Broadcast Twelve 3203 – Carson Robison and his Pioneers – 1932

Posted on August 27, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

Please note: this article dates to Old Time Blues’ first year and does not meet the standard of quality to which more recent postings are held. Thank you for your understanding.

The other day I had the pleasure of acquiring a small selection of British records, which are always a treat for their diversity of content. Among my souvenirs was this one on the Broadcast Twelve label. Given that it is by an American artist, I first presumed that it was recorded in the United States and exported to the UK for pressing. However, I questioned whether Broadcast Twelve had ever even used imported masters, as some labels did, and I began to remember hearing about Carson Robison visiting Europe around the time the record was made.

Sure enough, in 1932, Carson Robison and his Pioneers embarked on one of the first country music tours of the British Isles, and Broadcast Twelve 3203 was recorded in London, England in May of 1932. Personnel includes Carson Robison on guitar, harmonica and vocal with John and Bill Mitchell on banjos and guitars, Frank Novak on string bass, and an unknown fiddle.

I don’t know why it is, but it seems like somehow American artists played with more vigor and gusto in recordings made while touring overseas.

On the first side, Robison’s Pioneers don’t disappoint with Stephen Foster’s “Oh! Susannah”, which features the Mitchell Brothers really tearing it up on their banjos. Seems to me, Carson Robison doesn’t get enough credit, the more I hear of him, the better I like his work.

Oh! Susannah, recorded May 1932 by Carson Robison and his Pioneers.

“Sweet Virginia” can’t live up to the standard set by the “A” side, though it does feature a nice piece of Carson Robison’s whistling, and a vocal by Pearl Pickens.

Sweet Virginia, recorded May 1932 by Carson Robison and his Pioneers.

Updated with improved audio on May 8, 2017, and on October 13, 2017.

Melotone M 12639 – Cab Calloway and his Orchestra – 1930

Posted on August 21, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

Please note: this article dates to Old Time Blues’ first year and does not meet the standard of quality to which more recent postings are held. Thank you for your understanding.

I think it’s about time I featured a Cab Calloway record, so here it is, one of his earliest records, as well as one of his best. At such an early recording date, Calloway’s band retained the most of the members, and hot sound of their predecessor, the Missourians.

Melotone M 12639, originally issued as Brunswick 6020, was recorded on December 23, 1930 in New York, two days before Cab’s birthday, in New York City, this Melotone was issued around early to mid 1933. These sides feature Cab singing and directing the band, and includes R.Q. Dickerson, Lammar Wright, and Reuben “River” Reeves on trumpets, De Priest Wheeler and Harry White on trombones, William Thornton Blue on clarinet and alto sax, Andrew Brown on bass clarinet and tenor sax, Walter “Foots” Thomas on alto, tenor and baritone saxes, Earres Prince on piano, Morris White on banjo, Jimmy Smith on bass, and Leroy Maxey on drums.

The band’s energetic performance of the evergreen classic “Some of These Days” is one of Cab’s hottest tunes ever recorded, with the (ex-)Missourians playing as hot as ever. This side has a few small needle digs that cause slight disruption near the end, please try to excuse them.

Some of These Days, recorded December 23, 1930 by Cab Calloway and his Orchestra.

Maceo Pinkard’s “Is That Religion” is performed in the form of a mock-sacred song, with a chorus singing in the background, and Cab preaching.

Is That Religion?, recorded December 23, 1930 by Cab Calloway and his Orchestra.

Victor 45347 – Will Rogers – 1923

Posted on August 15, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

Will Rogers was America’s most complete human document. He reflected in many ways the heartbeat of America.

— Damon Runyon

The great American humorist Will Rogers, circa 1935.

On this day, August 15, eighty years ago, the great American humorist, movie star, vaudevillian, and cowboy, Will Rogers met his tragic fate with the famed aviator Wiley Post near Point Barrow in Alaska while surveying a route from North America to Russia in Post’s cobbled together airplane, with Will intending to pick up some new material for his newspaper column along the way. The flight went well until an engine failure caused the plane to take a nosedive and crash into a lagoon.

In his life, Will Rogers, born November 4, 1879 in Oologah, Indian Territory, was one of the biggest and brightest stars of the Roaring Twenties. He became a cowboy in his early life, and later turned to vaudeville, starring in Ziegfeld’s Follies, with his trick roping a major attraction. By the end of the 1910s, Rogers had become a Hollywood movie star, and would appear in seventy-one pictures from 1918 to 1935. What Will Rogers is probably best remembered for however, is his wit, which he expressed in his newspaper column from 1922 to 1935. Befriending another of the greatest stars of the day, Charles Lindbergh, Rogers took an interest in aviation, which would be his downfall in 1935. Will Rogers in his day became something of a folk hero, representing classical American values, and an innocence of bygone days, and his death sparked nationwide tributes.

