Clarice Vance, from the November 1907 Victor supplement (top, courtesy of John Bolig); Elsie Janis and Fanny Brice (lower left and right; G.G. Bain Collection, Library of Congress)
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Performances by several leading comediennes of the early twentieth century, ranging from the sublime to a howlingly bad (but historically instructive) example of what white-folk thought the “blues” were in 1917. Like many records of the period, some of these contain derogatory racial and ethnic stereotypes, which do not reflect our views.
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CLARICE VANCE: I’m Wise
Probably Philadelphia: August 7, 1907
Victor 5253 (mx. B 4768 – 1)
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BLANCHE RING: Yip! I Adee, I Aye!
Camden, NJ: March 29, 1909
Victor 5692 (mx. B 6914 – 3)
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BLANCHE RING: The Billiken Man
Camden, NJ: June 24, 1909
Victor 5731 (mx. B 8073 – 2)
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ELSIE JANIS: Fascinating Baseball Slide
Camden, NJ: October 22, 1912
Victor 60090 (mx. B 12527 – 1)
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ELIDA MORRIS (with BILLY MURRAY): You’ll Come Back
Camden, NJ: May 16, 1910
Victor 16653 (mx. B 8572 – 4)
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MARIE CAHILL (CARL GRAY, piano): The Dallas Blues
(Preceded by Mose’s Baptism)
New York: January 2, 1917
Victor 55081 (mx. C 18652 – 3)
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FANNY BRICE: The Sheik of Avenue B
Camden, NJ: July 14, 1922
Victor 45323 (mx. B 26800 – 2)
Studio orchestra conducted by Rosario Bourdon
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Discographic data from the Victor Talking Machine Company files, courtesy of John Bolig. Except for the last selection, conductors are not listed in the Victor files.
