Thanks to all who served, including those who served with me!
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Halloween 2016 is back!!!
Greetings! It's almost Halloween, and I've been too ill to post any scary stuff for the holiday (unless you find barbershop frightening), but... looks like my 2016 posts are still up and running! I really went to town last year--I'd forgotten how much. I must have felt a heck of a lot better than I have this year.
So, here are the 2016 post links. Ignore the Box.com message about the preview not loading--just hit the download button. All is fine--I've test-downloaded all of these successfully.
And there's the fact I have very few "new" Halloween tracks on hand, so I'd just be recycling this year, anyway. Halloween isn't like Christmas. If it were, there'd be thousands more Halloween records! Even as liberal as I am with my definition of a "Halloween track" (I've tossed in flying saucers, Little Nell, and even dinosaurs one year), the things just get harder to unearth.
http://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2016/10/happy-halloween.html
http://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2016/10/males-from-crypt-present-halloween.html
http://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2014/09/halloween-in-space-suite-lee-hartsfeld.html
http://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-frankenstein-brothers-present.html
http://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2016/10/voo-doo-magic-1952-jimmy-cook-and-orch.html
http://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloween-part-3-buwa-ha-haaaaa.html
And... a fun post from 2014 featuring 1964 Sunset House catalog ads. I wonder if anyone is still selling the "Spook Hand" that sticks out of the toilet seat? (Not making this up....)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!
Lee
Saturday, October 21, 2017
A Little Close Harmony--Vintage Barbershop (1906-1926)
Wow--I didn't realize I'd been absent from this blog for two months. I'd have guessed one, not two. Time flies when you're ill, I guess. My apologies.
Today, 17 vintage barbershop recordings, all (as far as I know) by white quartets. More on that later. Some fabulous singing is coming your way.
In a follow-up post, I'll talk about my absence (ah, the joys of Prednisone!), and I'll give background on these (mostly) barbershop gems contained in today's playlist, all ripped by me from my shellac collection with Vinyl Studio and MAGIX software. For now, here's the wonderful music:
Click here to hear: A Little Close Harmony
A Little Close Harmony (a.k.a., The Old Songs)--Criterion Quartet (1921)
Down at the Huskin' Bee (Same)
Sweet Adeline--Peerless Quartet, 1926
In the Evening By the Moonlight--Same
The Owl and the Pussycat (melody: De Koven)--Haydn Quartet, 1908
Bring Back My Bonnie to Me--Haydn Quartet w. Orch., 1906
Darling Nellie Gray--Peerless Quartet, 1925
Down By the Old Mill Stream--Brunswick Quartet, 1911
Sally--Same
Way Down Yonder in the Cornfield--Imperial Quartet, 1915
Honey That I Love So Well--Chicago Glee Club (Male Quartet), 1911
You're a Great Big Blue-Eyed Baby--Heidelberg Quartet, 1913
And the Green Grass Grew All Around--American Quartet, 1913
Kentucky Days--Peerless Quartet, 1912
Rainbow (Wenrich)--Shannon Quartet, 1926
Red Wing (Mills)--Same
The Cross Bow (De Koven, from "Robin Hood")--Imperial Quartet, 1915
Lee
Saturday, August 19, 2017
The soothing concert sounds of Paul Whiteman, featuring Ferde Grofe and Jack Fulton
Before I forget, and for those who don't already know, it's Christmas in July time at Ernie (Not Bert). (Wait, it's August! Boy, is Ernie dedicated!) Everyone is wondering how Ernie does it, and that includes me!
Meanwhile, over here, some soothing sounds for people having trouble getting to sleep--people like, oh, for example, me. Four superb sides by Paul Whiteman--three of them "concert" treatments of pop songs and the fourth a symphonic jazz piece by Rube Bloom called Soliloquy. These are my own rips from my own 12-inch 78 rpm copies, and I hope I've done the originals some justice.
Meanwhile, on the sleep front, I'm halfway there with a recent prescription that has me sleeping like a log but, unfortunately, still plenty sedated after getting up (or, rather, making the attempt!). It's back to the drawing board, but at least I've experienced some decent sleep. Problem is, I need decent awake time, too. Comes in handy....
Two of our selections--Lover and I Can't Give You Anything But Love--feature (in my opinion) lovely vocals by Jack Fulton, whose biggest fan has to be Gary Giddins, author of Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams--The Early Years, 1903-1940. who describes Fulton's singing style as "effeminate" and "almost flaccid," apparently because Jack sang in a (gasp!) falsetto. (What was next? Long hair? Flowery clothes?) I would like Giddins' book a great deal more if he'd managed to present Bing as something new and important (which Bing certainly was) without resorting to insult-a-thons, but the volume is dedicated to hyping Bing as the hero in a sea of backward squares (is that redundant)? In other words, same ol' pop biography.
To the music. Sorry for all the junk on the Zippyshare page:
I Can't Give You Anything But Love--Paul Whiteman and His Orch.
ALL PAUL WHITEMAN ORCHESTRA (in "concert" mode)
I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Arr: Ferde Grofe)--Vocal, Jack Fulton (1928)
When Day Is Done (Arr: Ferde Grofe) (1927)
Soliloquy (Rube Bloom, Arr: Grofe?) (!927)
Lover (Arr: Adolph Deutsch?)--Vocal, Jack Fulton (1933)
Enjoy!
Lee
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Greetings! Still here
Just to let everyone know I'm still among the living. More specifically, among the tired. I'm having major sleep issues, but they're slowly working themselves out with the help of prescription meds.
It's just that, for some strange reason, I go through the day tired (as I did today), then sit in a chair at 1 am, wired awake. What the heck? This is the pattern I seek to end.
Hope everyone's fine. Be very careful next Monday when the solar eclipse occurs. I won't even try protective glasses myself--I'm simply not looking. I'm sure it'll be on TV.
Where I live, we won't get the complete blackout effect. Which is fine, since I'm not looking, anyway.
Lee
It's just that, for some strange reason, I go through the day tired (as I did today), then sit in a chair at 1 am, wired awake. What the heck? This is the pattern I seek to end.
Hope everyone's fine. Be very careful next Monday when the solar eclipse occurs. I won't even try protective glasses myself--I'm simply not looking. I'm sure it'll be on TV.
Where I live, we won't get the complete blackout effect. Which is fine, since I'm not looking, anyway.
Lee
Sunday, July 02, 2017
Mingo presents... Fourth of July, 2017!!
Mingo's eyes were operated on two weeks ago, and they're doing way better. The way I understand it (and I may be wrong) is that all three of Mingo's eyelids--upper, lower, and inner--were turned the wrong way. Our vet, Dr. Mike, had never encountered anything like it before and was hesitant at first to operate, but Mingo's condition kept getting worse, so he went ahead, and... now Mingo is looking (and seeing) a lot better! Mingo can't wait for the local-town fireworks, which are visible from our back yard.
