It Was Eighty Years Ago Today...

A couple of weeks ago, my mom turned 80! She's doing pretty well, too....

Just for fun, I threw together a CD for her of material that was recorded during the first three months of 1928. It was a pleasant mix of pop/jazz records with a dash of blues and country too. I thought I'd share a few of the highlights with you too!

On the CD, there were two very different versions of the Gus Kahn/Neil Moret number, Persian Rug: The first was by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, from its first recording session:

400083-C Persian Rug Dorsey Brothers and their Orchestra OK 40995
http://www.box.net/shared/25a8i5vk0k
NYC, 14 February 1928: Leo McConville, Fuzzy Farrar, trumpets; Tommy Dorsey, trumpet & trombone; Jimmy Dorsey, clarinet & alto sax; Arnold Brilhart, alto sax & oboe ; Herbert Spencer, tenor sax; Carl Kress, guitar; Hank Stern, tuba; Chauncey Morehouse, drums & chimes.

Yes, that's an oboe in there! There's a bassoon in this version of the same song:
42569 Persian Rug Louisiana Sugar Babes Victor 21346
http://www.box.net/shared/05oyzwq8sg
Camden NJ, 27 March 1928: Jabbo Smith, cornet; Garvin Bushell, clarinet, alto sax & bassoon; James P. Johnson, piano; Fats Waller, organ.

This whole session (http://www.redhotjazz.com/sugarbabes.html) is pretty darned amazing...I love the interplay between piano and organ (played by James P. Johnson and his protege, Fats Waller)...Jabbo Smith's trumpet is nicely understated (he was usually a lot more flamboyant), and Garvin Bushell makes full use of all three of his instruments too. I wish that they recorded more than that one session.

It's time for a Whiteman cut...he led the most popular band in the 1920s...certainly the most prolific too. Regularly from 1927 to 1930 (and fairly often thereafter), he made some decent jazz or jazz-influenced dance records, with solos by Bix Beiderbecke, the Dorsey Brothers, Frankie Trumbauer, Jack Teagarden, and an occasional vocal by Mildred Bailey or Red McKenzie.

Oh, a cat named Crosby sang on a lot of those sides too...

Here's Bing, singing the verse on a record that could never be considered jazz. It's actually pretty awful...so overarranged, so overdone. But it's fun to hear him in an otherwise ridiculous setting.

43148-1 March of the Musketeers Paul Whiteman Orchestra Victor 21315
http://www.box.net/shared/zsihpycso4
NYC, 16 March 1928: Large orchestra with chorus, Bing Crosby, vocal.

Coincidentally, both OKeh and Victor recorded in Memphis early in 1928...

I think of this band almost every time I hear someone mention that city...
41891-2 She Stays Out All Night Long Memphis Jug Band Victor 21524
http://www.box.net/shared/klzcof44ko
Memphis 13 February 1928: Will Shade, guitar & vocal; Vol Stevens, banjo-mandolin; Ben Ramey, kazoo; Charlie Polk, jug; the band shouts occasionally.

From Lee County, Mississippi, comes this string band...and a dynamite number, recorded the same day as the MJB.

41896-2 Indian War Whoop Floyd Ming Pep Steppers Victor 21294
http://www.box.net/shared/99kt022ioc
Memphis, 13 February 1928: Hoyt Ming, fiddle; Troy Ming, mandolin; Rozelle Ming, guitar.
Catchy number...and there's a story about it here: http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/IN_IO.htm and look under Indian War Whoop.

If the previous record sounds familiar, it's because it was remade (by John Hartford) for the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Speaking of O Brother, Chris Thomas King plays a character in the movie named Tommy Johnson, who boasted of selling his soul to the Devil in exchange for his guitar artistry (the song he performed in the movie, however, is associated with Skip James, not Johnson). There really was a Tommy Johnson who told the same story...more to be found here http://www.tommyjohnsonblues.com/ .

41839-2 Maggie Campbell Blues Tommy Johnson Victor 21409
http://www.box.net/shared/26ee21sock
Memphis 4 February 1928: Tommy Johnson, vocal & guitar.

