Victor 39,000 – A Night With Paul Whiteman at the Biltmore – 1932

Posted on December 31, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

Since I regrettably don’t own a copy of “Auld Lang Syne” by Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians with which to usher in the New Year the traditional way, we’ll have to ring in the new year here at Old Time Blues with a different sweet band. As we prepare to get 2016 started out right, for our last post of 2015, here’s Paul Whiteman’s orchestra on one of his gorgeous Art Deco styled early 1930s picture records, with a medley of some of his most popular songs, played and sung by some of his most popular talent. As a side note, I do believe I’ll be tuning into Radio Dismuke for their annual New Year’s Eve Show this evening, and if you like the music I post here, I’d wager that’d tickle your fancy, too.

Victor 39,000 was recorded December 2, 1932 in New York City by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (or his “Troupe” as is noted on the record), it was reportedly offered to guests of the Biltmore Hotel during his engagement there (I guess Bert Lown had packed up and left by then). Coincidentally, this record probably would have made it to the presses sometime around the New Year of 1933. Though these rather poorly laminated picture discs are noted for their low-quality surface by Victor’s standards, the high quality recording, made with Victor’s early 1930s “hi-fi” process, still comes across very well on this copy, with a little bit of background noise. The personnel of Whiteman’s orchestra is
Nat Natoli and Harry Goldfield on trumpets, Andy Secrest on cornet, Jack Fulton on trombone, Hal Matthews and Bill Rank on trombones, Chester Hazlett on clarinet and bass clarinet, Charles Strickfaden on alto and baritone sax, Frankie Trumbauer on C-melody, alto sax and bassoon, John Cordaro on clarinet and tenor sax, Kurt Dieterle, Mischa Russell, Matty Malneck, and John Bowman on violins, Roy Bargy and Ramona on pianos, Mike Pingatore on banjo and guitar, Art Miller on string bass, and Herb Quigley on drums.

On the first part of this twelve inch musical extravaganza, the Whiteman group plays “Whispering”, “The Japanese Sandman”, “Some of These Days” featuring Roy Bargy and Ramona Davies, “Ida (Sweet as Apple Cider)” sung by Red McKenzie, “Dinah” by Peggy Healy, and “When Day is Done” featuring the trumpet of Harry “Goldie” Goldfield.

A Night With Paul Whiteman at the Biltmore [Part 1], recorded December 2, 1932 by Paul Whiteman and his Troupe.

Part two of the medley includes “St. Louis Blues” sung by Irene Taylor, “Sweet Sue” by Jack Fulton, “Mississippi Mud” sung by the Rhythm Boys (Al Dary, Jimmy Noel, George MacDonald, and Ray Kulz; not Bing, Al, and Harry), “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love” by Jane Vance and Al Dary, a rousing “Wabash Blues” with Mike Pingatore (or is it Pingitore?) on banjo, and “Three O’Clock in the Morning”.

A Night With Paul Whiteman at the Biltmore, recorded December 2, 1932 by Paul Whiteman and his Troupe.

A Night With Paul Whiteman at the Biltmore [Part 2], recorded December 2, 1932 by Paul Whiteman and his Troupe.

Updated on June 1, 2017, and with improved audio on July 3, 2018.

Okeh 8312 – Bertha “Chippie” Hill – 1926

Posted on December 6, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

It seems wrong that this place called “Old Time Blues” has featured staggeringly few blues records thus far, and after that previous incursion of popular music, I think it’s high time to work some actual old time blues into the schedule. Here’s a classic record by Bertha “Chippie” Hill featuring the work of a very familiar trumpeter.

Bertha Hill was born in 1905 in Charleston, South Carolina, she entered vaudeville in the 1910s, working with “Ma” Rainey and Ethel Waters in the TOBA circuit and the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. Hill was given the nickname “Chippie” at age 14, referring to her young age at the time. She entered the recording industry in 1925 and only recorded until 1929, making 23 sides total. After retiring from music in the 1930s to raise her children, Hill made a comeback in the late 1940s. Tragically, she was struck and killed by a hit and run driver in New York City in 1950.

On Okeh 8312, a laminated “TrueTone” recorded February 23, 1926 in Chicago, Bertha “Chippie” Hill sings “Trouble In Mind” and “Georgia Man”, accompanied by Richard M. Jones on piano and the incomparable Louis Armstrong on trumpet.

Richard M. Jones’ “Trouble In Mind” is an excellent (albeit melancholy) song, delivered wonderfully by Hill. The label on this side looks pretty darn bad, but fortunately what actually matters, the playing surface that is, is not too bad at all.

