really-old-records

[really-old-records]

Whew, it’s been a minute.  Seems about time to knock the dust off this blog with a phenomenal Western Swing side by Bill Boyd’s Cowboy Ramblers, recorded at the Dallas Athletic Club in Sept., 1937.  

Listen, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5vIkFaFPOE

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Brilliant example of the typical “Jazz” found in Latin America in the 1920′s.  Here on this Chilean pressing, we hear the tango orchestra of Fransisco Canaro, which was perhaps the most famous and prolific tango orchestra of the era.  And with a diverse repertoire - as we see here on one side, a tango, and the other - “Blues”!

“El Tisico” rec. in Buenos Aires, November 1929: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvMn5GKExrI&feature=youtu.be

“Cuban Blues” rec. in Buenos Aires in October, 1929:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vphblsrYdw0&feature=youtu.be

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Jazz from Paris, 1929:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keNjZaMOjvU

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[really-old-records]

“No, this blog hasn’t died.  When I first started collecting, I always had in my mind that once I reached adulthood, that I would have a massive collection.  And while I have assembled a large collection, it doesn’t do any good if you don’t have time/energy to enjoy it.  Thankfully, a lighter schedule this year should allow for more enjoyment and - more posts here.

Anyway, now that the flimsy excuse is over, i’d like to return with this awesome new arrival.  

Most discs of the late 1920s and 1930s proclaimed that they were “electrically recorded” (that is, recorded using a microphone instead of the old acoustic method) but by 1930, that claim meant little. Most, if not all, discs put out in the United States were electrically recorded by then, and often those recordings were lower quality than the big companies were getting with the acoustic method.  

However, the claim this record label is making in 1924 was cutting edge.  The Autograph label was the first to have put out records made using a microphone.  This was ahead of Victor and Columbia, who wouldn’t begin putting out electrically cut discs until mid-1925.  

Autograph was the label of engineer Orlando Marsh, who is best known for this and also his work with Paramount, as his studio (or, “laboratory”) was contracted out for most Paramount sessions prior to 1927.  He is pictured in the background of this photo of Jesse Crawford during his first recording session in the Chicago Theatre in 1924 - along with his recording equipment.  

These records are rare and hard to access in the original form, often being over filtered for compilations,  which lead people to think that the recording system used by Marsh was primitive.  And while it wasn’t as good as the Western Electric system used by Victor and Columbia in 1925 - it was still impressive for a basically home-built system.  

--

The Popularity of the “Cinema Organ”

During the era of silent movies, there was always some form of musical accompaniment.  In the small theatres, a piano player and in the larger, fancier theatres - a pipe organ (or an orchestra, for large or special screenings.)  

The pipe organ could also add all sorts of sound effects to the movies, and the movie studios would often publish a score along with the film.  Some of the organists became famous in their own right and popularized organ music in the mainstream.  

Jesse Crawford was perhaps the most famous of his time, and the Victor records he made are still extremely common.  But he also started recording for Autograph, along with the organist who we’ve featured here, Milton Charles.  

Autograph discs are very rare but the best sellers were the organ records and caught the attention of Victor.  

So please enjoy two sides from 1924: 

“Our Yesterdays” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQkNWyhmFeY

“Serenade” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53vmK-4mMFY

[really-old-records]

I know my last post also featured this band (bad marks for variety) but I’m taking this opportunity to share some fantastic rare photos that recently came to light.  While also sharing something else quite rare - the Russian version of “Sarita” a British hit of around the same time. 

First, we see the orchestra where it was resident at the Hotel Europe, Leningrad.  The use of two pianos is quite unusual for bands of the time.  One of them is played by Alexander Skomorovsky, who was also responsible for the arrangements.  The photo of the two men are the Skomorovsky brothers - Yakov and Alexander.  

The discovery of the photo of the orchestra confirmed that the vocalist on the twenty known 1932 recordings Ivan Milovidov was also a regular feature of the band - he is standing in front of the right piano.  It was known that he sang with the Leningrad Light Opera Company, but now this confirms that he sang with them live instead of just on the recordings.  

So here’s “Sarita” 1932: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFkP27NrVjo

[really-old-records]

Ads on vintage Soviet vinyl records (1950s)

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Awesome oriental themed British dance band recording from December of 1929, on the scarce “Piccadilly” label:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_DaAei9sPk

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New to the collection - an absolutely amazing find.

This record, "Vladivostock" is the first of twenty discs cut by the Jazz band of Yakov Skomorovsky in 1932.  His band played at the Hotel Europe in Leningrad.

Although there were other Soviet jazz bands to make records by 1932, none had yet recorded so prolifically and so in the style of Western bands.  Most of the tunes were American or German, this one being composed by a pair of Belgian writers.  The arrangement closely mirrors that of the German bands that played this, however it's extended by quotes from Russian folk songs, like "Bubliczki" and "Song from the Odessa Jail."

These discs are rare - but what makes this one even more surprising is that this is different than the take which has been online for some time.  The matrix number is 2280a (compared to the main matrix, 2280) indicating it was the second choice.  The common practice of the time was three finished takes of each tune, so there was a backup take in case of damage to the main take or worn stampers during processing.  Given the low pressing runs for any Russian KPO disc of this period, it's rather surprising that a second take was used unless the original stampers became damaged.

Furthermore, this alternate take only shows slight differences in the solos, showing that this jazz band was extremely well rehearsed.