The selections--marches, polkas, fiddle tunes, choral performances, and more--were all ripped by me (with musical direction by Mingo) from 78s and vinyl my collection. Mingo and I wish everyone a safe and happy Fourth!
Click here to hear: Fourth of July, 2017
The Standard Bearer March--Conway's Band, 1917
The Star Spangled Banner--Prince's Band, 1916
Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean--Prince's Band, 1916
Yorktown Centennial--March (Sousa)--United States Marine Band, 1921
Swanee (Gershwin)--All Star Trio, 1920
Original Jigs and Reels--George Stehl, Violin Solo, 1910
Battle Hymn of the Republic--Victor Mixed Chorus w. Orch., 1928
Arkansas Traveller--Kessinger Brothers, 1928
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere--Budd McCoy, 1959
Stars and Stripes Forever--The Thunderer (Street Organ, Amsterdam), 1959
American Eagle Polka--The Polkateers
Americana Medley--The Banjo Barons, 1959
You're a Grand Old Flag--George M. Cohan, Jr., 1948
Chester (Billings)--Janice Beck, organ
Chester (Billings)--The Gregg Smith Singers, 1969
This Is a Great Country (Irving Berlin)--Lawrence Welk, 1976
This Is My Country--Lawrence Welk, 1976
Lee
Monday, May 29, 2017
Memorial Day 2017, Part 2
Two more selections for today, and I'll try not to complain about Windstream in this post, especially considering the fact that Zippyshare is now, for some reason, working.
I have no idea how I got it to work. It could have been one (or more) of any four solutions I tried, including switching from Google Chrome and saying in a loud Patrick Stewart voice, "YOU WILL WORK AS I COMMAND." It was probably the Patrick Stewart voice.
I think the last time I featured Ferde Grofe's wonderful c. 1929 Over There Fantasie was in 2013. Not sure, since I long ago purged most of this blog's history (too many "dead" links), but here it is again, and in something we don't hear a lot of at this blog: stereo. I've coupled it with a highly enjoyable and inspiring version of William Billing's Revolutionary War anthem Chester, arranged by United States Army Band leader and commanding officer Colonel Samuel Loboda. It includes a 21-gun salute (just to let you know).
Click here to hear: Over There Fantasie--Chester
Over There Fantasie (Grofe, c. 1929)
Chester (William Billings; arr. Colonel Samuel Loboda
The United States Army Band, Colonel Samuel Loboda--Leader and Commanding Officer, 1975.
From LP, The United States Army 1775-1975 (No label name)
Lee
Memorial Day 2017
I can no longer use Zippyshare--I try to upload, and nothing happens. I imagine it's our sick and sorry excuse for internet service (the joke known as Windstream DSL). So Box.net my uploads will have to be, unless and until I get around to enjoying the experience of staring helplessly at an upload that refuses to happen.
You who enjoy an actual internet connection have no idea how unbelievably lucky you are. And, yes, they actually bill us for ours.
Click here to hear: The Trumpeter
The Trumpeter--Raymond Newell, Baritone; Ion Swinley, Narrator, 1929.
Your Land and My Land (Romberg, A: Grofe)--Paul Whiteman and His Orch., w. vocal refrain, 1927.
March for Americans (Grofe)--Meredith Willson and His Orch., 1941.
Lee
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Dance It Again with Me--Acoustical gems (1903-1920)!
Acoustical gems, spanning the years 1903 to 1920. A number have been featured here before, but not sounding as good, because 1) I'm using Vinylstudio and 2) I'm using a bass turnover of 0 Hz and a 10kHz treble rolloff of 0 dB. The result is clear, crisp, clean acoustical sound.
You'll think you're right there, hearing the musicians play in person. Well, not really, but the sound is quite good. Download without delay for some 97- to 114-year-old sound!
Click here to hear: Dance It Again with Me
Cold Turkey--Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orch., 1917
12th St. Rag--Same
Ringtail Blues--Wilbur Sweatman's Orig. Jazz Band, 1918
Bluin' the Blues--Same
On the Streets of Cairo--Art Hickman's Orch., 1919
My Baby's Arms--Same
Sand Dunes--Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orch., 1919
Spaniola--Same
Oriental Stars--One Step--Joseph C. Smith's Orch., 1920
Arkansas Traveler--Don Richardson, violin, 1916
Old Zip Coon--Same
Spanish Bolero (Moszkowski)--Columbia Band, 1903
Pork and Beans--Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orch., 1917
Swanee--One Step (Gershwin)--Gene Rodemich's Orch., 1919
Dance It Again with Me--Art Hickman's Orch., 1919
Lee
Monday, May 15, 2017
Cheap label country of the 1950s
And we mean cheap. How cheap, you ask? Record Pak-cheap, that's how cheap. Plus, Tops-, Allegro-, and Variety-cheap. These are the pop and country labels you ended up with if you weren't willing or able to spring for the name outfits and artists. Cheap as cheap can be. And lots of fun.
Most of these rips sound decent enough, with the exception of a couple tracks from the Record Pak 78, which I suspect was played with a Stone Age tonearm. An extra-wide needle and heavier tracking force can only do so much for such a battered platter, but the tracks are great fun. (Did I mention fun?)
From 78s (and a 45) from my collection.
DOWNLOAD: Cheap Label Country
FUN TRACK LIST
Salty Dog Rag--Steve Thompson (Record Pak 149)
Wild Side of Life--Same (Record Pak 149)
Easy on the Eyes--Rusty Gill (Record Pak 149)
The Gold Rush Is Over--Prairie Ramblers; v: Wally Moore (Record Pak 149)
I Walk the Line--No artists credited (Variety EPV-802)
Folsom Prison Blues--No artists credited (Variety EPV-802)
Honky Tonk Man--No artists credited (Variety EPV-802)
My Baby Left Me--Rusty Howard (George Jones), The Rhythm Rangers-- (Gilmar RX-124)
Hep Cat Baby--Rusty Howard, the Rhythm Rangers-- (Tops R244)
Courtin' in the Rain--Same
In the Jailhouse Now--Pat Patterson and the Texas Wranglers (Tops R255)
That's All Right--Same
Knee Deep in the Blues--Dave Burgess and the Toppers (Tops R302)
Singing the Blues--No artists credited (Allegro 1670)
I Walk the Line--No artists credited (Allegro 1670)
Lee
Wednesday, May 03, 2017
Whittemore and Lowe--"Pop Hits on Two Pianos," plus bonus tracks
The 1959 RCA Camden LP, Pop Hits on Two Pianos (above), reissues nine of the ten tracks from the 1946 Whittemore and Lowe 78 set Two Grand. which RCA had the duo pianists redo, under the same title, in 1956, possibly having decided it wasn't grand enough. Anyway, the Camden LP omits The Continental, so I ripped it from my 78 copy and inserted it as a bonus track, because I'm like that.
Completing the Pop Hits on Two Pianos tracklist are three pop-concert mega-standards: Ritual Fire Dance, Malaguena, and Liebestraum, all featuring duo pianists Arthur and Jack without orchestra.
