ON THIS DAY IN JAZZ AGE MUSIC!

OCTOBER 29TH

2021-10-28T19:00:00.175-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

FANNY BRICE!

BIRTHDAYS

1891

Fanny Brice, Actress/singer

d. 1951.

Starred in the Ziegfeld Follies and on Radio and in Films.

née: Frances Borach.

~Biography

The fame of vaudeville legend Fanny Brice has been largely carried on in a biographical adaptation of her life that has almost nothing to do with the facts of the case, the musical Funny Girl, a star vehicle designed for Barbra Streisand.

The real Fanny Brice was, in her time, a tremendously popular comedienne who first established herself in vaudeville and later in radio, portraying her trademark character, Baby Snooks. Her skill at Yiddish/English dialect, penchant for wacky facial expressions, and loud, perfectly timed comic singing voice endeared her to American audiences for more than four decades.

Fanny Brice was born Fania Borach in New York's Lower East Side and dropped out of school in the eighth grade to become a chorus girl. While some sources place the beginning of Brice's career in Yiddish vaudeville, she did not speak Yiddish and seems to have bypassed that step in favor of regular vaudeville.

In 1909, she scored her first success singing an Irving Berlin song, "Sadie Salome, Go Home," in a musical called The College Girls while performing a parody on "The Dance of the Seven Veils" from Richard Strauss' opera Salome. This attracted the attention of impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, and though Brice, it seems, would've made an unlikely "Follies Girl," she appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1910; Brice was 18 years old.

Brice continued through 1923 to star in several editions of the Ziegfeld Follies as a top-billed performer alongside acts such as W.C. Fields, Raymond Hitchcock, Van & Schenck, Moran & Mack, and Ted Lewis.
She was also a featured attraction in shows produced by Irving Berlin and Billy Rose, whom she married in 1929 (Brice divorced him in 1938).

Brice popularized the classic torch song "My Man" and was indelibly associated with such comic songs as "Second-Hand Rose" and "I'm an Indian." At the height of her popularity as a stage star, Brice attempted to take on roles in serious plays, but her efforts to this end proved unsuccessful.

In 1918, Brice married Nicky Arnstein, a second-tier racketeer and con man who by 1920 had become implicated in a Wall Street bond robbery. Although in retrospect it seems likely that Arnstein was not guilty in the matter, he was convicted and sent to Leavenworth in 1924.

Upon his release three years later, Arnstein disappeared and was never heard from again.

This sad tale ultimately became the seed for Funny Girl; Brice's later marriage to Billy Rose provided the inspiration for the film musical Funny Lady.

While neither of these fictionalized projects reflects the true life story of Fanny Brice, one film that does is Rose of Washington Square (1939), starring Alice Faye.

The resemblance was so close, in fact, that Brice sued the film's producer, 20th Century Fox, for defamation of character; Brice and the studio settled out of court.

With arrival of talking pictures, Brice went to Hollywood and starred in a Vitaphone feature, My Man (1928), and Be Yourself (1930) for United Artists. Both of these films were failures, and Brice soon returned to Broadway. At some point during the early '30s, while appearing in some of the posthumous stage editions of the Ziegfeld Follies, Brice developed the persona of the bratty widdle kid Baby Snooks.

Brice revived this character on an episode of a radio program entitled The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air, which aired February 29, 1936. The public response was immediate, and throughout the late '30s Brice carried Baby Snooks through an assortment of variety programs until settling in with Maxwell House Coffee Time in 1940. By 1944, her spot on the radio schedule was finally named.

The Baby Snooks Show in earnest. Brice often performed the part of Baby Snooks in an adult-sized baby outfit, departing from the usual standard of radio actors in that relatively few of them dressed the part when playing a character. As popular as she had been on Broadway in the early '20s, it was nothing compared to her success portraying Baby Snooks, and through this character Fanny Brice became a national institution.

Brice suffered a stroke on May 24, 1951, and died five days later at the age of 50. She had long suffered from nervous disorders, and in the past had been known to cancel out of stage productions on the advice of physicians. An entire subplot was developed on The Baby Snooks Show in 1945 in which Baby Snooks had been kidnapped -- this was in order to cover an illness that Brice suffered, taking her out of the cast for several weeks.

