinet.

21700 Skeleton Jangle Original Dixieland Jazz Band Victor 18473

http://www.box.net/shared/bstpdp8boy

NYC, 17 July 1918: Nick LaRocca, trumpet; Eddie Edwards, trombone; Larry Shields, clarinet; Henry Ragas, piano; Tony Sbarbaro, drums.

Here's another tune originally associated with the ODJB:

66606 Satanic Blues Bud Freeman Summa Cum Laude Orch Decca 2781

http://www.box.net/shared/vj38tq4oq0

NYC, 18 September 1939: Max Kaminsky, trumpet; Brad Gowans, trombone; Pee Wee Russell, clarinet; Bud Freeman, tenor sax; Dave Bowman, piano; Eddie Condon, guitar; Clyde Newcomb, bass; Danny Alvin, drums.

I wonder how many people got nervous when they saw the first three digits of the matrix number...

15663 Goblin Market Joe Venuti Orch OKeh 41586

http://www.box.net/shared/1gq6b6cs60

NYC, 17 August 1934: Joe Venuti, violin and leader; unknown personnel.

That was a hot little side...but the discographies list the personnel as unknown. The OKeh label, by the way, issued only two more records in the 40000 general series before being phased out for a while. It reemerged in 1940 as Columbia's cheaper label for a few years, until all of the thirty-five cent labels vanished during the war. Eventually it came back again as a (mostly) R & B label.

Well, that'll do it for this installment...I'll replace the so-so pictures with good-quality scans when I get a chance.

...and I finally did it (29 May 2010)!

Ludovic Lamothe: Fleurs d'Haiti

2009-09-25T02:55:00.000-04:00

This was originally past of the last post. After a bit of thought (not that much) I figured that this music was important enough to merit its own posting.

Quite a few years ago I found this five-record album...
It's Fleurs d'Haiti, an album of music composed and played by Haitian pianist Ludovic Lamothe (1882-1953). It seems to have been recorded in the late 1930s sometime. Unfortunately I can't find a lot of information about this set. If it's mentioned at all, it's as a footnote, sometimes with a "(78 rpm?)" postscript.

This seems to be the best page available about Lamothe:
http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/lamothe.html

Here are the liner notes...I hope you parlez francais.

Here's one of the labels as well. The usual patent information around the circumference of the label is in Spanish, although this appears to be an American pressing. Perhaps it was pressed for export.

And here's the complete list of the sides:

83065-A 1. Feuillet D'Album

---------B 2. Sous La Tonnelle

83066-A 3. Loco

---------B 4. Sobo

83067-A 5. Valse Romantique

---------B 6. Habanera

83068 A 7. Valse De Concert En La Bemol Majeur

---------B 8. Libellules

83069 A 9. Gavotte Dans Le Style Ancien

---------B 10. Tango

And you can download the album here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F1E204W4

This album was a bit under-recorded on a piano that sounds like it could have been tuned a bit better. But the music is quite interesting...it sounds like Chopin with a touch of voodoo thrown in.

Oh...did I mention that I'll be selling it? I'm digitizing and liquidating some of the records I seldom listen to. This is one of them. I'll post the eBay link once it's up.

It's up! It's here! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150376068320&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

This post was cited in the fine AfriClassical blog: http://africlassical.blogspot.com/2009/09/zorchs-inner-sanctum-ludovic-lamothe.html

Thanks for the plug, Bill...hope you and your readers enjoy this rare treat!

A weekend with the tie-dyes...

2009-09-24T01:00:00.004-04:00

An old friend and I attended a small music festival (Elemental Energy Clean Energy Expo) over the Labor Day Weekend...

...and it reminded me a little of the old Cajun and Bluegrass fests at Escoheag, RI (before the Powers That Be sold out and turned it into the overblown Rhythm And Roots thing...too much rhythm and not enough roots, if you ask me. And having to walk twice as far to the campsite is for the birds.). There were perhaps 200-300 happy, smiling people...and hardly any of the corporate crap that spoiled the old fest for me and quite a few others.....

Regardless of the strange look on my face (I didn't have much sleep Saturday), I had a fairly good time...some of the music was pretty good, too. More on that in a minute.

There were a few pooches out there...I made friends with a Chow/Akita cross named Foxy. I didn't quite get her owner's name though. Maybe he'll write in. Too bad the pics we took of her didn't come out too well.

I mentioned Foxy to my brother (who once had a really sweet Akita)...and he said "oh, a Chakita!"

Well...I have to come up with a cute song for a cute Chakita, right?

Chiquita Banana The Mariachi Brass! Featuring Chet Baker World Pacific WP 1842
http://www.box.net/shared/bm3ysydnuz
Los Angeles, CA, April, 1966: Chesney Henry Baker Jr., trumpet; lost in a sea of studio musicians.

It's a pleasant track, but it's sad to think that Chet was reduced to doing commercial work like this...

I made another friend...one I didn't want.
It's on my left shoulder...I'm not particularly afraid of bees or wasps, but I don't like them invading my personal space, either.

I'll take a little interspecies liberty and dedicate the following to it:

59993-2 Bumble Bee Blues Memphis Jug Band Victor V-38599
http://www.box.net/shared/jcr1eo6vl6
Memphis, 26 May 1930: Will Shade, harmonica; Charlie Burse, guitar; Memphis Minnie, vocal & guitar; Hambone Lewis, jug.

This was the third time Minnie recorded a version of this rather naughty song ("stinger as long as my arm" indeed! I guess she didn't know that it's the female bee that stings)...the earlier versions were on Vocalion. I chose this one to go with the other Memphis Jug band song below.

Oh...I'm wearing the same old Blind Lemon Jefferson shirt from my puddytat days (see the 31 May 2009 post)...

When the music got a bit much for us, we retreated to the van for an invigorating game of Scrabble.

That's my pal Jawn (he was soundman for one of the groups that played that day...that's why we were there in the first place) trying to melt into the background. And, yes, that is a little Mugato watching the game.

Saturday night, there was a lovely sunset.
And we had the zap and crackle of those wires overhead to keep us company.

Sunday morning, we were up with the...er...
ooops...I had to post this pic for Choc and PMan, wherever they are...

Anyhoooo...I did mention the music. There was some fine semi-traditional pickin' on a lot of old chestnuts...most of which seem to have been learned from Jerry Garcia and friends. I think I'll post the original versions for those who haven't heard them.

I heard at least two bands perform Stealin', Stealin'...

47037-2 Stealin', Stealin' Memphis Jug Band Victor V-38504
http://www.box.net/shared/k4utn3bjbu
Memphis, 15 September 1929: Will Shade, harmonica; Ben Ramey, kazoo; Charlie Burse, guitar; Vol Stevens, guitar; Jab Jones, jug & lead vocal; band chorus.

I also seem to recall a version of Walk Right In...

56319=2 Walk Right In Cannon's Jug Stompers Victor V-38611
http://www.box.net/shared/k8c9o6nnd7
Memphis, 1 October 1929: Gus Cannon, banjo, jug & vocal; Noah Lewis, harmonica; Hosea Woods, banjo & vocal.

...and a version of White House Blues too. This time around, I'll bypass the original (and great) recording by Charlie Poole and go with a more obscure version (with a different title, but it's the same song) by Pop Stoneman:

N-218 The Unlucky Road to Washington Ernest V. Stoneman Edison unissued
http://www.box.net/shared/dpxu0yu5tf
NYC 25 April 1928: Ernest Stoneman, vocal, harmonica & guitar; Hattie Stoneman, fiddle; Bolen Frost, banjo.

This was one of many electrically-recorded lateral records that Edison produced in 1928 and 1929...only a handful ever were issued. This one wasn't...but another take was issued on cylinder and Diamond Disc. Does anybody out there have that one? I'd love to hear it.
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That'll do it for now...I'm in search of a Mahko root.

Hey...the quiz is still alive!

2009-08-29T00:08:00.001-04:00

I know, I know....it has been a while.

Summers are busy times. That's why I thought I'd put out a little quiz for y'all to think about for a spell. mdcelio got 3 correct hits in late June. But I hadn't seen any guesses/answers/feedback on the quiz since then. Until tonight.

My ol' pal metalmuncher added the following:

04 - Nice coloured vinyl 45 on the Deccagone label.