Here's another exuberant string band title, recorded by OKeh:

400332 Give The Fiddler A Dram

Carter Brothers and Son OKeh 45289

http://www.box.net/shared/ijpqfrowsw
Memphis, 24 February 1928: George Carter, vocal & fiddle; Andrew Carter, fiddle; Jimmie Carter, guitar.

OKeh also recorded in San Antonio...

400509-B Wabash Blues Troy Floyd's Shadowland Orch OKeh unissued
http://www.box.net/shared/6ieq79rco4
San Antonio 14 March 1928: Don Albert, Willie Long, trumpets; Benny Long, trombone; Troy Floyd, N. J. "Siki" Collins, Scott Bagby, reeds; Allen Vann, piano; John H. Braggs, banjo; Charlie Dixon, bass; John Humphries, drums; Kellough Jefferson, vocal.

I wonder why this side stayed in the can...it's pretty good.

Answer to Mystery Quiz:

Sadly, nobody guessed Joe Mooney (1911-1975)...actually, nobody guessed anything at all. It must be a busy time for the regulars.

Mooney is one of my favorite vocalists...there is nobody who sounded quite like him. I've heard that Sinatra and Bennett considered Mooney one of the very best as well.

E1-KB-1903 Crazy She Calls Me Joe Mooney Trio Carousel 2003
http://www.box.net/shared/qg5gm080gw
Hackensack NJ 26 May 1951: Joe Mooney, vocal & Hammond organ; Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar; Bob Carter, bass.

The reason this record is special is revealed by the Hackensack location...it's from the first issued session recorded by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder.

Mooney started in the late 1920s playing piano and singing backup for his brother Dan in a duet called The Sunshine Boys (not to be confused with the country group, of course!)...they made quite a few records together, often backed by the Dorseys.

Both Mooney boys had congenital blindness, but that didn't stop Joe. He went on to arrange for Paul Whiteman (although I'd love to know which charts were his...Rust's Dance Band Discography mentions his accordion appearing on some of Pops's Decca sides), he's apparently on a session or two by Buddy Rodgers in the late 1930s too.

From 1946 until the 1948 recording ban, he was at Decca leading a very innovative quartet, featuring himself on vocals and accordion, and Andy Fitzgerald's clarinet. These Decca sides sold moderately well, but Mooney couldn't get gigs outside of NYC so the group eventually folded. Those Deccas were vocals that really didn't show all that the group could do...the Hep Label has two terrific CDs that fill the void. All of the group's issued sides are therein, along with a nice selection of airchecks...some of which are instrumentals.

Mooney passed through the Sauter-Finegan orchestra in the early 1950s, scoring a rather big hit (#13 on the Billboard Charts) with Nina Never Knew. In 1955, he recorded the Lush Life album for Atlantic...Mooney sings and plays organ here. Koch has reissued it.

The last two albums that Mooney recorded were for Columbia in the early 1960s, accompanied by a swinging studio orchestra...and there are occasional solos by Mooney on piano, accordion and organ. His singing was great here too. Koch reissued these LPs on one CD too.

Someday, I've got to put together and post a sampler of Mooney's work. Most of his material is available, but he's still not too well known, at least to the general public. Too bad. He deserves more acclaim.

That should nail things down for this installment...until the next time.

Change Those Push-Buttons Next Week!

Here's a curious record...it's a twelve-incher, pressed on early vinyl by Victor.

The contents are thirteen radio commercials, dealing with the push-buttons on home radios and the problems that the re-allocation of frequencies would cause. The first six commercials were meant to be broadcast before March 29, and the remaining seven would be played after the change. Each spot has a little dramatized skit illustrating the predicted confusion of the average American, then an announcer comes in to explain what is going on. He also makes sure to tell the listener that the push-buttons could be reset by a qualified technician for a small fee. Of course, the tech would test the radio tubes too, and replace any that were in danger of burning out. And the announcer on the record finally tells the audience to listen to the local announcer, who'd drop a plug for some local RCA Victor radio dealer.

When I got this record about twenty years ago, it made me wonder...what was this all about, and when did it occur? Bear in mind, there was hardly any Internet in the late 1980s. I certainly hadn't known anything about it. I knew even less about this frequency shift.

Eventually I was able to determine that this record dated to 1941...and the NARBA (the old North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement, consisting of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti) was responsible.

