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Dismuke's Hit Of The Week
Previous Selections
October 2007







October 25
 




This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
1929 Studebaker ad
The Commander Streight Eight Victora $1475 at the factory.
Bumbers and spare tire extra.
STUDEBAKER
Builder of Champions
(from 1929 ad)


 
 
 
Note: I am very pleased to welcome back guest contributor Eddie The Collector.  Eddie will be providing this week's main update.   The  records and commentary are Eddie's - my only contribution was to transfer and digitalize the recordings.   You may read more about Eddie as well as view his photo and contact information by clicking here
 

Bob Haring directed the house band for Cameo records from their beginning in 1922 until its merger with Pathe records and with the Plaza Music Company (parent company of Banner records)  in 1929, usually under his own name, but sometimes under colorful pseudonyms typical of the era.  He also recorded for Brunswick during this time using the names Colonial Club Orchestra, The Copley Plaza Orchestra, The Clevelanders and, for British issues, "King" Solomon and His Miners.  For the last year of his recording career, 1931, Bob Haring recorded for the American Record Corporation, the corporate successor to the Cameo/Pathe/Plaza merger.
 

A Night In MayClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Bob Haring And His Orchestras                        1929
(Brunswick 4310)

A nice Fox Trot typical of the era with its sunny outlook and pretty tune rendered in March 1929 by "Oliver Smith"  - a name which has kind of a pseudonymnish ring to it.   But it  is very possible that was his real name.
 

If You Believed In MeClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Colonial Club Orchestra                                      1929
(Brunswick 4486)

This August, 1929, recording is one of the best versions of this song I've ever heard.  Manny Klein plays a hot lead trumpet right from the beginning, then following the vocal Tommy Dorsey plays his trombone just before the ending.  One of those "everything's just right" records!
 

My Song Of The NileClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Colonial Club Orchestra                                      1929
(Brunswick 4486)

This song, incorrectly described as a Fox Trot on the label, is a waltz and also the theme song of the 1929 full-length talky The Drag, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Richard Barthelmess, Alice Day and Lucien Littlefield.  The 118 minute movie was panned by the critics as a "yawner", and the subject song described as one of "two arbitrarily inserted songs."  It's a pretty enough tune and Tommy Dorsey also plays solos in this arrangement before and after the vocal.
 
 

 - Eddie The Collector
 

 

EXTRA








This section will  present 78 rpm recordings that do not fall within the range of the vintage pop and jazz  fare that I usually  present.  Here I will feature recordings from a wide variety of eras, musical genres and nationalities as well as occasional spoken word recordings.
 
 
 

Faust Ballet Music -  Dance of the Nubian SlavesClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Vessella’s Italian Band                                1912
(Victor 17284-A)

Faust Ballet Music - Trojan Maidens and Mirror DanceClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Vessella’s Italian Band                                1912
(Victor 17284-B)
 
 

Here are two selections from the ballet scenes of the Charles Gounod opera Faust which debuted in 1859 at the Théatre-Lyrique in Paris.   The ballet scene and the music featured here was not added to the opera, however, until an 1869 revival.   The ballet scene is frequently omitted from modern productions of the opera.   Gounod wrote  music for eleven other operas but Faust was and remains his most famous. 

The ballet scenes from the opera Faust should not be confused with the 1848 ballet also called Faust which was set to music by  Giacomo Panizza, Sir Michael Andrew Costa, and Niccolò Bajetti.

I don't have a lot of information about Vessella's Italian Band but the band made quite a number of records for Victor during the 1910s.   The band's leader was Marco Vessella.  During the mid 1910s the band performed at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City and perhaps some of the city's other venues.  I have seen a mention online that the band also toured quite a bit.    I also found a blog posting that reproduced a 1907 Long Beach, California newspaper article about a rather odd legal dispute Vessella was involved in.  The posting mentions that during that period Vessella led the "Royal Italian Band" and that the band was popular in Southern California. 

In 1912 all recordings were recorded acoustically - that is, through a large horn rather than a microphone which did not appear in recording studios until the mid-1920s.   There are plenty of  more modern recordings of these selections that have significantly better fidelity and do far more justice to the original compositions than do these rather primitive sounding efforts.   Unlike with vintage popular recordings, fans of classical music usually do have the option to hear a recording performed in a similar style that takes advantage of modern technological advances.  Still, there is a certain kind of fun about the experience of putting an old 78 rpm on a turntable and giving it a spin that modern formats, despite their vast technological superiority, are not able to provide.   And once one's ears adjust to the sound of acoustic recording,  the mind is able to compensate and mentally fill in the missing data much the same way it does when one views a black and white movie.   So while acoustic-era recordings have been, quite properly, considered obsolete for more than 80 years now, they are still capable of providing amusement and entertainment even in instances where a vastly better recording of the same selection is easily obtainable. 
 

