February 2007
February 23
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Flexo Tray
Ice Cubes The Modern Way
(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.
| Vintage sheet music cover advertising
the Billy Rose musical Sweet And Low from which the song "Would
You Like To Take A Walk" in this week's update comes. |
You
Said It
Ben Selvin And His Orchestra
Helen Rowland, Paul Small, vocal
1931
(Columbia 2426-D mx 151363)
Learn
To Croon
Ben Selvin And His Orchestra
Helen Rowland, Paul Small, vocal
1931
(Columbia 2426-D mx 151)
Would
You Like To Take A Walk
Ben Selvin And His Orchestra
Helen Rowland, vocal
1931
(Columbia 2381-D mx 151217)
He's
Not Worth Your Tears
Ben Selvin And His Orchestra
Helen Rowland, vocal
1931
(Columbia 2381-D mx 151207)
The enigmatic Helen Rowland vocalizes
on this week's selections.
Helen Rowland is one of the most
puzzling vocalists of the jazz age because, while she recorded with many
bands (Abe Lyman, Sam Lanin, Dick Cherwin, Adrian Schubert, Phil Spitalny,
Ben Selvin, etc.) and for many labels (Columbia, Brunswick, Banner, Perfect,
Romeo, Crown, Hit of the Week, etc.), she is not mentioned in any literature
of the period that I know of. Was she a cabaret singer? Was she a local
radio vocalist? Or did she just perform as a studio canary? Although we
may never know the answer, we well never cease in the delight of her sharp
and clear voice thanks to her recordings.
Out of all the bands Rowland sang
with, her best and most numerous recordings were with Ben Selvin. Ben Selvin
had his first million copy hit an 1919 with the tune "Dardanella." In the
1920s he went on to record with over 12 different labels and became artistic
and recording director for Columbia. He holds a spot in the Guinness Book
of World Records as the most prolific recording artist of all time. Many
fine musicians recorded with him including Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey,
Jimmy Dorsey, Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang.
The first song in this update, "You
Said It" comes from the 1931 Broadway show of the same name. This show
ran for 192 performances and featured performances by Lou Holtz, Lyda Roberti
and Stanley Smith. Lyda Roberti had a successful Hollywood career until
her untimely death in 1937. Stanley Smith is best remembered as a singer
in the King Of Jazz.
This song also features some great
solo work in the last half by Benny Goodman and a duet vocal by Paul Small
and Helen Rowland.
Next, we hear "Learn To Croon,"
which is also from the musical You Said It. Last year
in my February 16, 2006 update, I featured a recording of this song
by Sunny Clapp and his Band O' Sunshine. Do not be confused by the
title; it is not the same song as Bing Crosby's hit recording
by that same name.
"You Said It" and "Learn To
Croon" were both written by Harold Arlen and Jack Yellen.
Helen Rowland and Ben Selvin delight
us again in the third selection, "Would You Like To Take A Walk."
This Harry Warren song comes from the 1930-1931 Broadway show Sweet
and Low which starred James Barton, Fanny Brice and George Jessel.
Benny Goodman solos here as a counterpoint to the brass section.
I think Helen Rowland was best at
torch songs and her best torch song, "He's Not Worth Your Tears," is heard
here. It is tuneful and melodic and the band - .and Benny Goodman's clarinet
- complement her voice very well .
- 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.
Dream
Lover
Jeanette MacDonald, vocal
1929
(Victor 2247-A)
March
Of The Grenadiers
Jeanette MacDonald, vocal
1929
(Victor 22247-B)
For this week's extra, I would like
to present two recordings made by Jeanette MacDonald of selections she
performed in her film debut, The Love Parade.
Jeanette's debut in film coincided
with the solidification of sound film's dominance over the silent film
medium. Although she was fresh to the screen, she was no stranger to acting
as she had performed in Chicago theater for several years. In 1929,
Paramount gave Jeanette a screen test but then shelved it because
they thought that her performance was below expectations.
About this time, director
Ernst Lubitsch was asked to do his first sound film and screen operetta.