You can find more info on this more-or-less forgotten footnote to American radio history here: http://broadcasting.wikia.com/wiki/1941_frequency_reassignments and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Radio_Broadcasting_Agreement .

We're fast approaching the 67th anniversary of this industry-wide re-allocation of radio frequencies.

What's the big deal?

In both 1941 and 2008. March 29 falls on a Saturday!

These commercials are kind of fun, taken one at a time. Listening to all 13 in one sitting, however, could cause the heebie-jeebies. I'd recommend downloading them and having them play with four or five other albums...in random mode, of course

Enjoy them! Confuse your friends!
http://www.zshare.net/download/92812626469c9e/
Sorry about the annoying ads here...but free file-hosting isn't easily found. I may redo the file in the RapidShare site, but they've got their own troublesome quirks too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MYSTERY RECORD DEPARTMENT
I'm working on another posting which should be up in a few days. Here's a little quiz to keep you busy until then:

http://www.box.net/shared/amnxaqqs48

Who's the artist on this record? The singer is not terribly well-known, but those out there in Blogland who know this cat will recognize him easily. His style was unique...and still is.

And, for a little gold star, what is the record session's significance? It is fairly important, in its own way.

Until the next time...take it easy on those jellybeans, chocolates and marshmallow Peeps.

Another Listening Session!

Three or four times a year, our friend Ed Reynolds hosts a Listening Session...a couple of other friends and I attended one the other night.

Ed's been collecting records since FDR's first term. He has some lovely pieces...all traditional jazz and swing. No bop or so-called "modern" jazz...but that's fine with us.

That's Ed on the right...the Mad Doughnut Man of Pennsylvania (Rich Lagerman, another regular guest, who hosts the Original Bandbox show on WRDV-FM) on the left...they're examining one of Ed's Champion 78s.

Anyway, the last couple of sessions had a new wrinkle added...Ed asks for a person's requests in advance...and plays them the next time around. The time before, our pal Ron's requests were played...a good deal of great traditional jazz with a good nod towards Satch.

This time was my turn. I deliberately asked for stuff that's not on the beaten path...for example, there is a Louis Armstrong cut in the list, but it's not the standard West End Blues or Potato Head Blues...I chose Muggles, one of my favorites (gee...I wonder why).

Here are a few highlights of the evening:

402220-A Muggles Louis Armstrong Orch OKeh 8703 http://www.box.net/shared/7lm8jhu4oc
Chicago, 7 December 1928: Louis Armstrong, trumpet; Frank Robinson, trombone; Jimmy Strong, clarinet; Earl Hines, piano; Mancy Cara, banjo; Zutty Singleton, drums. Satch's "pot" piece...some great slow, bluesy stuff...and then Pops storms in, doubling the tempo and tripling the heat before going back to the original tempo for a simple, eloquent chorus that swings its @$$ off.

Oh, there's apparently evidence that the banjoist's real last name was "Carr," but I'm going with the standard discographical entry this time around.

403522-B Copyin' Louis Jack Purvis OKeh 41404
http://www.box.net/shared/vr8tb06qsk
NYC, 17 December 1929: Jack Purvis, trumpet; John Scott Trotter, piano; Gene Kintzle, guitar; Paul Weston, bass; Joe Dale, drums.

Here's a great side by the eccentric genius of the trumpet, Jack Purvis.

Eccentric?

Kleptomaniac. Con man. Spent time in jail for robbery (and supposedly broke parole so he could go back to the prison band). Yeah, he was somewhat eccentric...

He could also be brilliant...check out his playing here! He's all over the place...a strange turn here, another odd lurch there...and it doesn't get much hotter. And he's not exactly "copyin' Louis" here either...he's inspired by Satch (who wasn't?), but he's very definitely in a class by himself.

There's a three-CD set of Purvis on Jazz Oracle...it's quite amazing. The cuts there feature pleasant dance bands or vocalists of the 1928-35 period...and somewhere in the record, WHAM! There's a Purvis solo...sticking out like a sore thumb. A hot sore thumb. And there's a huge booklet in the set, relating many of the legendary stories musicians told about this incredible guy.

Someone ought to write a screenplay about Purvis...maybe someone in the Jack Nicholson/Bruce Dern school could play him.