-  Dismuke
 
 



 
 
 
October 18

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
Knapp Electric Questioner - 1930s Toy
Knapp Electric Questioner
Knapp Electric (Div of P.R. Mallory & Co., Inc.)
(from 1931 ad)



 
 
 

 
Note - I am very please to welcome back guest contributor Matt From College Station  as he shares some more recordings from his excellent collection of 1920s and 1930s jazz and dance band 78 rpm records. 

All recordings and commentary in this update, both the regular and the "Extra" sections, are from Matt.  My only contribution was to transfer and digitalize the recordings. 

You can learn more about Matt and find his contact information by clicking here
 
 
 

Hikin’ Down The HighwayClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Sleepy Hall And His Collegians
Scrappy Lambert, vocal                                      1931
(Panachord 25070 A mx M12212)

Honeymoon ParadeClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Sleepy Hall And His Collegians
Smith Ballew, vocal                                             1931
(Panachord 25070 B mx M12190)

 


This enigmatic British Panachord disc contains two American dance band recordings. I know next to nothing about  Sleepy Hall other the name was a stage name for a banjoist named John Nelson and that he was a member of various studio bands in the early 1930s and involved in the music business until the 1940s. I have seen him on the cover of sheet music from 1940.  Both sides of this disc were originally  issued in America on the Melotone label which was a bargain subsidiary of Brunswick. 

It is unlikely that the bands featured in these recordings actually belonged to Sleepy Hall.  One is free to speculate whose band is actually on this disc, but it is likely the Smith Ballew, Eddie Kirkeby or  Victor Young Orchestras.

The first side, "Hikin' Down The Highway" was recorded on July 9, 1931 and issued on Melotone 12212.  It is a pleasing rendition of a catchy Irving Kahal & Lee David tune and boasts a vocal by Scrappy Lambert.  When Dismuke first heard this recording he liked it so much that he insisted I include it on a Hit of the Week update.. 

Next we have "Honeymoon Parade" which  was recorded on February 21, 1931 and issued on  Melotone 12190.  It too is a very upbeat and catchy tune and features a vocal by Smith Ballew an early 1930s bandleader and crooner who would go on to star in several "singing cowboy" movies. 

Depression era recordings such as these can be very hard to find and most have not been issued on CD which makes it very pleasurable for me to be able to share them with you. 
 

 - Matt From College Station
 

 

EXTRA










This section will  present 78 rpm recordings that do not fall within the range of the vintage pop and jazz  fare that I usually  present.  Here I will feature recordings from a wide variety of eras, musical genres and nationalities as well as occasional spoken word recordings.
 
 
 

King Of Jazz SelectionsClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Laddie Ray, piano                                1930
(Broadcast Twelve 5172-A)
 

Puttin On The Ritz SelectionsClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Laddie Ray, piano                                1930
(Broadcast Twelve 5172-B)
 
 

Laddie Ray, piano soloist, gives us this week's Extra on an old Broadcast Twelve 78 rpm.

Broadcast Twelve was a budget label put out by the British Vocalion firm in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Although it was only 10 inches in size, it had the recording time of slightly less than a 12 inch record.  Broadcast also put out a line of 8 inch records, which claimed to play as long as 10 inch records. They have excellent fidelity and offer us many great performances today.

"King of Jazz Selections" is an upbeat medley of songs from the 1930 Universal picture of the same name. King of Jazz was a lavish jazz revue shot in Technicolor which featured the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and starred  Broadway headliners such as Jeanette Loff, screen sensation John Boles, and hit vocal group The Rhythm Boys (including Bing Crosby). Fortunately the complete film survives today and is available at amazon.com on home video in used, out of print copies

The next group of selections come from the vary popular 1930 film  Puttin' On The Ritz, which starred Harry Richman and Joan Bennett. It is a very important record of Broadway great Harry Richman on film as it gives one an accurate feel of his stage persona. The movie is full of jazzy songs and production numbers. It survives today as a severely edited edition, but still pleases as jazz age entertainment. Copies of this movie can occasionally be found on ebay. 

Unfortunately I could not find any information on Laddie Ray, but hopefully this article will spur people on to send me some information about this talented pianist 

Note:  A visitor kindly contacted Matt with the following information about Laddie Ray:
 

"Laddie Ray didn't exist !... The Vocalian Co. used the name for various pianists "for contractual reasons "     the one you feature is by  a VERY great British pianist BILLY MAYERL... he composed dozens of novelty piano solos and also the scores for many London west end theatre shows of the 20s and 30s he also broadcasted (radio) frequently with his various groups and did solo work . His first job was as pianist with the famous Savoy Orpheans. Some of his better known compositions are  MARIGOLD ....The Jazz Master... HOP 'O MY THUMB....and  (I think ) ESKIMO SHIVERS .......... there is an excellent book  by Peter Dickinson published by the Oxford University Press   " Marigold- the music of Billy Mayerl which has his full story plus complete list of his compositions  and records including King of Jazz and Putting on the Ritz..well worth reading if you can get  a copy.....  by the way there are only 2 other Laddie Ray  records...one by PEGGIE COCHRANE (pianist and vocalist with the British Jack Payne Band  the other thought to be by HARRY BIDGOOD..."

 

-  Matt From College Station
 
 
 



 
October 11
 
 

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by

Universal Table Stove
Universal Table Stove
Made By Landers, Frary & Clark
New Britain, Conn..
(from circa 1920s product manual)



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Regal record label

 
 
 
 

Teddy Bear BluesClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Imperial Dance Orchestra                          1922
(Regal 9425 B mx 11234)

I Gave You Up Just Before You Threw Me DownClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Imperial Dance Orchestra                           1923
(Regal 9425 A mx 5038)
 

The Imperial Dance Orchestra was not an actual band but rather a recording pseudonym that was assigned to the recordings of a number of bands throughout the 1920s.   The band on this week's recording of "Teddy Bear Blues" was, in fact, the California Ramblers.  The band on the second selection was the Joseph Samuels Orchestra. 

At the time it was not uncommon for recordings to be issued on multiple labels owned by a common parent company or for the master recordings to be leased to entirely different company.  Both of these recordings were issued on separate releases on the Banner label as the Hollywood Dance Orchestra.  Both Banner and Regal were products of the Plaza Music Company.   Furthermore, Plaza leased the master recording of "Teddy Bear Blues" to  Boston, Mass. based Grey Gull records which issued it under the pseudonym of Golden Gate Dance Orchestra.   The various pseudonyms of the same recording across many labels can frequently become a bit confusing.  And more than once I have purchased a recording of a song I enjoy only to discover it is the exact same recording that I already had on a different label. 

The California Ramblers was among the first white dance bands to regularly record "hot" jazz arrangements.   They recorded under the California Ramblers name on Columbia and also very large number of recordings for the most of the other record labels in existence at the time under a variety of pseudonyms.

Very little information is available about Joseph Samuels other than the fact that his band was very prolific in the recording studio waxing almost 400 sides between 1919 and 1925. 

 - Dismuke
 

 

EXTRA








This section will  present 78 rpm recordings that do not fall within the range of the vintage pop and jazz  fare that I usually  present.  Here I will feature recordings from a wide variety of eras, musical genres and nationalities as well as occasional spoken word recordings.
 
 
 

I've Got Rings On My FingersClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Blanche Ring                           1909
(Victor 5737)
 

Susan Kiss Me Good And HardClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Collins & Harlan                      1906
(Victor 4850)
 
 

Both of these recordings come from old one-sided Victor records.  All early disc records were one-sided.  Two-sided "Double Disc" records were introduced by Columbia in 1908 with Victor introducing its own two-sided records soon afterwards.  Two-sided records became the standard for popular recordings almost immediately.  Victor did continue to issue some single-sided popular recordings as late as 1912 and all Victor "Red Seal" classical recordings, which were considered a premium product, were one-sided up through 1923. 

Blanche Ring was a successful Broadway performer shortly after the turn of the 20th century.    "I've Got Rings On My Fingers" was a song she introduced in the 1909 musical The Midnight Sons which also starred Vernon Castle.   The song was such a success that she performed it again in the 1910 musical The Yankee Girl.    If you find some of the words in the song difficult to make out,  you will find a text of the lyrics at this link
 

 
Arthur Collins
Arthur Collins
Byron Harlan
Byron G. Harlan

Arthur Collins and Byron Harlan were a very popular comic due in the first two decades of the early 1900s.    Many of their recordings, including the one featured here,  were so-called "coon" songs which made use of black stereotypes and impersonated black dialect - thought they did make recordings using stereotypes of other ethnic groups as well.    At the time such recordings and the use of such stereotypes was considered quite mainstream and uncontroversial - and , at least in that respect, our culture has definitely changed for the better in the hundred years since.   On this and most of their recordings, it is Byron Harlan who does the female voice impersonations. 

