December 2003
December 25, 2003
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Miami Biltmore Hotel
Coral Gables, Florida
(from circa 1930s postcard)
If
I Had You
Colonial Club Orchestra
Francis Luther, vocal
1929
(Brunswick 4189)
I have had this recording in my
collection for several years but it unfortunately had a small crack in
it. Recently I was able to locate a copy in better condition.
The Colonial Club Orchestra was a recording pseudonym for the Bob Haring
band on the Brunswick label. "If I Had You" was composed by Ted Shapiro,
Jimmy Campbell, and Reg Connelly and is still occasionally performed.
EXTRA
Montana
Call
George Olsen and His Music
1930
(Victor 22392-B)
Here is a recording which is still
on my "look for a better copy" list. Unfortunately, this poor record has
been subject to a lot of abuse over the decades and its surface is covered
with scuffs and scratches. However, I am extremely fond of this selection
and cannot resist presenting it. My VSP
audio restoration machine and
DC-art software did a surprisingly nice job of cleaning it up, especially
in the louder musical passages. The vocal portion is a bit noisy,
but still very listenable. The song comes from the 1930 M-G-M
picture Montana
Moon which starred Joan Crawford, Johnny Mack Brown and Cliff Edwards.
The film is considered to have been the very first of the "singing cowboy"
movies, a genre which was quite popular during the 1930s.
December 18, 2003
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
The Westbrook Hotel
Fort Worth, Texas
(from 1922 postcard)
This week's selection
of early 1920s dance band recordings comes from the collection of guest
contributor R. A. Friedman who is also responsible for the fine audio restoration
work. Mr. Friedman is the archivist at the Freedman Jewish Music Archive
at the University of Pennsylvania as well as a mastering engineer
for Art In Concert, a company which produces CDs for the Philadelphia Museum
of Art. He is also the proprietor of the Yiddish
American Digital Archive , a website featuring Real Audio files of
rare early 20th century Yiddish recordings from the United States.
The website's goal is "to provide an ever growing sampling of the
kind of music Jewish families were listening to in the days when Yiddish
was still the predominant language of American Jewry. " Be sure to
visit the site and click on the link for "Rare 78s" to enjoy a variety
of interesting recordings - including a "Yiddisha" Charleston.
What
A Smile Can Do
The Blues Chasers
1924
(Perfect 1433-B)
"The Blues Chasers" was a recording
pseudonym used on this recording and one other for a band led by Nathan
Glantz called the Texas Ten.
Why
Should I Weep
About
One Sweetie?
Brooke Johns and His Orchestra
1924
(Victor 19220-B)
For biographical information about
Brooke Johns as well as a photo, click here.
Where
The Ganges Flows
The Great White Way Orchestra
1923
(Victor 19106-A)
Siren
Of A Southern Sea
Isham Jones Orchestra
1921
(Brunswick 5059-A)
December 4, 2003
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
(Click On Image For Larger View)
General Electric
All-Steel Refrigerator
(from 1929 ad)
Moten's
Blues
Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra
1929
(Victor V 38072-A)
Let's
Get It
Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra
1929
(Victor V 38072-B)
During the 1920s Bennie Moten led
one of the most successful black bands in the midwest and heavily influenced
what became known as Kansas City style jazz. At the height of his
success, Moten actually had several different bands under his name touring
the country at the same time. In 1935, the band traveled to Denver to play
a booking while Moten remained behind in Kansas City for tonsillectomy.
Something went wrong during what was ordinarily a routine operation and
Moten died at the age of 39. Moten's pianist Count Basie took over
leadership of the band and it went on to become one of the more famous
bands of the swing and big band eras.
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