78Man Podcast Number 34 : Older than you think 2

Podcast Number 34 is the second to look at songs which were hits in the ’60s-’80s but were originally released in the 78 era. It can be found on itunes or Podbean Here

Tracks Heard are :

1. I Only Have Eyes For You by Al Jolson (Released by Brunswick (04379) in 1949) Al Jolson was born Asa Yoelson on May 26 1886 in Lithuania. His family moved to the USA in 1894 and he began his musical career in 1897 when he and his brother Hirsch (aka Harry) started singing for money on street corners. In 1911 he starred in his first musical revue and over the following years became one of America’s most popular and highest paid performers. It was during this period that Jolson started performing in blackface. He had huge hits in the ’20s with songs such as “Swanee”, “My Mammy” and “Rock-a-bye your baby with a Dixie melody”. In 1927 he starred in “The Jazz singer”, considered to be the first full length talkie. He went on to appear in other films such as “The singing fool” (1928), “Hallelujah, I’m a bum” (1933), “The singing kid” (1936), and “Rose of Washington square” (1939). In 1942 Jolson’s career was revived by the film “The Jolson Story” and he started recording again for Brunswick. A sequel, “Jolson sings again” was released in 1949 but Jolson’s renewed success was cut short by his death on October 23 1950, after appearing for the troops in Korea.
2. Pretend by Nat “King” Cole (Released by Capitol (CL 13878) in 1953) Nat “King” Cole was born (Nathaniel Adams Coles) in March 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama. At the age of 4 his family moved to Chicago, where his father became a Baptist Minister. His Mother was the church organist, and taught him to play at an early age. He began formal piano lessons aged 12. He left school at 15 to pursue a career in music. He formed a band with his brother Eddie and in 1936 released a couple of records as Eddie Cole’s Swingsters. Nat then formed the King Cole Swingsters and in 1940 had his first hit with “Sweet Lorraine”, recorded for the US Decca label (released on Brunswick in the UK). In 1943 he signed with Capitol, the label he is most associated with. In the ensuing years he released many hit records, such as “It’s only a paper moon” (1944), “I’m in the mood for love” (1946), “Nature Boy” (1948), “Mona Lisa” (1950), “Too Young” (1951), “Smile” (1954), “Unforgettable” (1954) and “When I fall in love” (1957). During the Capitol years Nat became one of the biggest singing stars worldwide and his success continued in the post 78 era, with hits such as “Let there be love” (1961), “Rambling Rose” (1962), and “Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer” (1963). In late 1964 Nat began to lose weight and suffered from back pain, and was diagnosed with lung cancer. He initially carried on working, recording and playing live, but his condition worsened and he died on February 15th, 1965.
3. September Song by Walter Huston (Released by Brunswick (04658) in 1945) Walter Huston was born in April 1883 in Toronto. As a young man he worked in construction, while also attending acting classes. He made his stage debut in 1902, and for two years toured in stage plays before giving up acting temporarily upon his first marriage in 1904. After his first marriage foundered he returned to the stage in a double act in vaudeville, with Bayonne Whipple, whom he married in 1915. Although silent films were now big business, it wasn’t until talkies came along that Walter Huston started making films. These include “The Virginian” (1929), “Abraham Lincoln” (1930), “The Woman from Monte Carlo” (1932), “Storm at Daybreak” (1933), “Rhodes of Africa” (1936), “The Light that failed” (1939), “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942), “And then there were none” (1945), and “The Great Sinner” (1949). He died in April 1950. His Son John Huston became a successful director and actor, and several of his descendants have become famous actors-Anjelica Huston, Danny Huston and Jack Huston.
4. The Great Pretender by Anne Shelton (Released by Philips (PB 567) in 1956) Anne Shelton was born in South London in November 1923, and began singing on the radio show “Monday night at eight” aged 12, gaining a recording contract 3 years later. During the war she appeared many times on the BBC’s forces radio service, often alongside Vera Lynn. After the war she had a regular BBC radio show with band leader Ambrose and then her popularity spread to America, and she toured the US in 1951. Her records include “Down Ev’ry Street” (1941), “Why Can’t it happen to me” (1943), “Down at the old bull and bush” (1947), “The Wedding of Lilli Marlene” (1949), “The loveliest night of the year” (1951), and “Arrivederci Darling” (1955). In 1956 she had a UK number one single with “Lay down your arms”. She made regular appearances on radio and TV all through the ’50s and ’60s; in 1961 she hosted her own TV show, “Ask Anne”. In 1978 she appeared on the Royal Variety Performance, and in 1984 presented a TV tribute to Glen Miller. She continued performing until her death in July 1994.