Interested persons hoping to grasp something of Brice's early stage career are in for a disappointment; although she began recording in 1916 for Columbia, she only did so sporadically through 1930, and cut just 26 titles -- six of these were rejected, and four of the issued recordings are versions of "My Man." The Vitaphone film musical bearing that title has disappeared; though all but one of the soundtrack discs have been recovered, these are long on spoken dialogue and short on music. Brice appeared in only 11 films, usually in guest cameos, and three of these are shorts; she apparently never appeared on television.

In an attempt to get at the appeal of Fanny Brice, you would have to weigh this tiny amount of film clips and recordings against the veritable mountain of Baby Snooks broadcasts that survive, and under the circumstances there is no way to get a balanced picture of her talents -- several critics who have seen Brice on film have commented that they can't understand why she was so popular.

Nonetheless, Fanny Brice was considered to be the greatest Jewish female comedienne of her day. It's a pity that her greatest moments were sustained on the Broadway stage, as more than 50 years after she died, posterity is barely able to grasp what Fanny Brice's celebrity was about, based on the legacy that has survived.

~ Uncle Dave Lewis

Fanny Brice

FANNY BRICE COLLECTION
FANNY BRICE Website .brice.nl's photostream
Jewish Women in Comedy Bio

1916

Hadda Hopgood Brooks, piano/vocals

b: Los Angeles, CA, USA.

d. Nov. 21, 2002

She was born Hadda Hopgood in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California.

A versatile performer whose career spanned almost six decades and whose repertoire included boogiefied classics, blues, ballads and torch songs, Brooks became known as "the Queen of Boogie Woogie " right after the release, in 1945 , of her first single, "Swingin' the Boogie".

Born into a prominent African American family from Georgia , she was taught to play the piano from the age of four and later studied classical music. In the course of her career, Brooks also appeared in films, mainly as a pianist and/or lounge singer Out of the Blue, 1947; In a Lonely Place, 1950, performing "I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You").

In the 1950s , she was one of the first African American women to host her own television show (The Hadda Brooks Show). After an early retirement, which she spent in Hawaii and Australia , she returned to Los Angeles to be rediscovered in 1986.
She died of heart failure in

Los Angeles at the age of 86.

Her most famous songs include:

"Swingin' the Boogie"
"That's My Desire"
"Romance in the Dark"
"Don't Take Your Love From Me"
"Say It with a Kiss"
~Wikipedia
Official Site
MORE

1916

"Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan

(Cowboy) vocals/guitar

b. Gardena, CA, USA.
d: July 31, 1994.
"America's Cowboy Troubador". Jimmie Lee "Ramblin' Jimmie" Dolan was a Western swing musician. Although he had several hit songs, including "Who's Kiddin' Who", he is best remembered for his hit single, "Hot Rod Race", which reached #7 in February 1951.

Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan

Photograph of Dan Emmett in

blackface probably early 1860s.

1815

Daniel Decatur Emmett, Composer

b: Mt. Vernon, OH, USA.

d: June 28, 1904, Mt.Vernon, OH, USA.

Daniel Decatur Emmett is remembered today chiefly for a song he wrote in 1859 . . . Dixie. He is also known for his role in the Virginia Minstrels.

I wish I was in de land ob cotton,

Old times dar am not forgotten;

Look away! Look away!

Look away!

Dixie Land!

(Dixie's Land, 1-3)

BIO

WIKI BIO

Dan Emmett

1911

Narciso Martinez, (Tejano Conjunto) Accordion

b. Reynosa, Mexico Narciso Martínez (October 29, 1911 in Reynosa – 1992), dubbed early on, El Huracan del Valle ("The Hurricane of the Valley"), began recording in 1936, on October 21 precisely, and is the father of conjunto music. The Spanish word conjunto means 'group' and in El Valle de Tejas that means accordion, bajo sexto, and contrabajo (string bass, known locally also as "el tololoche").

Don Narciso, the first widely successful conjunto recording artist, made hundreds of recordings of mostly instrumental dance tunes emphasizing the melody side of the accordion and leaving the bass parts to his bajo sexto player, Santiago Almeida. This established a new sound, which is quickly identifiable as Texas-Mexican Conjunto Music.

