Vintage Polkas, Part 2! Polish, German, Czech, and Spanish classics, 1904/1905-1930.

 

Digging through two crates that I haven't accessed in a while, I found a number of polka (or polka-related) sides I'd almost forgotten.  These include the very first vintage polka 78 I ever thrifted: Podloteck-Polka of 1927.  I remember at the time (about 25 years ago) being surprised by the smooth, expert, and "symphonic" sound of the selection (and its flip).  However, after having heard many selections in the same vein, it no longer sounds quite so exotic--just brilliantly performed and pleasing.  At any rate, this time we start back in the year 1904 or 1905--the Spanish Tipical Girl polka by the Columbia Mexican Band--and travel through 1909 and the early 1920s to John Wilfahrt's 1930 Aunt Ella's Polka.

I'm tempted to conclude that the earliest mainstream polka music was, like Wilfahrt's music, German in style, but I really can't make such a broad generalization from my own 78-rpm stash.  Therefore, I won't.

Some off-the-beaten-trail numbers for today: The Czech Trio from Prague (drums, violin, accordion) with a stylistically spare polka and polka-sounding march (to support Dave's observation that polkas and marches are closely related, which they are); Albert Roussell's turn-of-the-century Lerhone et la Saone--Polka, as performed in 1909(?) by the Banda de Artilleria, and Leonard Gautier's Le Secret, also composed during the late 1800s.  Though not designated as a polka, Le Secret is about as close to a polka as any non-polka can conceivably sound.  And La Tipica has me hoping that I find more Spanish polkas from the early 20th century.

Speaking of typical, the remaining selections are the "usual" Polish, German, and Swedish (Klackjarns Polka) sort, with the aforementioned John Wilfahrt's 1930 "oom-pah-pah" Aunt Ella's Polka taking us into the commercial period of polkas--i.e., when polkas went from specialized ethnic music into the pop mainstream.

Meanwhile, Nejde To means "It's not working" in Czech, and the 1922 "Victor-Orchester" selection (conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret!) Why Have a Pretty Garden is a German polka which I'm simply guessing means something closer to, The Reason for Having a Pretty Garden.  As for Nejde To, your guess is as good as mine.

And I forgot to mention the Vienna Civic Brass Band's 1909 Fruhlingstag (Spring Day) polka, which was recorded in Austria.  The opening grooves of this selection were damaged by (most likely) a loose gramophone soundbox, but the audio quickly recovers.

Possibly the most charming selection in our list is the Columbia Scandinavian Orch.'s Kalckjarns--exceptional sound quality for 1916, too.  In the context of the early recording industry, polkas occupy an interesting place: Whereas cakewalks and rags are generally considered the earliest examples of syncopated popular music, polkas (and, for that matter, waltzes and obereks) were just as likely to feature accented "weak" beats, and sometimes even more interestingly.

So, dance, drink, or just sit and enjoy today's helping of polkas past.  (Polkas past??)

DOWNLOAD: Vintage Polkas, Pt. 2!.7z

Podlotek--Polka--Kapalka i Jego Orch. (6/20/1927)

On the Windmill Polka--Czech Trio from Prague (9/13/1910)

Klackjarns Polka--Columbia Scandinavian Orch. (Oct. 1916)

Krakowianka Polka--Orkiestra Ulenskiego (6/15/1928)

Fruhlingstag (Spring Day)--Polka--Vienna Civic Brass Band (June 1909)

Give Me a Kiss--Polka--Kapalka i Jego Orch. (6/20/1927)

My Little Horse--Czech March--Czech Trio from Prague (9/13/1910)

Nejde To--Polka--Czech Orchestra (December 1921)

Marynia Polka--Polska Orkiestra Columbia (approx. June 1923)

Srubka Polka--Same (June 1923)

Tipical Girl (La Tipica)--Polka (Spanish)--Columbia Mexican Band, leader: Carlos Curti (1904 or 1905)

As for Marjance So It Is for Zvonu--Polka--Prince's Military Band (Between 1907 and 1910)

Baruska--Polka--Edw. Krolikowki i Jego Radjowas Orkiestra (10/3/1929)

Beloved Country--Polka--The Merry Four (1924?)