5. This Ole House by Rosemary Clooney (Released by Philips (PB 336) in 1954) Rosemary Clooney was born in May 1928 in Kentucky, USA. Her recording career began in 1946, with Tony Pastor’s big band. In 1949 she left the band and went solo. going on to release many records during the ’50s including “Beautiful Brown Eyes” (1951), “Too old to cut the mustard” (with Marlene Dietrich, 1952), “Little Red Monkey” (1953), “Where will the dimple be?” (1955), and “I’ve grown accustomed to your face” (1956). She also appeared in several films in the ’50s including “White Christmas” (1954), although after this her screen appearances were limited to TV work only. During the ’60s she recorded for RCA Victor, Reprise and Dot Records but failed to regain the huge success of the ’50s. After a short stint on United Artists in the ’70s she signed with Concord Jazz Records, and released an album for them every year until her death in June 2002.
6. You Need Hands by Max Bygraves (Released by Decca (F 11004) in 1958) Max Bygraves was born in London in October 1922, one of six children. The whole family lived in a two roomed flat, and Max left school at 14, taking a series of jobs before serving in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. After the war he worked on building sites during the day and developed his act in pubs at night. This led to a variety tour with Frankie Howerd, who introduced him to Eric Sykes, who he started writing with. He made his first record in 1949, but it wasn’t until the early ’50s that he became successful with records on His Master’s Voice and later Decca, including “Cowpuncher’s Cantata” (1952), “Bygraves Boogie (1953), “Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellenbogen By The Sea” (1954), “Meet me on the corner” (1955), “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” (1956), “We’re having a ball” (1957), “(I love to play) My Ukelele” (1958), “Last night I dreamed” (1959), and “Fings ain’t Wot they used to be” (1960, making it one of the last UK 78s). His singing career faltered in the ’60s but his TV and stage career thrived. Then in 1972 he suddenly revived his musical career with a series of medley albums called “Sing Along with Max”, which sold millions of copies in the UK. The hit albums dried up again after a few years and he reverted to his TV and stage career, hosting the popular TV quiz show “Family Fortunes for 2 years during the ’80s. In 2008 he moved to Australia, where he died in August 2012.
7. Java Jive by The Ink Spots (Released by Brunswick  (03197) in 1941) The Ink Spots formed in 1934 (initially as The 4 Ink Spots), with the line up of Hoppy Jones (1905-1944), Deek Watson (1909-1969), Jerry Daniels (1915-1995), and Charlie Fuqua (1910-1971). They made their first recordings for the Victor label in 1935, although they didn’t have a major hit until 1939, with “If I didn’t care”, by which time Jerry Daniels had left the band to be replaced by Bill Kenny (1914-1978). The 1940s saw them score many hits, including “My Prayer” (1940), “Whispering Grass” (1940), “I Don’t want to set the world on fire” (1941), “Cow Cow Boogie” (1944), “It’s a sin to tell a lie” (1946), and “Home is where the heart is” (1948). The early 1950s saw line up changes and disagreements between members, leading to two outfits calling themselves The Ink Spots, one led by Bill Kenny and the other by Charlie Fuqua, but by 1954 they had both disbanded. After that several groups performed as The Ink Spots, some featuring ex members but none were official. By 1967 so many acts had called themselves The Ink Spots that a judge deemed the name to be in the public domain.
8. Tweedle Dee by Bonnie Lou and her gang (Released by Parlophone (R 3989) in  1954) Bonnie Lou was born (as Mary Joan Kath) in October 1924 in Illinois, USA. She began listening to music at an early age, and began learning the violin aged 5. At 11 she got her first guitar, and by the age of 16 she was singing live on local radio. A Year later she was given a five year contract to sing on national radio. During the 1940s she became a popular radio personality but she didn’t start releasing records until 1953 when she signed to King Records. Her first records were Country Music songs, such as “Seven Lonely Days” and “Tennessee Wig Walk” but later changed her style to Rockabilly, with records such as “Daddy-O”, “The Barnyard Hop” and “La Dee Dah”. She also became a TV presenter, co-hosting The Paul Dixon Show for 2 decades, beginning in 1955.When the Paul Dixon show ended early in 1975, she went into semi-retirement, and died in December 2015.
9. Yes Tonight, Josephine by Johnnie Ray (Released by Philips (PB 686) in 1957) Johnnie Ray was born in January 1927 in Dallas, USA. He was musically gifted from an early age, beginning to play piano at the age of 3 and joining the local church choir at 12. At 13 he had an accident which left him deaf in one ear, which he claimed lead to his unique singing style. At 15 he turned professional, singing on a radio station in Portland, Oregon. He made his first record, “Whiskey and Gin” in 1951, and had a major US hit the following year with “Cry” and “The little white cloud that cried”. He developed a very theatrical stage persona, earning himself the nicknames “The Nabob of Sob” and “The Prince of Wails”. Other hits in the ’50s included “Walkin’ my baby back home” (1952), “Glad Rag Doll” (1953), “Such a night” (1954), “Flip, flop and fly” (1955), “Just walking in the rain” (1956), “Pink Sweater Angel” (1957), “Strollin’ Girl” (1958) and “You’re all that I live for” (1959). The ’60s were a less successful time for Johnnie Ray, although he still played live, touring Europe with Judy Garland in 1969. He had a brief career revival in the US in the early ’70s, appearing on various TV shows, but his popularity soon waned again and during the ’80s he toured more in Australia and Europe where he remained a popular live attraction. He continued performing until 1989, despite ill health (partly due to heavy drinking), and died in February 1990.

78Man Podcast Number 33 : Nina Simone

The 33rd 78Man Podcast features versions on 78 of songs later recorded by Nina Simone. It’s available on Itunes and Podbean (Here)

Tracks are :

1. Mood Indigo by The Delta Rhythm Boys (1955) (Released by Brunswick (05353) in 1953) The Delta Rhythm Boys formed in 1934, and originally comprised Lee Gaines, Elmaurice Miller, Traverse Crawford and Essie Joseph Adkins. They were formed at Langston University in Oklahoma, and remained active under various line ups until 1987. They found success in the US in the ’40s through appearances on radio, TV and in films, and during the ’50s they gained more success in Europe, leading them to relocate. They made many records, including “Georgia on my mind” (with Mildred Bailey, 1941), “It’s only a paper moon” (with Ella Fitzgerald, 1945), “Dry Bones” (1946), “Sweetheart of mine” (1949), “Sentimental Journey” (with Ruth Brown, 1950), “Oo wee baby” (1952) and “Trop Trop Trop” (1953).

2. He needs me by Les Brown and his Band of Renown (1955) (Released by Capitol (CL 14350) in 1955) Les Brown was born in Pennsylvania in 1912. He studied music at the Conway Military Band School and the New York Military Academy, before attending Duke University in North Carolina, where he formed his first band, Les Brown and his Blue Devils, who undertook their first extensive tour in 1936. Two years later the band became Les Brown and his band of Renown, and carried on until 2000. In 1945 they released “Sentimental journey” with vocals by Doris Day, which was her first major success. The association with Doris Day continued and Les Brown became the orchestra leader on her radio programme during the early ’50s. The band also performed extensively with Bob Hope for many years, and also performed with Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. The band’s records include “Turkey Hop” (1950), “Let it be” (1952), “Ramona” (1953), “The Gal from Joe’s” (1954), and “The Man that got away” (1955). Les Brown died in January 2001, but since then his son, Les Brown Jnr, has led his version of the Band of Renown.

3. Love me or leave me by Doris Day (Released by Philips (PB 479 in 1955) Doris Day (born Doris Kappelhoff) was born in April 1922 in Cincinatti, Ohio. She began her entertainment career as a dancer while still a child, but a car accident at 15 injured her leg and curtailed her dancing career. While recuperating, Doris listened to the radio and sang along, which spurred her mother to pay for singing lessons. She began singing live locally and appeared on local radio which led to her singing with Barney Rapp, Bob Crosby, Jimmy James and Les Brown. It was with Les Brown that she scored her first hit record in 1945 with “Sentimental journey.” She went on to make dozens of records, including “Pretty Baby” (1948), “I Don’t Wanna Be Kissed By Anyone But You” (1950), “I Love The Way You Say Goodnight” (1951), “I’ll see you in my dreams” (1952), “Mister Tap Toe” (1953), “Love me or leave me” (1955), “Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)” (1956) and “The Tunnel of love” (1959). During this period Doris also began appearing in films, including “Romance on the high seas” (1948), “Tea for two” (1950), “April in Paris” (1952), “Young at heart” (1954), “The Man who knew too much” (1956) and “Pillow Talk” (1959). Her film career flourished in the early ’60s but by the end of the decade her popularity was in decline, although she did host her own TV show between 1968 and 1973. Consequently Doris  largely retired from the entertainment industry, with only occasional appearances and recordings. She became more involved with animal welfare charities, running the Doris Day Animal Foundation and the Doris Day Animal League. She died in May 2019, aged 97.