On Victor 45347, recorded February 6, 1923 in New York City, Will Rogers gives us “A New Slant on War” and “Timely Topics”. The record was released in March of 1923 and remained in the Victor catalog until 1927, it was later reissued as Victor 25126 on August 25, 1935, ten days after Will’s untimely demise.

With the Great War still fresh on the nation’s mind, in “A New Slant on War”, Will gives us, as the title would indicate, some humorous thoughts on war, why we have them, and how we can prevent them in the future.

A New Slant on War, recorded February 6, 1923 by Will Rogers.

While “Timely Topics” may not seem so timely anymore, Rogers’s monologue is still remarkably relevant, brimming with gems of his timeless witticisms.

Timely Topics, recorded February 6, 1923 by Will Rogers.

Brunswick 4677 – Harry Richman with Earl Burtnett and his Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel Orchestra – 1930

Posted on August 10, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

Today, August 10th, marks the 120th birthday of one of my favorite vaudevillians, Harry Richman, so for your listening pleasure today, I present one of my favorite records of all time, one of the best of the many excellent songs by Irving Berlin, the great “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in its original iteration, performed by Richman, the song’s originator. This is about as close as you can get to an “original recording” from an age when songwriters wrote their songs and all the record companies made their own records at about the same time.

Harry Richman, born Harold Reichman on August 10, 1895 in Cincinnati, Ohio, spent the bulk of the 1920s working the vaudeville circuit. In 1926, he became a hit, starring in George White’s Scandals, and by 1930 scored himself the starring role in the motion picture “Puttin’ on the Ritz”. The movie was not a huge success, due in part to Richman’s “overpowering” personality, but the movie’s titular theme song was a hit record for Richman. Richman continued to perform as usual after that, debuting in 1932 what would become his radio theme, “I Love a Parade”.

Irving Berlin first penned “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, which would later become one of his most famous compositions, in May 1927, but did not publish it until December 1929. Its lyrics tell of the at the time common occurrence of White people visiting Harlem for the jazzy atmosphere cultivated by its black residents, a Jazz Age account of a time when, as Langston Hughes put it, “the Negro was in vogue”. About fifteen years later, Berlin revised the song’s lyrics with more timely lyrics about the opulent lifestyle of Park Avenue dwellers, which are more commonly remembered today.

On Brunswick 4677, Harry Richman sings “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and “There’s Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie” from the motion picture Puttin’ on the Ritz, accompanied on both by Earl Burtnett’s Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel Orchestra. Both sides were recorded January 30, 1930 in Los Angeles, California. The Biltmore Hotel Orchestra consists of Fuzz Menge on trumpet, Fran Baker on cornet, Lank Menge on trombone, Hank and Gene Miller on clarinet and alto sax, Fred Stoddard on clarinet and tenor sax, Earl Burtnett on piano, Bill Grantham on banjo, Harry Robison on string bass, and Jess Kirkpatrick on drums.

On “A”, Richman sings, well, if you can’t figure that out yourself by now then you sure haven’t been paying much attention!

Puttin’ on the Ritz, recorded January 30, 1930 by Harry Richman.

And on the flip, Richman sings his own collaborative composition, “There’s Danger in Your Eyes, Chérie”.

There’s Danger in Your Eyes Chérie, recorded January 30, 1930 by Harry Richman.

Updated on June 24, 2016.

Okeh 41504 – Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra – 1931

Posted on August 4, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

Please note: this article dates to Old Time Blues’ first year and does not meet the standard of quality to which more recent postings are held. Thank you for your understanding.

Normally, I wouldn’t make two consecutive posts of records by the same artist, but today, August 4, marks the great Louis Armstrong’s 114th birthday, so I’m making an exception. To celebrate the momentous occasion, I present to you Armstrong’s theme song, and one of his most popular early records.

Okeh 41504, recorded April 20 and 28, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, features Louis Armstrong on trumpet and vocals, backed by Zilner Randolph on second trumpet, Preston Jackson on trombone, Lester Boone (on clarinet and alto sax), Albert Washington (on clarinet and tenor sax), and George James in the reed section, Charlie Alexander on piano, Mike McKendrick on banjo and guitar, John Lindsay on bass, and Tubby Hall on drums.

First up is “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South”, recorded April 20, a composition by brothers Otis and Leon René and Clarence Muse which would become his theme song. Louis starts by striking up a conversation with pianist Charlie Alexander (who actually hailed from Ohio) about their home back in New Orleans before segueing into the song.

When It’s Sleepy Time Down South, recorded April 20, 1931 by Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra.

On the flip, recorded April 28, Louis and the band play “I’ll Be Glad When Your Dead, You Rascal You”, written by “Lovin’ Sam” Theard (though Cow Cow Davenport claimed to have written it), one of his most popular songs of the day, which he would replay twice over the following year for Paramount Pictures and Fleischer Studios.

I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You, recorded April 28, 1931 by Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra