Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
(His Master's Voice – B 5147)
Recorded October 13th 1926 (At the Savoy Hotel, London)
"Baby Face" is a popular Tin Pan Alley jazz song. The music was written by Harry Akst, with lyrics by Benny Davis, and the song was published in 1926.
The first recording of it was by Jan Garber and his Orchestra, featuring lyricist Benny Davis singing the chorus only. The record was a number one hit in 1926.
The first full version of the song sung on record was released later that same year by Whispering Jack Smith, backed on piano by Arthur Johnston. Smith sang in a half-talking style and started the first verse with "baby cheeks" instead of the familiar "rosy cheeks." He started the second verse with "When you were just a baby, and that's not so long ago."
The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London.
The band was formed by Debroy Somers, an ex-army bandmaster, in 1923. Both the Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band were under the management of William de Mornys. The Orpheans were later led by the violinist Cyril Ramon Newton, and by the pianist Carroll Gibbons. On 15 June 1925, Somers conducted the Orpheans in the first British performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, alongside the Savoy Havana Band and Gershwin himself on piano. The performance was broadcast live by the BBC.
The owner of the Savoy Hotel, Rupert D'Oyly, called the original Orpheans and their colleagues, "probably the best-known bands in Europe." Among their popular songs was "Let's All Go to Mary's House" from 1925. D'Oyly Carte's judgment was echoed by music historian Brian Rust, who wrote in 1971 of the original Orpheans: "their very name personifies the Dancing Twenties … and their broad versatility … made this imprint in a way that no band had done before and few have achieved since".
(His Master's Voice – B 5147)
Recorded October 13th 1926 (At the Savoy Hotel, London)
"Baby Face" is a popular Tin Pan Alley jazz song. The music was written by Harry Akst, with lyrics by Benny Davis, and the song was published in 1926.
The first recording of it was by Jan Garber and his Orchestra, featuring lyricist Benny Davis singing the chorus only. The record was a number one hit in 1926.
The first full version of the song sung on record was released later that same year by Whispering Jack Smith, backed on piano by Arthur Johnston. Smith sang in a half-talking style and started the first verse with "baby cheeks" instead of the familiar "rosy cheeks." He started the second verse with "When you were just a baby, and that's not so long ago."
The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London.
The band was formed by Debroy Somers, an ex-army bandmaster, in 1923. Both the Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band were under the management of William de Mornys. The Orpheans were later led by the violinist Cyril Ramon Newton, and by the pianist Carroll Gibbons. On 15 June 1925, Somers conducted the Orpheans in the first British performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, alongside the Savoy Havana Band and Gershwin himself on piano. The performance was broadcast live by the BBC.
The owner of the Savoy Hotel, Rupert D'Oyly, called the original Orpheans and their colleagues, "probably the best-known bands in Europe." Among their popular songs was "Let's All Go to Mary's House" from 1925. D'Oyly Carte's judgment was echoed by music historian Brian Rust, who wrote in 1971 of the original Orpheans: "their very name personifies the Dancing Twenties … and their broad versatility … made this imprint in a way that no band had done before and few have achieved since".