Narciso Martinez is the recipient of the National Heritage Award for his contributions to one of the United States' important ethnic traditions. He recorded for IDEAL Records and Paco Betancourt in San Benito, Texas, as well as large American labels. He died in 1992.

Narciso Martínez

Martínez, Narciso (1911–1992)

Notable Events Occurring

On This Date Include:

1987.

Bandleader/clarinetist Woody Herman
Died in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Age: 74.

Woody Herman - Wikipedia

1988.
Joe Comfort, bassist
Died in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Age: 71.
Played with Lionel Hampton and with Nat "King" Cole.

Joe Comfort - Wikipedia

1991.

Percy Randolph, harmonica

died in New Orleans, LA, USA.
Age: 77.

Often appeared with guitarist "Snooks" Eaglin

Percy Randolph

Fred Maddox is standing on the right.

1992.

Fred Maddox, C&W vocals/bass

died. Age: 73.

Member: "Maddox Brothers & Rose"

1995.
Louis Acorn, drums
died in Shreveport, LA, USA.

Songs Recorded/Released

On This Date Include:

1921

Joseph Samuels' Jazz Band

“I've Got My Habits On”

(Jimmy Durante)

1923

Original Capitol Orchestra - “Barney Google”

(Billy Rose / Con Conrad)

“Why Worry Blues”

Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra

“In Love With Love”

(from the Musical Comedy "The Stepping Stones"), (Jerome Kern)

“Mama Loves Papa (Papa Loves Mama)” - (Cliff Friend / Abel Baer)
“Shake Your Feet” - (from "Ziegfeld Follies")

1924

Johnny De Droit and his New Orleans Orchestra

“Eccentric”

1926

Waring's Pennsylvanians

“The Little White House (At The End Of Honeymoon Lane)” - Vocal refrain by Tom Waring

1929

Six Jolly Jesters - "Goin' Nuts"

"Oklahoma Stomp" - (Duke Ellington pseudonym on Vocalion - Teddy Bunn quitar.)

Boyd Senter and his Senterpedes

“Beale Street Blues” (W.C. Handy)

“Sweetheart Blues”

LYRICS:

BARNEY GOOGLE

(Rose / De Beck / Con Conrad)

Billy Jones & Ernest Hare, Thomas & West

Who's the most important man this country ever knew?

Do you know what politician I have reference to?

Well, it isn't Mr. Bryan, and it isn't Mr. Hughes.

I've got a hunch that to that bunch I'm going to introduce:

(Again you're wrong and to this throng I'm going to Introduce:)

Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.

Barney Google bet his horse would win the prize.

When the horses ran that day, Spark Plug ran the other way.

Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.

Barney Google had a wife three times his size

She stood Barney for divorce

Now he's living with his horse

Who's the greatest lover that this country ever knew?

And who's the man that Valentino takes his hat off to?

No, it isn't Douglas Fairbanks that the ladies rave about.

When he arrives, who makes the wives chase all their husbands

out?

Why, it's Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.

Barney Google is the guy who never buys.

Women take him out to dine, then he steals the waiter's dime.

Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.

Barney Google is the luckiest of guys.

If he fell in to the mud, he'd come up with a diamond stud.

Barney Google with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.

Who's the greatest fire chief this country ever saw?

Who's the man who loves to hear the blazing buildings roar?

Anytime the house is burning, and the flames leap all about,

Say, tell me do, who goes, "kerchoo!" and puts the fire out?

Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.

Barney Google, thought his horse could win the prize.

He got odds of ten to eight; Spark Plug came in three days late.

Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.

Barney Google tried to enter paradise.

When Saint Peter saw his face, he said, "Go to the other place".

Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.

brought to you by...
~confetta

Special Thanks To:
The Red Hot Jazz Archives,
The Big Band Database, Scott Yanow,
and all those who have provided content,
images and sound files for this site.

OCTOBER 28TH

2021-10-27T19:00:00.041-07:00

BIRTHDAYS

1895

John Boles

John Boles (October 28, 1895 – February 27, 1969) was an American singer and actor best known for playing Victor Moritz in the 1931 film Frankenstein.