In addition, from shellac in my collection, we have two 1948 orchestra-less sides, plus two 1951 prepared-piano numbers that also qualify as "tape music," given the tape effects therein (quick splices, delay, possibly some speed manipulation), so you can't say without fear of rebuttal that I've scrimped on the Whittemore and Lowe. By the way, Ernie was the person who brought the prepared piano sides to my attention a while back. Thanks, Ernie.
Arthur and Jack were kind of a less flamboyant Ferrante and Teicher, and they were first. Like F&T, they did light classics, pop standards, Broadway, and even country, but in a more laid-back way.
(With orchestra conducted by Russ Case, 1946)
In the Still of the Night
Lover
The Song Is You-Same
They Didn't Believe Me
Brazil
Falling in Love with Love
That Old Black Magic
The Continental (from 78 rpm)
(Without Orchestra; dates courtesy of Buster)
Ritual Fire Dance--December 18, 1947
Malaguena--January 31, 1947
Liebestraum--September 20, 1946
(Bonus Tracks, from 78s)
Night and Day--RCA Victor Red Seal 10-1361 (1948)
Seldom the Sun (Alec Wilder)--RCA Victor Red Seal 10-1361 (1948)
Third Street Rhumba (Clifford Shaw)--RCA Victor 20-4404 (1951)
Begin the Beguine--RCA Victor 20-4404 (1951)
Lee
Friday, April 21, 2017
Society Favorites that are our favorites (Royale VLP 6042)
More adventures in cheap vinyl. Today, the Royale label is making another appearance--Royale, you'll recall, belonged to Elliott Everett "Eli" Oberstein, whose labels were probably the cheapest of the cheap, though I hesitate to make a claim that cheap--I mean, that large. As is not infrequently the case, the music here is quite decent--much better than the second-rate vinyl it was pressed on. Best of the bunch are the marvelous pre-RCA and Columbia Percy Faith sides, which date from (I believe) 1946.
Vintage easy listening which can't be beat--that is, unless it was more competently mastered, and on better vinyl, but that's why you have me--to restore this stuff. This ten-inch LP dates from... who knows when? It has a copyright date of 1952, but I wouldn't trust that.
Society Favorites (That Are Our Favorites). For the socialites and non-socialites among us.
Click here to hear: Society Favorites
Body and Soul--Stevens Orchestra
Sweet and Lovely--Nat Brandwynne and Orchestra
Dancing in the Dark--Percy Faith and Orchestra
You and the Night and the Music--The Twilight Three
I Cover the Waterfront--Stevens Orchestra
I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plans--Chauncey Gray and Orchestra
That Old Black Magic--Percy Faith and Orchestra
The Continental--Jerry Wald and Orchestra
Society Favorites (That Are Our Favorites)--Royale VLP 6042 (10")
Lee
Monday, April 17, 2017
Kostelanetz, to date
While I'm wigging out over my Impala's unreliable AUX function, here are the links to all of my active Andre Kostelanetz posts:
Kosty Speaks! The Voice Behind the Baton: Kosty Speaks
Ten-inch Kosty: Kostelanetz Strings: K. Strings
Kosty for Saturday: KFS
Exotic Music (1946): EM
Andre Kostelanetz, 1934-1946: AK, 1934-1946
Lee
Kosty Speaks! The Voice Behind the Baton: Kosty Speaks
Ten-inch Kosty: Kostelanetz Strings: K. Strings
Kosty for Saturday: KFS
Exotic Music (1946): EM
Andre Kostelanetz, 1934-1946: AK, 1934-1946
Lee
In 2017, auxiliary jacks are super-duper cutting-edge high-tech ultra-technology of the future
In case you didn't know that. Some would argue that auxiliary (AUX) jacks are 1930s technology, but we have a 2017 Chevy Impala with a state of the art entertainment console/module/something, and the AUX function doesn't work. It's that simple. It doesn't work.
Simple logic tells us that, if an AUX function doesn't work on a state of the art, super-duper, ultra-modern, latest-technology entertainment console, then it must be, at the very least, emergent technology.
At any rate, it was working yesterday. The console "detected" my AUX device (a Panasonic portable CD player plugged into the AUX jack), and I was able to play CDs and stuff, and everything was great. Today, no device was detected. No sound. Everything was as I had left it, but no detected device, no sound. None. Nada. Zilch. Nicht. Zero.
So I plugged, unplugged, turned the car off and on again, tested the Panasonic player in the house (it's working fine), then counted to ten to keep from smashing something in anger.
Worked yesterday but not today. Who to ask for help? Well, given the fact that the folks at the dealership, including a tech, are less familiar with the console/module/something menu that I am (picture a tech poking around, with no idea what he's looking for because Chevrolet forgot to inform anyone what they were planning to do with the 2017 Impala command center console thingie), going back to the dealership would likely be an exercise in, "Hm. We don't know what's happening," only it would take 20 minutes to get to that revelation, and meanwhile everyone would act like they knew what they were doing. And there's no number to call.
And imagine if there was a help center. Person on phone (heavy foreign accent): "Do you have the device plugged in?" Only, of course, it would come out, "Do you haf dee (inaudible) plag een?"
Here I sit, defeated by the auxiliary function. Back in 1955, Bev, who is going on 83, used an AUX jack to listen to her record player through her radio. In 2017, I can't use an AUX jack to play my Panasonic through my super-duper, state of the art, emergent-technology entertainment audio console/module/whatever.
1955=plug player into AUX, sit back and enjoy the sound. 2017=No device detected.
Progress.
UPDATE: Working again. But... for how long? (Ominous music, fade)
UPDATE, PART 2: Continuing to work. It's messing with me!
Lee
Simple logic tells us that, if an AUX function doesn't work on a state of the art, super-duper, ultra-modern, latest-technology entertainment console, then it must be, at the very least, emergent technology.
At any rate, it was working yesterday. The console "detected" my AUX device (a Panasonic portable CD player plugged into the AUX jack), and I was able to play CDs and stuff, and everything was great. Today, no device was detected. No sound. Everything was as I had left it, but no detected device, no sound. None. Nada. Zilch. Nicht. Zero.
So I plugged, unplugged, turned the car off and on again, tested the Panasonic player in the house (it's working fine), then counted to ten to keep from smashing something in anger.
Worked yesterday but not today. Who to ask for help? Well, given the fact that the folks at the dealership, including a tech, are less familiar with the console/module/something menu that I am (picture a tech poking around, with no idea what he's looking for because Chevrolet forgot to inform anyone what they were planning to do with the 2017 Impala command center console thingie), going back to the dealership would likely be an exercise in, "Hm. We don't know what's happening," only it would take 20 minutes to get to that revelation, and meanwhile everyone would act like they knew what they were doing. And there's no number to call.
And imagine if there was a help center. Person on phone (heavy foreign accent): "Do you have the device plugged in?" Only, of course, it would come out, "Do you haf dee (inaudible) plag een?"
