William Faulkner reads from his novel As I Lay Dying RARE AUDIO OF FAMOUS WRITER Tull ANALYSIS Tim Gracyk 2015-12-19 | William Faulkner reads from early in the novel, the first "Tull" section. Vernon Tull reports conversations and private thoughts. He is with Anse.This 1930 novel starts with the death of Addie Bundren--hence the title "As I Lay Dying." Agamemnon begins a speech in Book XI of Homer's The Odyssey with "As I lay dying..." Faulkner's work about the poor Bundrens in rural Mississippi has echoes of mythology.Anse is Addie's lazy husband. He fears sweating--it will bring about his death, so he avoids work that may cause sweat. Anse is preoccupied with three thoughts: his wife dying, her wish to be buried 40 miles from home, and money.Readers learn of the family's efforts over eight days or so to honor Addie's wish to be buried next to her parents in Jefferson, about 40 miles from the rural area where she lives. The family is poor, so satisfying that request is a hardship. Hauling a coffin for 40 miles in a wagon becomes an ordeal.By the 8th day, the smell of her corpse in a coffin made by Cash is terrible as the wagon heads for Jefferson. A marshal of Mottson heaps scorn on the family due to that stench.The novel has 59 sections instead of conventional chapters. In each section, a single character narrates, Darl having the most statements. Readers are given that person's unique perspective--a new writing technique! Faulkner builds upon what James Joyce introduced in Ulysses.Readers must make sense of the various sections without the help of a third-person narrator. There is no objective commentary. "Objectivity" is a myth anyway. The "truth" or reality of any event or series of events resides in various perspectives.What year? Try "any time in history." Early chapters give nothing to help us determine the year--no movie star name, no popular song, no political figure. Lack of references to popular culture would be a weakness in a novel aiming for realism, but Faulkner is no realist.The novel ends with references to a "graphophone"--the name used by Columbia for its talking machines or phonographs (the Victor Talking Machine Company used "Victrola"). A particular machine is described as closing up like a suitcase, the type known as a "portable" to hobbyists. Suitcase models were popular in the 1920s. The novel refers to new records bought through the mail.Due to that machine and mail-order reference, I view the year as 1929, the year Faulkner wrote most of the book (he finished in January 1930). The "graphophone" in a portable style makes 1929 plausible.The action covers several days. Readers also learn much through flashback.The novel begins with a dying Addie Bundren--a strong woman, controlling, willful. Her oldest son, Cash, is in his late 20s. This carpenter (hints of Jesus?) makes her coffin, showing her the work for her approval as she looks out a window. Addie wants proof that her coffin will be solid, well-constructed. Later, Cash foolishly allows cement to be put on his broken leg, which leads to amputation.The youngest Bundren is Vardaman (age 10?). He is dim, possibly retarded.Two sons in the middle are Darl and Jewel, who fight. Jewel is unable to accept that his mom is dying. Darl is sensitive and introspective. After Darl burns down a barn (the coffin is in the barn--Darl wants to end this trip in a wagon), he seized by police and is taken to an asylum. The alternative to an asylum would be a lawsuit that the family cannot afford.Jewel was the product of Addie having an affair with Reverend Whitfield. Violent and impulsive, Jewel is in his late teens (19?) and was Addie's favorite.Addie's daughter is Dewey Dell--only a teen ("17" she says, and her father also says he has fed her for 17 years). A man named Lafe impregnated her and then told Dewey to buy something at any drugstore to end the pregnancy. Dewey wants to acquire pills that will abort the child, stupidly agreeing to have sex with a drugstore clerk who promises to give the needed pills and procedure. That cad, MacGowan, takes advantage of her dire situation. When Dewey tried to acquire pills earlier in a different town, she was run out of a drugstore.The Tulls are neighbors of the dying Addie. Vernon Tull heads the Tull household, and his wife Cora visits the dying Addie.The trip to Jefferson is complicated because of broken wagon wheels, a bridge washed out, a second bridge washed out, drowned mules, and so on. Anse ostensibly travels to Jefferson to fulfill a promise made to his wife, but really Anse wants to buy false teeth. At the end, he has a new wife who holds a graphophone. Darl ends up in a Jackson asylum, but the novel ends optimistically with a new mother in the family. Anse is excited to have a second chance at life.Cash has the novel's last word. He seems satisfied that his new step-mother owns a graphophone. Before meeting the new Mrs. Bundren, he confesses to readers, "I don't know if a little music ain't about the nicest thing a fellow can have."
Grayson & Whitter Rose Conley (1927) Appalachian murder ballad G. B. Grayson, Henry Whitter LYRICS Tim Gracyk 2024-10-18 | October 18, 1927Recorded in Atlanta, GeorgiaG. B. Grayson (a blind musician) is on fiddleHenry Whitter is on guitarGrayson sings"Rose Connolly" is an Appalachian murder ballad about a man of a higher class than Rose, who became pregnant. His father did not want him to marry beneath his class and encouraged him to kill Rose since he thought that his money and position would buy the boy out of trouble. The ballad was modified and given the title "Rose Conley" (different spelling) when it was recorded for the Victor company.I say "Appalachian murder ballad" since the song was popular in the Appalachian part of the United States, but the song was penned in Ireland in the early 19th century and made its way to America through immigrants. It seems the song “Rose Connolly” can be traced to Coleraine, Northern Ireland, as early as 1811. It is told from a murderer's perspective of his poisoning and stabbing his pregnant girlfriend.Down in the willow garden, where me and my love did meet,oh, there we sit a-courting. My love dropped off to sleep.I had a bottle of the burg'lar's wine, which my true love did not know, and there I poisoned my own true love down under the banks below.Poor womanI drew my sabre through her, which was a bloody knife.I threw her in the river, which was a dreadful sight.My father always taught me that money would set me free ifI'd murder that pretty little miss whose name is Rose Connolly.NOW FOR LYRICS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECORDED VERSION MADE FOR VICTOR: He's sitting now in his own cottage door, a-wiping his weeping eyes.A-looking at his own dear son upon the scaffold high.My race is run beneath the sun. Low hell is now waiting for me.I did murder that pretty little miss whose name is Rose Connolly.____________________The burglar's or burgalar's wine is puzzling. A mishearing of burgundy?More likely, a burglar's wine is slang for drugged wine. In old days, travelers would stay at roadside inns at night. Crooked inn keepers would dope wine to give to them so that when they went to sleep it would be easy to steal their valuables. To "poison" someone did not necessarily mean to kill them.The blind fiddler Grayson is a country music legend. He was tragically killed on August 16, 1930, while riding on the running boards of a vehicle outside of Damascus, Virginia.Henry Whitter was born on April 6, 1892.He was a pioneer in what would eventually be called "hillbilly" and much later "country" music. The June 1924 issue of Talking Machine World actually calls it "Hill Country Music."Edison literature of early 1926 used the term "Mountaineer and Rural Ballads." Whitter had sessions within a year of Arkansas-born fiddler A. C. ("Eck") Robertson, who had cut in mid-1922 for the Victor Talking Machine Company such instrumental numbers as "Arkansaw Traveler," "Sallie Gooden," and "Done Gone" (on two early selections Robertson is joined by fiddler Henry C. Gilliland).Sales of Okeh records featuring Fiddlin' John Carson (the first singer in this genre), Whitter (the second singer), Ernest Thompson, and a few others made clear to the industry that a market existed for traditional music cut by rural musicians.Whitter was born in Virginia's Grayson County near the town of Fries (he worked in a cotton mill there) and lived in Cliffview during his years as a performer and later in Warrensville, North Carolina. He traveled in March 1923 to New York to visit the recording headquarters of the General Phonograph Corporation, maker of Okeh records. Tests made of Whitter in that year were shelved.Later in 1923 Fiddlin' John Carson enjoyed success with Okeh recordings (in Talking Machine World's September 1923 Advance Record Bulletins, Carson's Okeh 4890 was listed under "Novelty" records, the two other categories being "Dance" and "Vocal"--the term "hillbilly" was not yet used), and Whitter was invited to return to the New York studio to record again. His first Okeh disc featured "The Wreck on the Southern Old 97," recorded on December 12, 1923, and issued in early 1924 on Okeh 40015, with "Lonesome Road Blues" on its reverse side. Lyrics are about a Southern Railroad mail express train that derailed on September 27, 1903, on the outskirts of Danville, Virginia, killing several people. Whitter took credit for the lyrics and may have been inspired by a poem written by a young Charles W. Noell, who lived in 1903 near the site where the train wrecked, or by a set of lyrics written by Fred J. Lewey. On April 26, blind musician Ernest Thompson of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, followed in Whitter's footsteps by cutting "The Wreck of the Southern Old '97" (the preposition "on" was changed to "of," and an apostrophe was added before "97"), and his version on Columbia 130-D was advertised on page 17 of the June 1924 issue of the trade journal Talking Machine World.He died on November 10, 1941, of diabetes in a mental institution in Morganton, North Carolina.
