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

In 1929 a song that was written in 1928 became a big hit for DUKE ELLINGTON, and he would record this tune some 45 time over the course of his career. It was titled THE MOOCHE :
The title, sometimes spelled "mooch," refers to "someone who constantly borrows but does not pay back."In 1933, Ellington explained that the title referred to "a certain lazy gait peculiar to some of the folk of Harlem."
 
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1929 would be a good year for Rudy Valley, as he would break into the movies with his hit I'M JUST A VAGABOND LOVER and this would be the name of the movie also.... Note the influence of ART DECO in the set:
[Verse 1]
All alone I sit and dream of someone
Someone that I hold as my ideal
Hoping that someday I'll find that someone
Wondering what the future will reveal

For some girls are quickly forgotten
And gone with the dawn of the day
But some you remember like last glowing embers
Haunting your memory and dreams

[Chorus]
For I'm just a vagabond lover
In search of a sweetheart it seems
And I know that someday I'll discover her
The girl of my vagabond dreams

[Verse 2]
For some girls are quickly forgotten
And gone with the dawn of the day
But some you remember like last glowing embers
Haunting your memory and dreams

[Chorus]
For I'm just a vagabond lover
In search of a sweetheart it seems
And I know that someday I'll discover her
The girl of my vagabond dreams
 
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Rudy Vallee would have another hit the same year with WEARY RIVER --- 46 place for the year 1929 :
 
In 1929 a very romantic song standard was born YOU WERE MEANT FOR ME, from the talky of that year Broadway Melody, and would be recorded by a variety of artists that year:
 
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Fox Movietone Follies would have a motion picture titled Breakaway in 1929 ---- Arnold Johnson and his Orchestra would have a sizable hit of the theme song BREAKAWAY that year:

The Dorsey Brothers would also record this tune in 1929 ---- could the Big Band sound be far away? And here also is an EDISON ELECTRIC DIAMOND DISC recording of the Piccadilly Players from the very same year. I included it as Edison recordings were about to bite the dust with the DEPRESSION and this company would be reduced to selling dictaphones only. This is a very rare recording.
 
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TED WEEMS had a big hit with PICCOLO PETE (#44) in 1929. I had this tune on a kid's record when I was a tyke in the 1950's. It's still good!
 
A very pretty waltz titled CAROLINA MOON would rise in 1929 and be come yet another standard. It must be understood that it was all about the songs back then. People would actually purchase sheet music. The artist merely performed the "SONG". So, when a tune sold a lot of sheet music, there would also follow recording by various artists. This COLUMBIA Record is by far the most popular version at that time of this melody: Written in 1924, the song was first recorded in 1928 by Gene Austin whose version charted for 14 weeks, seven of them at #1
 
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Singer/guitarist Nick Lucas. It's interesting to see him in 1929 and then four decades later on The Tonight Show:





It's just fun, happy music. A nice change of pace sometimes.
 
And the original crooner:

 
Singer/guitarist Nick Lucas. It's interesting to see him in 1929 and then four decades later on The Tonight Show:





It's just fun, happy music. A nice change of pace sometimes.
You can watch Nick Lucas mature... Here he is in 1944 (same song)
 
And the original crooner:


The fact is that the electronic microphone allowed for artists with softer voices to record. What the old gramophone acoustic recording needed was loud and clear enunciation. And this originally limited who could do acceptable recordings. This is why Billy Murray was so popular a singer. He recorded all through the acoustic period on all the major labels of the time: Edison, VICTOR Talking Machine, Columbia ---- to name a few.
 
Here is a long overdue entry. This recording is from January of 1929 on an EDISON DIAMOND DISC Record. This was likely one of the last. EDISON Records would go bottom up that year. Here is a rare and wonderful record titled I WANT TO BE BAD. Now I don't wish to be bad; however, I really like this tune and must have been very danceable, sung by "HAPPY" Jack Parker ---- and no he doesn't say "hell" but HEALTH (see if you hear that):
 
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Here is a long overdue entry. This recording is from January of 1929 on an EDISON DIAMOND DISC Record. This was likely one of the last. EDISON Records would go bottom up that year. Here is a rare and wonderful record titled I WANT TO BE BAD. Now I don't wish to be bad; however, I really like this tune and must have been very danceable, sung by "HAPPY" Jack Parker ---- and no he doesn't say "hell" but HEALTH (see if you hear that):


fun one
 
At 37 for 1929 we are PAINTING THE CLOUDS WITH SUNSHINE ---- and it is sung by the TIPTOE TULIP guy Nick Lucas. The song was from The Gold Diggers of Broadway. Funny how they don't use the word "gay" in songs anymore. Back then everyone was gay at one time or another even if they weren't: Johnny Marvin would also record the song that year: Jean Goldketty and his Orchestra would pep the song up a bit with their rendition the same year:
 
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"when I pretend I'm gay" ... yeah, that's cute
 
And in the 38 position for 1929 is DEEP NIGHT with Rudy Vallée again on VICTOR ORTHOPHONIC Record:
 
And in the 38 position for 1929 is DEEP NIGHT with Rudy Vallée again on VICTOR ORTHOPHONIC Record:


It's artistically appropriate for a dreamy song called "Deep Night" to have you get so lost in the music that it's almost a surprise when the voice appears. Two minutes in before the headliner's voice appears. And then he sings for just over a minute.