Why Have a Pretty Garden--Polka (German)--Victor-Orchester, Male Trio, c. Nathaniel Shilkret (9/20/1922)

Lerhone et al Saone (Polka)--Banda de Artilleria (1909?)

Le Secret--Vessella's Italian Band (1/16/1914)

Aunt Ella's Polka (German)--John Wilfahrt's Concertina Orch. (11/2/1930)

Lee

For reasons I cannot begin to comprehend...

 For reasons I cannot begin to comprehend, my latest ZIP file is not working.  It wouldn't be possible for me to have less of a notion WHY this is happening.

I assume the file is not opening for anyone else?  What should I do?

All I know to do is to gather my FLAC files into a folder, then choose the ZIP option.  The files are working fine in the folder, but nothing happens after I've zipped them.

Any advice would be appreciated.  There seems to be nothing whatsoever wrong with the individual files.  If they were corrupted, or whatever the term is, they wouldn't be opening in the first place, I wouldn't think.  

I tried reinstalling VLC Player, but I got the message that my PC already has it.  Great, except that the player is not working for these files.  I'm totally stumped.

UPDATE: I just made another zip file (with other FLAC files), and VLC Player is having no problem with it.  So, quite obviously, VLC Player is my default zip file player--and still functioning as such.  Except, that is, for "Vintage Polka Party."

Why would the ZIP function work in one instance and not the other??

UPDATE #2: Timmy has confirmed that the zip is working on both his WMP and VLC player, so the problem (as I suspected, once I'd given the matter clear review) is unique to my PC, and it's because some files have multiple locations.  Thus, my PC doesn't know how to open them.  

Lee

Vintage Polka Party, 1910-1929! "Polka Bum-Cyk-Cyk," "In the Green Grove," "Julinka Polka," "Obertas from Dukla," more!

So, I had a series of vintage polka sides ripped and ready, and I decided to do a post--so, I added three or four tracks, and here we are.

I guesstimated the year of Polka Bum-Cyk-Cyk as 1910, and from comparing the catalog number (not always a reliable method).  A lively, "modern"-sounding polka, the number has vocal refrains which include a standard, strange high female voice which shows up on many a polka side.   And the lively, almost-nonsense chorus seems quite ahead of its time.

The polkas run the gamut from Polish, to Slovenian, to German, to "Bohemian," to Finnish, and a couple of triple-time obereks are in the mix.  I thought I had at least one mazurka, but gazing at the track list, I don't see one.  And I found a photo of the Hoyer Trio on line, but I don't want to get a copyright complaint, so I won't present it.

The musical units include peasant orchestras, village bands, and large brass bands, but there's a nice unity of style throughout the selections.  Some of these are in frequently-played condition (as in, played on a gramophone), so expect some condition issues, though nothing serious.  Oddly enough, the first selection fared best with an aftermarket 2.7 mil stylus--my better (3.0 and 3.5 mil) needles had the record sounding quite distorted in spots.  Which has me suspecting that the grooves are unusually close together for a Victor 78 of this vintage.

A handful of selections have a formal, large-orchestra sound, while most have something (more or less) closer to the commercial sound to arrive come the 1930s.  With the folk performances, there are some amusing errors by way of chord-change glitches, but the musicians typically adjust quickly to these moments and get right back on track.  Nearly all of these feature the usual multiple-strain/multiple-key form, with the modulations usually going to the subdominant or dominant.  "Related" keys, in other words.  Most selections include no segue passages between the modulations.

The "sokol" band is Czech, and the "bandas" are Polish.  Ditto for the orkiestras.  All of these, far as I know, were recorded in the United States--typically, Chicago or New York.  The "concertina" orchestra is likely German.  The Polish polkas and obertas strike my ears as the most complicated, musically (at least in the area of polyphonic ornamentation).

Almost finished right now are two more posts: One of my favorite junk-label LPs (TV Western Themes on Coronet, with only two of the selections actual TV themes!), and eight 1947 Percy Faith tracks which originally appeared on a Majestic 78 album.

Anyway, polka time!! 