Early life
Boles was born in Greenville, Texas to a middle-class family. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1917. He returned to Greenville, where he was selected by an out-of-town producer to act in an opera at the King Opera House. This experience convinced John that he preferred music and the stage to the preference of his parents, who wanted him to pursue a medical degree.

While en route to a career as actor and singer, Boles earned a living by teaching French and singing in a high school in New York state and working as business manager and interpreter for a one-year tour of Europe by a student group. The latter venture led to his studying under tenor Jean de Reszke.

Personal life
Boles married Marcelite Dobbs (1896-1982) in 1917, and they remained married until his death; they are interred at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

Career
He started out in Hollywood in silent movies, but became a huge star with the advent of talkies. After the war, Boles moved to New York to study music. He quickly became well known for his talents and was selected to replace the leading man in the 1923 Broadway musical Little Jesse James. He became an established star on Broadway and attracted the attention of Hollywood producers and actors.

Boles' Broadway credits include One Touch of Venus (1943), Kitty's Kisses (1925), Mercenary Mary (1924), and Little Jessie James (1923).

The Love of Sunya (1927)

He was hired by MGM to appear in a silent film in 1924. He starred in two more films for that studio before returning to New York and the stage. In 1927, he returned to Hollywood to star in The Love of Sunya (1927) opposite Gloria Swanson, which was a big success for him.

Unfortunately, because the movies were still silent he was unable to show off his singing ability until late in the decade. In 1929, Warner Brothers hired him to star in their lavish musical operetta The Desert Song (1929). This film featured sequences in Technicolor and was a box-office success.

Soon after, Radio Pictures (later known as RKO) selected him to play the leading man in their extravagant production (the last portion of the film was photographed in Technicolor) of Rio Rita, opposite Bebe Daniels. Audiences were enthralled by his beautiful voice, and John Boles suddenly found himself in huge demand. RCA Victor even hired him to make phonograph records of songs that he had sung in his films.

Lobby card for Rio Rita (1929)

As soon as Rio Rita was completed, Boles went back to Warner Brothers as the leading man in an even more extravagant musical entitled Song of the West (1930) that was filmed entirely in Technicolor. Shortly after this film, Universal Pictures offered John Boles a contract, which he accepted. He starred in a number of pictures for them, most notably the all-Technicolor musical revue entitled The King of Jazz (1930) and a historical operetta entitled Captain of the Guard (1930). In 1931, he starred in One Heavenly Night (1931), which would prove to be his last major musical.

Boles portrayed Victor Moritz in Frankenstein (1931). He starred with Irene Dunne in a 1934 film adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel The Age of Innocence directed for RKO Radio Pictures by Philip Moeller, and took the role of Edward Morgan in Curly Top (1935), starring Shirley Temple In 1937, Boles starred alongside Barbara Stanwyck in the King Vidor classic Stella Dallas. In 1943, he co-starred with Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in One Touch of Venus.

Curly Top (1935)

Later years
Boles retired from the screen and stage in 1952, after starring opposite Paulette Goddard in Babes in Baghdad. He later went into the oil business and lived the last 13 years of his life in San Angelo, Texas. For his contributions to the film industry, Boles was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star located at 6530 Hollywood Boulevard.

Death

Boles died on February 27, 1969, in San Angelo, Texas, at age 73.

Links

John Boles on IMDb
John Boles at the Internet Broadway Database
John Boles at AllMovie
Photographs of John Boles

Bill & Earl Bolick

1917

William A. Bolick

C&W Singer/Mandolin

b. Hickory, NC, USA.

Member: "Blue Sky Boys", a duo comprised of Bill and Earl Bollich. (Bill: Singer/Mandolin ,né: William A. Bolick, b. Hickory, NC, USA, and Earl: Singer/Guitar, né: Earl A. Bolick, b. Hickory, NC, USA. d. April 19, 1998).

Bill Bolick: October 29, 1917 – March 13, 2008

The Blue Sky Boys - Wikipedia

1916

William Palmer "Bill" Harris, Trombone

b. Philadelphia, PA, USA.

d. Aug 21, 1973, Hallandale, FL, USA.

