The Playlist (Steaming MP3)• Some Accordion Favorites, 1909 – 1927
Original recordings from the Mainspring Press Collection
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PIETRO FROSINI: An American Rag
London: c. June 1911 Albion 1012 (Beka mx. 41241)
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JOHN J. KIMMEL (with uncredited pianist): Indian Intermezzo
New York; released June 1909 Indestructible 1090 (cylinder)
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PIETRO FROSINI: New York Blues — Rag Classical
New York: September 15, 1916 Edison Diamond Disc 50454 (mx. 4998 – C)
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GUIDO DEIRO: Ostrich Walk
New York: c. August 29, 1918 Columbia A2648 (mx. 78033 – 2)
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PIETRO DEIRO: Melody Rag (Philadelphia Blues)
Camden, NJ: October 5, 1915 Victor 17895 (mx. B 16597 – 1) The subtitle was entered in the Victor files but does not appear on the labels.
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FRANK SALERNO: Kent Street Blues
Chicago (Marsh Laboratories): c. May 1928 Broadway 1189 (mx. 20608 – 1) A reworking of Pietro Deiro’s “Melody Rag.”
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RUTH ETTING (with MARIO PERRY, accordion; RUBE BLOOM, piano): Sam, The Old Accordion Man
New York: March 1, 1927 (William Freiberg, recording engineer) Columbia 908-D (mx. W 143564 – 3) Accompanists are from the Columbia matrix card; they are uncredited on the labels.
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Reposting and/or commercial use of these sound files is prohibited. Please report violations to: publisher@mainspringpress.com.
Editorial • Just When You Thought We Were Done with Judy Woodruff….
…she’s back on PBS, in what threatens to be a two-year series in which she spouts her trite, tired vision of who “we” are, and where “we” seem to be headed as a nation.
Enough, already.
We are in the grips of an entrenched gerontocracy, bogged down by the likes of a doddering, backward-looking Joe Biden, a paranoid-delusional Donald Trump, and the various Mitch McConnells and Nancy Pelosis who have long-since outlived any purpose they might once have served. Having a sad relic like Judy Woodruff back on public television only compounds the problem.
Please: Let PBS know that we not only want, but desperately need, fresh talent, fresh viewpoints, and a positive new direction — preferably from those still at a safe distance from death’s door.
Thanks for your service, old-timers, but please have the common decency to move on now, so that we can move ahead.
—Allan Sutton
You can help in the effort to impose term limits on all appointed and elected federal officials. Here’s a good starting point if you’d like to know more.
This publication is a part of the free Mainspring Press Online Reference Library. It may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial use only. Unauthorized sale, reproduction, alteration, reposting, or other distribution in any form and by any method, whether or not for monetary gain, is prohibited. Please help us preserve this free service by honoring the terms of use stated in each document, and by reporting violations to: publisher@mainspringpress.com.
Five newly revised editions are currently available on DAHR, and ten more will follow as revisions are completed over the next several months. Updates will be coordinated between the two sites, ensuring that both are hosting the latest versions. (To see all titles that are currently available on the Mainspring blog, visit our free Online Reference Library.)
DAHR is also hosting several outstanding discographies by Mainspring Press author John Bolig. In addition, Greenwood Press and other publishers have made some of their titles available as free e-books.
The site’s crowning feature is its massive, ever-expanding, and highly authoritative discographical database of 78-era recordings. Largely compiled from original company documentation, it embodies a level of detail not found elsewhere, is well-organized and easily searchable, and includes linked audio files for many recordings.
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As always, we welcome properly documented additions and corrections to the Mainspring discographies from first-hand inspection of the original recordings (preferably supported by photos or scans if you are not one of our regular contributors). They can be e-mailed to us at publisher@mainspringpress.com. If sending large files, please use WeTransfer or a similar file-compression program.
Keep in mind that these discographies are copyrighted works, with publication rights licensed solely to Mainspring Press and the University of California–Santa Barbara. Alteration, copying, re-posting, and/or distribution by any other party, in any form or by any means, is prohibited.
Chicago (Marsh Laboratories): c. November 1928 Broadway 1227 (mx. 20924 – 2)
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COON-SANDERS ORCHESTRA (Joe Sanders, dir / vcl): Tennessee Lazy
Chicago: February 12, 1929 Victor 21939 (mx. BVE 48880 – 2)
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COON-SANDERS ORCHESTRA (Leroy Shield, dir; Joe Sanders, vcl): Harlem Madness
Chicago: November 18, 1929 Victor 22300 (mx. BVE 57429 – 3)
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Other than directors and vocalists, the Victor recording ledgers do not list personnel for these recordings. Personnel listed in Rust’s Jazz Records and derivative works are from unknown, uncited sources, not from original Victor file data.
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Commercial use and/or unauthorized re-posting of these sound files is prohibited. Please report violations to publisher@mainspringpress.com
This publication is a part of the free Mainspring Press Online Reference Library. It may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial use only. Unauthorized sale, reproduction, alteration, reposting, or other distribution in any form and by any method, whether or not for monetary gain, is prohibited. Please help us preserve this free service by honoring the terms of use stated in each document, and by reporting violations to: publisher@mainspringpress.com.
