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Dismuke's Hit Of The Week
Previous Selections
November 2003




November 27, 2003
 
 

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
Peacock Terrace - Baker Hotel - Dallas, Texas

Peacock Terrace - Baker Hotel
Nationally Famous Roof
Dallas, Texas
(from circa late 1920s postcard)


 

Moanin' LowClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Leo Reisman and His Orchestra
Lew Conrad, vocal                                 1929
(Victor 22047-A)
 

ThroughClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Leo Reisman and His Orchestra
Lou Levin, vocal                                    1929
(Victor 22204-A)

The Leo Reisman Orchestra was one of the more popular East Coast society bands during the late 1920s and early 1930s - though it enjoyed a national following through records and radio.

"Moanin' Low" is a Ralph Rainger/Howard Dietz composition that was first performed Libby Holman in the 1929 Broadway production The Little Show.  Observe that in this week's selection it is a male vocalist, Lew Conrad, who performs the lyrics that were clearly written for a woman.   This was actually not at all an uncommon practice on mainstream, mass market recordings of the time.  It was apparently done without any suggestive intent and, as far as I am aware, was not regarded as being scandalous by the record buying public.  At the time, sexuality was such a conversational taboo that many listeners probably did not even grasp the implications of the lyrics that would  be obvious to most people today - and those that did probably did not feel comfortable bringing the subject up in polite conversation.  I have read that one of the reasons for the practice was that record companies were afraid of legal problems that might arise from making even slight modifications to copyrighted lyrics.  On the other hand,  I have heard plenty of other recordings from the same period featuring lyrics that have been modified according to the vocalist's gender.

I discovered "Through" several weeks ago while listening to Rich Conaty's radio program "The Big Broadcast" over the Internet.  I thought it was a very pretty tune and made a note to keep my eyes open for a copy.   A few days later I was going through a stack of records and was pleasantly surprised to discover I already had a copy of it in my collection that I obviously had overlooked.



November 20, 2003
 
 

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
Nash Motor Cars - Click on image for larger view
(Click on image for larger view)
NASH
Leads The World In Motor Car Value
(from 1927 ad)



 
 

 
Crazy Words - Crazy TuneClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Irving Aaronson and His Commanders    1927
(Victor 20473-A)
 

I Never See Maggie AloneClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Irving Aaronson and His Commanders
Phil Saxe, vocal                                     1927
(Victor 20473)

Irving Aaronson led one of the more popular 1920s era dance bands,  Unfortunately, he is probably best known today as the inevitable first entry in any discography or band leader listing of the period.  Aaronson was a pianist who began performing at age 11 in silent movie theaters.  He started his first band, the Crusaders, in 1926 and changed its name to the Commanders a few months later.  Aaronson's sidemen included future bandleaders Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa and Tony Pastor.   The band remained active until the mid 1930s.  During the early 1940s, Aaronson became a music director for MGM Studios where he worked until his death in 1963.

Both of this week's selections were introduced in 1926 and were quite popular.  "Crazy Words - Crazy Tune" introduced the memorable nonsense phrase "Vo doe de o, vo doe doe de o doe."  Also note the reference to then President Calvin Cooledge.  "I Never See Maggie Alone" was also popular in Germany where it was featured in the 1928 Haller-Revue Schön Und Schick. - with Maggie's name changed to "Lilly." The song experienced another revival in 1949 with a million selling record by country singer  Kenny Roberts.



 
November 13, 2003
 
 

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
1938 Buick Ad - Click To See Larger Image
(Click on image for larger view)
Buick Motor Cars
(from 1938 ad)



 
 
 
 

Casa Loma StompClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra    1937
(Decca 1412-B mx DLA 835)
 

Too Marvelous For WordsClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra 
Kenny Sargent, vocal                               1937
(Decca 1158-A mx 61952)
 
 

In terms of staying power, the Casa Loma Orchestra was one of the more successful bands of the dance band era .  The group got its start under the direction of Harry Biagnini during the mid 1920s as The Orange Blossoms, one of several bands controlled by Detroit dance band impresario Jean Goldkette.  In 1927, the Orange Blossoms were booked at Toronto's Casa Loma Hotel where they were to open a posh nightclub that was being built specifically for a visit by the Prince of Wales.  The hotel was located inside a large castle like structure that had previously been the estate of industrialist Sir Henry Pellatt.  The club never opened - but band members later adopted the club's name as their own when, in 1929, they elected to dismiss Biagnini and reorganize.

Unlike most bands of the day which were usually owned by the bandleader, the founding members of the Casa Loma Orchestra established the band as a cooperative endeavor.  The band was organized as a corporation and  its core group of musicians, who were stockholders, shared in the profits and also served as corporate officers.  While saxophone player Glen Gray served as president and the band recorded under the name "Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra,"  violinist Mel Jennson, who was not a stockholder in the cooperative,  was the band's front man until 1937 when Gray finally took over the baton. 

The band's first big break was a booking at New York's Roseland ballroom which led to a recording contract with Okeh Records.  In 1930, the band recorded its first hit, "Casa Loma Stomp."  This led to a higher profile recording contract with the Brunswick label.  By the late 1930s, the Casa Loma Orchestra was one the top bands in the United States and remained popular well into the 1940s.  As with many other bands, the Casa Loma began to decline after World War II but managed to play into the 1950s

For a period during the early 1930s between the end of the "Jazz Age" style of the "Roaring '20s" and the beginning of the swing era in 1935, the Casa Loma was one of the few big name white bands to regularly perform "hot" jazz numbers.  Throughout the band's heyday, one of its hallmarks was its ability to play both "hot" jazz  and "sweet" ballads.   This week's selections provide an example of both styles.  The recording of "Casa Loma Stomp" is a 1937 Decca Records remake of the band's 1930 hit on the Okeh label.  The band also recorded a 1932 version of the song for  Brunswick.  Kenny Sargent was the band's primary vocalist as well as a sax player.  He left the band in the 1940s to begin a career as a disc jockey.   In the 1950s and 1960s, he was a prominent Dallas area radio personality on stations KLIF and WRR. 



 
 
November 6, 2003
 
 

This week's Hit of the Week is brought to you by
Crosley Electric Refrigerator
Crosley Electric Refrigerator
(from 1932 ad)



 
 
 
 
 

Negra ConsentidaClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Carlos Molina and His Orchestra              1932
(Victor 24159-B)
 

KarabaliClick on song title to stream or right clock on folder to download
Carlos Molina and His Orchestra              1932
(Victor 24159-A)

I enjoy 1930s era recordings of Latin dance bands - especially the rumbas.  Carlos Molina,  Enric Madriguera and Xavier Cugat were the top Latin bandleaders in the USA at the time.   Unfortunately, I do not have much biographical information about Molina but I understand that he originally came from Colombia.


 
 

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