But I know it wasn't just for that song. Almost an accident that it works so well with this particular song and this particular mood.

Such a different time musically! The bands were really allowed to shine.
 
It's artistically appropriate for a dreamy song called "Deep Night" to have you get so lost in the music that it's almost a surprise when the voice appears. Two minutes in before the headliner's voice appears. And then he sings for just over a minute.

But I know it wasn't just for that song. Almost an accident that it works so well with this particular song and this particular mood.

Such a different time musically! The bands were really allowed to shine.
Yeah, I hear you... I can even imagine going back in time with my sweetie and doing a gentle foxtrot. Her in a beaded tea length gown head on my shoulder, and me in a midnight blue tux --- dancing cheek to cheek... GOOD GRIEF! When did I stick so much bear grease in my hair --- I have enough grease to lubricate 10 Duesenbergs --- Well, 2 anyway! :cool: Vo vo dee oh doe!
 
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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.

Why did big band sound go away?
I'll never understand. That music was great and did not rely on 3 instruments as does rock which dominated for 50 years.
 
Why did big band sound go away?
I'll never understand. That music was great and did not rely on 3 instruments as does rock which dominated for 50 years.

My dad's music. Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, good stuff.
 
Why did big band sound go away?
I'll never understand. That music was great and did not rely on 3 instruments as does rock which dominated for 50 years.
Several things are likely the cause. Amplified sound wasn't that good, nor was it easily available everywhere. Bodies were cheap (the pay was low). After World War II men wanted families and a steady job. There were still some "Big Bands" into the 1950's Please see: HOWEVER, if one was really good, one would try out for an Orchestra to make the money or be a backup for a recording studio --- and not have to do a lot of cross country, road trips. The electronic improved and 4 guys could make anyone deaf. BUT ALSO, the technology became the expensive issue where the money went.
 
My dad's music. Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, good stuff.
My dad loved this music also ----- as did I! There were a lot of young guys who appreciated the Big Band Sound into the 1970's. And even Ragtime made a comeback when the movie THE STING came out in1973: The 1930's big band sound with PAPER MOON in 1973:
And the 1920's band sound with THE GREAT GATSBY in 1974:

The total reality is that in say the 1960's, the 1920's were only a mere 40 years or so in the past. The 30's were thirty years and the 1940's were 20 or so years in the past. THE PROBLEM WAS/IS THAT THE RECORDING TECHNOLOGY RADICALLY CHANGED IN THE LATE 1940'S. RCA developed NEW ORTHOPHONIC HIGH FIDELITY SOUND and PHIL SPECTOR WITH HIS WALL OF SOUND. STEREO would even be better. All the "OLD" recordings simply didn't sound up to date. It isn't like today when a kid can play a BEATLE record from the early 1960's and still hear them as good and clear (if the record is in good shape or one has a newer CD) as it did when the band was young. All the old stuff before the transition became regarded as archaic. And many of the band leaders were now maturing (pleasant term for getting OLD). And so the old recordings went into collections and were not played on the radio except for some diehards.

The music was and is still wonderful, and I feel that eventually people will tire of all the crap dished out today and called "music" and eventually some movie or play or new rerecording will spark a renewed interest. One needs to be reminded that what great grandmom heard at the dance hall was usually a live band and sounded different from the records available in that day, but they were used to that difference.
 
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My dad loved this music also ----- as did I! There were a lot of young guys who appreciated the Big Band Sound into the 1970's. And even Ragtime made a comeback when the movie THE STING came out in1973: The 1930's big band sound with PAPER MOON in 1973:
And the 1920's band sound with THE GREAT GATSBY in 1974:

The total reality is that in say the 1960's, the 1920's were only a mere 40 years or so in the past. The 30's were thirty years and the 1940's were 20 or so years in the past. THE PROBLEM WAS/IS THAT THE RECORDING TECHNOLOGY RADICALLY CHANGED IN THE LATE 1940'S. RCA developed NEW ORTHOPHONIC HIGH FIDELITY SOUND and PHIL SPECTOR WITH HIS WALL OF SOUND. STEREO would even be better. All the "OLD" recordings simply didn't sound up to date. It isn't like today when a kid can play a BEATLE record from the early 1960's and still hear them as good and clear (if the record is in good shape or one has a newer CD) as it did when the band was young. All the old stuff before the transition became regarded as archaic. And many of the band leaders were now maturing (pleasant term for getting OLD). ANd so the old recordings went into collections and were not played on the radio except for some diehards.

The music was and is still wonderful, and I feel that eventually people will tire of all the crap and eventually some movie or play or new rerecording will spark a renewed interest.

I have some recordings done recently by modern big bands using the same sheet music as they did in the '40s. Man, it sounds great! Sing Sing Sing, an old Benny Goodman song, just rocks.
That's what they actually sounded like live. (y)
 
Here is another extra. This one is from the year 1928. It isn't even listed as a hit for that year; however, it was certainly a "HOT" number back in the day. It doesn't seem to have appeared in any movie or play, and that maybe why it is obscure today. Anyway, here is HAY! HAY! HAZEL from 1928 played by SIX JUMPING JACKS HARRY RESER on a BRUNSWICK Record and played on an Orthophonic style wind-up Brunswick player from the period. I must admit that I always loved the music of this period. It was happy, footloose, and fancy free. NO STRESS -- NOT TOO LOUD --- AND WILD ENOUGH TO BE CALL YOUTHFUL!
 
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