Month: March 2025
From the Record Shelves #352 – Cross Words Between My Sweetie and Me – If I should celebrate the centenary of this record that I heard so many times, it would be with a light cocktail or a glass of champagne. I really enjoy listening to what was going on in a New York studio on March 30, 1925 (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #351 – Red Hot Henry Brown – Attempting to attract more record buyers, the early jazz studio groups took on names of southern states or towns, although they lived and worked in New York. The Tennessee Tooters that recorded for Vocalion between 1924 and 1926 was one of them (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #350 – She’s Crying for Me – This is the swan song of the fabulous New Orleans Rhythm Kings. On March 26, 1925, a hundred years ago, the band that made it great in Chicago and influenced many white musicians had since long split up, and most of the members had returned (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #349 – Wigwam Blues – This is, to the day, a centennial recording. On March 24, 1925, the group with the fancy name Mound City Blue Blowers had returned from a tour in England and recorded in New York for Vocalion. The central figure in the little band was William “Red” (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #348 – Nights When I Am Lonely – When Victor made a field trip to New Orleans to record, they found, among others, three young, musically very skilled sisters that sang in close harmony. If they had lived in New York, their career might have been set off from then, but (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #347 – Get It Fixed – The tune was recorded on this day a hundred years ago, on March 20, 2025. Rosa Henderson was born as Rosa Deschamps in Henderson, Kentucky, in 1896 and started her career about 1913. She married an associate in vaudeville named Douglas (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #346 – Railroad Blues – When Louis Armstrong got the job as a soloist in New York with Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra, he took a leap on his way to stardom. He may not have felt at home like he did in New Orleans or with King Oliver in Chicago, but his qualities became evident (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #345 – I Had Someone Else Before I Had You – A hundred years from today, but backwards, we had March 16, 1925; that was a Monday. A group including Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, and Adrian Rollini cut a record of a pop tune. The idea of forming this studio group came from (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #344 – Red Man Blues – Here’s another fine jazz recording to remember, enjoy, and celebrate because of its 100th birthday this March. Piron’s New Orleans Orchestra was well recorded in their hometown by Victor in 1925, with portable equipment. The violin player Armand Piron (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #343 – My Good-For-Nuthin’ Man – When we look at the record production from March 1925, a hundred years ago, we find Clara Smith in there with a couple of recordings. She made many interesting and good ones in her recording career that spanned over eleven years (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #342 – Creole Blues – This is March in 1925, just a little century ago! And the place is New Orleans, where the Victor Talking Machine Company had traveled with portable electric equipment. One of the bands they recorded was led by clarinet player Anthony “Tony” Parenti (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #341 – Sweet Georgia Brown – Ben Bernie had a good dance band that, a hundred years ago, played in the newly opened, fashionable Hotel Roosevelt in New York. Located in the heart of Manhattan, the still-standing Hotel Roosevelt now serves as housing for asylum seekers (…) read more and listenread more and listen