Here I sit, defeated by the auxiliary function. Back in 1955, Bev, who is going on 83, used an AUX jack to listen to her record player through her radio. In 2017, I can't use an AUX jack to play my Panasonic through my super-duper, state of the art, emergent-technology entertainment audio console/module/whatever.
1955=plug player into AUX, sit back and enjoy the sound. 2017=No device detected.
Progress.
UPDATE: Working again. But... for how long? (Ominous music, fade)
UPDATE, PART 2: Continuing to work. It's messing with me!
Lee
Sunday, April 16, 2017
More Easter sounds--Make Like a Bunny, Honey; Easter Chimes; He Lives
My bobblehead bunny (from Walgreens, I think) and his two buddies asked me to dig up some more Easter music, so of course I complied.
Here are six more Easter selections, including three extremely silly ones that will always have a home at MY(P)WHAE. My Stairway to Easter (not one of the silly ones--or is it?) is a takeoff on a little-known Led Zeppelin number--a ditty you may have heard once or twice. Or a thousand times. And here's Jimmy Carroll again. We heard him not too long ago in multi-tracked form, in which he functioned as a clarinet orchestra performing Tiptoe Thru the Tulips. That really happened--it wasn't a dream.
Beautiful rainbow this morning, perfectly situated for viewing from our church fellowship room window. Maybe it's a sign the storms will be mild tonight. (Well, I can hope.)
More Easter music
He Lives (Ackley)--Ralph Carmichael Choir
Funny Little Bunnies--The Cricketts w. the Peter Pan Orch.
Easter Chimes (Hartsfeld)--Lee Hartsfeld, plus echo, 2006
Bunny Hop--Peter Pan Orch. and Singers, 1955
Stairway to Easter (Hartsfeld)--Lee Hartsfeld and Noteworthy Composer, 2009
Make Like a Bunny, Honey--Jill Corey, w. Jimmy Carroll Orch. and Cho., 1957
Lee
HAPPY EASTER!!
Happy Easter! As we did last year, we have the Shannon Quartet, from 1925, singing Robert (Shall We Gather at the River) Lowry's Christ Arose, the Trinity Quartet, from 1922, singing Jesus Lives!, and the 1919 Columbia Stellar Quartette recording of Robert Hood Bowers' Memories of Easter. The difference is, this year I used VinylStudio, so things should be sounding better (or, at least, more accurate in the response curve department). Plus, I've added the terrific 1908 Haydn Quartet version of Arose.
Then you get to hear me on the Casio (don't let the Casio reputation throw you) with my very own rendering of Christ Arose, plus Christ the Lord Is Risen Today and Lasst Uns Erfreuen. You get, among other sounds, organ, banjo, and tubular bells. All played in real-time by your blogger.
Don't overdo the chocolate. Just kidding. Overdo the chocolate. And, one of these days, I'll learn to type "chocolate" without dropping an o. By the way, the wind-up hopper on my Casio is supposed to be a bunny, but it looks more like a modified Peep. Very strange.
To the Easter sounds: Easter 2017
Christ Arose!--Shannon Quartet, 1925
Christ Arose--Haydn Quartet, 1908
Jesus Lives!--Trinity Quartet, 1922
Memories of Easter (Bowers)--Marie Morrisey and Columbia Stellar Quartette, 1919
Christ Arose--Lee Hartsfeld, Casio WK-3800 organ
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today--Lee Harstfeld, Casio organ sounds, banjo
Lasst Uns Erfreuen--Lee Hartsfeld, Casio tubular bells
Lee
Thursday, April 13, 2017
16 Complete Full Length All-Time Western Favorites (Tops)
Someone asked me, "Why haven't you posted 16 Complete Full Length All-Time Western Favorites?" Puzzled, I replied, "Is that one of mine?" Sure enough, it is. (I have so many of these things, I lost track ages ago.) And here it is, ripped from four extended-play 45s containing four tracks each.
Artists are Bob Sandy, both solo and with his Rhythm Rangers, and Rusty Howard. I Forgot to Remember to Forget is an Elvis cover, of course. Tops (which, afaik, started about 1948) was possibly the premiere fake-hits budget label of the 1950s, of which only Promenade (later, Pickwick) was second to. Here's the source for Tops information: Tops/Mayfair Story . And their starting year was 1947, not 1948. (I was close).
Condition--and, therefore, sound quality--varies on these, but all are listenable. Some sound pretty good, in fact. Why the wear is uneven on members of the same set, I know not, though the possibilities include some tracks getting more play than others and/or one or two discs falling victim to a worn stylus.
The Top label's engineering, unlike its pressings, was more than adequate, so brace yourself for fidelity that belies the set's low asking price ($2.98?). There's zero correspondence between the sleeve's track listing and the way the titles show up on the oddly ordered discs (R268, R270, R272, and R277), so don't be surprised when you encounter none.
To the "western series" music: All-Time Western Favorites
Love, Love, Love--Bob Sandy & The Rhythm Rangers
All Right--Same
Yonder Comes a Sucker--Rusty Howard
I Guess I'm Crazy--Bob Sandy & The Rhythm Rangers
Just Call Me Lonesome--Same
Cry, Cry, Cry--Same
I Forgot to Remember to Forget--Bob Sandy
That Do Make It Nice--Rusty Howard and the Rhythm Rangers
You're Free to Go--Bob Sandy & The Rhythm Rangers
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry--Same
Don't Take It Out on Me--Same
Why, Baby, Why?--Same
Bayou Baby--Same
Trouble in Mind--Same
You and Me--Bob Sandy & Pat Manners
I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby--Bob Sandy & The Rhythm Rangers
(Tops R268, R270, R272, and R277)
Lee
Thursday, April 06, 2017
Music to perk up your day--"Television Moon," and more
"I'll see your picture, my love, over here in my Television Moon.
I'll dream that you're by my side--a charming, blushing bride.
So make your plans, my love, for a wedding some day in June.
We'll be happy then, my love, underneath our Television Moon."
Television Moon, 1953
I've owned Television Moon for a number of years, and I still can't figure out exactly what it's about. I mean, if the singer is talking about imagining the face of his fiance in the Moon, why call it a "television" moon? Some early TV tubes were round like the Moon, but.... Suffice it to say, this one stumps me. But it perks me up, too! I have no idea why. Stump, perk--what's the difference?
And we have three perky sides by Billy Murray, the earliest from 1906. I deleted Billy from a previous playlist due to zip file space, but I left his name in the post heading, causing a little confusion. (Don't you like the way "I screwed up" becomes "caused a little confusion"?) But he's here this time, unless his tracks manage to sneak out of the zip file or something. Marimba is a favorite from childhood--it was in the first 78 rpm album I ever owned (previously my great-grandmother's). I reckon I hadn't heard it in nearly 50 years (!) prior to finding this copy, and I'm a little surprised at how risque the lyrics are. Went over my 9-year-old head. Probably a good thing.
Other perky picks include the 1951 Alarm Clock Boogie, which I'd bet the farm was produced by Ray Conniff, because of the drowned-in-echo vocal "tick tock" effects and the ringing alarm clock--very restrained and subtle stuff. (I love Conniff!) Notice how the overall sound breaks up when the latter effect is added in, as if the mix were being overloaded. Overall, this side is an interesting experiment that almost didn't come off.
Georgie Shaw's Honeycomb predates Jimmie Rodger's hit version by four years. (Wikipedia dates the Shaw at 1954, but it's 1953.) It was written by Bob (How Much Is That Doggie in the Window) Merrill.
And... two 1915 bagpipe records. Think I'm kidding? You won't when they start playing. Amazingly well recorded for the day, and pretty catchy. Speed them up a little, add some banjos, and you'd have early country.
And after you hear all these, you will feel perked up, or your money back. Of course, these were free....
Television Moon (Albert H. Monday)--Diane Richards w. Red Reese and His Orch., prob. 1953
Honeycomb (Bob Merrill)--Georgie Shaw w. the Jimmy Leyden Singers, 1953
Alarm Clock Boogie--Billy Briggs with String Band, 1951 (Conniff production?)
Cheyenne (Cowboy Song)--Billy Murray, 1906
Marimba (Sweet Marimba Mine)--Billy Murray, 1920
Down by the O-HI-O--Billy Murray-Victor Roberts, 1920
Scotch Bagpipe Medley--No. 1--Lovat Bagpipe Band of N.Y. (with Harry Lauder Co.), 1915
Scotch Bagpipe Medley--No. 2--Same
Come Take a Trip in My Airship--J.W. Meyers, 1904
Arkansas Traveler--Square Dance--Shorty McCoy and his Southern Playboys, 1941
Dixie's Favorite Son--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1924
My Teardrops Fall on Daddy's Cheek--Diane Richards w. Red Reese and His Orch., prob. 1953
Lee
Monday, April 03, 2017
Monday night mood--Percy Faith: Music from Hollywood, Vol. II
The best kind of easy listening--namely, Percy Faith. The Song from Moulin Rouge isn't the hit single; this is an extended instrumental version, and beautifully done. The Bad and the Beautiful movie theme is by David Raskin, best known for Laura, a tune I can't listen to without hearing the Spike Jones parody--which is okay, since the Jones record is a comic masterpiece. ("And you see Laura, On the train that is passing through." BROMO SELTZER, BROMO SELTZER!)
At any rate, listsen to the gorgeous Raskin harmonies on Bad and the Beautiful and ask yourself if it's possible Burt Bacharach wasn't influenced by this guy. I don't know about you, but I hear Burt.
My copy of this EP is in excellent-minus condition, so cleaning it up was a breeze. Easy listening EPs are often not in such fine shape. Believe me.
Anyway, the perfect EP for our Mondy night mood morsel. Take it away, Box.com:
Percy Faith--Music from Hollywood, Pt. II
Lee
Sunday, April 02, 2017
Sunday afternoon gospel--A.T. Humphries and Lee College Choir
You want gospel music with energy? This'll fill the bill, and then some. Two anthems by the great Charles H. Gabriel, sung by the Lee College Choir, and accompanied by piano and (somewhere in there) an organ. Do I hear two pianos?
The second--Awakening Chorus--is quite well-known as church anthems go, but I've never heard it played Blackwood Bros. style, and I'd have never imagined it would sound so good that way. Great singing, great everything. Gabriel was gospel's most brilliant minimalist. He may have been its greatest talent, period.
I am not connected in any way with Lee College. (Rim shot)
Reapers Are Needed (Gabriel)--A.T. Humphries and Lee College Choir
Awakening Chorus (Gabriel)--A.T. Humphries and Lee College Choir
Two "This is why I collect gospel records" gems for you, there. I'll be on the lookout for more EPs on the Continental Recordings label. I wonder if these were sold by the church, or...? I doubt they showed up in record stores.
Enjoy!
Lee
Saturday, April 01, 2017
Jimmy Carroll, Guy Mitchell, Dick Jurgens, "Chalk-Talk on the Sidewalk"
And the return of Elliot Everett. What a playlist! 78s all, and all from my collection.
We start with Jimmy Carroll, whose name can be found on the Bell, Golden Records, Columbia, Mercury, Cook, and Decca labels (the man got around), and who may be best known for his arrangements for Mitch Miller, including the ones on Miller's "Sing-Along with Mitch" LPs. But please don't let that stop you from listening to his amazing multi-tracked clarinets on Tiptoe Thru the Tulips with Me and Clarinet Polka, both from 1953 on Columbia. 1953 was early in the multi-tracking game, and these sound incredibly clean and well balanced, so you've got to wonder what kind of equipment they were working with. You'd expect more generational loss if they were going from tape machine to tape machine. Anyway....
Guy Mitchell recorded for King as Al Grant, and these two 1950 King promo sides, while in perfect shape, aren't exactly Columbia quality, sound-wise, but they do the job. Here are the label scans, both of which include a short bio of Grant (Mitchell, whose real name was Al Cernik):
Since these are radio promos, I was expecting better sound, but life is full of surprises.
"Elliot Everett," performing here on the Royale label, is actually a portion of the label owner's name. Who knows who this really is? Fun version, nicely recorded (especially for Royale), and with a slight swing. Nice. I used my 3.5 mil stylus on this worn sdie.
Back to Guy, who sings here under his real name, Al Cernik, for Carmen Cavallaro. He shows up again on the fourteenth selection (Encore, Cherie), my favorite of the trio. Al's voice is just fabulous. The perfect band singer, and just as big bands were going out. But it worked for him, as he got bigger than big on Columbia as a solo singer. Encore, Cherie, by the way, was composed by J. Fred Coots, who also gave us the slightly more famous Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.
Chalk-Talk on the Sidewalk I bought for the title--turns out to be a very pleasant side, too.
The family-hour novelty, The Honey-Dripper, really rocks in this 1945 version by Sammy Franklin and His Atomics. Who were they? I have no idea--look them up. Got fine sound using VinylStudio and my wider stylus.
Cousin Joe is nothing but the low-down blues, and I had to laugh at Old Man Blues, but not because I'm getting old and I relate to it or anything like that. The Al Casey Quartette is fine.
Alabama Jubilee, a worn disc my 3.5 stylus did wonders for, is on the fake-hits label Tops, though I'm not positive who's being copied here. Red Foley? Probably. World Events, presented here in easy-listening fashion, was used as the theme music for Movietone News newreels, which means nothing to us modern, post-newsreel people, unless we frequent weird-music blogs like, oh... hmm. Can't think of any specific examples, offhand.
Sixty Seconds Got Together has timeless lyrics, and the singer is Eddie Howard. So who can complain? The lyricist is Hal David's brother, Mack.
