March 2005

March 17, 2005
 

 

Sing
Park Lane Orchestra                          1927
(Brunswick 3431-A)
 

Sweeter Than You
Park Lane Orchestra
Irving Kaufman, vocal                        1927
(Brunswick 3432-B)
 
 

Here are two sides of a 78 rpm that a friend recently let me have from his duplicate pile.   The record is not in the best of condition - but fortunately, my equipment was able to clean it up enough to make it still enjoyable to listen to. 

I think "Sing" is a very fun recording - especially after about 35 seconds or so into the recording.   The song was composed by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart and comes from the Florenz Ziegfeld production Betsy which opened at New York's New Amsterdam Theatre on December 28, 1926.  The show was not successful and closed after 39 performances.   It sure left behind a really great song, however. 

"Sweeter Than You" is another enjoyable recording.   It is a Bert Kalmar- Harry Ruby composition from the musical Twinkle Twinkle which opened at the Liberty Theatre on November 16, 1926 and managed to run for 167 performances. 

Both recordings  were made on January 14, 1927 when the two productions were still running. 

The Park Lane Orchestra was a recording pseudonym used by Brunswick for Harry Reser's Orchestra.  Unlike other Reser bands,  Park Lane Orchestra recordings do not seem to feature Reser's trademark banjo playing.
 

 

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. 
 
 

Recognition Of The Republic Of Ireland
Eamonn DeValera, speaker                              1920
(Nation's Forum mx 49783)

Irish Waltz
Uncredited Orchestra (Prince's Orchestra)        1915
(Nation's Forum mx 37294)
 

Since today is St. Patrick's day, I thought this old Nation's Forum disc might be an appropriate selection for this week's "Extra."

Nation's Forum was a label pressed by Columbia from 1918 - 1920 which featured spoken word recordings by newsmakers and famous political figures of the day.  Calvin Coolidge and Franklin Delano Roosevelt both made recordings for Nation's Forum several years before they became President. 

Eamonn DeValera was an American born Irish nationalist who was the leader of Sinn Fein from 1917 - 1926.   After Ireland became an independent country, he later served as President and Prime Minister.   DeValera was arrested for his role in the 1916 Easter Uprising against the British and spent a year in a British prison. When he returned to Ireland and became President of Sinn Fein, he was arrested again.  In 1919 DeValera managed to escape from prison and made his way to America  where he spent a year and a half actively raising money from America's large population of Irish immigrants for Sinn Fein and Irish independence.  It was during this period that DeValera made this and at least one other Nation's Forum record that I have in my collection.

For more information about Eamonn DeValera, click on this link. 

I present this recording because of its historical interest.  DeValera's opinions are not necessarily reflective of my own.

The flip side of the record is a medley of Irish waltzes.  Included in the medley are the following tunes:  "Barney O'Hea," "Those Endearing Young Charms," "Low Back'd Chair," and "Come Back To Erin."

This record does not have a catalog number.  The only number visible on the label is the Columbia 12 inch series matrix number for each side.  The matrix number on the "Irish Waltz" side enabled me to discover that the recording was made by Prince's Orchestra in May 1915 and was originally issued on Columbia A-5689. 

Mamie
Paul Van Loan And His Orchestra         1925
(Cameo 697 mx 1364)
 

Titina
Bob Haring And His Orchestra              1925
(Cameo 697 mx 1372)
 

When I Think Of You
Gene Rodemich's Orchestra                 1925
(Brunswick 2843-A mx 4970)
 

Sunset
Barney Rapp And His Orchestra          1925
(Victor 19615-A)
 
 

About the only common thread between the selections in this week's update is that they were all recorded in 1925 at the very end of the era of acoustical recording and that they consist of mostly forgotten songs performed by mostly forgotten dance bands.

I think "Mamie" is a rather charming song - though I don't particularly care for the somewhat corny "wah-wah" effects on this version.  The song was composed by Jack Shilkret and Harry B. Smith.

About two minutes and one second into the "Mamie" selection, you will hear a brief audio distortion where the music abnormally slows down and speeds back up.  When I completed and listened to the sound file, I assumed that something must have slowed down the the turntable when I was recording it and feared I would have to start all over again.  It turned out that the defect was in the original recording.  My guess is something must have disturbed the turntable when the master was being cut.  Perhaps someone bumped into it or there was a very brief loss of power.