Rose Of Mandalay Ipana Troubadours led by Sam Lanin (vocal by Bing Crosby) Columbia 1694-D (1928) Tim Gracyk 2024-10-18 | SOME LYRICS: Rose of Mandalay, though you're far away, every night I pray that we'll meet again some day. Ask the stars up above you if I'm thinking of you..."Rose Of Mandalay" Ipana Troubadours led by Sam Lanin (vocal by Bing Crosby) Columbia 1694-D December 28, 1928Song by Ted Koehler and Frank MagineSam Lanin was an American dance band leader who presided over many recording sessions in the 1920s. Few other musical directors were so active in studios. Lanin never played an instrument during sessions aside from drums in early years. Sometimes his name was cited on record labels--Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra, Lanin's Famous Players, Lanin's Red Heads, Lanin's Arcadians. Dozens of non-Lanin names were also used for studio groups he assembled. No one Lanin record was a huge hit, but he stands out for the quantity of records made under his supervision. Musicians who worked under him include Miff Mole, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Manny Klein, Jack Teagarden, Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, Eddie Lang, and Bunny Berigan. In the 1920s a bandleader such as Lanin would send telegrams to musicians a day before a session, instructing each musician to be at a certain studio at a certain time. Lanin would often coordinate sessions for three different locations--three studios, three labels--on one given day.Musicians for these "pick-up" groups showed up without knowing what new songs would be recorded at that session. Lanin was paid by a record company for sessions, and he in turn paid the musicians. Many hired by Lanin were also used during sessions supervised by Ben Selvin, Nathan Glantz, Adrian Schubert, and Lou Gold.Most of his sessions produced dance records featuring popular songs of the day that were given tasteful yet conservative arrangements. He was not an innovator but instead helped popularize musical trends begun by others. Lanin ensembles produced good jazz records though none are of extraordinary interest to a jazz historian.He was born on September 4, 1891, into a Jewish family headed by Benjamin and Mary Lanin. Sources differ on whether he was born before or after the parents emigrated from Russia to the United States. He was raised in Philadelphia, one of ten children.Younger brothers Jimmy, Howard, and Lester also became dance band directors. Born on July 15, 1897, Howard led dance orchestras in Philadelphia and made recordings beginning in 1923. He died in that city on April 26, 1991. As a society bandleader, Lester enjoyed success in the 1950s.When a child, Sam studied violin and later took up clarinet. By 1912 he played clarinet in Victor Herbert's Orchestra (one source states that he was a timpanist). He joined the Navy in World War I but remained in the States, serving the military as a skilled musician. He led a dance band in Philadelphia upon his return from military duty and by the end of 1918 played in New York City's new Roseland Ballroom on Times Square at Broadway and 51st Street. Roseland, called "The Home of Refined Dancing," was opposite Madison Square Garden (it was moved decades later to 52nd Street) and was the nation's most prestigious dance hall during the years that Lanin's dance orchestra along with various other dance bands was featured. His first record, featuring two numbers cut for the Columbia Graphophone Company on April 28, 1920, was credited to Lanin's Roseland Orchestra. By mid-1921 he began an association with the Starr Piano Company, often leading a dance ensemble called Lanin's Famous Players on the company's Gennett label. At least for some sessions he may have provided direction for a smaller group of skilled jazz musicians identified as Bailey's Lucky Seven on some Gennett records, Ladd's Black Aces on others. (The names are misleading since there was no "Bailey" and the groups recording under this name did not always have seven musicians.) Lanin's Southern Serenaders was another name for a small group that played jazz. Musicians in Lanin groups constantly changed though trumpeter Phil Napoleon (his real name was Filippo Napoli) was present at most sessions. Lanin led The Ipana Troubadors. Members wore distinctive uniforms though audiences listening to radios could not see the clothing. Direct advertising was not allowed on WEAF at this time, so using a sponsor's name for an orchestra's name was indirect advertising.Lanin's name is prominent on Ipana Troubadours discs: "S.C. Lanin--Director." The last Ipana Troubadours broadcast was in January 1931, according to Variety on January 14, 1931. Lanin continued to use the name for several months for concerts and Columbia sessions.Lanin retired early. He died on May 5, 1977, in Hollywood, Florida. His wife was named Sadye.
A Dark Road Is A Hard Road To Travel (1928) G. B. Grayson & Henry Whitter hillbilly Victor V-40063 Tim Gracyk 2024-10-18 | G. B. Grayson & Henry Whitter Victor V-40063 July 31, 1928The blind fiddler Grayson is a country music legend. He was tragically killed on August 16, 1930, while riding on the running boards of a vehicle outside of Damascus, Virginia.Henry Whitter was born on April 6, 1892.He was a pioneer in what would eventually be called "hillbilly" and much later "country" music. The June 1924 issue of Talking Machine World actually calls it "Hill Country Music."Edison literature of early 1926 used the term "Mountaineer and Rural Ballads." Whitter had sessions within a year of Arkansas-born fiddler A. C. ("Eck") Robertson, who had cut in mid-1922 for the Victor Talking Machine Company such instrumental numbers as "Arkansaw Traveler," "Sallie Gooden," and "Done Gone" (on two early selections Robertson is joined by fiddler Henry C. Gilliland).Sales of Okeh records featuring Fiddlin' John Carson (the first singer in this genre), Whitter (the second singer), Ernest Thompson, and a few others made clear to the industry that a market existed for traditional music cut by rural musicians.Whitter was born in Virginia's Grayson County near the town of Fries (he worked in a cotton mill there) and lived in Cliffview during his years as a performer and later in Warrensville, North Carolina. He traveled in March 1923 to New York to visit the recording headquarters of the General Phonograph Corporation, maker of Okeh records. Tests made of Whitter in that year were shelved.Later in 1923 Fiddlin' John Carson enjoyed success with Okeh recordings (in Talking Machine World's September 1923 Advance Record Bulletins, Carson's Okeh 4890 was listed under "Novelty" records, the two other categories being "Dance" and "Vocal"--the term "hillbilly" was not yet used), and Whitter was invited to return to the New York studio to record again. His first Okeh disc featured "The Wreck on the Southern Old 97," recorded on December 12, 1923, and issued in early 1924 on Okeh 40015, with "Lonesome Road Blues" on its reverse side. Lyrics are about a Southern Railroad mail express train that derailed on September 27, 1903, on the outskirts of Danville, Virginia, killing several people. Whitter took credit for the lyrics and may have been inspired by a poem written by a young Charles W. Noell, who lived in 1903 near the site where the train wrecked, or by a set of lyrics written by Fred J. Lewey. On April 26, blind musician Ernest Thompson of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, followed in Whitter's footsteps by cutting "The Wreck of the Southern Old '97" (the preposition "on" was changed to "of," and an apostrophe was added before "97"), and his version on Columbia 130-D was advertised on page 17 of the June 1924 issue of the trade journal Talking Machine World.Envying Whitter's success with "The Wreck of the Southern Old '97" and believing he could sing it better, Vernon Dalhart recorded it for Edison in May 1924 and for Victor in July. Learning the words from the Whitter disc (the Thompson and Reneau versions were not yet out), Dalhart misunderstood some phrases, which resulted in slightly different lyrics on his records. Around August 1925, Virginia musician Kelly Harrell (1889 - 1942) cut the song during a session in Asheville, North Carolina, and this record--Okeh 7010, one of a dozen twelve-inch discs in Okeh's 7000 series of 1925--provided two opening stanzas missing on the Whitter disc. The 40000 series was not "hillbilly" related but was instead a general series that followed Okeh's 4000 series--early records of Whitter were issued in the same series as those of dance bands and popular singers. Page 35 of the May 1925 issue of Talking Machine World reports, "Henry Whitter, exclusive Okeh artist, was a recent visitor to New York, where he was engaged in making several new records of 'Hill' country music. Mr. Whitter is a real specimen of the Hill country, coming from Galax, Va., and on his first few trips to New York could not be induced to stay over night, coming in to the city in the morning, making what recordings were necessary and leaving before midnight arrived."During a 1925 session in Atlanta he provided accompaniment for singer Roba Stanley (1910 - 1986), daughter of Georgia fiddler Rob Stanley. She was among the first female artists featured on country records (the first were banjoist Samantha Bumgarner and fiddler/singer/banjoist Eva Davis, a team that recorded for Columbia on April 22, 1924--Bumgarner had her own session on April 23) and was almost certainly the first teenager. He died on November 10, 1941, of diabetes in a mental institution in Morganton, North Carolina.
Kelly Harrell She Just Kept Kissing On Victor 40095 (February 19, 1929) hillbilly country classic Tim Gracyk 2024-10-18 | Kelly Harrell "She Just Kept Kissing On" Victor 40095 February 19, 1929 (his last recording session?)Kelly Harrell was born on September 13, 1889, in Draper's Valley, Wythe County, Virginia.In early 1925, he recorded four titles for Victor. In that year he also had an Okeh recording session.His first Victor discs sold well enough for the company to invite Kelly to record additional titles in 1926, 1927, and 1929 (for some reason he did not enter a recording studio in 1928).He did not play an instrument. Kelly Harrell always required backing by other musicians. That added to the expense of issuing new Harrell discs--studios did not offer him work during the hard times of the Depression.He died on July 9, 1942, due to a heart attack.