To the music: Jimmy Carroll
PLAYLIST
Tiptoe Thru the Tulips with Me--Jimmy Carroll x 5, 1953
Clarinet Polka--Same guy
Forget Me Not--Al Grant (Guy Mitchell) w. Orchestra, 1950
You're the Sweetest Thing--Al Grant (Guy Mitchell) w. the Satisfiers Foursome, 1950
Syncopated Clock--Elliot Everett and His Orch.
Ah, But It Happens--Al Cernik (Guy Mitchell), w. Carmen Cavallaro O., 1947
I Go In When the Moon Comes Out--Same
Chalk-Talk on the Sidewalk--Dick Jurgens and His Orch., 1950
The Honeydripper, Pts. 1 & 2 (Joe Liggins)--Sammy Franklin and His Atomics, 1945
Too Tight to Walk Loose--Cousin Joe w. the Al Casey Quartette, 1947
Old Man Blues--Same
Alabama Jubilee--Bob Sandy and the International Cowboys
World Events (Zamecnik)--Warren Baker and the Baker's Dozen, 1953
Encore, Cherie--Al Cernik (Guy Mitchell) w. Carmen Cavallaro O., 1947
Sixty Seconds Got Together--George Olsen and His Music, v: Eddie Howard, 1938
Lee
Monday, March 27, 2017
Sunday morning 78s (delayed)--General William Booth, Mark Love, Manhattan Quartett
Some 100-plus-year-old 78s survive in superb condition. Others (see above) don't. In fact, the crack on this 1905 disc was an overlapping one until I made both sides flush and taped the rim. ("So, what are you doing?" "Making both sides flush and taping the rim." "Is that so?")
And, as you can see, the grooves got a lot of gramophone play back in the day. Yet, for all that, this thrift store find sounds pretty darn good. That'll happen sometimes. The solo tenor lead still rings out 112 years later. Well worth the buck or two I paid.
The rest of these are in less dire shape--in fact, the two 1907 addresses by Salvation Army founder General William Booth are practically mint, though the dubs themselves are filled with lots of rumble and turntable noise (maybe they were badly transferred from cylinders?). I left all the lower frequency muck in there for authenticity's sake. (Eliminating the noise only made Booth's addresses harder to make out.) At the end of Through Jordan, it may sound like Booth is saying, "Fire abolished!" but he's actually saying "Fire a volley!" Which means, "Everyone say 'Amen.'" Or so I read online.
Elsewhere, the conditions range from decent to highly decent, with Mark Love's two sides (who was this great singer?) awesome in both the engineering and singing department. I could only find two Mark Love sides at the invaluable Online Discographical Project, so maybe that's all he ever did. A darned shame, if so.
The rest are quartets (including a German "Quartett"), choirs (including "A Church Choir"--the actual name on the label), and, possibly, a trio (Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan). Hard to tell on Jerusalem, since the singing's a tad ragged. Which is exactly how 1926 hillbilly gospel should sound. Great side.
Nearer My God to Thee, by the way, is not the tune familiar to U.S. ears. Haven't researched it yet.
CLICK HERE TO HEAR: Sunday morning 78s, delayed
Blessed Assurance--Mark Love, 1925.
Ring the Bells of Heaven--Same
Ein' Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott--Manhattan Quartett (Year unknown; pre-electric)
Ehre Sei Gott In Der Hohe--Same
Sun of My Soul--A Church Choir, 1926
Abide with Me--Same
The Church's One Foundation--A Church Choir, 1910
Nearer My God to Thee--Same
Wayside Cross--Criterion Quartet, 1921
Some Blessed Day--Same
He Will Set Your Fields on Fire--Smith's Sacred Singers, 1927
I Will Sing of My Redeemer--Same
Through Jordan--General Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army, 1907
Please Sir, Save Me--Same
Hold the Fort (Bliss)--The Chautaugua Preachers' Quartette, 1914
Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan--Gid Tanner and His Skillet-Lickers w. Riley Puckett, 1926
The Glory Song (O, That Will Be Glory)--Haydn Quartet, 1905
Sunday morning on a Monday evening. Only at... MY(P)WHAE!
Lee
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Kosty speaks! The voice behind the baton.
A treat for us Kosty fans, courtesy of FOTB (friend of the blog) Kevin Tam--a 1955 or 1956 interview with Andre Kostelanetz, in which Andre discusses the inspiration behind the suite (I either didn't know or had forgotten the suite was Kosty's idea), shares some Ferde Grofe details, and, starting with band 6, discusses the other selections on Columbia CL 763.
He had a charming Russian accent--a little thicker than I might have guessed, but of course I had no evidence to go by. I did, however, watch a Kosty appearance on I've Got a Secret, which is (or at least was) up on YouTube.
The voice behind the baton. Thanks, Kevin!
Link: Kosty Speaks
You can listen at Box.com or download the file (upper right-hand corner).
Lee
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Morton Gould--Elliot Everett and His Orch. (Varsity VLP6041)
Another Record Corp. of America classic, only this time in very acceptable sound. In fact, the sound quality is pretty astonishing for Royale/Varsity. (Note that the jacket says Varsity, and the label says Royale. Typical fake-RCA attention to detail.)
Five excellent compositions by American composer and conductor Morton Gould, plus two filler tracks not by him--Brazilian Boogie and Third-Man (sic) Theme. A perfectly good ten-inch LP, which makes it superb by Royale standards. "Recorded in Europe," says the label. Elliot Everett is a pseudonym.
I used my 3.5 elliptical LP stylus, and it was the right choice.
To the Gould: Morton Gould--Elliot Everett and his Orch. (Varsity/Royale 6041)
Lee
Sunday, March 19, 2017
An Hour of Lousy Sound Star Dust--Royale Concert Orchestra
The back jacket promises "full fidelity," which would normally be a good thing, but not when the label is Royale.
Royale, of course, was a member of the Record Corporation of America's stable of ultra-cheap labels, and An Hour of Star Dust is one of the least competently recorded and engineered fake-RCA releases of all--a horrifying charge, but true. It also contains some of the funnest music anywhere in the company's catalog, so there's that.
By the way, I wrote "fake-RCA" to distinguish RCA from, for instance, RCA.
Did I say incompetently engineered? Well, on top of the substandard (but full!) fidelity, we have the loud sound of a machine turning on and off between the tracks--a noise I graciously eliminated for you (am I a great guy or what?). Where these recordings came from, I can't venture to guess--radio broadcasts, maybe? I'm picturing a hand-held microphone, a tape recorder, and a radio. That would explain the extremely low fidelity here.
Have I insulted the sound sufficiently? Probably not. But, as I noted, this is highly fun stuff, and it's one heck of a cheap-label relic. Note that Hollywood Concerto is actually a male chorus singing sea songs. Possibly Royale had intended to include something by that name (Hollywood Concerto) but their clerk grabbed the wrong masters or something. Not worth puzzling over. It was just the RCA (not to be confused with RCA) way.
DOWNLOAD: An Hour of Star Dust
(See LP front for track listing.)
