A Crown Dance Band Double Feature – 3149 & 3281 – 1931/1932

Posted on January 21, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

This Dance Band Double Feature is dedicated to Smith Ballew, who was born on this day (January 21) in 1902. Under his frequently used pseudonym, Buddy Blue and his Texans, Ballew and his band play four classic songs of the early 1930s recorded on the Crown label.

Smith Ballew was born Sykes Ballew in Palestine, Texas on January 20, 1902. He had his education in Sherman, Texas before finishing college at the University of Texas in Austin. While at UT, Ballew played banjo in James Maloney’s band, called Jimmie’s Joys at the time. That band, with Ballew, made a few records in California for the Golden label in 1923. By the late 1920s, he was working as a studio vocalist in New York, working for a plethora of different bands and labels. After working steadily as a singer well into the 1930s, Smith turned to acting, appearing mostly in Westerns as a singing cowboy. After retiring from music in 1967, Ballew worked in the aircraft industry, eventually settling in Fort Worth. He died March 2, 1984 in Longview, Texas.

Crown 3149 was recorded in May of 1931. On the first side, Smith Ballew sings Harry Warren’s 1931 hit, the timeless “I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store)”.

I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store), recorded May 1931 by Buddy Blue and his Texans.

On the reverse, we hear “On the Beach With You”, this side claims to be a waltz, but it sounds more like a fox trot to my ear. The vocalist on this side is allegedly Charlie Lawman, but it sounds identical to Ballew’s vocal on the flip, and I believe it’s still him. On these 1931 recordings, the band retains much of a late 1920s sound with banjo rhythm and an accordion.

On the Beach With You, recorded May 1931 by Buddy Blue and his Texans.

The second disc, Crown 3281, was recorded in January of 1932. This record features two popular songs from Irving Berlin’s Face the Music. Both sides feature a vocal by Ballew. The band seems to have modernized significantly on these recordings, less than a year later, and may very well be an entirely different group. First up, it’s one of my personal favorites: “Let’s Have Another Cup o’ Coffee”.

Let’s Have Another Cup o’ Coffee, recorded January 1932 by Buddy Blue and his Texans.

On the flip, Ballew sings the charming “Soft Lights and Sweet Music”.

Soft Lights and Sweet Music, recorded January 1932 by Buddy Blue and his Texans.

Updated on April 28, 2018.

Another Bluebird Dance Band Double Feature – B-5049 & B-5053 – 1933/1931

Posted on December 2, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

As I’m in the process of uploading this duo of early Bluebirds to my YouTube channel (which you should most definitely take a look at if you like this kind of music), it seems like a fine time to do another Bluebird Dance Band Double Feature. Last time, I featured some of the sweet style of music that dominated pop music in the early 1930s, but this time I’ve got a couple of hotter bands for you, led by Paul Tremaine and Gene Kardos.

Bluebird B-5049 was recorded April 14, 1933 in New York City by Paul Tremaine and his Orchestra. On the first side, they play sweeter on Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler’s “Stormy Weather”, which had recently been debuted in the Cotton Club Parade of 1933.

Stormy Weather, recorded April 14, 1933 by Paul Tremaine and his Orchestra.

On the reverse, they play “Hand Me Down My Walkin’ Cane”, a remake of the rendition they had recorded for Columbia in February of 1930 (I’ll post the original sometime, too).

Hand Me Down My Walkin’ Cane, recorded April 14, 1933 by Paul Tremaine and his Orchestra.

The two sides of Bluebird B-5053 were recorded on two different occasions. The first side is another by Paul Tremaine, a wild “She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain”, recorded at the same April 14, 1933 session. That one is also a (considerably more frenetic) redo of one of their 1930 Columbia recordings. Be sure to listen for the little bit of “hinkle dinkle rooty too” between two of the choruses.

She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain, recorded April 14, 1933 by Paul Tremaine and his Orchestra.

On the flip-side, Gene Kardos and his Orchestra play a hot rendition of Carson Robison’s “Left My Gal in the Mountains”, recorded June 10, 1931 and originally issued on Victor’s short-lived Timely Tunes budget label. This was Kardos’ first session. The band consists of Sammy Castin and Willie Mayer on trumpets, Milt Shaw on trombone, Gene Kardos on alto sax, Joe Sagora on clarinet and alto sax, Morris Cohen or Nat Brown on clarinet, alto sax, and tenor sax, Joel Shaw on piano, Albert Julian on guitar, Danny Bono or Ben Goldberg on tuba, and Saul Howard on drums. The vocalist is Albert Julian.