The Red And Green Signal Lights G. B. Grayson & Henry Whitter hillbilly on Victor V-40063 (1928) Tim Gracyk 2024-10-18 | "The Red And Green Signal Lights"G. B. Grayson & Henry Whitter on Victor V-40063 July 31, 1928The blind fiddler Grayson is a country music legend. He was tragically killed on August 16, 1930, while riding on the running boards of a vehicle outside of Damascus, Virginia.Henry Whitter was born on April 6, 1892.He was a pioneer in what would eventually be called "hillbilly" and much later "country" music. The June 1924 issue of Talking Machine World actually calls it "Hill Country Music."Edison literature of early 1926 used the term "Mountaineer and Rural Ballads." Whitter had sessions within a year of Arkansas-born fiddler A. C. ("Eck") Robertson, who had cut in mid-1922 for the Victor Talking Machine Company such instrumental numbers as "Arkansaw Traveler," "Sallie Gooden," and "Done Gone" (on two early selections Robertson is joined by fiddler Henry C. Gilliland).Sales of Okeh records featuring Fiddlin' John Carson (the first singer in this genre), Whitter (the second singer), Ernest Thompson, and a few others made clear to the industry that a market existed for traditional music cut by rural musicians.Whitter was born in Virginia's Grayson County near the town of Fries (he worked in a cotton mill there) and lived in Cliffview during his years as a performer and later in Warrensville, North Carolina. He traveled in March 1923 to New York to visit the recording headquarters of the General Phonograph Corporation, maker of Okeh records. Tests made of Whitter in that year were shelved.Later in 1923 Fiddlin' John Carson enjoyed success with Okeh recordings (in Talking Machine World's September 1923 Advance Record Bulletins, Carson's Okeh 4890 was listed under "Novelty" records, the two other categories being "Dance" and "Vocal"--the term "hillbilly" was not yet used), and Whitter was invited to return to the New York studio to record again. His first Okeh disc featured "The Wreck on the Southern Old 97," recorded on December 12, 1923, and issued in early 1924 on Okeh 40015, with "Lonesome Road Blues" on its reverse side. Lyrics are about a Southern Railroad mail express train that derailed on September 27, 1903, on the outskirts of Danville, Virginia, killing several people. Whitter took credit for the lyrics and may have been inspired by a poem written by a young Charles W. Noell, who lived in 1903 near the site where the train wrecked, or by a set of lyrics written by Fred J. Lewey. On April 26, blind musician Ernest Thompson of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, followed in Whitter's footsteps by cutting "The Wreck of the Southern Old '97" (the preposition "on" was changed to "of," and an apostrophe was added before "97"), and his version on Columbia 130-D was advertised on page 17 of the June 1924 issue of the trade journal Talking Machine World.Envying Whitter's success with "The Wreck of the Southern Old '97" and believing he could sing it better, Vernon Dalhart recorded it for Edison in May 1924 and for Victor in July. Learning the words from the Whitter disc (the Thompson and Reneau versions were not yet out), Dalhart misunderstood some phrases, which resulted in slightly different lyrics on his records. Around August 1925, Virginia musician Kelly Harrell (1889 - 1942) cut the song during a session in Asheville, North Carolina, and this record--Okeh 7010, one of a dozen twelve-inch discs in Okeh's 7000 series of 1925--provided two opening stanzas missing on the Whitter disc. The 40000 series was not "hillbilly" related but was instead a general series that followed Okeh's 4000 series--early records of Whitter were issued in the same series as those of dance bands and popular singers. Page 35 of the May 1925 issue of Talking Machine World reports, "Henry Whitter, exclusive Okeh artist, was a recent visitor to New York, where he was engaged in making several new records of 'Hill' country music. Mr. Whitter is a real specimen of the Hill country, coming from Galax, Va., and on his first few trips to New York could not be induced to stay over night, coming in to the city in the morning, making what recordings were necessary and leaving before midnight arrived."During a 1925 session in Atlanta he provided accompaniment for singer Roba Stanley (1910 - 1986), daughter of Georgia fiddler Rob Stanley. She was among the first female artists featured on country records (the first were banjoist Samantha Bumgarner and fiddler/singer/banjoist Eva Davis, a team that recorded for Columbia on April 22, 1924--Bumgarner had her own session on April 23) and was almost certainly the first teenager. He died on November 10, 1941,of diabetes in a mental institution in Morganton, North Carolina.
Ukrainska Orchestra Pawla Humeniuka Kozak Zawydija Tanec Ukrainian folk music (Ukraine) 78 rpm Tim Gracyk 2024-10-18 | Ukrainska Orchestra Pawla Humeniuka "Kozak Zawydija Tanec" Ukrainian folk music Ukraine78 rpm
Ukrainska Orchestra 78 rpm, Ukrainian folk music Ukraine, Duet na Harmoniach Szczaslywyj I Weselyj Tim Gracyk 2024-10-18 | Duet na Harmoniach"Szczaslywyj I Weselyj"Ukrainian folk music
“Coming Home From Coney Island” Victor (1906) Len Spencer & Ada Jones Coming Home From Coney Isle” Tim Gracyk 2024-10-17 | Vaudeville Sketch “Coming Home From Coney Island” 1906Len Spencer & Ada JonesColumbia Phonograph Company 32981This was also recorded for Victor in 1906.
“Coming Home From Coney Island” Columbia, 1906 Len Spencer & Ada Jones Coming Home From Coney Isle” Tim Gracyk 2024-10-17 | Vaudeville Sketch “Coming Home From Coney Island” 1906Len Spencer & Ada JonesColumbia Phonograph Company 32981This was also recorded for Victor in 1906.
Hoyt Slim Bryant Yum Yum Blues Crown 3418 (August 30, 1932) Jimmie Rodgers friend lived to 101 Tim Gracyk 2024-10-17 | Hoyt "Slim" Bryant sings "Yum Yum Blues" on Crown 3418.August 30, 1932Thomas Hoyt Bryant was born on December 7, 1908, in Atlanta, Georgia.He was a country music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and radio personality.He was the last surviving musician to have recorded with the legendary country singer Jimmie Rodgers, who died in 1933. In 1932, Rodgers was in a recording studio and picked Bryant's song "Mother, the Queen of My Heart" for a performance. Bryant accompanies on guitar.Slim Bryant lived to age 101. He died on May 28, 2010.Sound file was done by Cary Ginell
Billy Murray Bagdad from Lady Of The Slipper on Victor 17220 (1913) Victor Herbert song Tim Gracyk 2024-10-17 | Listen to Billy Murray sing "Bagdad"Song from "Lady Of The Slipper"Victor 172201913Music by Victor Herbert
Victor Light Opera Company = Gems From Lady Of The Slipper Victor 31877 Victor Herbert songs 1913 Tim Gracyk 2024-10-17 | Listen to Billy Murray sing "Bagdad" in the middle of the recording.Victor Light Opera CompanyGems From "Lady Of The Slipper"Victor 318771913Music by Victor Herbert1) Games Of Halloween2) Like A Real, Real Man3) Bagdad4) A Little Girl At Home5) Princess Of Far Away6) Beautiful Bal Masque
Yuffodas Brothers Throw Him Out Kem Records 45-2715, song written by Hy Heath and Johnny Lange Tim Gracyk 2024-10-17 | Yuffodas Brothers "Throw Him Out" Kem Records 45-2715Song written by Hy Heath and Johnny LangeHy Heath and Johnny Lange was a song-writing team responsible for several big hits, including "Clancy Lowered the Boom"
Frank Wheeler and Monroe Lamb A Jolly Group of Cowboys (October 17, 1929) Dallas Texas cowboy song Tim Gracyk 2024-10-17 | Frank Wheeler and Monroe Lamb "A Jolly Group of Cowboys" 1929Frank Wheeler and Monroe Lamb worked only as a duo, with neither man making solo recordings.They recorded a dozen songs, having two record sessions, both for Victor (one in 1929, the other in 1930).They worked together as songwriters starting in 1926, writing for Vernon Dalhart and others."A Jolly Group Of Cowboys" was not written by the duo (instead, credit goes to Dominick John O'Malley), but the duo is responsible for the arrangement.The performance was released on a Victor hillbilly label in 1929 and issued again later on Victor's Montgomery Ward label.
Body And Soul = Joe Yukl trombone Yukl’s Wabash Five = hot dixieland revival jazz Eddie Skrivanek Tim Gracyk 2024-10-17 | Recorded in Los AngelesOctober 27, 1945Yukl’s Wabash Five"Body and Soul"Pate Legare, George Thow, Joe Yukl, Eddie Skrivanek, Stanley Wrightsman, Fred Whiting, & Graham StevesonBass – Fred Whiting Clarinet – Pate LegareCornet – George ThowDrums – Graham StevensonGuitar – Eddie SkrivanekPiano – Stanley WrightsmanTrombone – Joe Yukl
The Jolly Coppersmith or Kreuzfidele Kupferschmied Edison Military Band (1902) cylinder = march Tim Gracyk 2024-10-16 | "The Jolly Coppersmith" or "Kreuzfidele Kupferschmied" Edison Military Band 1902Edison Gold Moulded Record 8139German marchMusic credited to C. Peter (pseudonym for Heinrich Mannfred)After the tune became popular, someone added these comic words:I am the Jolly Coppersmith. No one from care is free-erSo long as I have cash to treat myself to beer.I am the happiest man on earth and sing both loud and longWhile each stroke of my hammer keeps time to my jovial song.
The Jolly Coppersmith Columbia Orchestra 78 German March composed by C. Peter (Heinrich Mannfred) Tim Gracyk 2024-10-16 | "The Jolly Coppersmith" or "Kreuzfidele Kupferschmied" or Den Lustige KopparslagarnColumbia OrchestraGerman March composed by C. Peter (pseudonym for Heinrich Mannfred)After the tune became popular, someone added comic words:I am the Jolly Coppersmith. No one from care is free-erSo long as I have cash to treat myself to beer.I am the happiest man on earth and sing both loud and longWhile each stroke of my hammer keeps time to my jovial song.
Jolly Coburn and His Orchestra The Cradle And The Music Box = Alfred Opler song 1935 Tim Gracyk 2024-10-16 | Jolly Coburn and His Orchestra plays "The Cradle And The Music Box"Song by Alfred OplerIssued on RCA Victor 24842Recorded on Jan. 2, 1935Vocals by Roy Campbell's Swanee SingersJolly Coburn, who attended Annapolis, was a fine trumpeter. He was the first bandleader to play New York City's Rainbow Room. Musicians who worked closely with Jolly Coburn include saxophonist-vocalist Harold Van Emburgh and violinist Sam Hoffman (this latter also played the theremin).Sound file was done by Jeremy PassarelliJolly Coburn and His Orchestra "The Cradle And The Music Box" (1935) Roy Campbell's Swanee Singers
(Trouble Ends) Out Where The Blue Begins Jolly Coburn and His Orchestra on Victor 25396 (1936) Tim Gracyk 2024-10-16 | Trouble ends out where the blue begins Out where the sun welcomes the day with a smile You meet friends out where the blue beginsWhen day is done, you've lived a life worthwhile Give me a home on the range at eventideThe desert stars, the rippling stream, and let me be I've found love blessed by the western windsIt's heaven for two out where the blue begins"(Trouble Ends) Out Where The Blue Begins" is played by Jolly Coburn and His Orchestra on Victor 25396 (August 21, 1936)Vocalist is Harold Richards (Harold Van Emburgh)Jolly Coburn, who attended Annapolis, was a fine trumpeter. He was the first bandleader to play New York City's Rainbow Room. Musicians who worked closely with Jolly Coburn include saxophonist-vocalist Harold Van Emburgh and violinist Sam Hoffman (this latter also played the theremin).Sound file was done by Jeremy Passarelli
Dorothy Kirsten April In Paris classic song by Vernon Duke and E. Y. Harburg Tim Gracyk 2024-10-16 | Dorothy Kirsten"April In Paris"Song by Vernon Duke and E. Y. Harburg
Benny Strong & His Orchestra My Best Girl = he was called the young man who sings the old songs Tim Gracyk 2024-10-15 | Benny Strong & His Orchestra "My Best Girl"In the years after Word War II--that is, in the late Swing years--Benny Strong made a career of performing songs that were popular a generation earlier (mostly hits from the 1920s though there are exceptions).He was called "the young man who sings the old songs."
Jolly Coburn and His Orchestra Tiny Little Fingerprints (1935) Big Band Swing Era sound Tim Gracyk 2024-10-15 | "Tiny Little Fingerprints" is played by Jolly Coburn and His Orchestra.1935Victor 24842 Lyrics by Charlie Tobias and Charles Newman. Music by Sam H. Stept. Jolly Coburn, who attended Annapolis, was a fine trumpeter. He was the first bandleader to play New York City's Rainbow Room. Musicians who worked closely with Jolly Coburn include saxophonist-vocalist Harold Van Emburgh and violinist Sam Hoffman (this latter also played the theremin).Sound file was done by Jeremy Passarelli
Dont You Know Or Dont You Care? Jolly Coburn & His Orchestra = Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain song Tim Gracyk 2024-10-15 | "Don't You Know Or Don't You Care?" Jolly Coburn and His OrchestraSong by Irving Kahal and Sammy FainJolly Coburn, who attended Annapolis, was a fine trumpeter. He was the first bandleader to play New York City's Rainbow Room. Musicians who worked closely with Jolly Coburn include saxophonist-vocalist Harold Van Emburgh and violinist Sam Hoffman (this latter also played the theremin).Sound file was done by Jeremy Passarelli.
Arthur Collins & Byron G. Harlan The Village Maid Max Hoffmann song, The Rogers Brothers in Paris Tim Gracyk 2024-10-15 | Arthur Collins & Byron G. Harlan "The Village Maid" Max Hoffmann song featured in the show titled The Rogers Brothers in ParisThe team of Collins and Harlan was the most successful duo of the acoustic era. Before teaming with tenor Byron G. Harlan, baritone Arthur Collins had a partner in tenor Joe Natus for a year. Collins and Natus made 19 Edison cylinders in 1901-1902 and several Victor recordings. Around this time Collins sang in an Edison ensemble called the Big Four Quartet, which recorded five titles issued in 1901. Harlan was one of the quartet's tenors; Natus was the other; A. D. Madeira was bass. Collins and Harlan probably harmonized for the first time as members of this Edison quartet. By 1903 Natus no longer worked for Edison. The June 1903 Edison Phonograph Monthly announces that "I Must Have a Been a Dreamin'" (Standard 7850), sung by Arthur Collins and Joe Natus, would be "hereafter...sung by Collins and Harlan." Collins and Harlan made new takes of various titles originally cut for Edison by Collins and Natus.The first time Arthur Collins was paired with Byron G. Harlan for a Victor session was on October 31, 1902 (Harlan's first Victor session). They were again paired a day later, on November 1. They cut five titles on October 31, including "The First Rehearsal of the Huskin' Bee" (1723), a rube skit. Many of their early recordings are "rube" sketches with songs, such as "Closing Time in a Country Grocery" (Victor 1728; Burke & Rous cylinder 236) and "Two Rubes in a Tavern" (Victor 1727; B & R 239), and they continued recording rural comedy for years, Harlan performing it into the 1920s. Harlan recorded these same three titles with Frank C. Stanley, who wrote the sketches.Collins and Harlan's first Edison cylinders were "Down Where the Wurzburger Flows" (8238) and "Troubles of the Reuben and the Maid" (8239), issued in late 1902 (they cut the latter for Columbia seven-inch 944 and ten-inch 944). They recorded many "rube" skits for Edison. The duo made cylinders for the Lambert Company, with "Jerry Murphy Is A Friend of Mine" issued around 1903 on blue Lambert 935.A Victor session on March 3, 1903, is noteworthy since Collins cut duets with Natus, then recorded numbers with Harlan. It was the last session for the team of Collins and Natus. Natus made Victor discs for another two years but only solo recordings, mostly of popular ballads. His last Victor session was on April 28, 1905.Walsh reports in the December 1968 issue of Hobbies that the duo sang "what may have been the last Victor Monarch record to have a spoken announcement...It was 2451, and the title was 'It Was The Dutch.'" This Theodore Morse song was recorded on September 11, 1903, with Collins doing the announcement. The next four numbers, 2452 through 2455, were Billy Murray's first Victor discs and are unannounced.Another change in the industry in 1903 was a shift from piano to orchestral accompaniment. The January 1904 issue of Edison Phonograph Monthly, announcing the release of "I Ain't Got No Time" on 8621, states, "This Record is also made with orchestra accompaniment, and with No. 8608 ["Barney," another Collins and Harlan duet] are the first Records ever made at the Edison Laboratory with such accompaniment." An example of a brown wax cylinder with orchestra accompaniment made nearly three years earlier is 7664, which opens with this spoken announcement: "Coleville Coon Cadets by Arthur Collins with orchestra accompaniment, Edison record." The fact that "orchestra accompaniment" is stressed in the announcement indicates it was exceptional for 1901.In 1903 Collins and Harlan recorded "Hurrah for Baffin Bay," issued as twelve-inch Victor Deluxe 31074 and Edison cylinder 8447. Collins and Harlan would thereafter make many ten-inch Victor discs.Jim Walsh suggests in the book titled Edison Blue Amberol Recordings 1915-1929 (Brooklyn, NY: APM Press, 1981) that Collins viewed his own contribution as more important to the duo's success than Harlan's. Billy Murray said to Walsh, "Do you know that after Collins and Harlan had worked together for years and years, poor Harlan found out that Collins was trying to double-cross him by going to managers of the different recording sessions and insisting that, instead of the fees for making duets being divided equally between them, he should get two dollars to Harlan's one?"Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan "The Village Maid" (1904) song by Max Hoffmann