Lee
Friday, March 17, 2017
Ten-inch Kosty: Kostelanetz Strings (1950)
What can I say about this LP? Well, for one, that I hope I didn't overdo the bass in my restoration. After inverting the RIAA LP curve (my favorite thing to do!), I set the bass rollover frequency at 500, which might be too boomy (so to speak). Let me know.
What else can I say about this LP? Well, it's totally superb, and nobody else--repeat, nobody else--had Kosty's ability to give a fresh feel to music we've (possibly) heard a thousand times. For instance, dig the angels-in-the-clouds opening to Londonderry Air (which I used to think was about a type of oxygen), and dig the brilliant work on Pizzicato Polka, Hungarian Dance No. 5, and the played-to-death Flight of the Bumble Bee. This is music so beautifully performed and recorded, your ears don't care that they're on their umpteenth go-round.
I'll have to ask, though--is Schubert's The Bee a standard? Unlike all the other titles, The Bee doesn't buzz a bell, so maybe it's not a Pops perennial. If not, why not? It's great. I was going to try to make a "ring a bell" pun, but "sting like hell" is the best I could do, so I'll let it bee. (Get it? Let it bee???)
Somewhere, I read a review which used the term "Kostelanetized" (can't remember the spelling) to describe what Kosty (or his arrangers, more precisely) did. Maybe it referred to all the added-sixth and I 6/9 chords. (On the piano, starting on the C below middle C, play C-G-C-E-A-D. Transpose as needed per key.) Add in a B under the D for flavor.
For a more Bacharach-style chord, play C-E-G-B-D-E-G-B. This ends today's music lesson.
To the ten-inch Kosty: Kostelanetz Strings
PLAYLIST
Humoresque (Dvorak)
Hora Staccato (Dinicu-Heifetz)
Traumerei (Schumann)
The Bee (Shubert)
Flight of the Bumble Bee (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Lullaby (Brahms)
Pizzicato Polka (Johann and Josef Strauss)
Londonderry Air (Traditional)
Hungarian Dance No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor (Brahms)
(Columbia ML 2100; 1950)
Lee
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Night and Day--Andre Kostelanetz (1940)
DonHo57 mentioned Andre Kostelanetz' recording of Night and Day as one of his "top ten easy listening big band recordings," And here's my rip thereof.
I'm almost sure that this 1940 recording is the same one featured on that 1961 Lucky Strike LP (Remember How Great...?). It's a cool rendition, anyway.
I'm almost sure that this 1940 recording is the same one featured on that 1961 Lucky Strike LP (Remember How Great...?). It's a cool rendition, anyway.
Click here to hear: Night and Day--Andre K. and His Orch., 1940
Lee
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Kosty for Saturday
This is the music we'll be hearing today:
People from all around the globe have been asking me, "How about some Saturday Kosty?" And so here is some Saturday Kosty for today (Saturday--coincidence?). Kosty=Kostelanetz, as in Andre. Like Irving Berlin, Kosty was born in Russia. Which has nothing to do with anything, but I like to mention it because I love to rattle off obscure pop music factoids. But only if I know them. And, come to think of it, Kostelanetz being from Russia isn't that obscure a factoid.... Anyway.
Today's Kosty is the usual light classical/Broadway/Tin Pan Alley mix. We start with a brilliant performance of Villa-Lobos' 1930 classic, The Little Train of the Caipira, in superb 1953 sound, followed by a dreamy rendition of Debussy's Clair de Lune., either the 1940 or 1952 recording (I suspect '52). I ripped both great-sounding tracks from the 1955 CL- (mostly a re. of the 1953 ML-) series Columbia LP, Clair de Lune and Popular Favorites, of which I'd planned to make a full-LP rip until I noticed (with my ears) the needle-drop marks throughout. All pretty loud. Curses. But these two selections were more than repairable with MAGIX declicking. Thank you, O Vinyl God.
Gabriel Pierne's Entrance of the Little Fauns (note: no w!), according to a Kosty discography I'm looking at right now, was recorded in 1955. Then, a "medley" I edited together of selections (from three Kosty LPs) by Vincent Youmans, Hugh Martin, and Richard Rodgers. We end with Harold Arlen's Blues in the Night (rec. 1944) and a perfect version of Arthur Schwartz' marvelous You and the Night and the Music (rec. 1950?).
People who pass over the Kosty LPs at Goodwill are only leaving more for us Andre fans to find.
Click here to hear: Saturday Kosty
PLAYLIST
The Little Train of the Caipira (Toccata; Villa-Lobos), 1953
Clair de Lune (Debussy), 1940 or 1952.
Entrance of the Little Fauns (Pierne), 1955.
Youmans-Martin-Rodgers Medley (edited together by me).
Blues in the Night (Arlen), 1944.
You and the Night and the Music (Schwartz), 1950?
Lee
Sunday, March 05, 2017
The jazzy Jazz Age, post-ODJB! Or, Was It Jazz?
Jazz history, as written, is sort of an on/off; true/false; yes/no kind of thing--either it's jazz or it ain't jazz. For every 25 bandleaders, solists, etc. whose music "wasn't really jazz," there were a couple of bandleaders or soloists whose music "was jazz." Or may be it was for every 50.
Stan Kenton? Dave Brubeck? George Shearing? Jury's out (coffee break).
Going back to earlier days, Paul Whiteman, Jean Goldkette, Red Nichols? Not really jazz, even when they sounded a lot like it. Waring's Pennsylvanians? The glee club guy, Fred Waring?? Forget it. Vincent Lopez? Nah. Ferde Grofe? The suite writer? Oh, he could capture the basic Dixieland sound on paper, but was it jazz? (One guess.) And so on. (None of these are my conclusions, you understand.)
What do all of the "not jazz" folks have in common? They were popular! Ordinary, everyday people listened to them. Traditionally, jazz is regarded as what The People didn't (and don't) listen to. But a lot of jazz managed to get into the pop records of the post-ODJB period, and today we're going to hear a large number of them, from the big-band-ish early-'20s discs of Paul Whiteman (with their excellent Dixieland-chorus closings) to "hot" and peppy efforts that scream "Break out the flappers"--Whiteman's 1924 San, George Olsen's Hot Aire (1925), Fred Waring's Oh, Baby! (1924), arranger Ferde Grofe's take on Charleston (1925), and Ralph Williams' all-time great rendition of Prince of Wails (1924).
There was a heck of a lot of area between jazz/not jazz. We'll be visiting it today in honor of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's 100th (first recording) anniversary. The ODJB's Dixieland hits opened the door.
To the fabulous sounds, all ripped from my own collection. I should have titled these "Hot Twenties and Late Teens," but the shortened title sounds better:
Click here to hear: Hot Twenties, Part 1 Hot Twenties, Part 2
PLAYLIST--PART 1
Oh, Baby! (Don't Say No, Say Maybe) (Donaldson)--Waring's Pennsylvanians, 1924
Wang Wang Blues (Mueller-Johnson-Busse)--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1920
Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1920
San (Oriental Fox Trot)--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1924
Nuthin' But (Busse-Ward-Grofe)--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1923
Charleston (Arr: Grofe)--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1925
Memphis Blues (W.C. Handy; Arr: Grofe?)--The Virginians, Dir. Ross Gorman, 1922
I'm Just Wild About Harry--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1922
Hot Aire (Schoebel)--George Olsen and His Music, 1925
Prince of Wails (Schoebel)--Ralph Williams and His Rainbo Orch., 1924
PLAYLIST--PART 2
Ma!--One-Step--The Benson Orch. of Chicago, Dir. Roy Bargy, 1921
Down Home Blues--Waring's Pennsylvanians, 1924
I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now--Jean Goldkette and His Orch., 1927
Footloose--Carl Fenton's Orch., 1925
Kitten on the Keys (Confrey)--Frank Banta and Jack Austin, Piano Duet, 1922
Arkansas Blues--The Little Ramblers, 1924
String Beans (Owens-Rose)--Vincent Rose and His Montmartre Orch. of Hollywood, 1924
Sweet Emalina, My Gal--One-Step--Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orch., 1918
Graveyard Blues--Same
12th St. Rag (Bowman)--Ted Lewis and His Band, 1923
Where Is My Sweetie Hiding?--Paul Whiteman Orch., 1924
Lee
Wednesday, March 01, 2017
Quiz: Did washing machines exist in 1874?
A: Yes
B: No
C: Yes and no
D: No and yes
E: All of the above
F: None of the above
G: Some of the above
Well, let's see....
The answer is A: Yes.
From The Nursery, Oct., 1874
Lee
B: No
C: Yes and no
D: No and yes
E: All of the above
F: None of the above
G: Some of the above
Well, let's see....
The answer is A: Yes.
From The Nursery, Oct., 1874
Lee
Monday, February 27, 2017
Original Dixieland Jass Band--Indiana, Darktown Strutters' Ball
The ODJB was still a "jass" band at this point (May, 1917) but soon to become "jazz." This was before "man" followed "jazz"--that's the only reason I didn't say "jazz, man." (And what about jazz women?)
Anyway, over at Buster's blog, we learn that the ODJB is nearing its 100th anniversary, first-recording-wise. For the occasion, Buster remastered an RCA EP featuring four ODJB Victor sides--their first, second, fourth, and fifth--and he got it sounding quite good.
The Original Dixieland Jass/zz Band being one of my all time favorite outfits, I just had to join in the celebration, so here are the ODJB's two Columbia label sides from May, 1917--and there's a fun urban legend behind them. As I heard it at the Gramophone Emporium (now closed) in Edinburgh, Scotland back around 1980, the ODJB auditioned at Columbia (true), and cut two sides (true). The Columbia engineers had never heard music so strange and hilarious, so they spent the session rolling on the floor in laughter (as far as I know, false). Hence, the bad sound on the recording (not true--it's very well recorded for 1917).
For decades, collectors thought the two ODJB sides you're going to hear--Indiana and Darktown Strutters' Ball--were the rejected Columbia test sides, but no. They came after the group's first batch of Victor sides, not before. Nothing punctures a good urban legend like reality, but a cool story, anyway!
To add to the fun, I give you three more Columbia jazz sides--Way Down Yonder in New Orleans by the masterful Georgians, a subset of the Phil Specht Orchestra; and two sides from Columbia's best jazz bandleader, Wilbur Sweatman--1919's That's Got 'Em and A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Early in his career, Duke Ellington played with Sweatman. But not on these sides. They're awesome, regardless, especially the first title, a riff-laden jam tune and, in my judgment, an ancestor of the gospel-style, solo-dominated jams of the big band era. Which, in turn, became the stay-on-the-tonic-and-honk-the-saxophone early rock'n'roll numbers of Hal Singer, et al. beginning in the mid-1940s. Give the Sweatman sides some longer solos (as opposed to the one-measure figures that show up throughout), and you'd have had big band.
To my ODJB tribute: Indiana
Indiana--Original Dixieland Jass Band, Columbia A2297 (1917)
Darktown Strutters' Ball--Same
Way Down Yonder in New Orleans--The Georgians, Columbia A3804 (1922)
That's Got 'Em (Sweatman)--Wilbur Sweatman's Orig. Jazz Band, Columbia A2721 (1919)
A Good Man Is Hard to Find--Same
Lee
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Early, early discs
Labels, we've got labels. And discs to go with 'em, too.
And since I'm showing labels, here's the back of number four:
Boss, no?
So, early, early discs. What's unique about early, early discs at this blog? Nothing, of course, but I needed a good title, so "early, early" they are. And, in fact, each and every one of these is more than 100 years old, so... yeah.
I should've named this post after the Columbia Band, which shows up in nearly half of these, and sounding good.
Gorgeous stuff, some of which has seen the light of blog before, but never sounding this beautifully inverse-RIAA'd. We have raggy marches, orchestra bell solos, clock pieces, and more. You'll be earlied-out when all of this is done, but we all need to get drunk on the past once in a while. Cheaper than beer.
I love the way the announcement for March Lorraine sounds more like "Ach! Torraine!" or something. On early, early discs, the first several grooves were often the ones most shredded by tracking error, which meant the announcement ended up a garbled, scratchy tragedy. But... the announcement to 1901's Good Bye, Dolly Gray is nearly all there, sound-wise, so we have that to be thankful for. Great sounds--and, owing to their age, very, very early!
To the early, early sounds: Early, Early Discs
PLAYLIST
March Loraine--Columbia Band, 1901
The Mosquito Parade (Whitney)--Columbia Band, 1900
Lerhone et la Sarone (Polka; Rouseel)--Banda de Artilleria, c. 1909
Anona (Intermezzo Two-step; Vivian Grey)--Columbia Band, 1903
The Jolly Coppersmith--Columbia Band, w. Anvil Effect and Vocal Chorus, 1902
Berta (Cake Walk and Two-step)--Banda Espanolo, 1906 (courtesy boppinbob)
Girlish Charms--Gavotte (E. Holst)--Howard Kopp, Bell Solo, w. Orchestra, 1913
Hearts and Flowers--Columbia Band, 1901
Silver Heels (March and Two-step; Moret)--Columbia Band, 1905
Eternelle Ivresse (Heart's Springtime; Louis Ganne)--Columbia Band, 1904
Village Belles--Barn Dance (Kendall)--Prince's Orch., 1909
Life Preserver--Two Step--Victor Dance Orch., 1911
In the Clock Store (Orth)--Prince's Orch., 1915
Chinese Wedding Procession (Hosmer)--Prince's Orch., 1915
Good Bye, Dolly Gray--Columbia Quartette, 1901
Bonus tracks:
Maybe Yes--Maybe No--The Detroiters (Bob Haring), 1928 (Melody vastly similar to The Jolly Coppersmith)
In a Clock Store--George Blackmore, organist, Youtube video.Lee
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)