C5538 El Rado Scuffle Jimmie Noone Orchestra Vocalion 1490
http://www.box.net/shared/6mzsxndc8s
Chicago, 3 February 1930: Jimmie Noone, clarinet; Joe Poston, alto sax; Zinky Cohn, piano; Wilbur Gorham, banjo; Bill Newton, bass; Johnny Wells, drums.

For years my favorite Noone side was Apex Blues...it's still high on the list, but this track, along with its original flip side, Deep Trouble, really caught my ear a while back. Neither are played all that often either.

55847-2 Haunted Nights Duke Ellington Orch Victor V-38092
http://www.box.net/shared/l88hloasg0
NYC 16 September 1929: Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, trumpets; Joe Nanton, trombone; Juan Tizol, valve trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, reeds; Duke Ellington, piano; Teddy Bunn, guitar; Fred Guy, banjo; Wellman Braud, bass; Sonny Greer, drums.

There are so many great sides by Ellington from this period (shoot...any period Ellington is great!), it was hard to choose just one. I couldn't resist asking for this one...it's unlike most of his pieces, and there's a good guitar solo by Teddy Bunn, who was sitting in for this session. It's also my guess that Bunn's presence is why the credit doesn't say "Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra." Bunn wasn't a regular band member, so he wouldn't have been at the club.
Note: I do have the 78 of this cut (2 copies, actually), but since I already have the CD version loaded on my hard drive, I posted the latter.

I also requested a couple of favorite vocals...

148849-3 True Blue Lou Annette Hanshaw Harmony 981-H
http://www.box.net/shared/qg5nnh4owc
NYC 24 July 1929: Annette Hanshaw, vocal, with the New Englanders: Phil Napoleoon, trumpet; Tommy Dorsey, trombone; Jimmy Dorsey, clarinet; Frank Signorelli, guitar; probably Tony Colucci, guitar; Joe Tarto, bass; Stan King, drums.
It's a fairly common record, especially on Harmony's sister label, Diva (distributed through the W. T. Grant chain stores), but it's a goodie. Hanshaw injects just the right amount of pathos when she talks about the "poor kid." Lovely side.

Ed told us that he saw Annette sing with the Casa Loma band sometime around 1934. I wish there was a way for me to download some of his memories....there's precious little film of her in action. Here's the only clip I've ever seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrZwb-5jTpE .

B-15714-A A New Moon Is Over My Shoulder Connee Boswell Brunswick 6962
http://www.box.net/shared/yke7wjtkck
NYC, 21 August 1934: Connee Boswell, vocal; Bunny Berigan, trumpet; Tommy Dorsey, trombone; Jimmy Dorsey, clarinet; Harry Hoffman, violin; Martha Boswell, piano; Dick McDonough, guitar; Chauncey Morehouse, drums.

Isn't this a pretty side? Again, it's something that doesn't get played all that often. And, yes, Ms. Boswell changed the spelling of her first name from "Connie" to "Connee." Supposedly it was easier to sign her name without the dot above the "i," but the change might have been related to numerology (I heard George Brunies dropped an "e" or two from his name for that reason as well).

Eventually we got around to listening to other stuff that Ed selected...I'm holding one of those items...a rather scarce Melotone. Sometimes records make me goofy (and that's fellow collector Rich Trahan in the background. He's not goofy....).

Yes, that's the blue eagle of the National Recovery Act (1933-35) on my t-shirt...one of my favorite symbols of any era...thanks to one of my old pals for the neat shirt!

As good as the music is (and believe me...it is great), the high point of these shindigs is around 9:00 when Dick brings out the most fantastic doughnuts and pastries, fresh from a Pennsylvania bakery.

The Entry of the Doughnuts is almost a hol(e)y ritual........and he brought an exceptionally tasty bunch of them this time around too...

NOT-SO-GREAT GUNS DEPT.

From the sublime to the (unintentionally) ridiculous: A couple of weeks ago, the 78-L folks were discussing Geoffrey O'Hara, known for recording Native American songs and stories in 1913 (wax cylinders, of course). He made records of himself performing some of these songs. He also composed the standard K-K-K-Katy. http://amicus.collectionscanada.ca/gramophone-bin/Main/RouteRqst?r=0&i=NW_S&l=0&v=1&coll=24&lvl=1&rp=1&t=O has a batch of his records.