Starting in 1938, Harris toured with the big bands of Gene Krupa, Ray McKinley, and Bob Chester. After playing with Benny Goodman (1943-1944) and Charlie Barnet, and guesting on a couple of Eddie Condon's Town Hall concerts, Harris became famous for his work with Woody Herman's First Herd (1944-1946). During 1948-1950, he was one of the few 'First Herd' members to also be in the Four Brothers Second Herd. During 1956-1959, Harris also re-joined Herman a few times.

In 1947, he co-led a band with Charlie Ventura, in 1953 teamed up with Chubby Jackson, and during 1950-1954 starred with 'Jazz at the Philharmonic'. During the second half of the 1950s, Harris often collaborated with Flip Phillips, and in 1959 their band formed the nucleus of Benny Goodman's group. Subsequently he mostly retired to Florida, although did appeared briefly in Las Vegas.

Bill Harris - Wikipedia

1909

Willie Hatcher, Mandolin and Vocals

b. Clarksdale, MS, USA.

(raised in Cleveland, OH, USA)

1892

Oliver "Ollie or Dink" Johnson

piano/drums/clarinet

b. Biloxi, MS, USA.

d. Nov. 29, 1954, Portland, OR, USA

~Biography
Dink Johnson was nothing if not versatile, as one can judge from the three instruments that he played. Johnson started out working in New Orleans as a pianist in Storyville. He traveled to Los Angeles where he was a member of Bill Johnson's Creole Band in 1913, as a drummer. Johnson freelanced, played drums during Jelly Roll Morton's stay in California and in 1922 recorded with Kid Ory's band (Spikes' Seven Pods of Pepper), on clarinet!

Johnson spent much of his career in California, leading the Five Hounds of Jazz (later renamed the Los Angeles Six) and then mostly working as a solo pianist. Although he ran his own restaurant in Los Angeles, he remained active as a player into the late '40s. Johnson was much better-known locally then he was nationally, performing in an early style that fell between stride and ragtime. Dink Johnson recorded fairly extensively (mostly as a pianist) for American Music during 1946-47, Euphonic (1948) and Nola (1950).

~ Scott Yanow
Dink Johnson - Wikipedia

1907

Everard Steven "Rudy or Root" Powell Sr., clarinet/alto sax

b. New York, NY, USA.

d: Oct. 30, 1976, New York, NY, USA.
aka: Musheed Karweem

bio
A fine journeyman clarinetist and altoist, Rudy Powell (who in later years would change his name to Musheed Karweem) had a fairly productive career. He studied piano and violin as a child before switching to saxophone. Powell was a professional musician by 1927, playing with June Clark and Gene Rodger's Revellers.

His first major job was with Cliff Jackson's Krazy Kats from 1928-30. The altoist (who was influenced a bit by Benny Carter) had many associations through the years, working with Elmer Snowden, Dave Nelson, Sam Wooding, Kaiser Marshall's Trio, Rex Stewart (1933), Fats Waller (off and on from 1935-37), Edgar Hayes, Claude Hopkins (1938-39 and 1944), the Teddy Wilson big band, Andy Kirk (1940-41), Fletcher Henderson (1941-42), Eddie South, Don Redman (1943), Chris Columbus, Cab Calloway's Orchestra (1945-48), Lucky Millinder (1949-51), Jimmy Rushing, Buddy Tate, pianist Benton Heath's New Garden Ballroom Orchestra (1953-61), Ray Charles (1961-62), Buddy Johnson and Duke Ellington's My People show.

Powell's last major association was with the Saints and Sinners (1965-69), although he freelanced occasionally into the 1970s. Powell recorded with most of the above names (plus Al Casey in 1960 and Henry "Red" Allen ) but never as a leader.

~ Scott Yanow

Rudy Powell - Wikipedia

Notable Events

On This Date Include:

1965.

Earl Bostic, alto sax

Died in Rochester, NY, USA.

Eugene Earl Bostic was an American jazz alto saxophonist and a pioneer of the post-war American rhythm and blues style. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep", "Special Delivery Stomp", and "Where or When", which all showed off his characteristic growl on the horn. Wikipedia

Born: April 25, 1913, Tulsa, OK

Died: October 28, 1965, Rochester, NY

Earl Bostic - Wikipedia

1967.

Jody Edwards, vocals

Died in Dolton, IL, USA.

Age: 70.

Worked with vaudeville team

of 'Butterbeans & Susie'

Edwards, Jody - Discography of American Historical Recordings

1979.

Jimmy Skinner

C&W singer-songwriter died.

Age: 70.

1980.

Alexander D. Burt, Inventor of 45 rpm record,

Died in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Age: 75.

1985.

Bernard Wolfe, author

Died in Woodland Hills, CA, USA.

Age: 70.

Co-wrote book: 'Really The Blues' with Mezz Mezzrow.

Really the Blues - New York Review Books

Songs Recorded/Released

On This Date Include:

1920

Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra

“Grieving For You - Feather Your Nest”
“My Wonder Girl - Coral Sea”

1924

Helen Gross accompanied by the Kansas City Five

“Undertakers Blues”

1925

Ted Lewis and his Band - “Just Around The Corner”

(Featured In The Universal Picture "Oh, Charlie")

Ted Lewis and his Band - “While We Danced Till Dawn”

1926

Waring's Pennsylvanians

“It Made You Happy When You Made Me Cry”

1927

Hoagy Carmichael and his Pals

“One Night In Havana” - (Hoagy Carmichael)

Victoria Spivey - “Dope Head Blues”

“Red Lantern Blues”

1928

Danny Altier and his Orchestra - “My Gal Sal”

I'm Sorry, Sally”

Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon

“Down At Jasper's Bar-Be-Que” - (Frankie Jaxon)

1929

Joe Venuti's Blue Four/Five/Six - “Runnin' Ragged”

“Apple Blossoms”

Kentucky Jazz Babies

Annette Hanshaw

Annette Hanshaw - “He's So Unusual”

Annette Hanshaw - “I Think You'll Like It”

1930

Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon

“Chocolate To The Bone (I'm So Glad I'm A Brownskin)” - (Frankie Jaxon)
“Scuddlin" - (Frankie Jaxon)

Edith Wilson - “My Handyman Ain't Handy No More”

Harry Reser - “Flapperette”

(w/ piano accompaniment) Harry Reser)

“Cracker Jack” (w/ piano accompaniment) Harry Reser)

LYRICS:

He's So Unusual
~(A. Lewis - A. Silver - A. Sherman, from Sweetie)

You talk of sweeties, bashful sweeties,
I got one of those,
Oh, he's handsome as can be,
But he worries me;
He goes to college and gathers knowledge,
Hooh! What that boy knows!
He's up in his Latin and Greek,
But in his sheikin', he's weak!

'Cause when I want some lovin',
And I gotta have some lovin',
He says, "Please! Stop it, please!"
He's so unusual!

When I want some kissin',
And I gotta have some kissin',
He says, "No! Let me go."
He's so unusual!

I know lots of boys who would be crazy over me,
If they only had this fellow's opportunity.
You know, I would let him pet me,
But the darn fool, he doesn't let me!
Oh, he's so unusual that he drives me wild!

When we're in the moonlight,
He says, "I don't like the moonlight.
Aw, let's not talk in the dark."
Huh, he's so unusual!

And when we're riding in a taxi,
He converses with the cheuffeur,
Oh, why don't he talk to me?
Oh, he's so different!

Others would be tickled pink to bop-op-a-dop-e-dop!
He don't even know what bop-op-op-a-dop's about!
He says love is hokum,
Oh, I'd like to choke, choke, choke him!
'Cause he's so unusual that he drives me wild!

You might as well be by yourself as in his company,
When we're out together, I'm as lonesome as can be.

But still I'm mad about him,
And I just can't live without him;
'Cause he's so unusual that he drives me bop-bop-a-dop-bop!

brought to you by...

~confetta

Special Thanks To:

The Red Hot Jazz Archives,

The Big Band Database, Scott Yanow,

and all those who have provided content,

images and sound files for this site.

