Sunday morning gospel: The Jordan Family--Thank You for the Valley

That makes a nice bookmark, no? Actually, it's my attempt at cover art in the absence of the actual cover. Or, for that matter, the record itself--yes, this is another cassette rescue. I have no information on the group save the label, number, and location--Shield 491N5, Columbus OH. Humble, small-budget, family-group gospel (yes, you can quote me) at its very best.

I taped this in 1994, so we know the material is at least that old. I'm guessing late '70s, early '80s. I recall I found this in still-sealed condition at a Columbus, Ohio flea market. I haven't been to that market for years, so I don't know if it's even still there. Last I saw, it had changed its name but kept its flea-market format.

To the Jordans: Jordan Family--Thank You for the Valley.zip

Oops.... I used Google Chrome to write this. Hence, the double spaces.

Lee

The 78s keep spinning!!

78s from my too-large collection, and in my own restorations. I'm too tired at the moment to write much about them, so I'll let them spin for themselves. I mean, speak for themselves.

Some of my long-time favorites here, combined with some new friends. Wish I knew the arranger for the 1933 Lover by Paul Whiteman--I figure it was either Ferde Grofe or Adolph Deutsch in Grofe mode. Probably Deutsch in Grofe mode (always wanted to type that). Whoever scored it did a magnificent job.

Bluin' the Blues is my favorite example of early jazz, bar none. To the 78s....


Click here to hear: The 78s Keep Spinning

RINGTAIL BLUES--Wilbur Sweatman's Orig. Jazz Band (Columbia A-2682; 1918)
BLUIN' THE BLUES--Same
WHEREVER YOU GO...--Nat Shilkret O.; vocal: Lewis James (Victor 20646; 1927)
SOMEBODY LIED ABOUT ME--Colonial Club O. (Brunswick 3700; 1927)
KITTEN ON THE KEYS--John Scott Trotter Orch. (Decca 2594; 1941)
SAPPHIRE (R. Bloom)--Same.
AWAY DOWN SOUTH IN HEAVEN--Virginians (Nat Shilkret) (Victor 21228; 1928)
WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE--Lew White, organ solo w. piano and xylophone (Brunswick 4752; 1930)
LOVER--Paul Whiteman O.; vocal: Jack Fulton, piano: Ramona (Victor 24283; 1933)
RATTLE AND ROLL (Basie, Goodman, Clayton)--Benny Goodman O., 1945 (Columbia 36988)
HAPPY DAYS AND LONELY NIGHTS--Knickerbockers (Ben Selvin) (Columbia 1596-D; 1928)
DOIN' THE RACCOON--Same.


Lee

Polka with Bohm and Spindler!

This was actually the best label scan I could manage. And it's actually easier to see than the original. Brighter, certainly.

And, thanks to this source, I can tell you that today's disc is from a series of 78s recorded between 1924 and 1926 for the publishers Ginn and Company to accompany their Music Appreciation in the Schoolroom series. Oddly enough, though this is only the second in the series, it's clearly an electrical recording. The sound (courtesy of Columbia) is pretty awesome for the time. It features members of the New York Philharmonic Orch., under the direction of Henry Hadley.

In 2009, I posted a Christmas track from this very disc and guesstimated it to hail from the 1930s, but Buster correctly concluded, based on Hadley's time with the NYP, that it's older.

The selections are 19th-century polkas, with Fritz Spindler's Fairy Polka at least as old as 1867, and Carl Bohm's Harlequin Polka dating from about 1889. I doubled both tracks to make their playing times seem more like playing times. Note how much the melodies and rhythms of these concert (salon?) polkas are like those of the current kind. All they need is some lively, pronounced "oom-pah."

Now, let's concert polka!!


Fairy Polka (Fritz Spindler)

Polka Harlequin (Carl Bohm)


Members of the New York Philharmonic Orch., 1925 or 1926.


Lee

Our newest: Calvin

Calvin is an adorable cream Manx, about 17 months old. Smart, incredibly sweet, extremely social, and addictively cuddly are only four phrases that describe him.

Here he is, exploring our yard and tagging after Daddy.

Spanish and Latin American 78s (1913-1948)

Not quite sure how to proceed, I said to Bev, "I'm featuring some Latin American 78s--that is, 78s featuring Latin American music, and not necessarily 78s recorded in Latin America--but I'm also featuring a few Spanish sides. Of course, Spain isn't in Latin America. What should I call the set?" Bev thought for a moment and offered, "Spanish and Latin American 78s." "Oh," I responded.

That's the story behind this post title. Repeat it without permission and I'll... I'll.... um.... Well, nothing, I guess.