According to the Wikipedia blurb on O'Hara, he seemed to have stopped recording around 1928 to concentrate on teaching and composing.

Well, it seems O'Hara showed up on the syndicated Forget-Me-Not radio show in late 1930, performing his song Guns. It may have been moving in its time (only 12 years after WWI ended)...but it's badly dated now.

XE-35077 Forget-Me-Not, Show O, Part 5
http://www.box.net/shared/7lmaq3604o
NYC, ca. 6 November 1930: Geoffrey O'Hara, composer and vocal; studio orch.

Well, they certainly don't write songs like that anymore. I think the Geneva Convention prohibits it.

Well....that should do it for now......

Answers to those quiz questions...

I've been fairly busy the last few weeks with various side projects and have neglected my blog. I'm working on a new entry, but it will probably be another week before I'm completely satisfied with it.

In the meantime, there were those two quiz questions from the previous posting...

Question #1 concerned the Mitchell's Christian Singers record released in Columbia's pricier Masterworks series (usually reserved for classical music). I said that there was a good reason for its placement there and added a (very) big clue: The next record in the series, Columbia 417-M was issued by "Sanders Terry."

Of course, that artist was Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry. And he and the MCS had just played Carnegie Hall a few days earlier. There was actually quite a flurry of recording activity, spawned by the first From Spirituals to Swing concert that John Hammond produced on Friday, 23 December 1938.

A glance at the Abrams database shows that the following Tuesday, the 27th (Christmas fell on Sunday that year, and would have been officially celebrated Monday the 26th), Brunswick/Vocalion recorded seven songs by Mitchell's Christian Singers (including two they performed at the concert), followed by two by Terry.

A few days later (the 30th), more stars of the concert, a trio of boogie-woogie pianists, Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, and Meade Lux Lewis came in for their session...recording a total of five titles (the two sides of Boogie Woogie Prayer were issued as takes 1 and 2 of the same matrix number). Two of these sides featured Johnson with blues shouter Joe Turner...this was the beginning of his long recording career.

A few days after that (6 January 1939), all three pianists recorded several twelve-inch sides for Alfred Lion, who was about to launch a new label called Blue Note. Perhaps you've heard of it.....if not, please crawl back under your log.

Question #2 dealt with a mystery cut...I asked what the featured instrument was, and what nationality the performer was.

Shalom correctly identified the mystery instrument...it was indeed an ocarina...apparently recorded in Portugal (note the P matrix series)in the late 1920s. Here's the record again, but with a label scan and info intact:

P200 Fado Foguete de Lagrimas Antonio Martins Columbia 1058-X
http://www.box.net/shared/7awua90ysg

It was hard for me to believe that the lowly "sweet potato" could be capable of such lovely music...I usually hear it in a quasi-country novelty setting.

To be fair, there's an interesting Ocarina Blog (http://www.ocarina.tv/blog/) out there...and several other sites devoted to the instrument. I have a lot more respect for it now.....

Someday I'll get around to posting the Bernie Ladd sides...he and his ocarina recorded a couple of jazz-flavored pieces in the mid-1930s for Decca.

Whew...got the questions out of my (rapidly graying) hair. Hope to post again in a few days...

I'm Prayin' Humble

A while back I posted a couple of songs by Mitchell's Christian Singers, one of my favorite vocal groups. I promised myself that I'd post their version of I'm Praying Humble someday.

"Someday" has come...

Many of my friends in the 78-collecting community are familiar with the following record:

91534-A I'm Prayin' Humble Bob Crosby Orch Decca 2210
Chicago. 19 October 1938: Bob Crosby, conductor; Zeke Zarchy, Sterling Bose, Billy Butterfield, trumpets; Ward Silloway, Warren Smith, trombones; Irving Fazola, Matty Matlock, Joe Kearns, Eddie Miller, Gil Rodin, reeds; Bob Zurke, piano; Nappy Lamare, guitar; Bob Haggart, bass and arranger; Ray Bauduc, drums.
http://www.box.net/shared/w4rlnvboc0

Of course, you know that Bob was Bing's brother, right?

The standard Web resources say that "(Bob) Haggart had found an old record of the piece by a black gospel group in a second-hand shop and reworked it for the trumpet of Sterling Bose."

But that's all she wrote.

Here's the record he heard...

21485-2 I'm Praying Humble Mitchell's Christian Singers Vocalion 03180
NYC, 10 August 1937: Unaccompanied vocal quartet: William Brown, lead tenor; Julian Davis, tenor; Louis "Panella" Davis, baritone; Sam Bryant, bass.
http://www.box.net/shared/teyq48ow0s

Discographical note: I'm citing only the first major issue of these records...many of these Mitchell records were also issued on ARC's dime-store labels (Perfect, Melotone, Oriole, Banner, and Conqueror) at roughly the same time...and many also show up on post-war red Columbias as well.

Notice that the record really wasn't all that old at all...it came out the previous year. And, interestingly enough, the Crosby record substitutes an apostrophe for the "g" in "Praying."

Want some more Mitchell's? Here's something I got at the big phonograph/record show in Newark in 1991 (cost me only one dollar, too!):

19129-1 Standing By The Bedside Mitchell's Christian Singers Columbia 416-M
NYC, 28 April 1937: Same personnel.
http://www.box.net/shared/g8if2l2ww0


23879-1 My Poor Mother Died A Shouting Mitchell's Christian Singers Columbia 416-M NYC 28 December 1938: Same personnel.
http://www.box.net/shared/3zwfxo6go8

Question #1: Did anybody notice that this was issued in Columbia's pricier Masterworks series (usually reserved for classical music)? There's a good reason for it...hats off to the first person to tell me why (and that lucky person will also receive those Special Aged Peanut Butter Sandwiches from Uncle Eugene). Here's a (very) big clue: The next record in the series, Columbia 417-M (which I've never seen on 78) was issued by "Sanders Terry."

Here is another pair of sides, one by the Mitchells, and the other from the old double LP of The Fabulous Dorseys in Hi-Fi. The former was one I had posted a while back. I was reminded of it when I was transferring the Dorsey LPs and recognized the title.

23204-1 Judgment Is Coming Mitchell's Christian Singers Vocalion 04273
http://www.box.net/shared/6mkegshp5x
NYC, 7 July 1938: Same personnel.

Judgment Is Coming Tommy Dorsey Orch, featuring Jimmy Dorsey
1956: Personnel uncertain
http://www.box.net/shared/c1pv5pj0gc

Ethnic corner

Someone asked me why I call this International music "ethnic" but don't include jazz or blues under this heading. It's a personal thing...Jazz and blues have been assimilated into the mainstream of American music, and the music represented in this section really hasn't. And I never really liked the term "World Music." It reminds me of another term I don't like much..."New Age." I prefer to omit the space and combine the words...to rhyme with "sewage."

I was asked recently to post a label scan (and mp3) of the flip side of the Eddy Jahrl record I posted last month.

Here 'tis:

108584-1 On Board Jahrl's Swedish Novelty Quintette Columbia 38003-F
Eddie Jahrl, conductor
http://www.box.net/shared/mrev4by804
No Hawaiian guitars here, but some pleasant xylophones make up for the lack. At least they're not bagpipes, eh?

And here's another interesting record...it's rather haunting in its own way...but I'm not gonna tell you what it is (yet!)

MYSTERY RECORD!!!
http://www.box.net/shared/k6q0h598kk
Question #2: What can you tell me about this record? What's its nationality? Where was it recorded? When? What instrument is that, anyway? The person with the most correct answer gets to share those sandwiches with the winner of Quiz #1...unless, of course, one of you wants the Komodo Dragon.

~~~'til the next time...

Merry Christmas (especially for some pals in NH)!!

I called up a couple of old friends last night to wish them and theirs a Cool Yule...and mentioned that I have a (relatively) new music blog. They weren't aware of it yet. I told them to keep an eye on it...there'd be something special posted just for them.

...and here it is.

Isn't this cute? Les and Mary on a Christmas-oriented EP, issued October, 1954.

I'm posting the songs in the order shown on the front cover, but, should you want to save the files, I've numbered them to play back in the order presented on the record.

Jingle Bells http://www.box.net/shared/253ncagowo
Silent Night http://www.box.net/shared/2tiwe8usc0
White Christmas http://www.box.net/shared/72w3bnsowg
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town http://www.box.net/shared/n1j0zr34ks

Here's another treat...the complete Christmas 1948 broadcast from the Royal Roost, featuring Charlie Parker and his Quintet. Let me rephrase that...Bird's broadcast set is complete, WMCA went back to the Roost to air Charlie Ventura's band shortly afterwards.

Anyhoooo....Bird and his men are in fine spirits. Parker even is persuaded to do White Christmas!

Royal Roost, NYC, Christmas 1948: Kenny Dorham, trumpet; Charlie Parker, alto sax; Al Haig, piano; Tommy Potter, bass; Max Roach, drums. Symphony Sid Torin, announcer.

1 Announcements & Sid's Theme http://www.box.net/shared/n08vrn4gcw

2. Half Nelson http://www.box.net/shared/di3jw6zwog

3. Announcement http://www.box.net/shared/dfr7t4dkog

4. White Christmas http://www.box.net/shared/4shgaca68s

5 Announcement http://www.box.net/shared/p71kbmysks

6. Little Willie Leaps http://www.box.net/shared/lsf0m3uw4k

7. Closing Announcement & Sid's Theme http://www.box.net/shared/09ljfbew4g

Now one of my favorite Christmas novelties...Jim Backus, in his Mr. Magoo voice, as Santa Claus! The reindeer is played by Daws Butler, doing a younger-sounding variation of his Mr. Jinks hipster character.

My guess is that this was released in late 1958 or so.

I Was a Teenage Reindeer http://www.box.net/shared/5vhl506go4

The Office Party http://www.box.net/shared/kc4qmhbko4

And, last but not least, a song that will be forever linked in my mind to birthday cake, the King of the Hill marble game (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/4701 for a real Blast From The Past), and hot cocoa after sledding parties (has it really been almost 40 years?)...Allan Sherman's Twelve Gifts of Christmas.

Oh...the image I snagged off the 'net (I don't have a scanner) is of the mono issue...my copy is in stereo. Nyah-nyah!

http://www.box.net/shared/barueykg0w

...and a Happy Holiday Season to all!

Happy Holidays!!!

Well...it's less than a week from Christmas...and I haven't posted anything yet! And I do have a couple of cool Yule sides to check out! Here's a gorgeous rarity...

It's not the most exciting record to listen to, though. That's the Jean Goldkette version of In My Merry Oldsmobile (with an all-but-inaudible Bix Beiderbecke in there) sampled at the beginning of this side. Then President Reuter delivers a pep-talk, painting a rosy picture for the upcoming year 1929 (things were rosy, all right, at least until late October!). There's a reprise of the Goldkette record...which ends abruptly...no fade. Oh...it's one-sided...with a typical Victor "spider web" on the flip.


48613-2 Holiday Message From Oldsmobile 1928-1929 Mr. I. M. Reuter Victor Special
Chicago, 22 November 1928: Reuter, speech.
http://www.box.net/shared/xdba4b0joc
For what it's worth...this is take -2...


The above Victor record was given to employees of the Olds Motor Works, obviously for the 1928-29 holiday season. One can assume that the Olds company paid for the recording and pressing.


Columbia made a lot of records for outside clients too, usually labeled simply "Personal Record."


This example was given to employees of the Humming Bird Hosiery Mills... 

I can't find much info on the Humming Bird Mills...although the Humming Bird brand was evidently made by the Davenport Hosiery Mills, of Chattanooga Tennessee. The only info I can find about T. Walter Fred is that he lived in Lookout Mountain and that he wrote The Story of a Pair of Silk Stockings: A Hand Book for Students and a Guide for Salespeople, published in 1923.


Yes, this is another somewhat dry "go, team, go" record, spiced (somewhat) by an invitation for the salesgirls to visit the mill. He notes that his factory workers are all "white folk, like you and I." Hmmmm.


170272 A Personal Message To Humming Bird Salesgirls (ca.1927) T. Walter Fred Columbia Personal 101-P
http://www.box.net/shared/zhxjzqk4kw



The oddest thing about the recording is that he says the the flip side is Bernie Cummins's record of Little Gypsy Sweetheart.

The actual flip side is the 1927 pop tune, Sam, the Old Accordion Man, credited to the Humming Bird Orchestra. It probably isn't conducted by Cummins, who didn't record for Columbia.
170275 Sam, the Old Accordion Man Humming Bird Orch (1927) Columbia Personal 101-P
http://www.box.net/shared/ni6xn6csok


FLASH!! (February 2009)

Well...I'll be hornswoggled!

A few colleagues with better ears than I recognized the voice of Walter Cummins on this side...so the leader of this record is his brother, Bernie. I must have had too much eggnog when I posted this. Then again, I don't have a lot of Cummins to compare it with.
So...the listing should be edited:


170275 Sam, the Old Accordion Man Humming Bird Orch Columbia Personal 101-P
http://www.box.net/shared/ni6xn6csok
NYC, 6 May 1927: Bernie Cummins Orchestra; Walter Cummins, vocal.

Of course, we're still wondering what became of the Cummings version of Roam On, My Little Gypsy Sweetheart that Mr. Fred mentioned on his side.
Oh, I must thank The Toasters of New York and especially Taylor Bowie for supplying the correct information. 

Some ethnic goodies


We here in the Northeast have had our share of snow this week...one bad storm (around twelve inches of that fluffy stuff) and two or three annoying bouts with flurries.
It was enough to inspire me to poke around in my ethnic stash, to look for music from warmer climes. And I knew I had to find the Italian Christmas side that's next.

Here's an attractive label...the 1923-25 "banner" or "flag" label that Columbia used. This one has a metallic green background (which scanned a bit on the brown side. The correct shade of green is seen at the top of the label, in that deep groove). The green background was used by Columbia for miscellaneous ethnic series (They also used copper for popular, and both gold and silver for classical works. I've also seen metallic light blue and matte dark blue too.). This is obviously from an Italian series. 

This early-1920s recording features a pair of anonymous musicians, one playing the Zampogna, or Italian bagpipes, and the Ciaramella, or reed pipe. My guess is that the latter is the vocalist as well. The music is traditionally played by the returning shepherds for the Christmas season.

More info on the tradition is here: http://www.amoretravelguides.com/blog/christmas-in-italy-buon-natale.php


44455 Novena Di Natale Unknown musicians - Zampogna e Ciaramella Columbia 14068-F
http://www.box.net/shared/42qmx41s0k 

This record seems to have sold fairly well...I've had two copies, and the Internet Archive has another copy here: http://www.archive.org/details/Zampogna_e_Ciaramella-Novena_Di_Natale
Here's a recent video clip of a very similar duo...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i6aCWLgrWs

Sweden may not necessarily be a "warmer clime," but the prominent Hawaiian guitar on the following side certainly unthawed my cardiac cockles. 

109614 Sunlight Jahrl's Swedish Novelty Quintette (ca. April 1926) Columbia 38003-F
http://www.box.net/shared/9ed6r1k4kg



Here's what's probably the first recording of Green Eyes...from 1931 (according to http://library.fiu.edu/latinpop/SECCION05R.pdf)
XVE67159 Aquellos Ojos Verdes Orquesta Romeu Victor 30397
19 February 1931: Antonio M. Romeu, conductor; Antonio Machín, Daniel Sanchez, vocal. Others unknown. http://www.box.net/shared/gx3fhhfs4g




Here's another rather scarce piece...an -X series (for export) Columbia, issued on their beautiful Royal Blue wax.

The Hurtado Brothers toured the United States in 1908, and recorded many records between then and WWII. This is the one that tickled me the most...it sounds like they heard some Jimmie Rodgers sides...the marimbas almost yodel on this side...
 
CO 16506 Guatemala Blues Marimba Hurtado Hermanos Columbia 5256-X
NYC 18 December 1934
http://www.box.net/shared/8zk0t8beoo




Finally, the best record I ever found at the Goodwill in East Providence, a 1937 Brazilian Victor by Carmen Miranda's backup group, Bando da Lua. Both sides are delightful...the former having some Mills Brothers-like instrument imitations, and the latter obviously about a rooster. Nice Liszt quotation in there too!
Saudades Do Meu Barracao Bando da Lua Brazilian Victor 34232
http://www.box.net/shared/58ny7b1wcc
Marchinha Do Grande Galo Bando da Lua Brazilian Victor 34232
http://www.box.net/shared/0sc6q0i88w
recorded in 1937.
That'll do it for now...thanks for listening and have a happy holiday season.

~Zorchman