OCTOBER 27TH

2021-10-26T19:00:00.045-07:00

Russell Patterson, Ballyhoo

Originally uploaded by Gatochy.

BIRTHDAYS

1908

DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins

(Bluegrass) Banjo

b. Harris, NC, USA.Bluegrass banjo pioneer DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins was born in Harris, NC, on October 27, 1908; the youngest of ten children, all of whom excelled in music, he began playing the fiddle as a child but was too small to use the bow and as a result picked the instrument like a mandolin.

He later turned to guitar and by 1927 was playing in a trio with banjo players Smith Hammett and Rex Brooks; Jenkins copied their three-finger style, and in the years to follow the banjo became his primary instrument, honing his skills playing square dances throughout the western North Carolina region.

At this time he began mentoring the young Earl Scruggs; while Jenkins' technique bridged the gap between jagged, old-timey picking and the more fluid contemporary style, Scruggs soon surpassed his teacher, forging a thoroughly modernized sound distinguished by its subtlety and grace.

Jenkins relocated to Columbia, SC, in the spring of 1937, soon joining a string band which performed on local radio station WIS; despite the inevitable lineup changes, the group -- later dubbed the Hired Hands -- remained active for over half a century.

Joining in 1939 was Jenkins' longtime foil, fiddler Homer "Pappy" Sherrill, a onetime member of the Blue Sky Boys; eight years later the Hired Hands welcomed lead guitarist Julian "Greasy" Medlin and bassist Ira Dimmery, followed in 1955 by the arrival of second guitarist Bill Rey.

This five-piece lineup cut the first Hired Hands recordings in 1962, released by Folklyric in 1970 and subsequently reissued on Arhoolie as Pioneer of the Bluegrass Banjo. In 1971, Jenkins and Sherrill also recorded an LP for Rounder and in 1989 also cut material for Old Homestead; Jenkins died on April 30, 1990. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Snuffy Jenkins - Wikipedia

1904

Nisse "Bagarn" Lind

Accordion/piano

b. Stockholm, Sweden, d. Oct. 25, 1941.

Nils Einar Lind, nicknamed "Nisse" or "Bagarn" (October 27, 1904, Stockholm - October 25, 1941, Stockholm) was a Swedish jazz accordionist and pianist. He recorded frequently in the 1930s and was a regular performer on radio and film soundtracks up to the time of his death.

Nisse Lind

1911

Curley Rhodes
C&W guitar/vocals
b. Tomahawk, WI, USA.

né: Oral V. Rhodes.

1909

Henry J. Townsend

Piano/Guitar/Vocal.

In 1929, he cut his first record for the Columbia label. That same year saw the start of the great World economic depression, Louis Armstrong recorded "Fats" Waller's song "Ain't Misbehavin'", Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill's "Three Penny Opera" (Drei Pfennig Oper) debuted, and the first "talkie" motion picture was released.

Townsend may be the oldest living "Delta Blues" recording artist (2003) and is certainly one of the oldest living recording artists in music history.

St. Louis Walk of Fame - Henry Townsend

Henry Townsend (musician) - Wikipedia

Notable Events Occurring

On This Date Include:

1916.

First published reference to Jazz appeared in the entertainment newspaper 'Variety'.

Jazz (word): Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

* I am still looking to confirm this claim.

1920.

On August 20, 1920, the Westinghouse corporation was granted a government commercial broadcast license to operate radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA, thus making KDKA the very first Commercial Radio Station in the USA. The term "Commercial radio station" is widely misunderstood. KDKA actually received the very first American official government license, but their early 'commercials' were offered gratis by the station. Westinghouse basically used the station to sell their own brand of radio receivers.

In 1923, AT&T's radio station WEAF, in New York, accepted the first legally allowed paid for "radio ad" . Because this station was owned by AT&T, it was the only station then officially allowed to engage in "toll broadcasting" under the RCA agreements. (However, other stations were already selling advertising time "sub rosa" -- because no one could stop them.) Ergo, in the history or "radiodom", WEAF goes down as the first "commercial" station, -that is, the first station to (legally) accept a 'paid-for Ad'.

1977.

"Peg Leg Sam"

(né: Arthur Jackson), harmonica

died in Jonesville, SC, USA.

