Brunswick 6472 – Bing Crosby with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians – 1933

Guy Lombardo. From 1932 P&G publication.

Guy Lombardo. From 1932 P&G publication.

Today we honor the consummate bandleader Guy Lombardo, whose Royal Canadians were a staple on records and radio for many decades—and who better to help celebrate the occasion than old Der Bingle?

Gaetano Alberto Lombardo was born in London, Ontario on June 19, 1902.  His father had each of his children learn to play different instruments so they could accompany his singing.  The Lombardo brothers put their first orchestra together when they were still children, and they first played in public in 1914.  Ten years later, Guy Lombardo and his Orchestra made their first recordings for the Starr Piano Company in Richmond, Indiana, released on the Gennett label.  After Gennett, the Royal Canadians recorded briefly for Brunswick, which yielded two issued sides on Vocalion in 1927, and then with Columbia, with whom he stayed until 1931.  Following his engagement with Columbia, he took his band to Brunswick from 1932 to ’34, then to Decca, as many Brunswick artists did after former employee Jack Kapp founded the company.  The Royal Canadians switched to Victor for a period, before returning to Decca in 1938.  Lombardo’s was perhaps most famous for his New Years Eve shows, which began at the Roosevelt Hotel in 1929, and continued until after his death, with the tradition carried on by his band, despite competition from Dick Clark.  Though Lombardo’s “sweet” style of music was derided by many jazz fans who preferred their music served hot, he was reportedly hailed by the likes of both Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.  Guy Lombardo died of a heart attack on November 5, 1977.

Brunswick 6472 was recorded January 12, 1933 in New York City by Bing Crosby accompanied by Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians.  Both songs originate from the 1933 musical film 42nd Street.

First, Bing croons “Young and Healthy”, with Lombardo’s Royal Canadians in fine form.

Young and Healthy

Young and Healthy, recorded January 12, 1933 by Bing Crosby with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians.

On the flip-side, Lombardo takes top billing on “You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me”.

You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me

You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me, recorded Janury 12, 1933 by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians with Bing Crosby.

Vocalion 2587 – Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike) – 1933

Today we celebrate the birthday of Cliff Edwards, the man known as “Ukulele Ike”.  He was one of the leading figures in the proliferation of the ukulele during the roaring twenties, and made his mark on the cinematic world as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney’s Pinocchio.  Edwards’ distinctive vocal style was punctuated with his trademark “effin’,” a sort of kazoo sounding scat singing of his own creation.

Cliff Edwards as illustrated in Radio Round-Ups by Gurman and Slager, 1932.

Clifton Avon Edwards was born June 14, 1895 in Hannibal, Missouri, of no particular musical background.  He took up singing in St. Louis saloons in his teenage years, and bought his first ukulele because it was the cheapest instrument he could find.  He was given the nickname “Ukulele Ike” by a bar owner who couldn’t remember his actual name.  In 1918, he made a hit in Chicago with “Ja-Da” and was hired onto the vaudeville stage by Joe Frisco.  He made his first phonograph records in 1922 with Ladd’s Black Aces and Bailey’s Lucky Seven, for Gennett, and was signed to Pathé soon after.  Over the course of the 1920s, he made his way to the top, becoming one of the most successful singing stars in America, with numerous hits on record and stage.  In 1929, Edwards was brought into the world of moving pictures by Irving Thalberg, and made his mark on the budding talking pictures with his introduction of “Singin’ in the Rain” in The Hollywood Revue of 1929.  He continued to appear in movies through the 1930s, and provided the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney’s production of Pinocchio in 1940.  His stardom in stage, screen, and radio faded over the course of the Great Depression, though he continued to work in show business for many years, still making sporadic appearances in the 1950s and ’60s.  In spite of his fame and success, Edwards was careless with his money, and died penniless of arteriosclerosis in 1971.  Most of his medical bills were paid by Walt Disney Productions.

Vocalion 2587 was recorded October 24 and 26, 1933 in New York City by Cliff Edwards.  Both sides feature tunes from the 1933 motion picture Take a Chance.  Edwards is accompanied by Dick McDonough on guitar on the first side, and Artie Bernstein on string bass on the second.

Here, Ukulele Ike croons the Depression-era classic “It’s Only a Paper Moon” from 1933’s Take a Chance, in which Edwards appeared.  One of my personal favorites.

It's Only a Paper Moon

It’s Only a Paper Moon, recorded October 24, 1933 by Cliff Edwards “Ukulele Ike”.

Next, he sings a less remembered, but equally excellent tune, Herman “Dodo” Hupfeld’s “Night Owl”.  I can relate.

Night Owl

Night Owl, recorded October 26, 1933 by Cliff Edwards “Ukulele Ike”.

Updated on May 31, 2017 and June 9, 2017, and with improved audio on April 1, 2018.