Left My Gal In The Mountains, recorded June 10, 1931 by Gene Kardos and his Orchestra.

Updated on June 24, 2016 and April 29, 2018.

Brunswick 6847 – The Boswell Sisters – 1932/1931

Posted on November 9, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

This website needs more Boswell Sisters. It’s going into its sixth month of existence and still only has one article featuring the Boswells. That simply won’t do. After all, it was the Boswell Sisters that dragged the center of my interests back from the 1940s and 1950s into the 1920s and 1930s, and they’ll always have a special place in my heart. To remedy this unacceptable omission, here are two of the Boswells’ finest sides, one of my favorite records.

Brunswick 6847 was recorded on two separate occasions, the first side was recorded December 7, 1932, and the second was recorded a year and a half earlier, April 23, 1931, both sides in New York City. The first side, “Crazy People”, features only a rhythm backing by Dick McDonough on guitar and Artie Bernstein on string bass, along with Martha Boswell on piano. The flip side, “Shout, Sister, Shout” features a truly all-star accompaniment directed by Victor Young, including either Mannie Klein or Jack Purvis on trumpet, Tommy Dorsey on trombone, Jimmy Dorsey on clarinet and alto sax, Joe Venuti on violin, Arthur Schutt on piano, Eddie Lang on guitar, and Chauncey Morehouse on drums and vibraphone.

Although the Boswells’ rendition of Edgar Leslie and James V. Monaco’s “Crazy People” was recorded in 1932, a few months after the sisters filmed their performance of the song for The Big Broadcast, it was not given a record issue until this one in 1934.

Crazy People, recorded December 7, 1932 by The Boswell Sisters.

The Boswells’ classic performance of Clarence Williams’ “Shout, Sister, Shout” on the other hand was issued originally on Brunswick 6109 in 1931, and again issued on Brunswick 6783, before this issue in 1934.

Shout, Sister, Shout, recorded April 23, 1931 by The Boswell Sisters.

Columbia 2504-D – King Carter and his Royal Orchestra – 1931

Posted on September 5, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

In today’s post, it is my pleasure to present to you what I consider to be one of the finest examples of early Depression-era jazz ever recorded. Two quite different, but both superb pieces played by a band billed as “King Carter and his Royal Orchestra”, which was in actuality a pseudonym for the always excellent (and unfortunately oft overlooked) Mills Blue Rhythm Band.

Columbia 2504-D was recorded June 25, 1931 in New York City, and the orchestra includes Wardell Jones, Shelton Hemphill, and Ed Anderson on trumpets, Harry White and Henry Hicks on trombone, Charlie Holmes on clarinet and alto sax, Ted and Castor McCord on clarinet and tenor sax, Edgar Hayes on piano, Benny James on banjo, Hayes Alvis on string bass, and Willie Lynch on drums. George Morton provides the vocal on “Moanin'”.

For these two sides, I found that my usual equalization hindered the crispness of the music, especially the trumpets and cymbals, so these transfers are presented straight off the record, no equalization whatsoever. I hope you’ll find the increased crispness outweighs the slight crackle.

The first side of this disc introduces us to the sizzling hot, and also quite modernistic tune “Blue Rhythm”, a fitting title for this band, even if they’re not using their actual name.

Blue Rhythm, recorded June 25, 1931 by King Carter and his Royal Orchestra.

Don’t let the worn label fool you, the flip side, “Moanin'”, is in just as good or better condition. This side seems to have some kind of “wobbly” effect to it, it’s not a flaw with this particular copy, but is in fact a fault in the engineering, and is present on all pressings. Maybe the needle on the cutting lathe was worn out when it was recorded.

For me, this side conjures up the images of sitting a smoke-filled Harlem jazz club in the years after the stock market crash, as swing begins to evolve from its primordial soup of hot jazz, taking it slow and easy as the fast paced world passes by outside the door.

Moanin’, recorded June 25, 1931 by King Carter and his Royal Orchestra.

Okeh 41504 – Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra – 1931

Posted on August 4, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

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