Not merely old, or ollld, but ollllld. As in 108 years old. 107 years old. And 100. For a total of 315 years.
Together, these sounds are 315 years old. In effect, we'll be hearing recordings from the year 1694. Wow. I knew The Arkansas Traveler was old, but not that old.
Now, we've heard Arkansaw (sic) Traveler/Traveller here twice, once from Len Spencer on Victor (1908) and a 1901 Columbia label version performed by (according to Tim Brooks) Harry Spencer, brother of Len. That 1901 version from a two-sided reissue (Columbia A-406).
Today, we'll hear the same 1901 version, only ripped from the original single-sided issue, Columbia 21. And I swar that it sounds better. (Er, I mean, swear.) It might not even be the exact same take. Anyway, awesome fidelity for 1901. My copy (from eBay) looks little-played. See image above (and ignore "Condition of Sale").
And, from 1900, the Columbia Band in a great-sounding recording of Howard Whitney's The Mosquito (sic) Parade, a famous novelty which saw duty, among other things, as a circus march and an item on the Titanic playlist. The flip, from 1908 or 1909, features the Banda de Artilleria with a bang-up performance of Roussel's Le Rhone et la Saone polka. The great Albert Roussel? I do not know.
Click here to hear the ollllld sounds. (Did I mention that they're ollllld?) I had to use an old version of Mozilla to upload them with: Ollllld 78s.
PLAYLIST
ARKANSAW TRAVELLER--Poss. Harry Spencer, w. (poss.) George Schweinfest, fiddle, 1901 (Columbia 21). THE MOSQUITO PARADE (Whitney)--Columbia Band, 1900 (Columbia A-730). LE RHONE ET LA SAONE--Banda de Artilleria, 1908 or 1909 (Columbia A-730).
Lee