Moscow, 1932:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlLmThY8FBo

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W E L C O M E

Welcome to PHONO-OPTICA:

A gallery of photographs of forgotten musicians. Here are the silent traces of old unknown songs and melodies and their makers left behind on pieces of paper and tin and silver.  Please proceed through the pictures here or you can browse by the following categories:

INSTRUMENTS

accordion    autoharp    banjo    fiddle    guitar    mandolin    ukulele

OTHER SUBJECT MATTER

African-American musicians    phonographs    tintypes    women musicians   

[really-old-records]

Shellac mysteries #2

Well, this isn’t shellac - rather, it’s an acetate 78.  And while each acetate is unique, as a whole it’s common to find some in a pile of 78s.  Furthermore, much of the time it’s rather uninteresting.  Sure, it’s nice to hear glimpses of old radio broadcasts or family gatherings, but that gets old quickly. 

Not so with this acetate. 

It’s actually a family item, which makes it even more special.  This record is made by a semi-pro country western band from Enid, Oklahoma.  In the days where live music was still very much a thing, this band would play at events and dances.  My grandmother recalls her parents going out and dancing to this band often.  

However, I only know the band member that was my relative - Dale Kruse.  Distant relative at that.  Not sure who the other members are but clearly, they were good.  

Dale was born in Keowee, about 1918, according to the US Census.  He was still living there in 1940 with his parents and two sisters.  It isn’t quite clear when he started his band, but apparently he was active musically long enough for his son, Melvin, to be a bandmember. 

And so we have perhaps the only recordings remaining of this excellent semi-pro Country Western band: “The Waltz you saved for me” complete with a vocal, and some sort of bluesy steel guitar track. 

Try to listen and hear past the noise of this record (did I mention it’s on the verge of falling apart?) and imagine some country dance hall in Oklahoma, full of dancers on their big night out “in the city”...

Circa 1950, Probably Enid, Oklahoma...

“The Waltz you Saved for Me”   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBHSgwb_e2E

[Untitled Track] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w17k6AiWd4U&feature=youtu.be

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Haunting Hungarian tango “I Hate you” in Poland, 1928 - recorded for the Syrena record company (acoustically!) by the Orchestra of Artur Gold (holding violin, left back row) and Jerzy Petersburski (bald man in the back row).  

Artur was the brother of famous violinst, bandleader and composer Henryk Gold and Petersburski is the renowned composer of Polish pop tunes in the 1920s and 30s.  

Warsaw, 1928: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28O1En3-tP0

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Shellac Mysteries, #1

The first post in a series i’m planning on some of the most obscure discs in my collection, records by artists that have been completely forgotten.  

As mentioned before on this blog, “Royal” was a Chilean label made by the pirate operation of Efrian Band in Santiago.  Usually they’re anonymous, but usually can be identified by the familiar style of the artist or, the original matrix numbers left in the runout.  Piracy by this factory was a little sloppy and besides, there was no legislation punishing piracy of recorded sound in Chile yet, so the original numbers were often left.  This makes them easy to find in discographies.  

The flip side of this record was easily identified - “Julian” by Rosita Quiroga, the famous Argentine tango singer, whose voice was instantly familiar and besides, the original Victor matrix number was left.  

This side should have been easy, the matrix number (in this case, from a Columbia disc) also remains.  But it was missing from the online discography.  

Searches for records under the title “Amor Perdido” (Lost Love) yielded no relevant results either.  

Finally, buried in a Spottswood discography we find the matrix number, with a disc under a completely different title: “Que lejos ando.”  Further clouding this was the fact that on the label, it says it’s a tenor and soprano duet when the artists credited in the discography was Alcides Briceño & Jorge Añez Avendaño, a tenor duet.  Again, remember, piracy was a sloppy thing.  

(Duo Briceño y Pino, artists of the above record and recorded extensively for Victor and Columbia.  --- It pains me to present such a low resolution image however, it’s the only one I could find. )

Jorge Añez Avendaño was born in Bogata, Columbia, in 1892.  Briceno was from Panama.  The two met in Panama, where Briceno was the first tenor of the Opera house there.  When Briceno went to New York to finish his musical studies, Avendano met him there where, presumably, these first Columbia records were made in 1919.  

They toured extensively in the US, singing Columbian music for American audiences.  An article linked below asserts that they signed a contract with Victor, which was extended with the advent of Electrical recording.  No mention, however, is made of the early acoustic records made for Columbia, which would have been their very first.  

By the 1930s they had returned to Columbia, and continued musical performances.  It’s not known when they retired, but Avendano passed away in 1952.  Apparently recording had ceased when they left the US. 

Now for the record itself.  

The sound quality is terrible.

Columbia discs of the period are notoriously grainy and gritty, sounding with lots of surface noise even for mint specimens.  Add the fact that this is a copy of a low quality disc, the noise is pretty considerable.  That said, the music is still great, almost haunting - and is definitely worth a listen. 

NYC, December 1919: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a3GVJvC4OE&t=93s

---

Source:

https://lascancionesdelabuelo.blogspot.com/2014/04/briceno-y-anez-vol2-aquellas-canciones.html

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A hot one from July, 1929: not quite Annette Hanshaw, but this will do nicely.  

The High Hatters were a Victor studio group under the direction of prolific bandleader Leonard Joy, who (from what I can tell) usually didn’t go in for this kind of hot jazz.  That being said, the High Hatters sides are among the hottest records made by a Victor studio group.  

New York, July 5, 1929: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9DtjXfY1Vw

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Brilliant (and scarce) dance band side from the early years of the depression, May of 1931.  Listen for the banjo, really late for 1931!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9FHoP_0Z3Y

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WHBQ, Memphis. The first radio station in America to play an Elvis Presley record.

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This week, my blog turns two years old!

I would like to thank all of my followers for - following, and the kind folks that favorite and re-blog posts of mine, it is indeed noticed and appreciated.  

Thank you all and happy summer!