I do not have much information about the Paul Van Loan Orchestra other than the fact that it was an actual band and not a recording pseudonym.   Van Loan was credited as the composer of several 1920s era songs and seems to have worked as an arranger on Broadway as late as 1948. 

"Titina" is a rather exotic sounding song that was very well known in Europe as well as in the United States.  It was composed in 1922 by Frenchman Leo Daniderff and was introduced to America in the musical review Puzzles of 1925.  It was later featured in the 1936 Charlie Chaplin film Modern Times. 

Bob Haring is another bandleader from the era that I do not have much information about.  He made many recordings for the Cameo and Brunswick labels - including many under the pseudonym of the Colonial Club Orchestra. 

"When I Think Of You" is another nice but mostly forgotten song published in 1925.  It was composed by Vincent Rose and had lyrics by Harry Owens. 

The Gene Rodemich Orchestra was very well known in the St. Louis area before it moved to the east coast where it provided musical accompaniment to many early radio programs on the fledgling Columbia Broadcasting System.  In the early 1930s, the band was featured on several cartoon soundtracks.   More information about the Gene Rodemich Orchestra can be found at this link.

"Sunset" was composed by Raymond Klages, Barney Rapp and Ray Trotta.  I think it is very charming as well. 

The Barney Rapp Orchestra was originally a New England based band but eventually moved to Cincinnati,  Ohio where it was active until at least the late 1940s.   One of Barney Rapp's female vocalists, a teenager named Doris Von Kappleoff later went on  to become famous in the movies and on television.  It was Barney Rapp who suggested that she change her name to Doris Day.  More information on the Barney Rapp Orchestra can be found at this link
 

 

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. 
 
 

The Mosquitos' Parade
Orchestra                                    Circa 1926-1929
(Victor Pict-Ur-Music 0393)

Thunder And Blazes
American Military Band               Circa 1931-1935
(American Record Corporation F 124)

Comrades Of The Legion
United States Military Band          Circa 1931-1935
(American Record Corporation F 126)
 

Here are some rather unusual records that were used to provide musical accompaniment for silent films. 

One of the things that makes these records unique is the same recording is pressed on both sides of the record.  I am not sure why that was the case.  My guess is that it was either so the person in the projector room did not have to worry about having to see what side of the record to cue up in the dark or that it was so a new second side was available if the sound quality of the first side began to deteriorate after multiple playings.  I have a few 78 rpm records from the 1940s used for juke boxes that also have the same recording pressed in both sides.

The label of Victor's "Pict-Ur-Music" says: "This Record supplied, and for use only with Victor "Pict-Ur-Music" Library Service."   Apparently the discs were leased to theatre owners as the label also carries the notice: "Property of the Victor Talking Machine Co."

The American Record Corporation was formed in 1929 when the Plaza Music Company (which owned  the Banner, Domino and Regal labels among others) merged with Cameo Records which itself had merged with Pathe Freres (which made the Pathe and Perfect labels) a year earlier.   During the lowest point of the Depression, the company also acquired Brunswick and Columbia making it the owner of all the surviving 1920s era labels besides Victor.   These silent film discs, however, are the only example I am aware of where the American Record Corporation name actually appears on a record label.

Brunswick also made a similar type of disc for theatre operators which it called the Brunswick Mood Accompaniment Library.  I have one of those in my collection as well - but I was unable to locate it in time for the update. 

What I have not so far been able to determine is whether the records were specifically designated for specific movie scenes or whether that was left to the judgment of individual theatre operators. 

"The Mosquito's Parade" was published  in 1899 and composed by Howard Whitney.  An interesting bit of trivia about the song is that it was played by the band on the doomed maiden voyage of the Titanic.

You may or may not recognize the song title "Thunder and Blazes" but you will immediately recognize the tune as it has become universally associated with circus clowns.  The song was written in 1897 by Czech composer Julius Fucik and was known as "Entry of the Gladiators."  In 1910 Canadian bandmaster Louis-Phillipe Laurendeau revived the song and renamed it "Thunder and Blazes."

"Comrades of the Legion" is a John Phillip Sousa march published in 1920.