Well...he's right...that was probably the first (semi-legitimate) issue of this record. I know he knows what it is...His description will be in the list until someone gives me the title and artist...oh, the spelling of the word "coloured" is another little clue.

He also got the following right:

05 - Henry Thomas - Bull Doze Blues

Yup, that's the original version of the song that eventually became Canned Heat's classic Goin' Up The Country (oddly enough, I just got the picture sleeve to that a few weeks ago).

He got the title and the year right here:

#24 The Music Goes Round and Round - 1936 --- but no artist was listed.

So, this is where things stand as of now...

#4 "Nice coloured vinyl 45 on the Deccagone label." (metalmuncher 8/28)...but what is it?
#5 Bull Doze Blues - Henry Thomas (metalmuncher 8/28)
#6 Calliope Pete - Morey Amsterdam (mdcelio - 6/17)
#8 Crucifixion - Arizona Dranes (D. Burns - 9/15)
#11 Song of the Sewer - Art Carney (mdcelio - 6/17)
#12 One Of These Days--Pow! - Jackie Gleason (mdcelio - 6/18)
#13 The Fat Man's Prayer - Victor Buono (metalmuncher - 8/30)
#17 In The Mood - Artie Shaw Orch (gimme!)
#23 Stack O'Dollars Blues - Charlie Jordan (D. Burns - 9/14)
#24 The Music Goes Round and Round - 1936 - ??????(no artist listed) (metalmuncher 8/28)

I know a lot of you can add to this...some of these sides are fairly easy to identify...at least to the record collectors out there. But as we know, summers can be crazy. I know I won't post any new music until at least Labor Day.

But some Sunday after then we're due for another Grits/Zorch hour...when things settle down a bit...the answers to the quiz will be announced then.

Also, here's hoping Mrs. Grits gets super-well, super-soon. We all love ye.

By the way, I want to thank Bruce, David Federman , John & walter, J.F.B. and Ernie for their kind comments about the problems that befell this blog recently. (By the way, our little saboteur seems to have slithered off, like a putz in the night...)

And I also got a nice comment from Carrie Laby, saying that she has a picture of her grandfather Neil Laby, who seems to be the guitarist on the Arty Hall sides I posted a long while back. Well, if Carrie'll send in the pic, I'd be delighted to post it, and put the music up again for a while. These are enjoyable sides.

So...'til we get another quiz answer or two...

Oh, here's that quiz again...the third time is a charm. Or something.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LLH3NE3V .

30 August update...Munch went through a backlog of old Dr. Demento tapes to refresh his memory and finally came up with the skinny on track #13. Hmm...maybe "skinny" wasn't quite the right word...but his entry has been added to the above list, in red. And, yes, that was King Tut on the old Batman show...Victor Buono.

15 September update...my young friend and fellow record collector D. Burns correctly guessed track #23...it's Stack O'Dollars Blues by Charlie Jordan. I've added it to the list above, in blue.

16 September update...D. Burns also recognized track #8 as Crucifixion by gospel pianist Arizona Dranes. The list above has been updated again.

Weird, weird, weird

2009-07-24T18:52:00.000-04:00

Gentle readers:

Within the last couple of days I have received a couple of weird form letters from Box.net, who do a fine job of hosting my music...somebody complained (to Box, not me) about three of the records I posted...these are:

Bob McFadden and Dor: The Mummy
Robert Parker: All Nite Long (part 2)
Johnny Horton: The Battle of New Orleans.

These files were yanked by Box...who sent me a form letter stating that I violated copyright laws by sharing these sides. Oh well. Things like this happen sometimes.

Here's where things start to get weird...why on earth did someone complain about Part Two of the Robert Parker record...but not Part One? Surely the same copyright law applies to both sides of the same record.

Then, when I went to check on the status of the Horton and Parker files, by going to my blog and clicking on the offending files, I find that my Some Scarce Seven-Inchers posting has gone...Vanished! Kaput! Joined the Choir Invisible!

Gone is the Blossom Dearie record! The rare Columbia seven-inch singles! Those great New Orleans 78s from 1959!

Hmmmmm....

It seems that this blog is under attack by someone. Some dirty little coward who probably has nothing better to do than create havoc...and run away.

Thank goodness that Google has cached an old copy of the post somewhere...I've reconstructed the page as well as I could, with the original posting date and original comments. And a few new comments of my own (in green).

It's too bad that this kind of thing is happening. If much more damage occurs, then I'll just pack the blog up and let it vanish. I have far too many other things to worry about.

It was forty years ago today...

2009-07-20T22:59:00.001-04:00

It's been a bit busy at the Zorchstead...I have a couple of LPs that had to be digitized for friends, a few DVDs that needed to be burned, and I recently met another 78 collector...the last couple of Sundays have involved running down to Providence for lots of good coffee and even better conversation.

This cat's 28...I know a couple of other (even younger) collectors...our hobby (er, obsession) will be in good hands as the Old Guard passes.

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This weekend was fairly eventful...the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission coincided eerily with the passing of TV news icon, Walter Cronkite at the age of 92. Cronkite, of course, was anchorman at CBS from 1962 to 1981 and covered the moonflight.

Cronkite also narrated this little seven-inch record:
Man On The Moon Walter Cronkite and others CBS News special record
http://www.box.net/shared/h3fk07onz8

It's quite thought-provoking...the voices of astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, and President Nixon interspersed with Cronkite's reassuring baritone (and no unnecessary music or other such hoopla) make this a most interesting twenty minutes.

This record evidently was given as a premium by several companies...I've seen one in a special outer sleeve that advertised Corning Glass. This copy has no outer sleeve, but has the sticker with the record's title printed over the logo for International Paper.

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As I mentioned before, the last couple of Sundays have been rather busy at this end...and Grits has a couple of Sunday gigs to attend. We couldn't broadcast. Ah well...the answers to the audio Quiz will eventually be properly aired, but at an unspecified later date. Keep watching this space as information becomes available.

Oh...that quiz. I posted it a few weeks ago...and there have been only three guesses (all correct, I might add), all from the same person. There are still 21 cuts waiting to be identified.

I know there are more of you out there, downloading my little tidbits of music. Some cuts have had an enormous amount of activity (The Whoopee Hat Brigade and that Blossom Dearie record especially). Some people are kind enough to leave a quick comment. Others...well...

We bloggers thrive on feedback...it shows us that somebody out there enjoys what we're doing.

So, if you read our blogs, download our music, and enjoy them, please drop us a line. We love it.

And I'd especially love to see more people check out my goldurned quiz...the link is here http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LLH3NE3V . I'd really like to hear from the jazzers and bluesers out there...there are quite a few not-so-difficult cuts just waiting to be properly identified...and a few that are a bit more challenging (although these may have clues elsewhere in the blog).

If you want to participate, but don't want to go through the Blogspot initiation (and why not? It's painless, and they don't spam!), you can email me at zorchv38@yahoo.com . If, for some reason, you don't want to be identified in the blog or broadcast, that's cool too. Just let me know.

Well, that'll do for now...I think I'll have a green cheese sandwich.

Grits/Zorch Show #3 (and a repost!)

2009-06-27T02:21:00.000-04:00

I watched a few episodes of the late 1960s Dragnet TV series the other day. They're still quite entertaining, if sometimes a bit hokey. The silliest one (to me, anyway) seems to be the first episode of the 1967 series...The LSD Story. Michael Burns (formerly Barnaby West on Wagon Train) plays Benjie Carver, aka Blueboy, who has a sweet tooth...he just can't leave those sugar cubes alone! Of course, the episode ends with Blueboy taking a final trip to oblivion.

Benjie Carver's original facial painting reminded me of a particularly heavy-handed late episode of Star Trek... Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. Frank Gorshin is pretty good here (he was nominated for an Emmy), but I've never been very fond of this episode.

This gem was first telecast 10 January 1969...two years (almost to the date) after the 12 January 1967 Dragnet.

Hmmmm...two similar paint jobs...same week (but different years), same network (NBC). Coincidence?

You can watch the Star Trek episode here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708435/ (as Bela Lugosi once said...BeVare!) and the Dragnet one here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/501/dragnet-the-lsd-story .

There are other blue boys out there...the Gainsborough painting (of course), The Blue Man Group (older Blue Boys, I suppose), Smurfs, and the duet that performed this wonderful side:

400242-B Easy Winner The Blue Boys OKeh 45314
http://www.box.net/shared/6221b8j76m
Memphis, 15 February 1928: Nap Hayes, guitar; Matthew Prater, mandolin.