DOWNLOAD: Vintage Polka Party 6-2026.zip

Polka Bum Cyk-Cyk-Cyk--Karol Namyslowski's Peasant Orch., circa 1910
Grasshopper Polka--John Lager and Eric Olson, accordion duet (Scandavian, approx. 3/1918)
In the Green Grove--Polka--Lous Solar's Concertina Orchestra, 8/1918

Husia Siusia--Polka--Pulaski Instrumental Trio, 1928

A Dark Forest Around--Polka--Fr. Dukli Wiejska Banda, 1926

Obertas from Dukla--Same

Clarinet Polka--Edw. Krolikowski i. Jego Orkiestra, 1929

Wasa Polka (Finnish)--Maki Trio, 1929

Crawniak--Polka--Deta Orkiestra Ludowa (small folk orch.), 1921
Goraca Krew--Polka--Polska Orkiestra M. Tesmera, 1926

Julinka Polka--Obersteirische Bauerkapelle (Upper Styrian Farmers' Band, 1912 or 1913)
The Wedding in the House of Wilkos--Orkiestra Witkowskiego, 1927

Happy Girl (Polish)--Fr. Dukli Wiejska Banda (The Village Gang), V: Jan Kapalka, 1927

Sokolska Koracnica (Falcon March)--Slovenian--Hoyer Trio, 1927

The Golden Prague--Cleveland Sokol Band, 1926

Lee

More acoustical 78s for May, 2026: 1904/1905-1924: Wilbur C. Sweatman, Joseph C. Smith, Earl Fuller, Victor Military Band

 

Twenty-one acoustical gems to go with the previously-posted I've returned to a previous response curve and EQ (the one I was utilizing on my older editing program) after using a "safe" and easy acoustic(al) bass turnover for much of this year.  The goal of this curve and EQ combination is to bring out (in a dynamically-balanced way) the lowest available frequencies in these already limited-freq. recordings for a full-bodied sound.  I want the audio to have punch, and especially on sides of the very early 1900s.

Hiss suppression is a secondary--not principal--goal, and when we "maximize" the usable content, the upper-end hiss becomes less of a challenge to deal with, anyway.

Some of these have seen the light of blog before, but most likely in uploads which no longer exist in storage!

F.H. Losey's Noisy Bill is a "characteristic" march of 1904, with superb ragtime syncopation.  My Oxford 78 is a 10-inch reissue of a 7-inch Columbia (though, oddly enough, DAHR lists the Oxford as a 7-incher), and I'm happy with the way that the slide trombone and percussion stand out.  This side has some extra hiss, which I figure to be in the pressing itself, as opposed to a result of needle wear.  Then we just forward to 1909 with Prince's Orch.'s outstanding handling of the famous Black and White Rag (George Botsford, 1908).  Though another Columbia reissue on the Oxford label, its fidelity is full and "bassy."  Then to 1917 and Victor and Joseph C. Smith: The lively one-step Umbrellas to Mend, the lower end of which I managed to capture fairly capably.  Then, a robust 1918 one-step, Arabian Nights, as superbly presented by Joseph Knecht's Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra.  Two classic Wilbur C. Sweatman sides follow from the same year, starting with the downright frantic Those Draftin' Blues, which initially sounded like a wild competition between the bandmembers but, after several more listens, comes across like highly-skilled Dixieland.  And I'm guessing that Lucille employs a banjo harp.

Earl Fuller's remarkable 1917 Pork and Beans has seen a CD reissue, though this is my rip--and I'm not aware of any professional release of Fuller's Singapore (1918), which is possibly my favorite Fuller side.  I much prefer Fuller's Rector Novelty Orch. on Columbia to Fuller's Victor "jazz" releases--and, ironically, the Columbias (to my ears) ultimately sound more like jazz, even though not marketed as such.  Marketing frequently only tells part of the story--and, sometimes, a false one.  The deceptively repetitious Singapore features varied (improvised) trombone phrases, interesting bass (bowed double bass, given that Brian Rust list a string bass and not a tuba?), and other subtly altered details which have this superbly syncopated fox trot chugging along in the best streamlined fashion.  As in Dixieland, the cornet is the linchpin instrument, even if the player (whoever he is) doesn't budge from the melody.  Maybe the finest ragtime-to-jazz example ever pressed onto shellac.  It's like a slowed-down Original Dixieland Jazz Band offering, minus most of that group's flourishes.

Applesauce is an unusually lively 1923 number by The Columbians, and the Victor Military Band's 1916 Katinka medley offers much Victor-label bass, and--like so many of this group's 1910s recordings, it anticipates the dance-band sound to become the 78-rpm norm with Joseph C. Smith, Sam Lanin, et al.  The two other sides by the VMB--Peg O' My Heart and Pullman Porters on Parade--are similarly forward-looking.  Allah's Land, by contrast, is very much of its day (1919) but all the more charming as such.  Bandleader Dullio Sherbo was quoted in a contemporary newspaper piece not singing the praises of jazz music, and yet here we have a fine example of what was, for its day, orchestrated jazz.  That is, "written-down" jazz (which many jazz buffs don't regard as jazz, despite the importance of jazz scoring throughout the music's history), and closer to ragtime than jazz, probably, but jazzy enough.  Maybe "jazz-ish" is the word.

Two more excellent Joseph C. Smith sides, plus the Don Richardson (bandleader, songwriter, and country fiddle player) composition Hezekiah (quite aggressive ragtime), and 1906 ragtime banjo picking by the great Vess L. Ossman, performing Neil Moret's (aka, Charles Neil Daniels) classic Silver Heels.  Jump ahead five years, and it's the brilliant Victor Military Band with a big-band-before-big-band-sounding Alexander's Ragtime Band.  My copy is a little choppy, but it's a full-sounding Victor waxing.  Oh! By Jingo is a famous Albert Von Tilzer one-step, irresistibly rendered by (Sam) Lanin's Roseland Band in 1919, the year of its composition.

We close with the catchy "Oriental" fox-trot Suez, composed by Ferde Grofe and Peter De Rose, and a very lovely version of Tea for Two by the Benson Orchestra of Chicago, directed by Don Bestor on 8/28/1924.  Interesting to hear a tune co-written by Grofe presented in classic Grofe/Whiteman fashion.  It seems fitting.

Note: None of the Joseph C. Smith sides in this list appear on the terrific Archeophone two-CD Smith reissue.

DOWNLOAD: More Acoustical 78s for May 2026.zip

Noisy Bill--Columbia Band, 1904-1905

Black and White Rag (Botsford)--Prince's Orch., Jan.-July, 1909

Umbrellas to Mend--One-Step--Joseph C. Smith's Orch., 9/17/1917

Arabian Nights--One-Step--Joseph Knecht's Waldorf-Astoria Orch., 11/29/1918

Those Draftin' Blues--Wilbur C. Sweatman's Original Jazz Band, 8/16/1918

Lucille--Same, 3/19/1919

Pork and Beans--Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orch., 7/19/1917

Apple Sauce--The Columbians--Dance Orchestra De Lux, 2/3/1923

Katinka--Medley--Victor Military Band, c. Edward T. King, 11/26/1916

Allah's Land--(Dullio) Sherbo's Orchestra, 7/18/1919

Oriental Stars--One-Step--Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra

Alexandria--Same

Hezekiah--One-Step (Richardson)--Conway's Band, Dir. Patrick Conway, 9/20/1915

Silver Heels (Moret)--Vess L. Ossman, Banjo with Orch., 1/26/1906

Alexander's Ragtime Band--Victor Military Band, 10/17/1911

Singapore--Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orch., 12/10/1918

Oh! By Jingo--One-Step (Von Tilzer)--(Sam) Lanin's Roseland Orch., 4/28/1920

Peg O' My Heart--One-Step--Victor Military Band, c. Walter B. Rogers, 11/6/1913

Pullman Porters on Parade--Same, 10/9/1913

Suez (Grofe, De Rose)--(Mike) Markel's Orchestra (May, 1922)

Tea for Two--The Benson Orch. of Chicago, Dir. Don Bestor, 8/28/1924

Lee

Eddie Maynard, His Orchestra and Chorus: Fabulous 50's (Promenade 2084)--repost

musicman1979 requested a re-upload of this offering, which seemed like a good idea, and so here it is.  Originally posted in 2020, but with the original upload junked by Workupload some time ago.  This is a revised version of my original text.

