One great benefit of digital audio technology is the increased availability of historic recordings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2009, as part of their wondrous Phonographic Yearbook series, Archeophone came through with When Things Was Lookin Bright, a 27-track anthology of records that were popular during the year 1906. The playlist paints an accurate picture of the newly created recording industry, the emerging audience for phonograph records, and the popular culture within which these developments ...
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One great benefit of digital audio technology is the increased availability of historic recordings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2009, as part of their wondrous Phonographic Yearbook series, Archeophone came through with When Things Was Lookin Bright, a 27-track anthology of records that were popular during the year 1906. The playlist paints an accurate picture of the newly created recording industry, the emerging audience for phonograph records, and the popular culture within which these developments were taking place. It is revealing that "Wait 'Til the Sun Shines Nellie" is sung by two different artists, as is "Love Me and the World is Mine," for these are wholesome and sentimental airs that clearly appealed to a broad segment of the population. Henry Burr (1882-1941) cashed in on the public's appetite for this sort of thing by churning out a steady stream of softly sung sweet nothings with titles like "Good Night, Little Girl, Good Night." Harry Tally (1866-1939), then famous for his participation in the 1903 stage production of The Wizard of Oz , seems to have scored a minor hit with the quaint "Why Don't You Try?," and archetypal tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921), whose early recordings virtually spearheaded the establishment of the lateral record as a marketable commodity, is represented here in duet with Antonio Scotti in "Solenne in Quest'Ora," the impassioned duet from Giuseppe Verdi's verismo masterwork Forza del Destino . Opera was hugely important to the early recording industry, and the fact that only one example is included here detracts ever so slightly from the accuracy of the time capsule's span of genres.Most of these recordings fall into the comedic or novelty category. New York stage veteran Edward M. Favor (1856-1936) belts out "Fol the Rol Lol"; Ada Jones (1873-1922), whose delivery was only slightly less staid than that of her contemporary Nora Bayes, sings "Waiting at the Church" and "Just a Little Rocking Chair and You," as well as "Peaches and Cream" in duet with comedian Len Spencer (1867-1914). "The Linger Longer Girl" is carefully described by Elise Stevenson and Frank C. Stanley, and Bob Roberts tosses off "He Walked Right In, Turned Around and Walked Right Out Again," an unremarkable tune that would resurface decades later when dance bands dredged the old-time repertoire for novelty material. Vaudevillians Byron Harlan (1861-1936) and Arthur Collins (1864-1933) were successful both individually and as the team of Collins & Harlan. In 1906, ethnic stereotyping was a standard crowd-pleasing technique, and this tendency lent a rather nasty flavor to some of their recordings. If Collins' "Bill Simmons" seems mildly offensive with its references to a "lazy coon," be thankful that you're not hearing them both sing "Bake Dat Chicken Pie," which is one of the most racist recordings of the entire 20th century. Happily, "The Leader of the German Band" is a genuinely funny performance, with lyrics sung in a faux-Thuringian dialect similar to that used by Groucho Marx's uncle Al Shean of Gallagher & Shean, and gloriously silly instrumental passages by a riotously out-of-tune band playing "Yankee Doodle" as loud as humanly possible.The only African American artist on this collection is the great Bert Williams (1875-1922), one of the very few black entertainers able to make records in 1906. Williams is well-represented by "Nobody" and "Let It Alone". The Hayden Quartet was one of the era's most highly regarded vocal harmony groups. In addition to examples of this unit backing Corrine Morgan (who sings "How'd You Like to Spoon with Me?") and Harry MacDonough, they are heard with their chief exponent Billy Murray, who sings "Waltz Me Around Again Willie." Murray's subsequent success as a solo act is represented by "Everybody Works But Father," "The Grand Old Rag," and the wild west novelty "Cheyenne." With his stirring performance of the "Buffalo Rag," master banjoist Vess...
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