I've always been intrigued by this side...it's called Easy Winner, but it's actually a version of The Entertainer. Both titles were from Scott Joplin's famous Red Back Book collection of rags. I wonder if these guys learned The Entertainer some time in the 1910s, but somehow cross-titled it with The Easy Winners (the actual title of the other rag).

Some collectors may notice that this record was issued in OKeh's 45000 country series...two more of their sides were there as well, and two more were issued in OKeh's 8000 race series.
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Last Sunday, as promised, Grits and I broadcast our little tributes to Fathers' Day. He did the first hour, and I did the second. Here's my half of the program:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1FM012SN

1. Dad's Getting Fuzzy Red Whitehead & Dutch Coleman
2. Runenae Papa Zutty (Singleton) And His Band
3. My Dad's Dinner Pail Ada Jones
4. Slide, Daddy, Slide Allen Brothers (Austin & Lee)
5. Elevator Papa, Switchboard Mama Butterbeans & Susie
6. Chiselin' Daddy Sweet Violet Boys
7. Papa Loves Mambo (gag!) Perry Como & Zorch
8. Daddy I'm Coming Back To You Leadbelly (doing a Jimmie Rodgers song!)
9. I've Written A Letter To Daddy Debbie Burton (Baby Jane Hudson again!)
10. Can We Keep Him Daddy Red Sovine
11. Segue
12. Song For My Father Horace Silver
13. You Need Us Gilligan's Island Women
14. Come Back, Sweet Papa Louis Armstrong Hot Five
15. I'm A Ding Dong Daddy Light Crust Doughboys
16. Papa's 'Bout To Get Mad Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley
17. Dad From Trinidad Paul Kosty
18. Wobble It A Little Daddy Lillian Glinn
19. Field Mouse Stomp Minnie Wallace
20. Papa Wants A Cookie Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell
21. Fado de Bacalau Troupe Gounod
22. Everybody Works But Father Bob Roberts
23. Big Daddy Blues Jimmie Revard Oklahoma Playboys
24. You Run And Tell Your Daddy Charley Jordan
25. Old Dad Frank Jenkins' Pilot Mountaineers
26. We Shall All Be Reunited Alfred Karnes
27. Signoff

This is actually a slightly altered version of the show...we had a couple of phone calls while the music played. Both of these calls were amusing (at the time, anyway), but they were rather personal. I figured that my readers would rather listen to the music (more or less) uninterrupted, so I substituted the original recordings. There were a couple of other titles that had technical imperfections (at least on my copy of the show...I recorded it as it was aired, but my connection sometimes hiccups). These were repaired as well. I redid the spoken intros if the tracks in the broadcast had them. Otherwise, the show is just as it was aired.

There were a couple of non-daddy ditties thrown into the mix...for leavening. Or something.

Grits posted both his half of the show and the unedited, raw version of mine in his blog...
http://gritsradio.blogspot.com/2009/06/fathers-day-2009.html

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I occasionally check through the comments left on some of my older posts...I sometimes find spammers (advertising footwear or a porn website), but usually it's something positive left by readers.

Cait, a recent subscriber, reminded me that we just went through another broadcasting change...the switch to ~~Damitall~~ Digital TV. She'd like me to repost the AM Frequency Re-Allocation Spots record...it'll be my pleasure!

Here 'tis!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UDNIBV5N

And here's the original posting

http://zorchv38.blogspot.com/2008/03/change-those-push-buttons-next-week.html

...and thanks to all!

Oh...there haven't been any more guesses on my mystery quiz since mdcelio got the first three. And one of those three was a bit obscure. Some of the others should be fairly easy to identify.

All are welcome to participate...hope to hear from you...

...and you...

and YOU!

Another radio show...and a contest!

2009-06-13T06:49:00.001-04:00

Next Sunday, 21 June, Grits and I shall do another show...this time over the usual Grits Radio station (http://gritsradio.pmlol.com/ and just click "listen live.") and Area 51 shortwave radio (5.110 MHz)...we have the 6:30-7:30 PM EDT time slot. We'll tear Fathers' Day apart this time...it should be interesting.

Update...Grits worked overtime throwing together a wild Fathers' Day show...we'll let that run for the above shortwave broadcast. After we sign off, we'll stay on at Grits's station for a Zorchariffic hour or so. Yes, I'll have a few daddy ditties of my own to share, too, but there'll be a few other things as well.

Hear you then.

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Forgive the slight raunchiness of the label...I did it for my own amusement several years ago. The picture of Nipper at the top was borrowed from the Kauf Man of Arvada...

It's amazing (to me, anyway) that that old counter crept up another 500 notches over the last couple of weeks. I'm tickled plaid to see that...so here's something more to amuse y'all:

It's a little contest for you...consisting of 25 selections. There's a little jazz, a little blues, a little country, and lots of who-knows-what. There's even one spoken-word item.

There are also two separate pairs of cuts somewhere in the playlist...each item of a pair will be connected somehow to the other in its pairing. To make it a bit easier, the items in each pair are next to each other.

Here's the quiz (in a convenient .zip file): http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LLH3NE3V

You can leave your guesses in the Comment box below (yeah, you have to join Blogger to do so, but that procedure is easy and harmless. And they don't spam you, either!). As correct answers roll in, I'll post them (along with the first correct guessers' names). You'll have until midnight Saturday, 18 July 2009 (over a month from now!) to submit your guesses.

If all goes well, Grits and I should be back on the air the following day (Sunday, 19 July) and I will play the cuts in order, this time properly identified. And the first correct guesser of each cut will be mentioned on the air as well (so make your nicknames polite, eh?).

There won't be any prizes...unless you'd want one of Uncle Eugene's special aged peanut-butter sandwiches. My Komodo Dragon waddled off and was in the news recently: http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/lifestyles/health_med_fit/article/I-DRAG0521_20090611-212807/273325/

Oh...the solution will be posted here sometime shortly after the contest ends, just in case you miss the broadcast (and you should listen, y'know...).

This should be fun for all of us...good luck.

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I just happened to notice that for some reason, Track 17 isn't really a mystery...I failed to remove the identifying tags from it. Oh, well! Consider it a "gimme."

And here are the correct guesses...as they roll in (along with the guesser and date)

#6 Calliope Pete - Morey Amsterdam (mdcelio - 6/16)
#11 Song of the Sewer - Art Carney (mdcelio - 6/17)
#12 One Of These Days--Pow! - Jackie Gleason (mdcelio - 6/18)
#17 In The Mood - Artie Shaw Orch (gimme!)

And mdcelio recognized one of the two pairs...#11 and #12 are sides by two stars of The Honeymooners, both in character!

There's still another pair of related cuts in here somewhere...

Thufferin' Thuccotash! (Updates!)

2009-06-01T02:35:00.000-04:00

Last time around, I posted a few highlights from the second Grits/Zorch show, aired on Mothers' Day.

One of those cuts was the Missourians's incredible Swingin' Dem Cats. I dedicated it to Annie, Elvis and the other feline residents at Chez Grits. After I posted that blog chapter I was reminded of this rather silly picture:

It goes back a few years...to the old Cajun and Bluegrass Festivals at Escoheag, RI. On this particular weekend (in the late 1990s), I kept invoking the spirit of the Warner Brothers cartoon character, Sylvester. Yeth, I wath lithping and thputtering...all weekend. I'm sure that my companions were beginning to get a bit sick of the whole thing...

Anyway, late Sunday afternoon, I noticed a couple of volunteers painting the faces of the youngsters...I dropped a few bucks into their kitty and they put a puss on my puss. My friends loved it...one of them snapped the picture...it looks like I'm trying to scratch him.

By the way, I still have that Blind Lemon Jefferson shirt somewhere...and it's still able to be worn! It's got to be around fifteen years old.