-  Dismuke
 



October 4

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by

Chicago
Rubber Tire Roller Skates
"Speed Without Noise"
Chicago Roller Skate Co.
(from 1930 ad)



 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Note - I am very please to welcome back guest contributor Matt From College Station  as he shares some more recordings from his excellent collection of 1920s and 1930s jazz and dance band 78 rpm records. 
All recordings and commentary in this update, both the regular and the "Extra" sections, are from Matt.  My only contribution was to transfer and digitalize the recordings. 
You can learn more about Matt and find his contact information by clicking here

 

Follow A StarClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Sophie Tucker 
With Ted Shapiro And The Winter Garden Theatre Orchestra              1930
(Broadcast Twelve 5195-A)

I Never Can Think Of The WordsClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Sophie Tucker 
With Ted Shapiro And The Winter Garden Theatre Orchestra              1930
(Broadcast Twelve 5195 B)

If Your Kisses Can’t Hold The Man You Love Click on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Sophie Tucker 
With Ted Shapiro And The Winter Garden Theatre Orchestra              1930
(Broadcast Twelve 5196 B)

That’s Where The South BeginsClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Sophie Tucker 
With Ted Shapiro And The Winter Garden Theatre Orchestra              1930
(Broadcast Twelve 5196 A)
 
 
 

"From birth to age eighteen, a girl needs good parents. From eighteen to thirty-five she needs good looks. From thirty-five to fifty-five, she needs a good personality. From fifty-five on, she needs good cash." 

- Sophie Tucker


A fitting quote for an entertainer whose career spanned 63 years.

Sophie Tucker began performing in 1903 at her family's restaurant. There she was a big hit with the customers so she decided to try her hand at vaudeville.

Initially, she was not popular because she was (in her own words) "big and fat." But she found acceptance as a blackface performer. During this period she enjoyed success and took singing lessons from black blues performers.

As her popularity grew, she was able to abandon blackface and take her act to Broadway. It was there that she teamed up with Ted Shapiro as a piano player for her act and Jack Yellen as a songwriter. This proved to be a successful team and throughout the 1920s she performed in many locales and recorded for several record labels. During this period she still took vocal lessons from the likes of Mamie Smith and Ethel Waters.

In 1929 she made her first picture the now lost  Honky Tonk.

In 1930 Tucker traveled to Britain to star in the musical  Follow A Star.  It was a big success at London's Winter Garden Theatre, but she quit early because she grew tired of it.  All of the selections in this update come from Follow A Star.   Composer Sidney Baynes was the conductor for the show and on these recordings, which come from that show. 

In the 1940s 1950s and 1960s Sophie Tucker continued to perform with Ted Shapiro including numerous live, film and television appearances.

In 1966, Sophie Tucker died of lung cancer but remains remembered and enjoyed today thanks to her recordings. 

 - Matt From College Station
 

 
EXTRA










This section will  present 78 rpm recordings that do not fall within the range of the vintage pop and jazz  fare that I usually  present.  Here I will feature recordings from a wide variety of eras, musical genres and nationalities as well as occasional spoken word recordings.
 
 
 

One More Hour Of LoveClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Ray Ventura And His Collegians                      1932
(Decca F 2838 mx GB 3852)
 

Toujours L’Amour In The ArmyClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Ray Ventura And His Collegians                      1932
(Decca F 2838 mx GB 3851)
 
 

Ray Ventura was France's most popular jazz and dance band and, as was the case with these selections, his recordings were often issued on British labels, including Decca. He performed throughout the 1920s and 193's and continued to perform in Argentina after the outbreak of World War II.

These recordings are special because they feature songs from the operetta and Hollywood film The Smiling Lieutenant .  The film version directed by Ernst Lubitsch was made in 1931 by Paramount and starred Claudette Colbert and Maurice Chevalier. It is a most enjoyable film to watch, if you can find it, because the music is wonderful and the story is entertaining.  The film was adapted from the 1907 Oscar Straus operetta Ein Walzertraum (which, by the way, Dismuke says is his favorite operetta).  Straus was famous for being a major player in the "silver" era of Viennese operetta.  It is sad that such quality music is not written much today. 

-  Matt From College Station

 
 
 

 

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