Sunday morning gospel: Johnnie & Jack

Yes, the LP cover looks that drab, except that it has a blue-green tinge. Otherwise, this photo captures it in all its blah-ness. The music, however--Grade-A (if typical) bluegrass gospel. The liner notes, however, tell us nothing about the music--place, dates, labels. None of that. In fact, there are no liner notes. Maybe that's why they don't tell us anything.

The duo's recording career lasted from 1947 to 1963, the year that Jack Anglin was killed in a car crash en route to Patsy Cline's funeral. Johnny Wright, husband of Kitty Wells, carried on solo and enjoyed a successful career. In 2007, Johnny and Kitty celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

To the Johnnie and Jack: Johnnie and Jack (Golden Country 2213)

HUMMING BIRD
HE WILL SET YOUR FIELDS ON FIRE
FOR OLD TIMES (sic) SAKE
THIS WORLD CAN'T STAND LONG
FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS
GOD PUT A RAINBOW ON THE CLOUDS
WHAT ABOUT YOU
I'LL BE LISTENING
A SMILE ON MY LIPS
TURN YOUR RADIO ON
CALLED FROM POTTER'S FIELD
WHEN THE SAVIOUR REACHED DOWN FOR ME



Lee

Russian music from America

I did a quick look through my unorganized piles of CD-Rs and found these examples of Russian (and Russian-themed) songs and pieces recorded in America, most of them from 78s. Then I did a quick Google-images search and combined the visual results into one (above). At which point, I was ready for business. Operation Get Post Ready was almost complete.

In this playlist, we have dance band, mood music, and concert band renditions of works by Cui, Rachmaninoff, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky (whom my trumpet teacher deliberately mispronounced, "Chicky-osko-vowsky"), Shostakovitch, Moe Jaffe and Nat Bonk, and many more. I don't remember why I made the shortened Comedian's Galop/Sabre Dance track, which combines performances by the National Symphony O. and Oscar Levant, but here it is.

All recordings were ripped by me from my collection, and most were re-tweaked for this post. Looking over the line-up, maybe you're wondering how I could have forgotten the 1812 Overture, but I didn't--Grofe quotes it repeatedly in his arrangement of There's a Boatman on the Volga (track #1). It helps lighten the sad mood. The vocal by Gladys Rice (1890-1983 is superb.

To the music: Russian music from America


PLAYLIST

THERE'S A BOATMAN ON THE VOLGA (Arr: Ferde Grofe)--Paul Whiteman O.; vocal: Gladys Rice, 1926.
BOLSHEVIK (Moe Jaffe-Ned Bonx)--Waring's Pennsylvanians, w. vocal refrain, 1926.
DANUBE WAVES (Ivanovici)--Prince's Orch., 1916.
HORA STACCATO--George Liberace and His Orch., 1958.
HYMN TO THE SUN (Rimsky-Korsakov; Arr: Grofe)--Paul Whiteman, 1933 (radio).
TCHAIKOWSKIANA (Arr: Herman Hand)--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1928.
PRELUDE (Rachmaninoff)--Marek Weber Orch., 1926.
POLKA (Shostakovich)--Pierre Luboshutz, Genia Nemenoff, duo-pianists, 1941.
SONG OF THE FLAME--David Whitehall Orch.
DARK EYES--Ferrante and Teicher (from Soundproof LP, 1955).
TWO GUITARS (Makarow)--The A.&P. Gypsies, 1925.
WHERE THE VOLGA FLOWS--Frank Westphal and His Rainbo O., 1922.
COMEDIAN'S GALOP/SABRE DANCE--National Symphony O./Oscar Levant.
ORIENTALE (Cui)--Pierre Luboshutz, Genia Nemenoff, duo-pianists, 1940.
CORONATION SCENE (Moussorgsky)--Same, 1940.


Lee

Light concert music (and more) on 78s!

Mandolin, concert, and salon (oh, my!). Orchestras, that is. This playlist was to start with a four-hand piano track, but I had to bump it--in its place is a piece of unlight concert music, the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 (a.k.a. "Dunt-dunt-dunt-daaaa!"). Then things get light with superbly-performed medleys from Vincent Youman's No, No, Nanette and Rudolph Friml's Rose-Marie, both performances from 1926. The performers? The Victor Light Opera Co. (See? What did I tell you?)

The lightness continues with G. Verdi's Mandolin Orch. of Livorno, Italy; the Victor Salon Orch.; Alfred Cortot playing ragtime-ish Debussy; the Victor Concert Orch.; and oh so many more. Well, five more, anyway.

I had more to say, but Benadryl has my brain going "Huh?" Another dose of that stuff, and my typing would start to lkoo lkei tish.

Click here to hear: Light concert music (and more) on 78s!

PLAYLIST

FIFTH SYMPHONY (Beethoven--First Mvt.)--Victor Concert O. (Victor 18124; 1916)
GEMS FROM "NO NO NANETTE"--Victor Light Opera Co., 1926. (Vic. 35756; 1926)
GEMS FROM "ROSE-MARIE"--Same.
ONCE UPON A TIME--G. Verdi's Mandolin Orch. of Livorno, Italy (1927) (Columbia 38008-F; 1927)
LOST LOVE--Same.
TWO GUITARS--Victor Salon Orch., Dir. By Nat Shilkret (Victor 20037; 1926)
BLACK EYES--Same.
MINSTRELS (Debussy)--Alfred Cortot, Piano Solo (Victrola 64956; 1921)
IN A MONASTERY GARDEN--Victor Concert Orch. (Victor 35710; 1921)
MEDLEY OF NEAPOLITAN SONGS--L. Paparello's Mandoline O. (Columbia E-4343; 1924)
GOIN' HOME--Brunswick Concert O. w. Male Chorus (Brunswick 3127; 1926)
SONG OF THE VOLGA BOATMEN--Same.
THE MYSTERY OF NIGHT--Victor Salon Orch., Dir. By Nat Shilkret (Victor 19657; 1925)
OVER THE HILLS--Same.


Lee

The One Horse Open Sleigh (J. Pierpont)

So, I received my eBay copy of the William B. Bradbury tunebook, The Victory (1872 edition), and there on page 74 is James Pierpont's The One Horse Open Sleigh, a.k.a. Jingle Bells. Only with its original melody, which is different in spots from the one we know.

So I put together a recording, with me at the Casio WK-3800 (Patch 071). This is tricky to play, because the tenor part is up top on its own line (and notated an octave up in the treble clef), which makes putting all four voices together a royal pain, since the tenor has to be added to the bass, alto, and soprano, and played an octave lower than written. Therefore, I recorded this four bars at a time and joined the results together. Which is actually less of a hassle than renotating the thing for easier reading.

Except for a couple rushed measures, this came out nicely, I think. Consider it a late Christmas post:

The One Horse Open Sleigh (James Pierpont)


Now you say you've heard Jingle Bells in its original form. Unless you've heard it before, in which case you can say you've heard it again.


Lee