This publication is a part of the free Mainspring Press Online Reference Library. It may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial use only. Unauthorized sale, reproduction, alteration, reposting, or other distribution in any form and by any method, whether or not for monetary gain, is prohibited. Please help us preserve this free service by honoring the terms of use stated in each document, and by reporting violations to: publisher@mainspringpress.com.
The Playlist (Free Streaming MP3) • Some Early February Additions
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A fine month for Victors so far! Here are a few of the latest arrivals for your listening pleasure.
We pay top prices for top-quality records of this sort (strong E– minimum, except in the case of true rarities, and grainy pressings are not wanted). Your lists of disposables are always welcome. Please grade very conservatively, using the standard VJM scale, note all defects (no matter how seemingly minor, including label flaws), and state your asking price.
Enjoy!
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CHARLIE JOHNSON & HIS ORCHESTRA: Harlem Drag (EE+)
New York: May 8, 1929 (released July 19, 1929) Victor V-38059 (mx. BVE 51298 – 2)
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CHARLIE JOHNSON & HIS ORCHESTRA: Hot Bones and Rice (EE+)
New York: May 8, 1929 (released July 19, 1929) Victor V-38059 (mx. BVE 51299 – 1)
The Victor recording ledger lists no personnel for this session other than Johnson (as director). Those cited in Rust’s Jazz Records and similar works are from unnamed sources, not original file data.
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PAUL HOWARD’S QUALITY SERENADERS: Quality Shout (E)
Hal Roach Studios (Culver City, CA): April 29, 1929
(delayed release: April 18, 1930) Victor V-38122 (mx. PBVE 50831 – 5)
The Victor recording ledger lists no personnel for this session other than Lionel Hampton (as vocalist on the record’s reverse side). Those cited in Rust’s Jazz Records and similar works are from unnamed sources, not original file data. The Hal Roach recording studios, constructed and largely financed by RCA, were used for movie-soundtrack as well as commercial Victor recording sessions, mirroring use of the Victor “church” studio in Camden, NJ.
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RED NICHOLS & HIS ORCHESTRA: Harlem Twist (E–)
New York: June 21, 1928 (released August 31, 1928) Victor 21560 (mx. BVE 45814 -3)
Initially entered as “Humpty Dumpty” in the Victor ledger, which lists no personnel. Those cited in Rust’s Jazz Records and similar works are from unnamed sources, not original file data.
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RALPH WILLIAMS & HIS RAINBO ORCHESTRA (HENRY WINSTON, piano): Get Lucky (E)
Chicago: November 7, 1924 (released December 19, 1924) Victor 19504 (mx. B 31147 – 3)
Winston is confirmed as the piano soloist in the Victor recording ledger. For god-only-knows-what reason, Brian Rust credited the pianist as Vic Lubowski in Jazz Records and The American Dance Band Discography, while Johnson & Shirley inexplicably compounded the error in their largely derivative American Dance Bands by crediting Vic Lubowski or William Krenz. Obviously, none of them consulted the Victor files, so all we can say (once again) is: Never take these books too seriously.
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GEORGE GERSHWIN (piano) with PAUL WHITEMAN’S CONCERT ORCHESTRA: Rhapsody in Blue (E)
New York: June 10, 1924 (released October 17, 1924) Victor 55225 (mxs. B 30174 -1 / B 30173 -2)
Rhapsody in Blue is now officially in the public domain, so we can legally offer you Ferdie Grofé’s original orchestration that caused such a sensation at its historic 1924 Aeolian Hall debut. Ross Gorman, the featured clarinetist, improvised the famous opening glissando, which Gershwin originally wrote (and Grofé scored) as a fussy, articulated seventeen-note run. (Thanks for that insight to Henry Sapoznik, from his classic Klezmer: Jewish Music from the Old World to Our World; Schirmer, 1999).
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Discographical data are from the original Victor Talking Machine Company documentation at Sony Music Archives (New York), as transcribed by John Bolig.
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Reposting or commercial use of these sound files is prohibited. Please report violations to: publisher@mainspringpress.com (your identity will be kept anonymous).
This publication is a part of the free Mainspring Press Online Reference Library. It may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial use only. Unauthorized sale, reproduction, alteration, reposting, or other distribution in any form and by any method, whether or not for monetary gain, is prohibited. Please help us preserve this free service by honoring the terms of use stated in each document, and by reporting violations to: publisher@mainspringpress.com.
The Playlist (Streaming MP3) • Some More
January 2023 Additions
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Reposting or commercial use of these sound files is prohibited.
Please report violations to: publisher@mainspringpress.com.
NAP HAYES & MATTHEW PRATER: Nothin’ Doin’ (V+)
Memphis: February 15, 1928
Okeh 45231 (mx. W 400243 – B) An outstanding example of a recording by Black artists having been issued in Okeh’s White country-music series.
