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[W:184] 1920's music --- a time of change

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LittleNipper

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I have always liked the music of the 1920's. The music was usually happy, lively, and enjoyable. Recorded sound of that era changed from acoustic and changed to electrically recorded. The first recording I will paste is VARSITY DRAG --- 1927: This is a prime example of an early video (but they wouldn't have known what a video was back then).
 
LittleNipper said:
I have always liked the music of the 1920's. The music was usually happy, lively, and enjoyable. Recorded sound of that era changed from acoustic and changed to electrically recorded. The first recording I will paste is VARSITY DRAG --- 1927: This is a prime example of an early video (but they wouldn't have known what a video was back then).
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Love that banjo player. :) Seriously, though, you can hear where the 30's and 40's Big Band sound came from in that.
 
For the next selection this tune/song was written at the very tail end of 1919. The song was recorded at the end of November 1919, and began being offered for sale in mid December of that year. By January of 1920 the record took off and was number one for 13 weeks. With all the various recordings made of this composition it became the number 1 tune for 1920. You should note that this recording is acoustical. Electric recordings will not appear until the middle of the decade. Acoustical recordings should not be considered totally non-technical. A band didn't just go into a room with a horn machine and begin to play. The various instruments were arranged to get the best overall recorded sound. In fact, some instruments were often excluded for acoustic recording cessions because they either would not be heard or they would distort the recording. Drums were an obvious problem. Tubas had to be recorded facing away from the recording horn toward the back wall with the musicians looking at a mirrored wall to watch the band leader and the sound technicians. Violins came to be equipped with horns to amplify their sound. Anyway, here is the biggest hit of 1920 ---- DARDANELLA :
Here also is the sung version of DARDANELLA-- Gladys Rice & Billy Murray.
 
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In 1920, Paul Whiteman and his Ambassador Orchestra recorded on August 23, 1920, for the VICTOR Talking Machine Co. --- a melody that would remain a standard throughout the 1920's. Paul Whiteman and his version was an eleven-week No. 1 hit in the United States, which remained 20 weeks in the charts, and sold in excess of two million copies. In 2020, Whiteman's rendition was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". According to ALLMUSIC there have been over 700 versions of this song. The recording is WHISPERING (and yes there is a slide whistle):
 
On the flip side of Paul Whiteman's WHISPERING was another melody that would be a hit in its own right Another tune from 1920, here is THE JAPANESE SANDMAN : Paul Whiteman did not shy away from innovation. In The Japanese Sandman he incorporated a Japanese Shamisen (or lute) in an attempt to capture the feel of the orient.
 
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I November of 1919 a smash hit musical hit Broadway. It would have 673 performances ---- the longest run of any musical up to that time. It went well into the 20's and was ever popular. Here is a VICTOR record from 1920. It is titled GEMS FROM IRENE. It was a 12 inch 78rpm that included excerpts from the show.
 
Thanks for sharing. I remembered one early song which was fun, and checked to see if it was something I could add to this thread. Nope. It was from 1931. Clearly I NEED to be educated about the 20's. :)


(The song was Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries.)
 
In 1919 a
Amelia said:
Thanks for sharing. I remembered one early song which was fun, and checked to see if it was something I could add to this thread. Nope. It was from 1931. Clearly I NEED to be educated about the 20's. :)


(The song was Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries.)
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You may just like this from 1921 on a COLUMBIA Record --- AIN'T WE GOT FUN?
 
In 1923 a novelty song came out that became all the rage. It was clever and witty and fun. Here we have Billy Jones singing on a "NEW" EMERSON Record ----- YES! WE HAVE NO BANANAS.

Here is an EDISON Diamond Disc version of Yes! We Have No Bananas. It is played on a very rare 1927 Edison machine with the largest horn of any of the Edison's, in an effort to compete with the VICTOR Orthrophonic. However, it was a bust with only about 1500 machines being sold. The days of the Edison record players were numbered and RADIO and the depression would be the death toll.
 
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YES! WE HAVE NO BANANAS, was so popular that it inspired another very popular song of the day, So, sung by Miss. Belle Baker, I'VE GOT THE YES! WE HAVE NO BANANAS BLUES! 1923
 
LittleNipper said:
YES! WE HAVE NO BANANAS, was so popular that it inspired another very popular song of the day, So, sung by Miss. Belle Baker, I'VE GOT THE YES! WE HAVE NO BANANAS BLUES! 1923
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bahahaha
 
The year is 1924 and Paul Whiteman had another hit! DOO WACKA DOO! This is still a pre-electric recording...
 
This number was recorded in January of 1924 (before DOO WACKA DOO which would be recorded in September of that year). Paul Whiteman regularly recorded at VICTOR in Camden, New Jersey. This number is LIMEHOUSE BLUES:
 
Easy to picture flappers and dapper young men dancing to these.
 
Amelia said:
Easy to picture flappers and dapper young men dancing to these.
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Here is a silent movie from the mid 20's that shows style and mores of the period. Women for the most part were still modest:
 
Here is the tune which would come to epitomize the 1920's. It was recorded by Paul Whiteman in May of 1925. This recording is played for you-all on a VICTOR ORTHROPHONIC VICTROLA CREDENZA. Here is the CHARLESTON:
 
Here is a young lady doing the Charleston. It might be considered one of the first dances where the girl and her fella didn't need to touch:
 
Let's not forget the GREAT Duke Ellington

 
j brown's body said:
Let's not forget the GREAT Duke Ellington

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Duke Ellington had a band in the 1920's; however his sound was a bit different. DAYBREAK EXPRESS was a VICTOR Record from 1933 ----However, here is EAST ST. LOUIS TOODLE-Oo from 1927 on a COLUMBIA Record:
 
Imagine, the year is 1924, and electric recording is still in the future. It would appear in the later half of 1925. Here is George Gershwin's RHAPSODY IN BLUE played by the Paul Whiteman and his orchestra with Gershwin at the piano ----- THE FIRST RECORDING of this piece. This is modern music at its best --- an American CLASSIC. The recording format is a VICTOR blue label 12 inch 78rpm record ---- recorded in 2 parts to fit on both sides of the disc. This is an acoustic recording with all the stops pulled... The recording technicians really out did themselves. It's hard to believe that this isn't electric. I believe that multiple recording horns were used to capture the sound of the various soloists ----- enjoy!
 
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Very popular song/waltz from 1922. Here we have John McCormick singing IT's THREE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING :
 
This song came out in 1922; however, where it really makes waves is in 1927 in the TALKIE (movie) THE JAZZ SINGER. Here we have Al Jolson singing TOOT, TOOT, TOOTSIE, GOO' BYE! from that movie:
 
1919-1920 This song was a hit that would reappear for years: Here is the Ted Lewis Band on a COLUMBIA Record playing WHEN MY BABY SMILES AT ME
 
LittleNipper said:
1919-1920 This song was a hit that would reappear for years: Here is the Ted Lewis Band on a COLUMBIA Record playing WHEN MY BABY SMILES AT ME
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That one is odd.
 
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