This Promenade LP features an overview of the 1950s, credited to bandleader Eddie Maynard, but with no Eddie Maynard to be heard--the usual cheap-label game.  Well, unless that's Eddie on the cover, which I doubt.  For once, we have a budget LP model holding, not major-label LPs, but albums from the very budget label itself--smart move.

So, my job was to figure out where these tracks, reissued here in 1957 or 1958, originally came from.  And I knew this had to be 1957 or 1958 because the liner notes refer to the 50s as "not yet completed" and mention a "man made satellite" (Sputnik or Explorer?) as a new item.  From the notes: "(The 50's) are the years that saw a Republican Administration replace a long-incumbent Democratic one.  Progress in Atomic Research to such an extent that it might prevent us all from witnessing 'The Stupid Sixties.'  Atomic Research devoted to the ways of peace could however change our out-look on this approaching era to such an extent that certainly the 60's will be called 'Stupendous.'"  Interesting and weird liner notes, and at least Promenade provided something beyond a stock back cover.

Anyway, I figured these were all Prom/Promenade tracks (Homes-level deduction, there), and I was mostly correct.  The big exceptions: Because of You, sung by the famous Perry-Como-soundalike vocalist Johnny Kay, best known for his SPC Christmas tracks, and Cry (more on that second track in a moment).  From the Internet Archive:

Finding this was pure luck.  Since the singer sounded so much like Johnny Kay, I plugged "Johnny Kay" and "Because of You" into the IA, and up popped this.  And it's the LP track!  "Popular Records" (not to be confused with the "Popular" Extended Play Records series) was obviously either 1) a Synthetic Plastics Co. sublabel to begin with or 2) a label bought up by SPC after it tanked.  And there's Cry by Larry Foster with the Preston Saniford Orch., and originally issued on the obscure budget label, Cameo (Cameo Records 323).  And Cameo seems to have been in the same label group as Popular Records.

Why Promenade didn't use Loren Becker's version of Cry is a major mystery, and it should have us wondering whether maybe Columbia decided to threaten Prom over its deft copy of Johnny Ray and the Four Lads.  Could that be?  Columbia may have sent a nasty-gram threatening a day in civil court, and a lawsuit would certainly have sunk SPC's record division/laundry closet.  ("Your sound-alikes are sounding too alike.  Tread softly or we'll sink you.  Yours sincerely, Columbia Records.") 

The others are Prom, Promenade, and Waldorf label jobs, and I've done my best to track down the original artists, labels, and years, though there's a lot of guesswork on the release years.  Nevertheless, at worst, the recording dates would only be off by a year or, at the most, two.

Very good sound on this cheap-vinyl pressing, despite the usual loud hiss in the space between tracks (which I did my best to edit out).  But, despite the junk pressing, these tracks were reissued by Promenade without fake, "rechanneled" stereo or tons of reverb.  For that we can be thankful.





DOWNLOAD:  Eddie Maynard, His Orchestra and Chorus.zip


Here in My Heart--Loren Becker w. Enoch Light Orch. (Prom; 1952)
Because of You--Johnny Kay w. Milton Herbert Orch. (Popular Records)
Young Love--Larry Star (Promenade; 1957)
That's Amore--Artie Malvin w. Bobby Byrne Orch. (Prom; 1954?)
Make Love to Me--Betty Glenn w. Enoch Light Orch. (Waldorf, 1954?)
Till Then--Brigadiers Vocal Quartet, w. Prom Orch. (Prom; 1954)
Cry--Larry Foster w. Preston Sandiford Orch. (Cameo Records 45-323, 1951?)
Earth Angel--The Rockets, The Prom Orch. (Prom, 1955)
Outside of Heaven--Loren Becker, w. Enoch Light Orch. and Chorus (Prom; 1952?)
Jamaica Farewell--Jim Galdys, w. the Promenade Orch. and Chorus (Promenade; 1956)
Heartbreak Hotel--Bill Marine, Maury Laws Orch. and Chorus (Prom; 1956)


Fabulous Fifties, Eddie Maynard and His Orch. (not), Promenade 2084, late 1950s.

Lee