Melotone M 12733 – Gene Autry – 1933

Eighty-three years ago today, the end came for Jimmie Rodgers.  On May 17, 1933, Jimmie traveled to New York City for what turned out to be his final recording session, during which he had to lie down in-between songs.   He cut his last recordings on the 24th, and returned to his room in the Taft Hotel.  On May 26, 1933, only two days after waxing his final song, “Years Ago”, Jimmie Rodgers finally succumbed to his tuberculosis, and died in his hotel room of a pulmonary hemorrhage at the age of 35.  He had fought T.B. since 1924.  At the time of his death, he represented a large percentage of Victor’s total sales deep in the Great Depression.  America’s Blue Yodeler left behind a legacy of more than a hundred recorded songs, later going down in history as the Father of Country Music.

After Jimmie’s passing, a wave of tributes ensued, including a number of songs by WLS artist Bradley Kincaid, and these tearjerkers by Gene Autry.

Melotone M 12733 was recorded June 22, 1933, less than one month after Jimmie Rodgers’ death, in New York City by Gene Autry.  Both songs were penned by Bob Miller.

First, Autry sings a reasonably accurate account of Jimmie Rodger’s life on “The Life of Jimmie Rodgers”.

The Life of Jimmie Rodgers

The Life of Jimmie Rodgers. recorded June 22, 1933 by Gene Autry.

On the flip, he sings a heartfelt tribute to Jimmie on “The Death of Jimmie Rodgers”.

The Death of Jimmie Rodgers

The Death of Jimmie Rodgers, recorded June 22, 1933 by Gene Autry.

Montgomery Ward M-4415 – Jimmie Rodgers – 1933

On this day, the twenty-fourth of May, in the year of 1933, America’s Blue Yodeler cut his last records.  With the nation in the grip of the Great Depression in 1933, the economic state prohibited Victor from continuing to make field trips to record in the South, so Jimmie had to travel to the studios in New York.  By ’33, Jimmie was not in good health; tuberculosis had gotten the better of him, and cross country travel would do his health no favors.  During his final sessions, he had to lie down and rest in-between takes, and relied on studio musicians for accompaniment on many of his final recordings.  Only two days after making his final recordings, Jimmie Rodgers expired in his room at the Taft Hotel of a pulmonary hemorrhage.

Montgomery M-4415 was recorded May 18 and May 24, 1933 in New York City.  The latter of which turned out to be Jimmie’s final session.  It was originally issued on Bluebird B-5281, this issue was pressed from those masters and sold through the Montgomery Ward catalog.  Despite his failing health, Jimmie maintained a strong voice for most of these sides, and accompanies himself on guitar on both.

Jimmie Rodgers’ famous series of “Blue Yodels” began in 1927 with “T for Texas”, and concluded here with the thirteenth song in the series, the fittingly titled “Jimmie Rodgers’ Last Blue Yodel”, or “The Women Make a Fool Out of Me”.

Jimmie Rodgers' Last Blue Yodel

Jimmie Rodgers’ Last Blue Yodel, recorded May 18, 1933 by Jimmie Rodgers.

In 1927, Jimmie Rodgers began his recording career in Bristol, Tennessee with “The Soldier’s Sweetheart”.  In 1933, he concluded that career with “Years Ago”.

Years Ago

Years Ago, recorded May 24, 1933 by Jimmie Rodgers.

Melotone M 12828 – Joe Venuti and his Orchestra – 1933

Happy Easter (1942) from Old Time Blues to you!

A Happy Easter (1942) from Old Time Blues to you!

I spent some time carefully deliberating over an appropriate record for this Easter.  I considered a variety of rural sacred material, but nothing seemed to fit properly, before it hit me: what song could be more fitting for the occasion than Irving Berlin’s “Easter Parade”!  I don’t know how I could have initially made such an oversight.

While these sides bear the name of Joe Venuti (though it was largely just an ARC studio band that included Venuti), they’re not particularly hot music.  In fact, they’re rather run-of-the-mill Depression-era pop tunes, not bad by any means, quite good actually, but not hot jazz.  However, these sides are remarkable for at least one reason: they both feature a vocal refrain by one Dolores DeFina, using the name Dolores Reade at the behest of her agent.  Less than a year after this record was made, Dolores Reade married an emergent vaudevillian by the name of Bob Hope.  Though she had to put up with Bob’s womanizing habit, the two remained married until Hope’s death in 2003.  Dolores passed in 2011 at the age of 102.

Melotone M 12828 was recorded October 26, 1933 in New York City by Joe Venuti and his Orchestra, featuring a vocal chorus on both sides by Dolores Reade.  Both songs originate from Irving Berlin’s 1933 revue, As Thousands Cheer.  While the full personnel is not known, the band includes, besides Venuti on violin, Max Farley on clarinet and alto sax and Pat Davis or Bud Freeman on tenor sax.

In celebration of the holiday today, here’s a charming rendition of “Easter Parade”.

Easter Parade

Easter Parade, recorded October 26, 1933 by Joe Venuti and his Orchestra.

On the other side is another song from As Thousands Cheer, though it’s not as well remembered as “Easter Parade”, “Heat Wave”.

Heat Wave

Heat Wave, recorded October 26, 1933 by Joe Venuti and his Orchestra.

Updated on June 24, 2016.