Oh...here's the other side of Cats...Two Hundred Squabble. Note that the number in the title is spelled out. For some reason, when Charles Delauney and friends were compiling the original Hot Discography, they must have written the number in Arabic numerals...which somehow got misinterpreted as Latin letters....so it was printed in the book as Loo Squabble.
59173-2 Two Hundred Squabble The Missourians Victor V-38145

http://www.box.net/shared/3rzb2phrnt
NYC 17 February 1930: Lockwood Lewis, conductor; R. Q. Dickerson, Lammar Wright, trumpets; De Priest Wheeler, trombone; William Thornton Blue, George Scott, clarinets & alto saxes; Walter Thomas, clarinet, tenor & baritone sax; Earres Prince, piano; Morris White, banjo; Jimmy Smith, tuba; Leroy Maxey, drums.

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A couple of days ago, while proofreading the last entry (sometimes it takes me a couple of days to tighten the wording and check the various links) , it occurred to me that I omitted a couple of fairly important titles...

April 29, 2009 was the 110th anniversary of the birth of my favorite musician, Duke Ellington...I had to play something great for a mini-tribute!

I decided to play a couple of my favorite cuts from one of my favorite albums...the legendary Fargo (North Dakota) dance.

Jack Towers and Dick Burris asked Ellington if they could record a complete show the next time Duke and the band came around. Ellington assented. So, in early November 1940, they set up two mics and a recording turntable at the Crystal Ballroom in Fargo. The results were extraordinary...we now have an idea of what the Ellington band was really doing during this important stage in their history.

Supposedly, this was a slightly "off" night...the trumpet section was minus Cootie Williams, who had just departed a few days before. Duke was trying out his replacement for the first time that night. That was Ray Nance, who stayed with the band for over 25 years! (If this was an "off" night, imagine what a good night must have sounded like!)

The dance went on for five sets...Towers and Burris recorded the whole night. Occasionally, the disc needed to be changed in the middle of a song. The vocals are a bit off-mic (when they were recorded...a couple of minor songs didn't get preserved). But the sound is quite good, and much of the music is amazing...even at the end of the night when everything was a bit ragged around the edges.

The two cuts I chose were Ko-Ko, a somewhat fuller arrangement than the one that Victor had recorded a few months earlier (probably my favorite side from the 1940s), and a fantastic version of their current radio theme, Sepia Panorama...one that features extra choruses by bassist Jimmy Blanton (who died less than two years later) and Ben Webster's tenor sax.

Ko-Ko Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra http://www.box.net/shared/v3y6flbh9b
Sepia Panorama (long version) Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra http://www.box.net/shared/u0odd58ugd
Crystal Ballroom, Fargo, North Dakota, 7 November 1940: Rex Stewart, cornet; Wallace Jones, Ray Nance, trumpets; Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol, trombones; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Ben Webster, Harry Carney, reeds; Duke Ellington, piano; Fred Guy, guitar; Jimmy Blanton, bass; Sonny Greer, drums.

Oh yeah...the Duke picture above was signed to my parents...and it's framed on my wall.

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My old pal Metal-Muncher went on an Atlantic Records label kick this month...he scanned a few of my labels for his blog: http://metal-muncher.blogspot.com/2009/05/1970-atlantic-45-singles.html .

Since the bottom two 45s in his scan are my records, I think I'll show them here too...and I'll have to play them too, right? They're not exactly easy 45s to find:

The first one is a bit of a mystery to me...it's not in the online Atlantic discography (no, I don't have the Lord jazz discography. Anybody out there want to donate their old version?), and it's in a strange 15000 series. Actually, I've never seen another in this series. But the black-and-silver label is quite striking!

A-1100 Vaya Con Dios Wingy Manone and his Orchestra Atlantic 45-15001

http://www.box.net/shared/jzohv4kbde
A-1101 The Song From Moulin Rouge Wingy Manone and his Orchestra Atlantic 45-15001

http://www.box.net/shared/1pc48bvx5o
July/August 1953: Wingy Manone, trumpet & vocal; others (Orchestra and Town Criers) unidentified.

Both sides are quite pleasant...worthy successors to the many "jazzing the pop hits" records that Wingy recorded for Bluebird in the late 1930s.

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This blue-and-silver "Jazz Series" label lasted a few years, adding the pinwheel to the bottom of the big "A" within a year or two...

This example is originally from the Blues and Roots album by Charles Mingus. It still amuses me to see and hear this great recording on a 45 rpm single. Here it is...with that consarned fadeout at the end of the first side!

4732-3 Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting, Pts. 1 & 2 Charles Mingus Atlantic 5006

http://www.box.net/shared/zxk7ca7671
NYC, February 4, 1959: Willie Dennis, Jimmy Knepper, trombones; John Handy, Jackie McLean, alto saxes; Booker Ervin, tenor sax; Pepper Adams, baritone sax; Horace Parlan, piano; Charles Mingus, bass; Dannie Richmond, drums.

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The pride of my Atlantic 45 rpm collection is this:

Joe signed this at the original Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence in early 1981 (I think!).

Big Joe Turner might not have been able to read...but he most certainly could sign his name (even if it was a bit of a chore)!! I watched him do it ...he wrote out "Joe Turner" rather slowly (he was crippled up by arthritis, after all), and he then added the "BIG" at the top.

A-1209 Shake, Rattle And Roll Joe Turner Atlantic 45-1026

http://www.box.net/shared/v7rsyq51m6
NYC, February 15, 1954: Joe Turner, vocal; with unknown, trumpet; Wilbur De Paris, trombone; Sam "The Man" Taylor, tenor sax; Haywood Henry, baritone sax; Jesse Stone, piano; Mickey Baker, guitar; Lloyd Trotman, bass; Connie Kay, drums.

Oh, what the heck...here's the flip side (from an earlier session):

A-1220 You Know I Love You Joe Turner Atlantic 45-1026

http://www.box.net/shared/3bfg48f1mf
New Orleans, LA, December 3, 1953: Joe Turner, vocal; with Lloyd Lambert's Orchestra: John Girard, trumpet; Worthia Thomas, trombone; Gus Fontenette, Joe Tillman, Alvin "Red" Tyler, saxes; Edward Frank piano; Lloyd Lambert, bass; Oscar Moore, drums.

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Here's another great yellow Atlantic, also recorded in the Crescent City...and Red Tyler's on this one too!

A-1308 Jam Up Tommy Ridgley and his Band Atlantic 45-1039

http://www.box.net/shared/phjattjber

A-1200 Wish I Had Never Tommy Ridgley and his Band Atlantic 45-1039 http://www.box.net/shared/um7gz7k5dz

New Orleans, 1953-4: Tommy Ridgley, piano & vocal; Lee Allen, tenor sax; Red Tyler, baritone sax; others unknown. (It seems that these are from separate sessions.)

Jam Up has been a favorite for a long time...apparently it was a good seller in 1954. In 1962, Atlantic dusted it off and issued this:

A-1308 Jam Up Twist Tommy Ridgley Atlantic 45-2136

http://www.box.net/shared/eia0pjs4ts

Hey...wait a minute! It's not the same! The "twist" effects were dubbed in over a different take! My guess is that Jam Up Twist was the earlier take (notice that Red Tyler's baritone sax solo is somewhat buried...he's better miked on the earlier-released version).

A-1200 Wish I Had Never (2) Tommy Ridgley Atlantic 45-2136 http://www.box.net/shared/f53s47r07n

Interesting...even the flip side is a different take! Notice that Tommy sings "...touch your devilish lips" on the first version. Here he kisses them.

Another weird thing about this 45...every copy I've seen is black and white, like a promo...but there's nothing on the label that says that it's not for public sale. And the record omits any mention of Ridgley's band.

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I recently traded a very early goodie (you can see and hear the piece I traded here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIeG2F6qrI4&feature=PlayList&p=4FF7B17D99C287EE&index=0 ) for a piece that I wanted...very badly!

Here 'tis...hope you like it. You know I do!

HAT-141-2 Dangerous Woman Mississippi Jook Band Melotone 6-12-71

http://www.box.net/shared/eb2jr073ft
HAT-145-3 Barbecue Bust Mississippi Jook Band Melotone 6-12-71

http://www.box.net/shared/bgx1xm9hbb
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 20 July 1936: Blind Roosevelt Graves, guitar; Uaroy Graves, tambourine; Cooney Vaughn, piano...who the vocalist and "kazooer" are remain unknown.

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Here's another item I got the other day...it's not jazz or blues, or country...but it is a pleasant dance record with a Latin flavor, and a touch of humor. It's on an early Gennett Electrobeam, too!

X0388A El Ucuyali (Fox-Trot) Orquesta de Los Toreros Musicos Gennett S-6014

http://www.box.net/shared/p273zimhx0
X0389 El Picaflor (One-Step) Orquesta de Los Toreros Musicos Gennett S-6014

http://www.box.net/shared/c4qhvd8lll

NYC 10 December 1926: Don Alvaro(?), Orquesta de Los Toreros Musicos

I've seen a couple of listings that imply that Don Alvaro was the conductor of this orchestra.

This record is dedicated to those people who say that the hot jazz I love sounds like cartoon music. Sure, there were many Max Fleischer 'toons that used popular jazz bands for their soundtracks (and most of the other animators had a few jazz-related cartoons as well), but that "cartoon music" observation always bugged me a bit.

I think these sides are a bit more "cartooney" than the average record...maybe it's the whistle on El Picaflor.

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And, last but not least, I promised a picture of Our Lady of Backyard Divots, Lily! Here she is...

Not the best pic, but it'll do for the time being. The way her eyes reflected red for this pic is amusing...we don't think she's possessed, though.

...and here's a cool song I dedicate to her. It's an Ellington one too!

061318-1 Chocolate Shake Duke Ellington Orchestra Victor 27531

http://www.box.net/shared/z3f0l086zj

Los Angeles. 26 June 1941: Same personnel as Fargo date above.

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Oh...one more thing...I just checked the counter (the one for the blog...not the one made of Formica)...it's up to 6510! The Sanctum gets something like 25 hits every day now! Thanks! I'm glad to see that so many people out there have such exquisite taste! ;->)

Grits/Zorch Show #2

2009-05-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago (Mothers' Day, to be exact), Grits and I did another show...we stayed on his channel and didn't go on shortwave at all. As predicted, it was a lot more free-wheeling, and a helluva lot longer too!

Wouldja believe...four hours?

We played all kinds of stuff...a little jazz, a little blues, a little country, some psych (mainly for Metal-Muncher, of course!), and some vintage commercials too. And a large number of Mother songs...it was Mothers' Day!

We were visited by Lily (a chocolate Lab), the newest member of the Grits household. We'll post a picture of her sometime.

We also had a very special visitor, Annie!

Unlike a certain orphaned comic character, this Annie has lovely eyes. I call her my li'l Calico Blob. We beat her up a little (with lots of love, of course!) on the air.

We certainly had a lot of fun...

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It would be crazy to post a four-hour long show here, wouldn't it? So I'll just post a few highlights. Hope you like 'em!

With all of the hoopla about H1N1, I had to play the best song I know about influenza (the real 'flu, not the boogie-woogie type).

There was an outbreak in 1929...not as bad as the 1918 pandemic, but serious enough to inspire this terrific gospel record.

404748-B Memphis Flu Elder Curry and Congregation Okeh 8857

http://www.box.net/shared/0iaq11tbm2
King Edward Hotel, Jackson, Mississippi, 18 December 1930: Elder Curry; guitar & vocal; Elder Charles Beck, piano; Jo Ann Williams, lead vocal.

This was a variation on the old standard, God's Mighty Hand.

From the sublime to the ridiculous...here's a silly bit of fluff:
IM-3157 Quarantine Dennis Bell Imperial 5781

http://www.box.net/shared/3zlmhy92bq
1961: Dennis Bell, vocal; unidentified orchestra and Insipid Female Chorus.

Ah yes, the immortal lines "we've all got spots, we're covered with red dots." I suppose I shouldn't joke too much about measles...I somehow survived a rare double-dose of the goldurned disease when I was six. I don't remember a lot of the ordeal...apparently I was unconscious through most of it. Shoot...I'm still somewhat unconcious, right?

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April 14-15 marked the 97th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic. The disaster spawned quite a few songs...including this record by Richard "Rabbit" Brown. It's hard not to notice his slight garbling of the facts...the ship was sunk by a "gruesome icebreaker" and "Southampton" comes out "South Hamilton." It's still (to me, anyway) the most moving musical account of the tragedy.

38005-1 The Sinking of the Titanic Richard "Rabbit" Brown Victor 35840

http://www.box.net/shared/7mnzbxedsy
New Orleans, 11 March 1927: Rabbit Brown, vocal & guitar.

Astute collectors out there will note (by the serial number) that this was a twelve-inch record. Victor pressed only six twelve-inch "Race" records...most were sermons. I have one of those...someday I'll post it.

My other favorite account of the Titanic story is Blind Willie Johnson's God Moves On The Water. I'll post that one someday, too.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
I dedicated the following cut to Annie and Elvis (and their furry friends). It's Swingin' Dem Cats, a particularly rousing hot jazz record by The Missourians, from the last session they did before Cab Calloway started leadership of the band a few months later. This side has some great solos and ensemble work...but it's the clarinet of William Thornton Blue that sends me every time...he comes in like a ~~cat~~ bat out of hell.

59174-2 Swingin' Dem Cats The Missourians Victor V-38145

http://www.box.net/shared/xk8v4angd5
NYC 17 February 1930: Lockwood Lewis, conductor; R. Q. Dickerson, Lammar Wright, trumpets; De Priest Wheeler, trombone; William Thornton Blue, George Scott, clarinets & alto saxes; Walter Thomas, clarinet, tenor & baritone sax; Earres Prince, piano; Morris White, banjo; Jimmy Smith, tuba; Leroy Maxey, drums.

Oh yeah...we also played a couple of great Wynonie Harris cuts. Here's my favorite one:

K-5325 Blow Your Brains Out Wynonie Harris King 4226

http://www.box.net/shared/kokudxrlfe
Cincinnati, Ohio, 23 December 1947: Wynonie Harris, vocal; Oran "Hot Lips" Page, trumpet; Hal Singer, Tom Archia, tenor saxes; Joe Knight, piano; Carl "Flat-Top" Wilson, bass; Clarence Donaldson, drums.

For years I assumed that this cut was recorded at the end of a session, with someone saying "hey, we have five minutes of studio time left! Let's throw a blues together!" It has that kind of spontaneity. But the matrix numbers show that Blow Your Brains Out was actually the second title waxed in a six-side session!

Wynonie sounds like he's struggling a bit to come up with something to rhyme with "Archia." He zooms in on a "Time marches on" motif. Harris introduces the other tenor sax as "Oklahoma." (Hal Singer was from Tulsa, and was a few months away from scoring a huge hit [and a new nickname] with Cornbread.) Of course, as much fun as the improvised lyrics are, it's the honkin' saxes that are the stars here.

I've had two or three copies of this on 78...I've never seen a copy that wasn't worn to around F+/G- condition. This side got played. And played. And played!

You can hear why.

I also wanted to play a good record by Professor Longhair (Roy Byrd) that night...

Grits had the Crawfish Fiesta album on his hard drive.

I selected the following cut:

Her Mind Is Gone Professor Longhair from Crawfish Fiesta (Alligator Records)

http://www.box.net/shared/jfvj8ai5zh
1980: Henry Roeland (Roy) Byrd, piano & vocal; large ensemble featuring Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), guitar.

We played the song...no, we didn't dedicate it to our moms, although we did think about it (only kiddin', Mom!).

Buy the album...you won't be disappointed!

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And now for something completely different...

CO 29723 Roumania, Roumania Aaron Lebedeff Columbia 8226-F http://www.box.net/shared/zmys2l3t8s

NYC, 13 February 1941: Aaron Lebedeff, vocal; Sholom Secunda Orchestra.

What a record! He sings about the Old Country...the delights of dancing, eating and drinking. You can find the original Yiddish lyrics along with a translation at the bottom of this page: http://www.cascobaytummlers.com/lyric.html ...although it's impossible to translate his lip-popping.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
A couple of people have asked me about the song I like to sign off with...it's one of the prettiest white gospel records I've ever heard. I especially like the full sound of Karnes's fancy harp-guitar. His thumping bass notes remind me of those of Rabbit Brown (compare this cut with the Titanic one above).

47234-2 We Shall All Be Reunited Alfred G. Karnes Victor V-40076 http://www.box.net/shared/ovpqd4u6ty

Bristol, Tennessee, 28 October 1928: Alfred G. Karnes, vocal & harp-guitar.

This was recorded at the second batch of sessions Victor held in Bristol.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Well...that'll do it for now, I guess...'til the next time, eh?

Something For The Dogs...

2009-05-01T03:00:00.002-04:00

Before we get started, I should thank the folks over at the I'm Learning To Share! blog (http://learning2share.blogspot.com/2009/04/search-term-jugheads-hat.html) for the nice plug...I'm glad to see other people like whoopee hats! I notice that I've been getting more download traffic on some of those older posts as well! Thanks again!
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For the last couple of weeks, the biggest news out of Washington seems to concern Bo Obama, the official First Doggie.

Of course, there have been many other Presidential Pooches in the past, but none in (relatively) recent years had the eye of the press like LBJ's beagles, Him and Her. Much of the hoopla was about this photograph, taken in May 1964:

LBJ caused a storm of protest when he lifted Him by the ears. The president replied that the dog actually enjoyed it.

I dunno...does Him look like he's smiling?

Anyway.....Him was the subject of an interesting 45 by Daws Butler and Dave Barry...Butler's voicework in cartoons is well-documented elsewhere, and Dave Barry (1918-2001) was also a cartoon voiceman and comic. There is no relation between this Dave Barry and the syndicated writer of the same name.

45-53265 Dog's Best Friend - Part 1 Daws Butler & Dave Barry Capitol 5361
http://www.box.net/shared/fr85ekcytx
Early 1965: Daws Butler, Him and LBJ; Dave Barry, the reporter.

Strangely enough, Part 2 has a different title:

45-53266 H-H-Him - Part 2 Daws Butler & Dave Barry Capitol 5361
http://www.box.net/shared/1u1z3kcqxl
Same info.

Here's another pseudo-political record about a canine, issued in 1959 to cash in on Disney's The Shaggy Dog.

Dog Gone It, It's A Dog! Shaggy's Speech Buena Vista F-337 http://www.box.net/shared/1maxa9fivj
1959: Shaggy Dog and Toy Poodles, vocal. Tutti Camarata composed the piece and probably led the orchestra. The voice of Shaggy Dog sounds suspiciously like Paul Frees.

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I was reminded of another Dog's Best Friend record, issued around 1957, featuring a pair of songs inspired by Rin Tin Tin.

Yup, this is one of those little six-inch yellow vinyl 78s, but it still has its sleeve!:

---A Dog's Best Friend Dennis Ballabia & Anne Lloyd Golden R370 http://www.box.net/shared/ip67dnohns
---Cold Nose, Warm Heart Dennis Ballabia & Anne Lloyd Golden R370 http://www.box.net/shared/ioxd09y1t9
1957: Dennis Ballabia & Anne Lloyd and The Sandpipers, vocals; Mitch Miller Orch.

Gad, that yellow vinyl was terrible...but it was made to be played on those awful children's phonographs of the day...

Columbia's budget Harmony label issued a whole LP about Rinty and friends...I'm guessing that the four adventures on this album were originally singles in the Columbia children's series. If enough Sanctum readers ask, I can be persuaded to post this album...it's actually rather entertaining, especially for those of us who are going through our second (or third) childhood.

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I think I'll play a few other doggie songs now...ones that aren't heard too often. My dogs won't sing Christmas songs or sit in a window...

I have two versions of a cute jazzy novelty of 1922, That Barking Dog (Woof! Woof!)...
This one is by The Original Memphis Five, a hugely popular group that seems to have shown up on just about every record label in the early 1920s. They blast through Dog with characteristic aplomb...and someone (unidentified) supplying the barks.

Note the spelling...Barking has a "-g" and each Woof has its own exclamation point!

10215 That Barking Dog - Woof! Woof! The Original Memphis Five Vocalion 14461 http://www.box.net/shared/3hsdzcfqhp
NYC, 6 November 1922: Phil Napoleon, trumpet; Charles Panelli, trombone; Jimmy Lytell, clarinet; Frank Signorelli, piano; Jack Roth, drums.

Cute record. Plenty hot, too. Oh, the brown shellac on this record isn't anything special...if anything, it is less durable than the usual black stuff.
Here's another version of the same song, played a bit straighter, and without the barks.

The spelling is a bit different too...the "-g" is missing from Barkin', and only the second Woof! gets the exclamation point. The Woofs are in parentheses too!

Does anybody out there have the sheet music? I'm curious to see what the actual punctuation should be.

Oh yes...remember The Parenthetical Woofs? A band that should have been...

80592-2 That Barkin' Dog (Woof Woof!) Frank Westphal Orchestra Columbia A-3743
http://www.box.net/shared/4y3ffmtsr1
Chicago c. 12 October 1922: Frank Westphal, piano & leader; Charles Burns, another (unknown), trumpet; Herb Winfield, trombone; Jack Richards, Bill Richards, alto saxes; unknown, tenor sax; unknown, banjo; John Jensen, tuba; unknown, drums.

Notice, on this version, there's an interpolation of a song called Walking The Dog.

Here's another (full) version of Walkin', performed by a young up-and-comer named Hoagland Carmichael.

13724-B Walkin' The Dog Carmichael's Collegians Champion 40001 http://www.box.net/shared/62xmxb21bi
Richmond, Indiana, c. 2 May 1928: Bud Dant, cornet; Chauncey Goodwin, clarinet & alto sax; Harold Keating, clarinet & tenor sax; Hoagy Carmichael, piano, vocal, and leader; Eddie Wolfe, violin; Arnold Habbe, banjo; Jack Drummond, bass; Andy van Sickle, drums.

This is actually the third issue of this record...it was originally issued on Gennett in 1928, and on Gennett's cheaper label Champion shortly thereafter. My copy is on a Decca-pressed Champion from 1934. None of 'em are very common. Too bad.

This record is so great, I've got to play the flip side (and it's a Hoagy composition to boot)...I'll dedicate it to the last administration:

13722-A March Of The Hoodlums Carmichael's Collegians Champion 40001
http://www.box.net/shared/r6x8okist1
Same personnel and date.

Just over thirty-five years after Hoagy's record, Rufus Thomas had a new method of Walking The Dog:

STX-7171 Walking The Dog Rufus Thomas Stax S-140
http://www.box.net/shared/bm8io3hjl9
Memphis, 21 August 1963: Rufus Thomas, vocal; others unidentified (sounds like Booker T and the MGs to me).

For the record, my copy of this record has a white label, and the flip side is Fine And Mellow. Other copies are blue labeled and have You Said on the flip.

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One of my favorite songs from any Disney movie is this one...

87268 He's A Tramp Peggy Lee Decca 9-29427

http://www.box.net/shared/dljtzib40b

1955: Peggy Lee and The Pound Hounds (The Mellomen), vocal; Oliver Wallace, Disney Orchestra.

I suppose I should play the flip side...otherwise Elvis and the other Grits Cats might not let me in to do another radio show.

87270 The Siamese Cat Song Peggy Lee Decca 9-29427

http://www.box.net/shared/oa9ari42xb
1955: Peggy Lee, vocal; Oliver Wallace, Disney Orchestra.

In 1991, Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke were finally awarded over $2 million from Disney, who had been raking in lots of money from the home video market (without remembering that Lee and Burke retained the rights to the songs they co-composed).

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Oh...it looks like there'll be another Zorch/Grits Radio spectacular NEXT Sunday (tentatively May 10? Roll over to http://gritsradio.pmlol.com/ and click on "Listen live")...sometime between 6:00 and 8:00 PM EDT, exact time hasn't been determined. We may just do it over Grits Radio and forgo the whole shortwave thing...if so, it'll be a bit more freewheeling. That way we don't have to constantly watch the clock...no station IDs to interrupt the trains of thought either. We shall see....

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See you then...I think I have to chase my tail.

Grits/Zorch Show #1

2009-04-14T00:40:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned the last time, I was a guest on Grits Radio a week or so ago. We played a batch of my favorite sides. I was a bit nervous, but it was a blast. It was a completely new experience...for me, anyway. We'll do it again sometime soon...maybe the next time I can remember to shut my mic off when I'm not using it! And I'll try to remember to announce the tracks better.

Oh...that handsome kitty above is Elvis, who rules the Grits Homestead. I took this picture that night (and wrote the word balloon too). I didn't do anything to his eyes...they just glow blue when hit by bright light.

The other day, Mr. Grits posted the entire broadcast in his blog (http://gritsradio.blogspot.com/2009/04/gritszorch-show-no-1.html) in one large file...you can hear it all in one swell foop there.