Now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about the music. Lots of notes here. And chords. Just what you'd expect. Selections range from acoustical (starting in 1913) to "electrical" (concluding in/with 1948, though of course electrical recordings continue to this day, wherever microphones are employed to that end). Most of the dates are for sure, save for two--Dolores and La Nueva Higuerita--which I'm guesstimating at 1926. Though they sport a label design that's only as old as 1927, they could have been later pressings. That's why it's risky to date any recording by label design, patent dates, etc. Plus, something could be a reissue, in which case the catalog number only tells us the date of issue, not of the track itself. This hobby is more complicated than you may think. Greater wills than mine have snapped and fled.

Siboney is the hit 1931 recording of same, though there's no vocal, despite what's reported nearly everywhere in cybersville. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Alfredo Brito appears to have been a bandleader vice singer. No biggee, except I was waiting for a vocal which never came. (Wah!) Is there a vocal version of this from the same year by the same guy? (Oh, and listen for the Bo Diddley beat, which is right out in front.) Elsewhere, the Castillians, led by the great Louis Katzman (and very possibly arranged by him, too), give their usual great--and, in this case, horn-recorded--performances, and the Victor Military Band is its usual awesome on 1913's Argentine Tango.

My favorite of the bunch, Plus Ultra, is making it second appearance here, only in an improved rip. Note that the bandleader and composer of Plus is Amapola composer Joseph LaCalle. And, wouldn't you know it, we have Nat Shilkret's fabulous 1927 version of Amapola right here on our shoe. There's a time for laughter, a time for tears. And a time to say, "There's a time..."

All from my 78 collection and ripped by your favorite blogger.

Click here to hear: Spanish and Latin American 78s

SIBONEY (Morse-Lecuona)--Afredo Brito and His Siboney Orch., 1931. (Victor 22685)
MARIA, MY OWN--Rumba--Same.
DOLORES--Waltz (Waldteufel)--Banda Espanola, c. 1926. (Columbia 2418-X)
LA NUEVA HIGUERITA--Banda Columbia--same.
AMAPOLA (Lacalle)--International Novelty O. (Nat Shilkret), 1926. (Victor 20510)
PLUS ULTRA (Lacalle)--Lacalle Spanish Band, 1926. (Columbia 702-D)
LA PALOMA (The Dove)--The Castillians (Louis Katzman), 1923. (Vocalion A 14543)
LA GOLONDRINA (The Swallow)--Same.
ARGENTINE TANGO (Roberto)--Victor Military Band, 1913. (Victor 17276)
BARCELONA--International Novelty O. (Nat Shilkret), vocal: Billy Murray, 1926. (Victor)
LA BAMBA DE VERA CRUZ--Macklin Marrow, MGM Orch., 1948.
MARIANNA (Lou Singer)--Columbia Concert Band (Morton Gould), 1953.

Olé!

Lee

Have you...

Have you ever been doing something, and you forgot what you were doing?

I had a reason for bringing that up, but I can't remember what it was.

Lee

Sunday morning gospel--The Coffey Family: What's In Store for Me

(This is a rerun of a 2008 post, only with a new file. The previous one vanished along with Savefile.com):

I'm afraid that today's LP came into my collection without a jacket, meaning that I have no photos or biographical info to share. (Wait a minute... wait a minute....)

eBay to the rescue! Looks like this was part of a three-record set called The Family Who Prays. The family consists of James, Claudia, Claude, and Arthona Coffey. Give me a moment to swipe the eBay photo....




















Looks very Seventies, doesn't it? A very professional-sounding group of singers here, with the sort of crisp, expert accompaniment we've come to expect from these little gospel labels. Moral: never mistake lack of budget for absence of quality.

Country gospel in the Sego Bros. and Naomi mode, with an especially lively version of Charles H. Gabriel's Higher Ground. That 1898 song just might be the staple of popular gospel songbooks of the early 20th century, if my collection is any indication. Like so many Gabriel tunes, it's simple as can be, and yet it makes a strong and memorable musical statement. And, more than a century later, it sounds like it was written last week.

But not to take attention away from the very fine Coffey Family quartet--these performances will make your Sunday. Trust me.

Click here to reach zip file: Coffey Family--What's in Store for Me.zip

2011 note: I've upped the bit rate, and these files have a variable bit rate which averages around 170 kbps. Let me know if that presents any file-size issues when downloading, because I can always bring it down a bit (pun accidental).

PLAYLIST

WHAT'S IN STORE FOR ME (Coffey)
OH, WHAT A HAPPY DAY (Campbell)
HIGHER GROUND (Gabriel-Oatman, Jr.)
I'M GOING TO LEAVE HERE SHOUTING (Rambo-Davis)
DOWN BY THE RIVER SIDE
SWING DOWN SWEET CHARIOT
LONG LONG JOURNEY (Davis-Rambo)
LONESOME VALLEY
THERE IS A LIGHT GUIDING ME
YOUR CHILD AND MINE

(Mission Records SF-286)


Lee