S. H. Dudley Dear Little Girly Girly Berliner 01030 (February 1900) George M. Cohan song Tim Gracyk 2024-10-15 | S. H. Dudley sings "Dear Little Girly Girly" on Berliner 01030.The song is by George M. Cohan.S. H. Dudley, born on January 15, 1864, may have been the most popular baritone to record at the turn of the century. His output by 1900 exceeded that of baritone J. W. Myers. S. H. Dudley was in the right place at the right time in that his voice suited the crude recording devices of the time better than most. As a featured solo artist he was in studios regularly from 1898 to 1904, after which there is a noticeable drop-off. In a letter to Jim Walsh quoted in the May 1946 issue of Hobbies, Dudley even calls himself the Bing Crosby of 1900, stating that "more records were sold of Dudley, Kernell, duets, quartets, than of any other singer of the time." Dudley adds, "Too bad the days of royalties had not arrived!" The Bing Crosby analogy is misleading since Dudley records did not dramatically outsell those of Arthur Collins, Harry Macdonough, and a handful of other pioneers.He was born Samuel Holland Rous in Greencastle, Indiana. His father was a professor at Asbury College and then a superintendent of county schools, a position that required constant moving. Rous wrote to Walsh in a letter transcribed in the May 1946 issue of Hobbies, "I never even went through high school, but was forced to get a job at 13 when my father lost his hearing and could no longer teach. Then I jumped into opera without ever having a single voice lesson!" The singer adopted the name S. H. Dudley as a stage name early in his career, and this is the name used for most of his Berliner, Victor, and Edison records. Some cylinders from 1898 and early 1899 give the name S. Holland Dudley, including Excelsior cylinders--the three principal Excelsior artists in 1898 were Dudley, Roger Harding, and William F. Hooley. From mid-1899 onward the shorter "S. H. Dudley" was used on records. On a few Victor discs, he is identified as Frank Kernell, such as on "The Whistling Coon" (1982). When making duets with bird imitator Joe Belmont, he also used the name Kernell. His real name, Samuel Holland Rous, appears as the byline for some editions of The Victor Book of the Opera.He spent some early years of his career singing opera with touring companies, including the Boston Ideal Opera Company. Walsh states in the October 1962 issue of Hobbies that the Edison Quartet (or Edison Male Quartette) was organized "about 1894 to make soft brown wax cylinders. Original members were Roger Harding, J. K. Reynard, S. H. Dudley, and William F. Hooley." An 1896 Edison Quartet photograph once owned by John Bieling and duplicated in the September 1979 issue of Hobbies includes Dudley. He became important as baritone for the Edison Quartet and Haydn Quartet. Dudley's signature is etched in several Berliner discs of the Haydn Quartet, and he added the word "manager" after his name (an example is 021, "Nearer My God To Thee," recorded on March 23, 1899). He recalled in the 1931 letter that in the earliest days at the studio he sang "simple old-fashioned stuff--Old Oaken Buckett [sic]; Hail, Jerusalem--but the singing position was decidedly cramping, as the crude methods of recording made it necessary for us to bump our heads close together." Soon he made his first solo record for Edison, recalling for Walsh that it was "The Chili Widow."The earliest known discs to feature Dudley as a solo artist are Berliners from 1898, perhaps the first being "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" (157), cut on June 10, 1898Despite his earlier experience singing opera, Dudley was valued in studios for singing popular tunes of the day, including patriotic, marching, and "coon" songs. The opera background turned invaluable when Dudley later compiled The Victor Book of the Opera He continued working on The Victor Book of the Opera until around the mid-1930s. Even after he stopped working on editions, many of his summaries continued intact in late editions although his name is nowhere mentioned. Conductor and author Charles O'Connell revised the ninth edition so that photographs of new Victor Red Seal artists replaced old illustrations. Also, additional operas were included and a few new summaries supplanted the old.He died on June 6, 1947.
S. H. Dudley Military Mollie Military Molly (1899) George J. Gaskin, J. W. Myers, Will F. Denny Tim Gracyk 2024-10-15 | S. H. Dudley, born on January 15, 1864, may have been the most popular baritone to record at the turn of the century. His output by 1900 exceeded that of baritone J. W. Myers. S. H. Dudley was in the right place at the right time in that his voice suited the crude recording devices of the time better than most. As a featured solo artist he was in studios regularly from 1898 to 1904, after which there is a noticeable drop-off. In a letter to Jim Walsh quoted in the May 1946 issue of Hobbies, Dudley even calls himself the Bing Crosby of 1900, stating that "more records were sold of Dudley, Kernell, duets, quartets, than of any other singer of the time." Dudley adds, "Too bad the days of royalties had not arrived!" The Bing Crosby analogy is misleading since Dudley records did not dramatically outsell those of Arthur Collins, Harry Macdonough, and a handful of other pioneers.He was born Samuel Holland Rous in Greencastle, Indiana. His father was a professor at Asbury College and then a superintendent of county schools, a position that required constant moving. Rous wrote to Walsh in a letter transcribed in the May 1946 issue of Hobbies, "I never even went through high school, but was forced to get a job at 13 when my father lost his hearing and could no longer teach. Then I jumped into opera without ever having a single voice lesson!" The singer adopted the name S. H. Dudley as a stage name early in his career, and this is the name used for most of his Berliner, Victor, and Edison records. Some cylinders from 1898 and early 1899 give the name S. Holland Dudley, including Excelsior cylinders--the three principal Excelsior artists in 1898 were Dudley, Roger Harding, and William F. Hooley. From mid-1899 onward the shorter "S. H. Dudley" was used on records. On a few Victor discs, he is identified as Frank Kernell, such as on "The Whistling Coon" (1982). When making duets with bird imitator Joe Belmont, he also used the name Kernell. His real name, Samuel Holland Rous, appears as the byline for some editions of The Victor Book of the Opera.He spent some early years of his career singing opera with touring companies, including the Boston Ideal Opera Company. Walsh states in the October 1962 issue of Hobbies that the Edison Quartet (or Edison Male Quartette) was organized "about 1894 to make soft brown wax cylinders. Original members were Roger Harding, J. K. Reynard, S. H. Dudley, and William F. Hooley." An 1896 Edison Quartet photograph once owned by John Bieling and duplicated in the September 1979 issue of Hobbies includes Dudley. He became important as baritone for the Edison Quartet and Haydn Quartet. Dudley's signature is etched in several Berliner discs of the Haydn Quartet, and he added the word "manager" after his name (an example is 021, "Nearer My God To Thee," recorded on March 23, 1899). He recalled in the 1931 letter that in the earliest days at the studio he sang "simple old-fashioned stuff--Old Oaken Buckett [sic]; Hail, Jerusalem--but the singing position was decidedly cramping, as the crude methods of recording made it necessary for us to bump our heads close together." Soon he made his first solo record for Edison, recalling for Walsh that it was "The Chili Widow."The earliest known discs to feature Dudley as a solo artist are Berliners from 1898, perhaps the first being "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" (157), cut on June 10, 1898Despite his earlier experience singing opera, Dudley was valued in studios for singing popular tunes of the day, including patriotic, marching, and "coon" songs. The opera background turned invaluable when Dudley later compiled The Victor Book of the Opera He continued working on The Victor Book of the Opera until around the mid-1930s. Even after he stopped working on editions, many of his summaries continued intact in late editions although his name is nowhere mentioned. Conductor and author Charles O'Connell revised the ninth edition so that photographs of new Victor Red Seal artists replaced old illustrations. Also, additional operas were included and a few new summaries supplanted the old.He died on June 6, 1947.
Dont You Tell Harry Macdonough & Elise Stevenson (1906) The Time, The Place and the Girl song Tim Gracyk 2024-10-14 | "Don't You Tell"Harry Macdonough & Elise Stevenson1906Victor 4940Joseph E. Howard song featured in The Time, The Place and the Girl
Goodbye, Everybody Walter Van Brunt on Victor 17136 (1912) song from A Modern Eve Tim Gracyk 2024-10-14 | "Goodbye, Everybody"Walter Van BruntVictor 171361912Song from A Modern Eve
Helen Clark & Charles Hart Wandering Home on Victor 18731 (1921) L. Clair Case and Leonard Stevens Tim Gracyk 2024-10-14 | Helen Clark & Charles Hart"Wandering Home"Victor 187311921Song by L. Clair Case and Leonard Stevens
Tomatie Sauce The African Swingsters (leader of ensemble is Ellison Temba) 78 rpm from Africa Tim Gracyk 2024-10-14 | "Tomatie Sauce" The African SwingstersThe leader of the ensemble is Ellison "Temba"
Joe Venuti and His Blue Six Jazz Me Blues Benny Goodman (1933) Tom Delaney song dixieland hot jazz Tim Gracyk 2024-10-13 | Joe Venuti and His Blue Six "Jazz Me Blues"Decca 181681933Benny Goodman (clarinet)Bud Freeman (tenor saxophone)Adrian Rollini (bass saxophone)Joe Venuti (violin)Joe Sullivan (piano)Dick McDonough (guitar)Neil Marshall (drums)
Benny Goodman & His Orchestra Remember Irving Berlin song (Fletcher Henderson arrangement) 1936 Tim Gracyk 2024-10-12 | Benny Goodman & His Orchestra "Remember"Fletcher Henderson arrangementRecorded in Chicago Recorded on April 23, 1936--that is one day before the first Goodman trio sides with Helen Ward as vocalist. BG,cl-ldr; Nate Kazebier,Harry Geller, PeeWee Erwin,t; Red Ballard,Joe Harris,trb; Hymie Schertzer,Bill DePew,as; Dick Clark,Art Rollini,ts; Jess Stacy,p; Allen Reuss,g; Harry Goodman,sb; Gene Krupa,d
Cal Stewart Uncle Josh On A Bicycle Victor 16068 (1907) Uncle Josh Weathersby, Pumpkin Center Tim Gracyk 2024-10-12 | Cal Stewart lived from 1856 to 1919.He was famous for monologues in which he spoke as Uncle Josh Weathersby, resident of the imaginary New England village Pumpkin Center, sometimes spelled Punkin Center, others times Pun'kin. The state is unidentified but Punkin Center is probably in New Hampshire since Concord and Manchester are pig markets for Punkin Center farmers.Pumpkin Center was also home to the fictitious characters Jim Lawson, Ezra Hoskins, Deacon Witherspoon, Ruben Hendricks, Lige Willet, Hiram Wood, Hank Weaver, Silas ("Si") Pettingill, town marshall Rube Perkins, and a "widderwoman" called Aunt Nancy Smith.The nearest town to Pumkin Center is Hickory Corners.Uncle Josh's most distinctive mannerism is a laugh given after he speaks a few lines. Most monologues open with, "Well, sir..." and hereafter many sentences begin, "Well,..." (pronunciation is "Wall,..."). In the late 1890s Stewart's recordings were characterized as "Yankee dialect stories" and "laughing stories." Jim Walsh writes that Calvin Edward Stewart "was born in 1856 on a worn-out farm near Charlotte Court House, Virginia" and notes the irony of a Virginia native impersonating a New England character.Stewart was an understudy for Denman Thompson (1833-1910), who played Uncle Josh Whitcomb in The Old Homestead, which opened in Boston in 1886. The Boston Theatre program for April 5, 1886, announced that The Old Homestead, written by Thompson and George W. Ryer, was a sequel to the play Joshua Whitcomb. That play, which opened in 1876, was supposedly based on a real person, Joshua Holbrook, of Swansea, New Hampshire. Thompson never duplicated the success of this one, and he was in productions of The Old Homestead for decades. The play--with characters named Cy and Reuben, among others--inspired a vogue towards the end of the nineteenth century for plays that celebrated rural America. Uncle Josh Whitcomb was the model for Stewart's Uncle Josh Weathersby.Stewart was around 40 by the time he began recording in 1897. During his long recording career, he cut around 120 Uncle Josh songs and skits for various companies. His earliest recording may be "A Talk By Happy Cal Stewart, the Yankee Comedian" (690), cut in New York City on July 9, 1897. He made 20 Berliner discs.He made brown wax Edison cylinders in 1897, with "Uncle Josh's Arrival in New York" (3875) having the lowest catalog number. He also made brown wax Columbia cylinders.The January 1899 issue of The Phonoscope described how Stewart promoted his Uncle Josh character: "'Uncle Josh Weathersby' (Cal Stewart) is certainly to be congratulated for the manner in which he is introducing himself to the public. He has spared no expense in getting up his printed matter. His latest venture is a card 11 X 14 inches upon which is an elegant half-tone of himself in Yankee costume, as he appears before an audience, together with a half-tone bust picture, which is a very true likeness. This work is from the press of Imandt Bros."At first Uncle Josh's wife, Nancy, was played by Stewart's own wife. Labels give credit to "Mr. and Mrs. Cal Stewart." Later, Ada Jones was Aunt Nancy. Stewart's "Fire Department," issued in February 1902 as Edison Standard 8003, was perhaps the first commercially available gold-moulded black wax Edison cylinder (no new titles were issued on Edison brown wax cylinders after January 1902--the first black wax moulded cylinders did not have the white titles on the rim, which were added in 1904). For a long time it was the only gold-moulded cylinder by Stewart, who would not record again for Edison for a few years. He made Victor recordings as late as October 20, 1903, and then was exclusive to Columbia for a few years. The 1910 census shows Stewart residing on West 95th Street in New York City. In 1916 Stewart and his violin-playing wife, Rossini, lived on Daniels Street in her hometown of Tipton, Indiana. The couple performed on vaudeville stages. Rossini Waugh Stewart died in New York City on November 25, 1943. The couple had no children.His last session may have been for Columbia on September 9, 1919, or for Emerson. At a Victor session for "Train Time at Punkin Center," Stewart suffered what seemed to be a seizure. Prior to that attack he recorded "Uncle Josh Buys a Victrola," issued posthumously in February 1921.In early October 1919 Stewart fell ill while traveling to his home in Indiana after a tour.On October 14 he was taken to Chicago's American Hospital and on November 4 was transferred to Cook County Hospital, where he died on December 7. His cremated remains were buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Tipton, Indiana.
J. W. Myers Bell Buoy on North American Phonograph Co. brown wax cylinder LYRICS HERE Tim Gracyk 2024-10-12 | Carl Rankin song from 1888Forever deserted, my lone vigil keeping,I'm chained to the rocks like a captive alone.The waves, my tormentors, to keep me from sleeping,I sound the alarm amidst the dark storm.Tolling my warning from morning till morning,And oft making happy poor souls in despairWhen hearing destruction in tones loud and clear.The boom of the bell-buoy bids them beware.Here is a North American Phonograph Company brown wax cylinder from the early 1890s. The sound is clearer and more impressive than what we hear on most surviving cylinders of the 1890s--and this cylinder is very early!Cylinders of the 1890s tend to sound better than discs of the era (I refer to Emile Berliner's products), and Edison cylinders tend to sound better than other cylinders, including Columbia's, if condition is about the same.John W. Myers, usually identified on records as J. W. Myers, was arguably the leading baritone balladeer in the first decade of commercial recordings, working regularly from the early 1890s to 1904 or so, after which a drop in his output is dramatic. He was born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1857. His real name was John Wheeler.He immigrated to America before he was a teenager and worked at various jobs.As a young man, he joined minstrel companies and worked in vaudeville. He eventually became a theatrical manager in New York. He was nearly middle-aged when his recording career began in 1892 or so. The recording industry suffered a blow by the mid-1890s, so he was not recording on a regular basis until the late 1890s. By 1898 his name was often cited in the trade journal The Phonoscope.The May 10, 1901, catalog of Zon-o-phone discs issued by the National Gramophone Corporation lists seven titles sung by Myers.He cut over 100 titles in the early days of the Victor Talking Machine Company, beginning on February 20, 1901, with performances issued on seven-inch discs. Sessions in October 1902 would be his last for Victor for a few years. For Edison he cut a couple dozen titles, most of them in 1901, beginning with "Light of the Sea" (7820). He was a versatile artist, covering sentimental standards ("We'll Be Sweethearts to the End," 9498), bass-baritone classics ("Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," 7840), and comic numbers. After "The Bridge" (8010) was released in 1902, he stopped making Edison records for a few years, finally returning with "Night Time" (9470), issued in February 1907. Announcing its release, the December 1906 issue of Edison Phonograph Monthly states, "Mr. Myers was always a favorite among admirers of the Edison Phonograph and Edison Records, and his re-enlistment in the Edison corps of artists will be pleasing news to them."By this time Myers recorded mainly sentimental numbers and songs of a previous generation. The February 1907 issue of Edison Phonograph Monthly, announcing the April release of Standard 9524, states, "'The Bowery Grenadiers,' by J.W. Myers, is a revival of an old song that will awaken more than ordinary interest. It will recall by-gone days, when the late John W. Kelly entertained thousands with it. Thirty or more years ago it was one of the most popular songs of the day."His final Edison recording was "Land League Band" (9576), issued in June 1907. The April 1907 issue of Edison Phonograph Monthly calls this "a lively old march song popular a generation ago." Myers was issued only on two-minute wax cylinders, his career with Edison being over by the time four-minute wax Amberols were introduced in 1908.He was popular abroad. The February 15, 1906, issue of the Talking Machine News, published in London, noted, "The newsboys of London and New York whistle the same tunes, whether they are 'Navajo,' 'My Irish Molly O,' 'Bedelia' or 'In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree,' because the talker has made them known on both sides of the ocean....If George Alexander or Henry Burr or J.W. Myers were to advertise a concert in the Albert Hall next month, nine-tenths of their audience would be talking machine users."In late 1905 he cut titles for Leeds & Catlin, which issued Myer performances on over a dozen Imperial discs, beginning with "Somebody's Sweetheart I Want to Be" (44637) in January 1906 (Imperial discs sold for sixty cents). Edison and Victor issued Myers recordings until 1907. His singing style was losing its appeal, and recording activity again dropped off. Major H. H. Annand reports in a list of U-S Everlasting cylinders that Myers was among those who in 1908 started the U-S Phonograph Company of Cleveland, Ohio. If true, it is curious that Myers did not make U-S Everlasting cylinders.He resurfaced as a Columbia, Rex, and Emerson artist. One late Columbia title is "Along the Yukon Trail" (A1614), issued in 1914. The singer died on March 2, 1919, in New York City.
The Village Blacksmith Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Under a spreading chestnut-tree the village Tim Gracyk 2024-10-12 | Under a spreading chestnut-treeThe village smithy stands;The smith, a mighty man is he,With large and sinewy hands;And the muscles of his brawny armsAre strong as iron bands. His hair is crisp, and black, and long,His face is like the tan;His brow is wet with honest sweat,He earns whate'er he can,And looks the whole world in the face,For he owes not any man. Week in, week out, from morn till night,You can hear his bellows blow;You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,With measured beat and slow,Like a sexton ringing the village bell,When the evening sun is low. And children coming home from schoolLook in at the open door;They love to see the flaming forge,And hear the bellows roar,And catch the burning sparks that flyLike chaff from a threshing-floor. He goes on Sunday to the church,And sits among his boys;He hears the parson pray and preach,He hears his daughter's voice,Singing in the village choir,And it makes his heart rejoice. It sounds to him like her mother's voice,Singing in Paradise!He needs must think of her once more,How in the grave she lies;And with his hard, rough hand he wipesA tear out of his eyes. Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,Onward through life he goes;Each morning sees some task begin,Each evening sees it closeSomething attempted, something done,Has earned a night's repose. Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,For the lesson thou hast taught!Thus at the flaming forge of lifeOur fortunes must be wrought;Thus on its sounding anvil shapedEach burning deed and thought."The Village Blacksmith" was first published in 1840. This blacksmith is a role model since he balances his honest job with the role he plays with his family and wider community. "The Village Blacksmith" poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Elvis Presley I Forgot To Remember To Forget Sun 223 (1955) Stan Kesler & Charlie Feathers song Tim Gracyk 2024-10-12 | Elvis Presley sings "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" on Sun 223, recorded on July 11, 1955, and released on August 20, 1955.The song is by Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers.We hear Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and Johnny Bernero (on drums).The reverse side of the record is "Mystery Train" (Sun 223).I'm going to be honest here: I prefer most of the OTHER "Sun" recordings done by Elvis at this time. This is not Elvis at his best.I forgot to remember to forget her,I can't seem to get her off my mind.I thought I'd never miss her,But I found out somehowI think about her almost all the time.The day she went awayI made myself a promiseThat I'd soon forget we ever met.But something sure is wrong,'Cause I'm so blue and lonely.I forgot to remember to forget.The day she went awayI made myself a promiseThat I'd soon forget we ever met,Well, but something sure is wrong,'Cause I'm so blue and lonely.I forgot to remember to forget.Elvis Presley "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" Sun 223 (1955) Stan Kesler & Charlie Feathers song
Remember Christina Rossetti sonnet poem Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away ... Tim Gracyk 2024-10-12 | RememberBy Christina RossettiRemember me when I am gone away,Gone far away into the silent land;When you can no more hold me by the hand,Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.Remember me when no more day by dayYou tell me of our future that you plann'd:Only remember me; you understandIt will be late to counsel then or pray.Yet if you should forget me for a whileAnd afterwards remember, do not grieve:For if the darkness and corruption leaveA vestige of the thoughts that once I had,Better by far you should forget and smileThan that you should remember and be sad.This "Italian sonnet" in iambic pentameter has an opening octave and a sestet (14 lines total, 10 syllables per line).The opening octave (8 lines) introduces an idea about death that is explored from a different angle in the final sestet (6 lines). The mood here is somber, solemn--but never morbid.The poem's speaker, who faces death, expresses a wish to be remembered by the lover left behind.Many sonnets treat love as a topic, but this sonnet has a twist due to a death motif. "Yet" is a contrast coordinator, conveying a shift in tone as it opens the sestet. The speaker gives the audience/lover/listener/living permission to forget her if remembrance is too sad.
Lucrezia Bori Simonetta 1925 early electric 78 rpm Edward White & Hugo Rumbold song, Orthophonic Tim Gracyk 2024-10-12 | "Simonetta"Lucrezia BoriVictor 11621925Words by Edward WhiteMusic by Hugo Rumbold
Milonguita (My Little Troubadour) Lucrezia Bori on Victor 1033 (1924) Enrique Delfino Lucien Boyer Tim Gracyk 2024-10-11 | "Milonguita (My Little Troubadour)" Lucrezia BoriVictor 10331924Song by Enrique Delfino & Lucien BoyerTango
Chickie (Der lustige Posaunist) Josef Hadraba mit Klavierbegleitung (1930) trombone Ernst Holzer Tim Gracyk 2024-10-11 | Josef Hadraba was trombone player in Ernst Holzer's Orchestra. We are hearing his only known solo recording."Chickie (Der lustige Posaunist)"Josef Hadraba mit Klavierbegleitung 1930Josef Hadraba (1901-1991), from Austria, played bass & trombone
Louis J. Winsch as Roy Randall sings Its Not Your Nationality on a Pathe disc from around 1918 Tim Gracyk 2024-10-11 | Louis J. Winsch as "Roy Randall" sings "It's Not Your Nationality" on a Pathe disc from around 1918.Everybody has a native land in the north, south, east, or west.And it's only right--your native landshould be the place you love the best.Now it makes no difference what you are.Don't wait for fame to come. Just go and get it, and they'll give you creditno matter where you're from.It's not your nationality. It's what you do. It's not your personality that always pulls you through.Bismark make his mark in Germany, we know.And Georgie Cohan was a Yankee in the growin'but he made a bunch of dough.Just think of Rockefeller and what he can buy. He started from the cellar, but he climbed away up high.So if you've got the spirit, nevermind your name.Folks will hear it if you play the game.It's not your nationality. It's simply you!
Lucrezia Bori Ciribiribin Alberto Pestalozza song, acoustic version (she later did electric) Tim Gracyk 2024-10-11 | Lucrezia Bori"Ciribiribin"Song by Alberto PestalozzaBori recorded it twice--during the "acoustic era" and then again later during the time of microphone, which is called "electric era" by collectors of 78 rpm. We are hearing the acoustic version of 1924.
Lucrezia Bori The Little Damozel Ivor Novello & Fred. E. Weatherly song 1925 early electric 78 Tim Gracyk 2024-10-11 | Lucrezia BoriVictor 1162Music written in 1912 by Ivor NovelloWords by Fred. E. Weatherly"The Little Damozel" This is an early "electric" recording from 1925. It was made as the Victor company made preparations to announce to the public that a new sound system was being used for recording, which meant the public needed to invest money in new equipment that would properly play the new recordings.
Louis Winsch An Old Horse That Knows His Way Home on Pathé 20314 (1917) Tim Gracyk 2024-10-11 | Louis Winsch"An Old Horse That Knows His Way Home"Pathé 203141917Music by Abe Olman Words by Ed Rose"I've just received a letter from my hometown...Old fashioned girl on a seven mile drive..."
Lucrezia Bori Sì, mi chiamano Mimì Puccinis La Bohème on cylinder (1913) Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì, Tim Gracyk 2024-10-10 | Lucrezia Bori sings "Sì, mi chiamano Mimì" from La Bohème on Edison Amberol 40036, recorded in 1913.The great Spanish lyric soprano Lucrezia Bori (1887-1960) sings a great Puccini aria on a rare Amberol cylinder.Bori (born Borja) began her vocal training at the Valencia Conservatory and later studiedl in Milan. She made her debut in Rome's Teatro Adriano as Micaëla in 1908.Bori retired from the stage in 1936.La Boheme has several superb arias, including "Che gelida manina." Rodolfo, who loves Mimi, asks her to tell him about herself. Mimi famously replies that she is called Mimi (later she adds that she doesn't know why!), but her true name is Lucia.Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì,ma il mio nome è Lucia.La storia mia è breve.A tela o a setaricamo in casa e fuori...Son tranquilla e lietaed è mio svagofar gigli e rose.Mi piaccion quelle coseche han sì dolce malìa,che parlano d'amor, di primavere,di sogni e di chimere,quelle cose che han nome poesia...Lei m'intende?Mi chiamano Mimì,il perché non so.Sola, mi foil pranzo da me stessa.Non vado sempre a messa,ma prego assai il Signore.Vivo sola, solettalà in una bianca cameretta:guardo sui tetti e in cielo;ma quando vien lo sgeloil primo sole è mioil primo bacio dell'aprile è mio!Germoglia in un vaso una rosa...Foglia a foglia la spio!Cosi gentile il profumo d'un fiore!Ma i fior ch'io faccio,Ahimè! non hanno odore.Altro di me non le saprei narrare.Sono la sua vicina che la vien fuori d'ora a importunare.HERE IS THE ENGLISH:Yes, they call me Mimi,but my true name is Lucia.My story is short.A canvas or a silkI embroidery at home and abroad...I am tranquil,and my pastimeis to make lilies and roses.I love all thingsthat have gentle sweet smells,that speak of love, of spring, of dreams and fanciful things,those things that have poetic names ...Do you understand me?They call me Mimi,I do not know why. Alone, I makelunch by myself.I do not go to church,but I pray a lot to the Lord.I stay all alonethere in a white roomand look upon the roofs and the skybut when the thaw comesThe first sun, like myfirst kiss, is mine!Buds in a vase...Leaf and leaf I spy!That gentle perfume of a flower!But the flowers that I make,Alas! no smell.Other than telling you about me, I know nothing.I am only your neighbor who comes out to bother you.Lucrezia Bori "Sì, mi chiamano Mimì" Puccini's La Bohème on cylinder (1913) Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì,
Enrico Caruso Love Me Or Not Victor 6015 (1920) lyrics by Thomas Campion, music by Antonio Secchi Tim Gracyk 2024-10-10 | When Caruso sings in English, he might as well be singing in another language. To put it another way, words sung in English by Caruso are not easily distinguishable. Most songs sung by Caruso in English are forgettable songs--an exception is "Over There." He should have spent that recording session on one of the many Verdi arias that Caruso never got around to.Love me or not, love her I must or die;Leave me or not, follow her needs must I.O that her grace would my wished comforts give.How rich in her, how happy should I live.All my desire, all my delight should beHer to enjoy, her to unite to me:Envy should cease, her would I love alone:Who loves by looks, is seldom true to one.Could I enchant, and that it lawful were,Her would I charm softly that none should hear.But love enforced rarely yields firm content;So would I love that neither should repent.Lyrics by Thomas Campion (1567-1620)Music by Antonio Secchi Recorded on January 29, 1920 Victor 88616 and Victor 6015 Caruso lived from February 25, 1873, to August 2, 1921. He was born in Naples, and at the end of his life he returned to Naples, hoping to recover from illness but instead dying there. He did not live in Naples during his adult life. Caruso purchased the Villa Bellosguardo, a palatial country house near Florence, in 1904. Caruso's real home during his years of greatest fame was a suite at Manhattan's Knickerbocker Hotel. The tenor made more than 260 recordings for the Victor Talking Machine Company. A sensation in opera houses and on concert stages, he is still famous because his records were incredibly popular during his own life and remained popular long after the tenor's death. Many singers of the twentieth century said they learned much while listening to Caruso's voice.He was loved as the lead tenor in "warhorse" works--that is, in operas that stand the test of time, being produced often. But he also took risks, gambling on newly created roles (with no guarantee that the new opera would succeed) and also helping revive forgotten operas. He excelled in Italian and French role. His voice was not suited for Mozart or Wagner.The tenor's first recording session was in a hotel room in Milan on April 11, 1902. One month earlier, Caruso enjoyed a triumph in the premiere of Franchetti’s opera Germania. This led to the tenor making records.On April 11, 1902, Caruso was paid by the Gramophone & Typewriter Company’s Fred Gaisberg to sing ten numbers into a recording horn in a Milan hotel room. The fee was 100 pounds sterling. The story about the company saying the fee was too high is apocryphal.The tenor sang to piano accompaniment provided by Salvatore Cottone. Gaisberg (either Fred or his brother Will) wrote “Carusso” on early wax blanks.You could say this session as giving birth to a new era. Before 1902, opera recordings aroused little enthusiasm since voices on discs and cylinders were distant, often drowned out by surface noise. Early opera recordings gave little satisfaction. Caruso helped make gramophones respected because his voice recorded well (in addition to the tenor being a master of interpretation and having a voice that thrilled audiences when he sang in opera houses). Before 1902, recording officials had difficulty convincing celebrities to make records since the final product was crude. Some celebrities did make recordings in 1902 (Plançon, Van Rooy, Calvé, Scotti, Bispham, Renaud)--partly to earn large fees for little work, partly to satisfy curiosity about how they sound. But Caruso’s success inspired many others.With the first Caruso discs available in the summer of 1902, the gramophone was suddenly more than a toy. That was Caruso’s contribution to the infant industry. Lovers of great singing realized that recording devices could capture and preserve great singing. Caruso’s voice on his early discs came across clearly enough to be satisfying, Caruso’s interpretations compelling.Caruso had other Milan sessions. The next one (again for the Gramophone & Typewriter Company) was on November 30, 1902, with some titles recorded a day or two later (in December 1902). Will Gaisberg (Fred’s brother--Fred himself was touring, making records in exotic locations) produced most of the Milan recordings of the November-December sessions. B. G. Royal recorded four of the recordings, and these have "-R" embossed next to the matrix numbers, indicating Royal as producer.On April 19, 1903, Caruso made seven recordings in Milan for the Anglo-Italian Commerce Company. These were released as blue-label Zonophone discs. These are the first Caruso recordings to open with spoken announcements.In late October 1903, three more titles were recorded in Milan for the Anglo-Italian Commerce Company. These were issued by Pathé in two formats: cylinder and disc. Opening spoken announcements on these three items are longer than on Zonophone since the company is cited.
Robert Schumanns Träumerei (Op. 15, No. 7) Boris Hambourg, violoncello (cello) Victor 60065 Tim Gracyk 2024-10-10 | Robert Schumann's "Träumerei" (Op. 15, No. 7)Boris Hambourg, violoncelloGrace Smith, pianoVictor 60065
Butterflies Sir Hamilton Harty = Boris Hambourg (cello) Gerald Moore (piano) England London music Tim Gracyk 2024-10-10 | "Butterflies" is played by Boris Hambourg (cello) and Gerald Moore (piano) on a disc issued in 1930. "Butterflies" was composed by Sir Hamilton Harty.
Flee As A Bird Corinne Morgan on Victor 4835 (1906) sacred hymn Flee as a bird to your mountain Tim Gracyk 2024-10-09 | "Flee As A Bird"Corinne MorganVictor 48351906Flee as a bird to your mountain,Thou who art weary of sin.Go to the clear flowing fountain,Where you may wash and be clean.Fly, for th’avenger is near thee.Call, and the Saviour will hear thee.He on his bosom will bear thee,Thou who art weary of sin,O thou, who art weary of sin.He will protect thee for ever.Wipe ev’ry falling tear.He will forsake thee O never,Sheltered so tenderly there.Haste, then, the hours are flying.Spend not the moments in sighing.Cease from your sorrow and crying.The Savior will wipe ev’ry tear.The Savior will wipe ev’ry tear.Corinne Morgan was born Corinne Morgan Welsh in 1875 in Columbus, Ohio, to John and Rachael Welsh. Under her real name of Corinne Welsh she sang for churches and appeared in concerts.The contralto used only her first two given names for phonograph work. At that time, church and concert singers generally made up new names when making records--church singing could bring prestige to a singer but records did not.Her association with Frank C. Stanley in church singing (she knew him by his real name, William Stanley Grinsted) led to recordings. She worked for Edison from 1902 to 1905.She was among the first female singers to record regularly. In announcing the release of Standard 8427, featuring "The Lord's Prayer" and "Gloria" sung by a quartet featuring two male voices (Frank C. Stanley and George M. Stricklett) and two female (Morgan and one Miss Chapell, who Walsh said was Edith Chapman), the June 1903 issue of Edison Phonograph Monthly frankly admitted the difficulty of recording females: "It has always been a difficult matter to make successful Records of female voices, and after months of careful experimentation our Record Department has succeeded in getting perfect results in quartettes and duets. It is now at work on solos, and expects before long to list some very good songs by female voices."When the September 1903 issue of Edison Phonograph Monthly announced the October release of Morgan's debut as a solo artist, it again acknowledged that the female voice was difficult to record: "A fourth feature for October is the listing of one of the best Records ever made by a woman's voice. It is No. 8499, 'Happy Days,' and is sung by Miss Corrinne [sic] Morgan, with violin obligato...It is sung by Miss Morgan with entire absence of all objectionable features of Records made by women's voices..."She was "Helen Haydn" on six G & T discs and "Ethel Clarke" for two performances issued on the British Zonophone label.She made her first Victor recording on October 13, 1903 but this performance of "Down on the Farm" was unissued. The first Victor discs featuring Morgan were duets also featuring Stanley. Morgan's first solo recording on a Zon-o-phone disc, "Bonnie Sweet Bessie" (6033), was issued in February of 1904. Like other Zon-o-phones issued in early 1904, this was a nine-inch disc (by 1904 no more seven-inch Zon-o-phones were issued, and ten-inch Zon-o-phone discs were not issued until December of 1904). Zon-o-phone was a Victor subsidiary at that time. Morgan and Stanley were not paired on Zon-o-phone records. Instead, Morgan sang duets with James F. Harrison (a pseudonym for Frederick J. Wheeler). Walsh speculates this is because Harrison was paid one fee ($1400) for a year of exclusive service to Zon-o-phone, so Zon-o-phone executives viewed the Morgan-Harrison duet as cheaper than a Morgan-Stanley pairing. She stopped recording for Zon-o-phone around late 1905.Morgan and Stanley made Victor records after the final Edison date, sometimes as members of the Lyric Quartet. Stanley's widow believed that the Morgan and Stanley partnership ended during an Edison session. A recording director told Stanley to inform Morgan that she was singing flat. When Stanley repeated the words, she stormed into the director's office to ask if he had really said such a thing, and the director denied saying anything about flat notes, eager to avoid an altercation. Morgan accused Stanley of lying, and their association ended.When making Victor discs, Morgan was often accompanied by Charles D'Almaine on Stroh violin, which had a metal horn attached for amplification. Other recordings include "Toyland" (with the Haydn Quartet, Victor 2721, 1904), "Dearie" (Victor 4396, 1905), and "So Long, Mary" (Victor 4590, 1906). Recorded on October 31, 1905 with the Haydn Quartet and issued on Victor 4532, "How'd You Like to Spoon With Me?" is among the first discs to feature a Jerome Kern melody (Billy Murray also recorded it around this time for Zon-o-phone and other companies). Morgan made few records after 1908. After more than a dozen years of making no records, the contralto in 1921 cut "Just A-Wearyin' For You" for Emerson 10464. She was identified for the first time on a label by her full name, Corinne Morgan Welsh.
hymn When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder Earle F. Wilde (1919) Columbia A2873 sacred gospel hymn Tim Gracyk 2024-10-09 | "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder"Earle F. Wilde1919Columbia A2873This singer recorded several titles for Columbia in 1918 and 1919. He recorded two titles for Victor in 1923 during a trial session, but Victor did not issue these Earle performances.