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GWEN FOSTER & DAVID FLETCHER (as Carolina Twins): Your Wagon Needs Greasing (EE-)
Atlanta: February 20, 1928
Victor 21363 (mx. BVE 41922 – 2) Gwen Foster, harmonica, guitar, vocal; David Fletcher, guitar, vocal. Regional release, per Victor files.
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UNCLE DAVE MACON & HIS FRUIT-JAR DRINKERS:Rock About My Sara Jane (E- to V++)
New York: May 7, 1927
Vocalion 5152 (mx. E 4925) Uncle Dave Macon, lead vocal and banjo; Sam McGee, guitar; Kirk McGee, Maize Todd, “fiddle,” per Brunswick-Vocalion files
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RICHARD M. JONES’ JAZZ WIZARDS: Boar Hog Blues (E-)
Victor Laboratory, Chicago: November 7, 1927
Victor 21203 (mx. BVE 40822 – 2) No personnel listed in the Victor files; those in Jazz Records and similar works are from an unknown source. Race release, per Victor files.
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GEORGE E. LEE’S ORCHESTRA: Ruff Scufflin’ (E+)
Kansas City: November 1929
Brunswick 4684 (mx. KC 585 – ) No personnel listed in the Brunswick files; those in Jazz Records and similar works are from an unknown source.
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EMANUEL FEUERMANN (cello) with Members of the Berlin State Opera Orchestra — Michael Taube, conductor: Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104 (Dvorak) (EE+)
Berlin: May 1928 (movements 1–2), October 1929 (movement 3)
Columbia G-68037-D — G-68041-D (Masterwork Set 172)
(mx. 2-20748, 2-20749, 2-207503, 2-207512, 2-207522, 2-20753, 2-21582, 2-21583, 2-21584)
First U.S. issue, 1930; Original German issue on Parlophone E 10856 – E 10860.
Two Missing Paramount L- Series Recordings Found
(And the Ozark Rambler Unmasked)
Two late Paramount recordings unlisted in the Van Rijn & Van der Tuuk discography and Country Music Records have been located. Unfortunately, neither is particularly remarkable, but at least we’re able to fill in the missing numbers (and unmask a pseudonymous artist in the process): .
L 1424 – 2 • OZARK RAMBLER: The Mule Song
(Paramount 586 – A)
L 1426 – 1 • OZARK RAMBLER: Lazy River
(Paramount 586 – B)
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“The Mule Song” is a reworking of Charlie Poole’s “I’m the Man That Rode the Mule Around the World,” done somewhat in the style of Harry McClintock. The reverse side is actually the pop tune “Up a Lazy River,” performed in a style reminiscent of Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers. They apparently are from the same March 1932 Grafton session that produced the Ozark Rambler’s “Abdul Abul Abul Amir” (Paramount 585).
So, who was this Ozark Rambler? Obviously a commercial artist, although assuredly not New York crooner Leroy Montesanto, as is stated in Country Music Records. A little sleuthing placed him in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was a staff singer at radio station WOWO during the 1930s. His real name was Ambrose Haley, and he often performed with his daughter, Little Mary Lou (The Ozark Sweetheart). In addition to radio work, they played small-time theaters and social clubs throughout the upper and lower Midwest well into the late 1930s.
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So, sorry — Not two long-lost Skip James or Son House blues masterpieces, just a quirky souvenir of Paramount’s dying days. If there are any Paramount “completists” out there who just have to have the record, trade offers are being considered. Condition is solid EE-, with some superficial, non-sounding scuffs on the A side, and quiet, shiny surfaces.
William R. Bryant and Record Research Associates Archives Donated to the University of California
Len Kunstadt and William R. Bryant
I am pleased to announce that the William R. Bryant and Record Research Associates archives have been donated to the Davidson Library at the University of California–Santa Barbara. The library’s Discography of American Historical Recordings project has been at the forefront of discographical research for nearly two decades, beginning with its posting of the Victor file data, and expanding rapidly from there.
Having worked with David Seubert, Sam Brylawski, and the Davidson Library staff on several projects in the past, I have no doubt that UCSB is the best choice as a permanent new home for this important collection, which was acquired by Mainspring Press in 2011 — and from which so many Mainspring discographies have sprung. Rights to several unfinished Mainspring Press discographies based on this material, including Plaza-ARC and Grey Gull, have also been assigned to UCSB.
The initial lot, dispatched to UCSB earlier this week, comprises all of the discographical data compiled over a span of five decades, from first-hand aural and visual inspection of countless thousands of 78s, by the Record Research group (Walter C. Allen, Len Kunstadt, Perry Armagnac, Carl Kendziora, George Blacker, et al.) and Bill Bryant. Bill acquired and continued to work on the RR archive, as well as his own projects, before his untimely death in 1995.
As with any collection of this sort, it will take considerable time to process and organize the materials, and to set parameters for access; so please do not contact UCSB concerning access or requesting data for now — it’s simply far too early. Updates will be posted here as they become available.
78 RECORDS, CYLINDER RECORDS & VINTAGE PHONOS 
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