Trouble In Mind, recorded February 23, 1926 by Bertha “Chippie” Hill.

“Georgia Man” is a much lighter-hearted piece, trading the dreary theme of laying one’s head on a railroad line for a more raunchy one involving “jelly roll”. The label’s a lot prettier on this side, and it might play just a little bit better, too.

Georgia Man, recorded February 23, 1926 by Bertha “Chippie” Hill.

Columbia 2701-D – Harry Richman – 1932

Posted on November 26, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

When we last heard from Harry, he was singing “Puttin’ on the Ritz“, and I promised to post his radio theme, I Love a Parade”. Thanksgiving Day being the occasion for one of the grandest parades of the year, it seems like a fitting choice.

Columbia 2701-D was recorded August 15, 1932 in New York City by Harry Richman and issued with their short-lived “Radio Record” label, which seemed to have often featured more than just straight song singing, in a more “radio-like” performance (some of Rudy Vallée’s have announcements at the beginning, and you’ll hear what this one’s like).

First, Richman delivers an (a bit more than) exuberant rendition of what was later the theme song of his radio show in the 1930s, Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen’s “I Love a Parade”.

I Love a Parade, recorded August 15, 1932 by Harry Richman.

Next, Richman sings the popular Arthur Freed and Harry Barris (whose birthday was just a few days before this posting) composition “It Was So Beautiful”.

It Was So Beautiful, recorded August 15, 1932 by Harry Richman.

Spotlight: Ruth Etting

Posted on November 23, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

Ruth Etting, circa 1930 (signed in 1932).

“America’s Sweetheart of Song” was the appellation given to Ruth Etting, one which she truly deserved. Etting rose to prominence in the middle of the Roaring Twenties, appearing in Ziegfeld Follies. Marrying a gangster, falling in love with another, and becoming one of the most popular singing stars of stage, screen, record, and radio until she left the limelight in the late 1930s, going on to enjoy a long retirement thereafter. Her sweetly feminine vocal styling charmed a generation of listeners, and continue to impress those who have the fortune of hearing her recordings to this day.

Ruth Etting was born November 23, 1897 in David City, Nebraska, daughter of Alfred and Winifred Etting. After her mother died, when the young Ruth was five, she was sent to live with her grandparents, George and Hannah. Growing up, Ruth dreamed of becoming an artist, and spent her hours drawing and sketching whenever and wherever she could. Hoping to become an illustrator, Etting left home to attend an art school in Chicago. Taking a variety of jobs while in Chicago, Etting was eventually asked to fill in for an ailing vocalist at a nightclub, and she obliged. Having never been schooled in voice, Etting lowered her naturally high soprano as she began singing professionally. She claimed her style to have been influenced by Marion Harris.

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Supertone 9188 – Chubby Parker – 1927

Posted on November 21, 2015 by R. Connor Montgomery

For your listening pleasure, after a brief and unintentional hiatus, I offer this fine folk record on this nice Gennett Supertone by WLS artist Chubby Parker.

Frederick R. “Chubby” Parker, born in 1876, was a Chicago-based banjo player and folk singer popular on the National Barn Dance on WLS radio in the 1920s, which was a precursor to the famous Grand Ole Opry. Parker was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and graduated from Purdue in 1898 as an electrical engineer. He reportedly worked as a circus performer, and later as an electrician, patent attorney, and inventor in Chicago before turning to radio. Parker became a very popular performer on WLS and allegedly received almost 3,000 fan letters in one week in February 1927. He left radio and recording after 1931, with one final appearance on WLS in 1936. He died in 1940.

Supertone 9188 was recorded on February 26, 1927 (perhaps the same week he got all those letters) in Chicago, Illinois, recorded by the Starr Piano Company, producers of Gennett Records. Radio station WLS (an acronym for “World’s Largest Store”) was owned by Sears, Roebuck & Company, and they were eager to market records by their popular radio artists on their record labels such as Silvertone and this Supertone.

Parker’s “I’m a Stern Old Bachelor” is probably the first recording of this folk song, but I can’t guarantee it, and I haven’t researched it in depth.

I’m a Stern Old Bachelor, recorded February 26, 1927.

Parker’s excellent “Bib-a-Lollie-Boo” has the distinction of being featured on Dust-to-Digital’s fine multimedia set “I Listen to the Wind that Obliterates My Traces”, and features some gems of lyrics that can be found in the little widget that displays song lyrics at the top of the home page of this site.

Bib-A-Lollie-Boo, recorded February 26, 1927 by Chubby Parker.

Updated with improved audio on June 10, 2017.