It was to be The Love Parade and was to star Maurice Chevalier,
so Lubitsch went on a search for a leading lady. By happenstance, he viewed
MacDonald's screen test and knew that she was the one. Surprisingly,
Paramount was delighted with Lubitsch's decision and signed Jeanette to
a two year contract before the filming of her first film.
The Love Parade, which also featured
Lillian Roth and Lupino Lane, is a frothy European comic operetta with
a decidedly Lubitsch touch. As it was made before the notorious Hays code,
Lubitsch freely takes liberties with suggestive dialog. The music is quite
lovely throughout the film and all songs are presented well. I highly recommend
viewing to anyone that can find a copy. A vigorous and creative google
search should turn up a "behind the curtain" vendor !
After The Love Parade, Jeanette
starred in six films at Paramount, three at Fox and two more at MGM.
After her second MGM film, she was teamed up with Nelson Eddy. They made
many more films at MGM and sang a total of 37 film duets together.
Both recordings presented in this
update were recorded by Victor with a studio orchestra under the direction
of Nat Shilkret on December 11, 1929, less than a month after the
film's November 19th premier in New York City. Although Victor
signed a recording contract with Jeanette she made very few, albeit well
recorded, records. "Dream Lover" is a personal favorite of
mine because of its beautiful melody and Jeanette's beautiful soprano.
- Matt From College Station
February 15
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Click on image for larger view
| This is the cover artwork from sheet music
that was purchased by Matt From College Station's grandmother in the mid
1930's at the Geo. Allen Music Co. in San Angelo, Texas. She is 91 now.
W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel worked as a sales manager
for a flour mill just north of Fort Worth, Texas when he hired Bob Wills'
western swing band to perform on a radio program sponsored by the flour
company. O'Daniel became a regional radio personality in his
own right and capitalized on his name recognition to become Governor of
Texas and, later, a U.S. Senator. |
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.
You
Gave Me Everything But Love
Adelaide Hall, vocal
1932
(Brunswick 6376)
Strange
As It Seems
Adelaide Hall, vocal
1932
(Brunswick 6376)
Blues
I Love To Sing
Duke Ellington And His Orchestra
Adelaide Hall, vocal
1927
(Victor 22985-B)
Blue
Bubbles
Duke Ellington And His Orchestra
1927
(Victor 22985-A)
This update focuses on the great
vocalist, Adelaide Hall.
Adelaide Hall, international star
of stage and cabaret, was born in 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. According
to several sources, impresario Lew Leslie discovered her singing at a school
Christmas concert in 1921. Between 1921 and 1927 she appeared in many revues
including Eubie Blake's Shuffle Along and Blackbirds.
Hall was also a huge attraction
at the Cotton Club in the late 1920s and was one of Duke Ellington's first
Canaries. In the early 1930's Hall traveled to London and was a huge success
in cabaret engagements there. After her tour of London she returned to
the States and made several recordings for Brunswick and a Vitaphone short
An
All Colored Vaudeville Show. This short is actually available on DVD
as an extra for the film The Green Pastures.
After her brief return to the U.S.,
she left permanently to be a resident of England and France. Hall owned
her own nightclub in Paris and appeared in several British feature films.
She died at the ripe old age of 92.
The first selections "You Gave Me
Love" and "Strange As It Seems" were recorded for Brunswick in 1932. They
feature an unknown studio group as well as legendary piano genius Art Tatum
(one of Tatum's few 1930s recordings).
The next selection, "Blues I Love
To Sing," features Hall as a vocalist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
The last selection, "Blue Bubbles"
is the flip side of "Blues I Love To Sing." While it does not
feature a vocal, the recording is just too good to pass over and
not include.
Both Ellington sides were recorded
in 1927 and issued under different catalog numbers in 1927 and 1932.
My copy is of the 1932 issue which I think it is a superior pressing, as
most 1932 Victor discs are.
- 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.
Hejre
Kati
Eddie South And His International Orchestra
1931
(Victor 22847-B)
Marcheta
Eddie South And His International Orchestra
1931
(Victor 22847-A)
Eddie South, born in 1904, was trained
as a classical violinist at the Chicago Music College. As positions
in classical orchestras were not open to black violinists at the time,
South took up playing jazz with various dance orchestras of the mid 1920s.
