"Gesundheit!" and other greats from the acoustical era! (1907-1922)

A playlist of mostly novelty 78s--some of my favorites from my overflowing collection.  Two of out titles--Me-ow and Taxi--are by novelty master Mel B. Kaufman, who also wrote More Candy, Muslin Rag, Umbrellas to Mend, Ouch! and Step on It.  Oddly enough, he did not write Gesundheit!, our last selection--its author was J. Fred Helf, who--wouldn't you know it--has a Wikipedia entry.

Hezekiah was written by Don Richardson, and of course I'm dying to know whether or not he's the Don Richardson who made country fiddle recordings for Columbia.  I wouldn't be surprised--he was a versatile guy.

The orchestra on Japanese Moon is led by Nathan Glantz, but the British label credits the Continental Dance Orchestra.  Which is fine, because the Imperial Record label can credit whoever it wants, I suppose.  Speaking of labels, I almost gave up on fixing the scan for this one--only when I hiked up the saturation did I get the proper light-hitting-the-label-from-the-side effect I was seeking.  Otherwise, the label is barely readable.  But it's an awesome design, so I tried a multitude of effects until I got it right.  Thank you, PhotoPad Image Editor.

Oh, and the Gorman of "Gorman's Novelty Syncopators" is the justly famous Ross Gorman (think Paul Whiteman Orch., Rhapsody in Blue).  Very fun side, and you have to wonder--is this the first fade-out ending ever recorded?  (Probably not.)

At what other blog are you going to find a zip file titled "Gesundheit!--VA"?  I pride myself on such things.

To the sounds: Gesundheit!--VA (Various Artists)


PLAYLIST


Me-ow (One-Step; Mel B. Kaufman)--Joseph C. Smith's Orch., 1918
Happy (One-Step; Hugo Frey)--Joseph C. Smith's Orch., 1919
"O" (Oh!) (Byron Gay)--Ted Lewis Jazz Band, 1919
Barkin' Dog (Fiorito and Gorman)--(Ross) Gorman's Novelty Syncopators, 1919
Hezekiah (One-Step; Don Richardson)--Conway's Band, 1915
Japanese Moon--Continental Dance Orch. (Nathan Glanz), 1922
Chinese Fox Trot--Victor Military Band, 1916
Taxi (One-Step, Mel B. Kaufman)--Waldorf-Astoria Dance Orch., Dir. Joseph Knecht, 1919
College Life March (Henry Frantzen)--Victor Orch., cond. Walter R. Rogers, 1909
Gesundheit! (To Your Health) (Helf)--Arthur Pryor's Band, 1907

Ripped and restored by Lee Hartsfeld with Magix Audio Cleaning Lab MX

Lee