Age: 65

Peg Leg Sam - Wikipedia

1981.

Louis Metcalf, trumpet

Died in New York (Jamaica), L.I., NY, USA.

Age: 76.

(Worked with early Blues singer Bessie Smith)

Louis Metcalf - Wikipedia

Louis Metcalf, 76, Trumpeter With the Ellington Orchestra...

1990.

Bandlander Xavier Cugat

died in Barcelona, Spain. Age: 90.

(Coronary)

Xavier Cugat - Wikipedia

Songs Recorded/Released

On This Date Include:

1921

The Syncopating Five

“Lips”

1922

Dolly Kay - “Hot Lips”

1925

Original Indiana Five

“Everybody's Doin' The Charleston Now”

1927

Bessie Smith - “Dyin' By The Hour”

Bessie Smith - “Foolish Man Blues”

Alex Jackson's Plantation Orchestra

“When Erastus Plays His Old Kazoo”

“Missouri Squabble”
“I Call You Sugar”

1930

The Jungle Band - “Home Again Blues”

The Jungle Band - “Wang Wang Blues”

Lloyd Smith's Gut-Bucketeers

(Come On Honey) Rub Me Some More

I'm Going Away Just To Wear You Off My Mind
That's My Stuff
Wake Up Sinners

1933

Earl Hines and his Orchestra - “Harlem Lament”

1936

Lil Armstrong and her Swing Orchestra

“Brown Gal” - Vocal Chorus by Lil Armstrong

“Doin' The Suzie Q” - Vocal Chorus by Lil Armstrong Featuring "Chu" Berry
“It's Murder” - Vocal Chorus by Lil Armstrong
“Just For A Thrill” - Vocal Chorus by Lil Armstrong

LYRICS:

“Home Again Blues”

~Irving Berlin

[1st verse:]

I've been known to be a rolling stone for many years

Now alone, I sit around and moan when night appears

Thoughts of my home fill me with regrettable tears

Ev'ry year Oh! how I long to hear a bit of news

Friends appear to offer words of cheer but I refuse

Pack up my trunk 'cause I've got those home again blues

I'm going

[Refrain:]

Home, knock at the door

Home, just like before

Roam, never no more

No place like

Home

Oh! what a song

Home, where I belong

Oh! I've got those home again blues

[2nd verse:]

I can't wait until I reach that gate and home I see

Sure as fate I know they're gonna wait to welcome me

I want to state that that's the end of my mis'ry

If I knew I'd ever feel so blue I'd never roam

But it's true we learn a thing or two away from home

I'm telling you I've ceased to be a rolling stone

I'm going

[Patter:]

When I left home I didn't have a cent

I wasn't broke but I was badly bent

I didn't have a single dime to count

And now I'm going home with the same amount

My letters read that daddy's doing fine

And that my brother's working overtime

With all that money rolling in the shack

Ain't nobody living can hold me back

Feet, just you hear my pray'r

Don't you weaken till you do your share

I've gotta heartache

I wanna partake

Of all the joys that's waiting there

WANG WANG BLUES

(Henry Busse / B. Johnson / Gus Mueller / Leo Wood)

I got the bluest blues (He's got the bluest blues)

I'm just as blue as can be (He's got the blues)

Just got the awful news (He's got some awful news)

My sweetie sweet has left me (She left him flat)

I love her so (He loves her so)

And now I know (And now he knows)

This awful blow (That awful blow)

Will lay me low (Will lay him low)

Oh Lordy, Lord, what she did to me (Lord, what she did to he)

I'm just as sad as can be (Oh, sad is he)

I got those Wang Wang blues (He's got the blues)

Those awful Wang Wang blues (Those dirty blues)

Oh brother I never knew I'd be so blue

Until she went away (Oh, mercy me)

I got those Wang Wang Blues (As blue as blue)

Those lonesome Wang Wang Blues (So sad and blue)

I wish my sweet sweetie would come back

And chase away those Wang Wang Blues

brought to you by...
~confetta

Special Thanks To:

The Red Hot Jazz Archives,

The Big Band Database, Scott Yanow,

and all those who have provided content,

images and sound files for this site.