In 1927, he recorded several sides for Victor as Eddie South and his Alabamians.
In 1931, South went to Europe where
he was exposed to Gypsy music which inspired him in the development of
his own unique style of jazz. Back in the U.S. in late 1931, he recorded
some sides for Victor, including the two featured here. This
orchestra, billed as Eddie South and his International Orchestra, consisted
of drums, piano, guitar, violin and woodwind.
Both songs in this update are jazzy
renditions of tunes usually performed in a classical nature.
South recorded six more sides for
Victor which were released in 1933. In 1937 he made some important
recordings in Europe with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli.
While he never achieved huge worldwide
fame, his recordings provide a record of his truly unique and exciting
style.
- Matt From College Station
February 1, 2007
This week's Hit of the Week is brought
to you by
Click on image for larger view
MARMON
The Foremost Fine Car
(From 1923 ad)
Japanese
Sunset
Paul Ash And His Granada Orchestra
1923
(Brunswick 2517-A)
Romany
Love
Selvin's Orchestra
1922
(Brunswick 2273-A)
Eleanor
Isham Jones Orchestra
1922
(Brunswick 2313-B)
Midnight
Rose
Lyman's California Ambassador Hotel Orchestra
1923
(Brunswick 2478-A)
It has been a few months since I
last featured dance band recordings from the early part of the 1920s decade
so I thought I would correct that.
The inspiration of this update is
the first selection "Japanese Sunset" which I stumbled across in my collection
while looking for records to feature on my New Year's Eve broadcast on
Radio Dismuke a few weeks ago. I think the tune is very pretty
in a haunting sort of way. During the early 1920s, there
was a fad of sorts in the United States for styles which were foreign and
exotic. This was reflected in both architecture, furniture and even
popular recordings. While much of the attention was focused
on the Middle East due to the popularity of Rudolf Valentio films,
there was a lot of interest in the Far East as well.
"Japanese Sunset" was composed in 1916 by Jesse L. Deppen, a female
composer who lived in Cleveland, Ohio. The song was featured
in the Vitaphone soundtrack to the 1927 film Old San Francisco and
as the opening theme of the 1936 serial Shadow Of Chinatown
with Bela Lugosi.
"Romany Love" is another recording
with exotic, foreign sounding passages. The song was written by American
composer John
Stepan Zamecnik.
Fans of old time radio shows might
recognize the tune "Eleanor" as the opening and closing theme performed
on the organ in the 1930s broadcasts of the popular radio serial
Lum
And Abner. The song was composed by Jesse L. Deppen - the
same composer as "Japanese Sunset"- in 1914 with the dedication:
"To my dear friend Rae Eleanor Ball." Ball was a violinist for the
RKO vaudeville circuit and apparently had a working relationship with Deppen.
Early versions of the song were published with lyrics by Deppen.
However, in 1922, new lyrics were written for it by Arthur J. Lamb and
he is credited on the label of this week's recording.
"Midnight Rose" was composed in
1923 by Lew Pollack.
None of these recordings are at
all jazzy - but I think they are very charming. Popular musical
styles evolved very rapidly in the 1920s and in less than five years later
these arrangements were considered to be hopelessly out-of-date.
- 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.
Dear
Eyes That Haunt Me
The Columbians
Lewis James, vocal
1927
(Columbia 968-D mx 143991)
Like
You
The Columbians
1927
Franklyn Baur, vocal
(Columbia 968-D mx 143990)
Both of these selections come from
The Circus Princess which was the 1927 Broadway version of Emerich
Kálmán's 1926 operetta Die Zirkusprinzessin. The
American production featured lyrics by Harry B. Smith.
Die Zirkusprinzessin premiered
in Vienna on March 26, 1926 at the Theater
an der Wien. The American production ran for 192 performances
at the Winter Garden Theatre starting April 25, 1927.
The Columbians was a Columbia Records
studio band and was usually, if not exclusively, under the direction of
Ben Selvin.
- Dismuke
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