Anyway...I wanted my mom (who has neither shortwave nor internet access) to hear the broadcast. I took the raw file, cut anything before the Route 66 Theme (and the spots at the end), and broke the long file into bite-sized chunks, each with individual titles, so she'd have an idea what I played that night.

I decided to share the split version of the broadcast with you too. Here is the show...warts and all:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YUJQSEV3
1. Route 66 Theme Nelson Riddle Orch.
2. Baby, I Love You So Joe Weaver and the Don Juans
3. Down On Me Eddie Head and Family
4. Chatter #1 Grits & Zorch
5. Foghorn Boogie Dick Stabile Orch.
6. Spot #1 Area 51
7. Suby-Baja Ramon Marquez Orch.
8. Oua Oua Kanui & Lua
9. Chatter #2 Grits & Zorch
10. Ain't A Cow In Texas Margaret Whitmire
11. Spot #2 Area 51
12. Blue Yodel No. 9 Jimmie Rodgers & Louis Armstrong
13. I Love You Truly Earl Bostic Orch
14. Chatter #3 Grits & Zorch
15. Ghost Dance Truett & George
16. Spot #3 Area 51
17. Jockomo Sugarboy Crawford
18. Chatter #4 Grits & Zorch
19. Louisiana Hayride Boswell Sisters
20. Spot #4 Area 51
21. Zilch The Monkees
22. Hometown Blues Roane County Ramblers
23. Chatter #5 Grits & Zorch
24. There's A Man That Comes To Our House
Sweet Violet Boys
25. Man Of Constant Sorrow Emry Arthur
26. Chatter #6 Grits & Zorch
27. Spot #5 Area 51
28. Cave Man Jim Backus
29. My Arabian Baby Hank Snow
30. Spot #6 Area 51
31. John Hardy Buell Kazee
32. We Shall All Be Reunited (closing) Alfred Karnes

Thanks to the Area 51 regulars who commented (through a chat line) from time to time...

Also, thanks to Bruce The B (aka Metal-Muncher) for sending an encouraging email to us during the broadcast with a half-joking request for The Monkees' Zilch. I'm glad Grits had the cut so we could sneak it in.

I'll try to remember to bring a couple of yellow-label Atlantic 45s (or their digital equivalent) next time around. Bruce digs them. I did play Jockomo (which was originally on Checker), which has a good Lee Allen tenor solo...Allen's on at least a couple of sessions that Atlantic issued in the yellow-label days.

I got the following 45 from Bruce a couple of days ago...which I'll dedicate to the Area 51 folk and anyone who remembers Top 40 Radio from Ye Olde Days.

45-LB-966 Chaos - Part I Arbogast & Ross Liberty 55107
http://www.box.net/shared/j74humhq2m
45-LB-967 Chaos - Part II Arbogast & Ross Liberty 55107
http://www.box.net/shared/s3cm15btl8

I just found out that Bob Arbogast recently passed away. More can be read here: http://illfolks.blogspot.com/2009/03/bob-arbogast-dies-50-years-after-chaos.html (and you can see the rare picture sleeve there too!)

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A few weeks ago, I transferred a couple of ten-inch LPs of the famous WNEW Saturday Night Swing Sessions of 1947. One of the cuts therein has an interesting title...one that reminds me of the Area 51 folk.

High On An Open Mike WNEW Saturday Night Swing Session 10" Esoteric ESJ-3 http://www.box.net/shared/7xn0zmbho5

WNEW broadcast, NYC, April 12, 1947: Fats Navarro, trumpet; Bill Harris, trombone; Charlie Ventura, Allen Eager, tenor saxes; Ralph Burns, piano; Al Valente, guitar; Chubby Jackson,. bass; Buddy Rich, drums.

...'til next time...

Three updates!

2009-04-04T03:25:00.007-04:00

1. A couple of weeks ago, Christopher DeJohn offered an intact Columbia jukebox pack of Columbia Seven singles, complete with title strips and packaging (for a 1962 Mahalia Jackson LP) on eBay. I wrote to him, inviting him to look at my blog, especially my recent post on Columbia Sevens. I asked if I could use a few images of this important find. Shortly thereafter, I got a few very nice pictures indeed. These are the most interesting ones, I think!

This is the front of the package:

And its contents, in situ:

One of the two enclosed cover slicks and the title strips:

...and all five records in sleeves (without the "record store" blurb at the bottom):

...and the label for the title track. Notice the font is quite different from the ones I published previously...and the matrix number switches from 9:00 to 3:00 position. These variations could be chalked up to different pressing plants.

Again, I thank Chris for sharing these pictures with the Zorch people...

2. It looks like I tickled Bill Reed's fancy sumptin' fierce when I posted that li'l Blossom Dearie record. He asked if he could use it in his blog. Of course I said he could...and he did.
He also gave me a nice plug at his blog...here it is: http://people-vs-drchilledair.blogspot.com/2009/04/httpzorchv38.html . Thanks again, Bill!!

3. Something to think about...another Friend Of Zorch, Mr. Grits (blogmeister of http://gritsradio.blogspot.com/), has asked me to participate in his first official shortwave broadcast this Sunday, 5 April from 6:30--7:30 PM EDT. We'll be spinning records (well, virtual ones, anyway...I don't want to drag some 78s around with me) and chatting. If you don't have a shortwave receiver, don't fret...run over to http://gritsradio.pmlol.com/ and click on "Listen live." As long as you have Winamp or MusicMatch (or something similar), you should be able to listen. Actually, you could visit Grits early (and keep it in your favorites...he plays some dynamite stuff)...we'll probably start an hour or two earlier on a web-only basis. It's just from 6:30--7:30 we'll actually be on the ether too. We'll be taking phone calls too...tune in and enjoy!
Oh, Kenneth, the frequency is 5.110 MHz.

It's April First! (No worms allowed!)

2009-04-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

Shaw 'nuff...Ron identified Attleboro native Ray Conniff's trombone work on the mystery cut. Here's the label and a properly-identified credit:

071710-1 Needlenose Artie Shaw Orchestra Victor 27860
http://www.box.net/shared/cget2zu74r

NYC 21 January 1942: Artie Shaw, clarinet and leader; Lee Castle, Max Kaminsky, Steve Lipkins, Hot Lips Page, trumpets; Jack Jenney, Morey Samuel, Ray Conniff, trombones; Charlie diMaggio, Les Robinson, alto saxes; Gergie Auld, Mickey Folus, tenor saxes; large string section; Johnny Guarnieri, piano; Mike Bryan, guitar; Eddie McKimmey, bass; Dave Tough, drums.

The "needle nardle noo" I mentioned last time (as a little clue to the title of the mystery piece) was one of many catchphrases used on BBC Radio's The Goon Show. More to be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goon_Show_running_jokes and lots more info here: http://www.thegoonshow.net/ . I've been listening a lot to the Goons lately...their lunacy keeps me sane.

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It's April 1, so if that nasty worm hasn't invaded your hard drive, maybe you'd like to listen to some fun fare...Let's start with an old favorite of mine:

This was one of the first jazz records I had ever heard...I had it as part of the RCA Victor Encyclopedia of Jazz set of ten-inch LPs (Volume 2, to be exact). It introduced me to Bix Beiderbecke when I was eight or nine years old.

Those old ten-inchers were available through supermarkets, which explains why they're so common...especially the first couple of volumes. But the original 78 of Barnacle Bill took me a long time to snag...over twenty years.

Anyhoooooo......this is a stock arrangement of the tune...but with some space for solos added. The first verse is pleasant enough, and the answering verse is all right too. Notice that the fiddle plays through the first two repetitions of the title...but on the third one, the fiddle stops and a new voice joins the chorus. That's Joe Venuti. More about his infamous contribution to this record in the next paragraph.

After a blazing Bix solo, Carson Robison and friends go through the second verse. Pay close attention to the answering verse this time around...Mr. Venuti can be heard above the others singing "Barnacle Bill, the sh#thead!" He sings it on all three repetitions this time around (it probably wasn't all that audible in 1930, but it's fairly plain on newer equipment).

62301-1 Barnacle Bill, The Sailor Hoagy Carmichael Orchestra Victor V-38139 http://www.box.net/shared/r0ib62803f

NYC 21 March 1930: Hoagy Carmichael, vocal and leader; Bix Beiderbecke, cornet; Bubber Miley, trumpet; Tommy Dorsey, trombone; Benny Goodman, clarinet; Bud Freeman, tenor sax; Joe Venuti, violin & supplemental vocal; Irving Brodsky, piano; Eddie Lang, guitar; Harry Goodman, tuba; Gene Krupa, drums; Carson Robison, vocal.

59800-2 Rockin' Chair Hoagy Carmichael Orchestra Victor V-38139

http://www.box.net/shared/upjid7ijre

Same date and personnel, but Robison is out and Irving Brodsky's voice is heard.

Nice early version of Rockin' Chair (the first, I believe)...Bubber Miley's growling trumpet is more prominent on this side, although Bix takes a bow towards the end.

Astute collectors out there may notice the huge gap in matrix numbers...59801 through 62300 were allocated for field recordings (used mostly in Chicago, Memphis, Hollywood, and Atlanta).

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Carson Robison, who composed Barnacle Bill with his regular partner, Frank Luther (they recorded three versions of the song under the names Bud and Joe Billings), recorded one of the strangest entries in the Victor V-38000 "Hot Dance Tunes" series...both novelty fox trots. Stuff seems to be a variant of Frankie and Johnny, and Nonsense is clearly a relative of Tiger Rag.

53969-2 Stuff Carson Robison Kansas Jack-rabbits Victor V-38074 http://www.box.net/shared/xscpr9m279
53970-3 Nonsense Carson Robison Kansas Jack-rabbits Victor V-38074 http://www.box.net/shared/kr363kfq48

NYC 31 July 1929: Earl Oliver, trumpet; probably Sam Lewis, trombone; probably Larry Binyon, alto sax; Murray Kellner, violin; probably Bill Wirges, piano; Carson Robison, guitar; Andy Sannella, slide guitar; unknown, drums. Rust doesn't list who played the oboe at the beginning of Nonsense...it was probably Binyon.

Another weird thing...Victor used their "squeezed" font (usually reserved for minor words on the labels like "by" and "and") for the band's credit. They didn't capitalize "rabbits" either.

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Here's one of the funniest sides ever recorded by Rudy Vallee...it's also pretty darned hot too!
147906-2 Outside Rudy Vallee Connecticut Yankees Diva 2857-G
http://www.box.net/shared/9kyzamhnsl
NYC, 31 January 1929: Rudy Vallee, clarinet, alto sax & vocal; probably Don Moore, trumpet; probably Hal Matthews, trombone; Joe Miller, tenor sax; Manny Lowy, Jules deVorzon, violins; Cliff Burwell, piano; Charles Peterson, banjo; Harry Patent, tuba; Ray Toland, drums.

Of course, this side (like most of Diva's material) was also issued on Harmony and VelvetTone. All three (and Clarion, which rolled in within a year or so) were Columbia's cheaper "dime store" labels. Vallee moved to Victor just after this session.

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A few years ago, I found a copy of this record for a quarter or so:

I expected to hear Dalhart sing a moralistic fable. About halfway through A Warning To Boys, I realized that not only was this fable a parody, it was essentially the same song that W. C. Fields sang in his short film, The Fatal Glass Of Beer (you can see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYDKmEF85CY and the song starts around 2:10). Eventually I found that this song and its mate A Warning To Girls, were written by Charley Case in 1907.

146912 A Warning To Boys Vernon Dalhart Diva 2729-G http://www.box.net/shared/kqro92g70b

146913 A Warning To Girls Vernon Dalhart Diva 2729-G
http://www.box.net/shared/fufxa7cefn
NYC 28 August 1928: Vernon Dalhart, vocal; unknown, harmonium.

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A long while back (June 2007, to be exact), I remarked that I had an unusual Spike Jones record that I'd like to share...here 'tis:

Spike Jones Describes The "Musical" Instruments Used In "Dance Of The Hours" Spike Jones RCA promo, unnumbered

http://www.box.net/shared/soq98v7zly

1949: Spike Jones & Dick Morgan, speech; samples of their record of Dance Of The Hours.
Jones's speaking voice was rather pleasant...and guitarist Dick Morgan's voice is just plain goofy.

The other side of this special promo issue is the song itself:
Dance Of The Hours Spike Jones and his City Slickers Victor 20-3516

http://www.box.net/shared/1z7j75ztb0

1949: Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones, leader; large troupe of nuts; featuring Doodles Weaver, commentary.

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Jim Henson's Muppet pianist, Rowlf, used to sing a really strange song called You and I and George: http://www.box.net/shared/cmei4qln6f .

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/You_and_I_and_George has a little info on the song.

This, of course, wasn't the first recording of George...I recall an earlier version on a live Stan Kenton album somewhere. But, any time I hear the song, it's usually played for laughs.

Here's a straight, deadpan version:

ZSP 34850 George Dolores Hawkins Epic 5-9089
http://www.box.net/shared/kt8sjedr51
1955 or so: Dolores Hawkins, vocal; Don Costa Orchestra.

It seems that someone named Maxwell was the composer.

I don't know how Ms. Hawkins was able to do this song as well as she did...her tongue had to have been firmly lodged in her cheek.

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Here's a party record...the only info is the title on the label. The singer is instantly recognizable to people who collect the old stuff...it's Ukulele Ike!

(LO-340) Behind Nick's Counter Anonymous white label party record 5003

http://www.box.net/shared/59yoe71dfr

Hollywood, October 1936: Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards, vocal & ukulele; others unknown.

The first issue of this title (on the Hollywood Hot Shots label) was called Down Behind the Counter at Nick's. This is a later dubbing of it. Oh...I'm not responsible if you suddenly have When You Wish Upon A Star stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Ike does that to people sometimes.

Here's the flip side...also issued anonymously. Can't say I recognize this guy, though (beware! The language here is a bit rough)...

Singing Reporter Anonymous white label party record 5003
http://www.box.net/shared/1p6zlsd31r

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And now some records that deal with rude noises and/or the bodily functions that cause them...

Here's the side that Ed Reynolds usually plays any time there's a new person at the listening session:

068074-1 Serenade To A Maid (A Bronx Serenade) Teddy Powell Orch Bluebird B-11373
http://www.box.net/shared/t3dhopfncm
NYC 4 November 1941: Teddy Powell, large orchestra.

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This is the granddaddy of all fart records, the infamous Crepitation Contest, recorded after hours at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. There's a good article about it here: http://hensteeth.com/cblue.html

The Crepitation Contest Brown & Lipton issued many, many times...
http://www.box.net/shared/kmif7r57p3

1942: Sydney Summers Brown, voice, Jules Lipton (CBC Producer), production & sound effects.

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This may be the first recorded song about, well, wind...

17306-1 Jim's Windy Mule Sweet Violet Boys Vocalion 03587
http://www.box.net/shared/4jtep4epfa
NYC, 16 April 1935: Tex Atchison, vocal & fiddle; Chick Hurt, vocal, speech & mandola; Salty Holmes, vocal & guitar; James Taylor, vocal, speech & bass; unidentified, effects.

This is actually the Prairie Ramblers...many of their novelty records were issued under the Sweet Violet Boys name (and they usually backed up Patsy Montana without label credit too). It was recorded in 1935, but it sat in the can for almost two years before it was finally issued as the flip side of their Sweet Violets No. 3. I've seen it reissued as a red-label Columbia, so it must have sold fairly well.

Here's another side by the boys:

C-1888-4 There's A Man Who Comes To Our House Sweet Violet Boys Vocalion 03766
http://www.box.net/shared/q1k4bz78av
Chicago, 7 October 1937: same personnel, add Bill Thall, clarinet; Ken Houchens, guitar & vocal.

And that should be enough for now...I have to go milk the elk.

Another mystery side!

2009-03-27T23:06:00.000-04:00

I'm working on a little something for April First...here's a tidbit that should whet your appetite until then.

It's a mystery side...the only thing I'll say is that this record has a connection somehow to the Attleboro Area (but there might be another little clue somewhere else).

http://www.box.net/shared/mzxz3y3q6c

What's the connection? Who's on the record? Title?

Comment away!

The winner gets one of those aged peanut butter sandwiches I mentioned a while back...

...and 'til the First of April, as Neddie Seagoon often said... "Needle Nardle Noo!"