4. My Baby just cares for me by Somethin’ Smith and the Redheads (Released by Philips (PB 446) in 1955) A Three piece US group, Somethin’ Smith and The Redheads comprised Robert Robertson on vocals, banjo and guitar, Saul Striks on piano, and Major C Short on double bass. They had several US hits, including “It’s A Sin to tell a lie” (1955), “Red Head” (1955), “In a Shanty in old Shanty town” (1956) and “Heartaches” (1956). The band split in 1966.

5. You’ll never walk alone by Jane Froman (Released by Capitol (CL 14658) in 1956) Jane Froman was born in November 1907, in Missouri. She sang from an early age, playing at her college as a teenager, before studying at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. In 1929 she began appearing on local radio in Cincinnati, and made her national radio debut in 1931. Her radio career flourished and in 1934 she was voted the number one female singer on the radio. She appeared in three films during the 1930s but later screen appearances would be on Television, including her own TV show in the ’50s. In 1952, the film “With a song in my heart” was based on Froman’s life. She retired in the early ’60s and died in April 1980.

6. He’s Got the whole world in his hands by Laurie London (Released by Parlophone (R 4359) in 1959) Laurie London was born in East London in January 1944. He recorded “He’s Got the whole world in His Hands” as a 13 year old schoolboy for the UK Parlophone label (produced by George Martin). The record was picked up Capitol Records in the US and was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, but was his only big success. He retired from the music business at the age of 19, and went on to become a hotelier and restauranter.

7. Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday (Released by Commodore (7513) in 1944)

8. Fine and Mellow by Billie Holiday (Released by Commodore (7513) in 1944) Billie Holiday was born in April 1915 as Eleanora Fagan, in Philadelphia. Her parents were not married, and her Father, Clarence Holiday abandoned the family shortly after the birth. Eleanora was largely brought up by her Mother’s Half sister’s Mother in law, Martha Miller, in Baltimore. She had a difficult childhood, often playing truant and dropping out of school altogether by the age of 11. Shortly after leaving school she began work running errands in a brothel. Around this time she began taking an interest in music, having heard records by Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. In early 1929, she moved to Harlem, joining her mother working in a brothel, which led to them both being imprisoned when the brothel was raided. After her release, she started singing in night clubs in Harlem, changing her name to Billie Holiday. In late 1932 she began singing at Covan’s night club and it was here she was spotted in early 1933 by record producer John Hammond, which led to her first recording session in November 1933, with Benny Goodman. In 1935 she signed to Brunswick where she recorded with pianist Teddy Wilson. Her recordings for Brunswick include “What a little moonlight can do”, “I Cried for you” and “Miss Brown to you”. In late 1937 she toured with Count Basie and was then taken on by Artie Shaw, with whom she toured and made radio broadcasts. In the late ’30s she began recording for Columbia and was attracting strong sales of her records. However, when she began singing “Strange Fruit” live in 1939, and wanted to record it, Columbia baulked at the song’s subject matter (the lynching of black men in the Southern states of the US) and she recorded it for the small Commodore label as a one off record. It became one of her biggest sellers. Her success continued in the 1940s, when she had hits with “God bless the child” (1941), “Lover Man” (1944) and “That ole devil called love” (1944). By this time she was addicted to heroin and the 1940s saw both huge success-in 1948 she broke box office records with a concert at Carnegie Hall-and several arrests for posession of narcotics. By the 1950s her drug use and drinking habits were affecting her health but she continued performing live and recording, as well as publishing her autobiography (ghost written by William Duffy) “Lady Sings the blues” in 1956. In early 1959 she was diagnosed as having cirrhosis of the liver, and died on July 17th of that year.

9. Nobody Knows you when you’re down and out by Graeme Bell and his Australian Jazz Band (Released by Esquire (10-016) in 1948) Graeme Bell was born in 1914, in Victoria, Australia, into a musical family-his Father was a music hall entertainer and his Mother a contralto recitalist in Dame Nelly Melba’s company. He learnt to play piano as a child, and in 1935 formed a band with his younger brother Roger, playing jazz locally. In 1941 he formed the Graeme Bell Jazz Gang, and made his first recordings in 1943. The band changed their name to Graeme Bell and his Dixieland Jazz Band (recording “Ugly Child” and “Tessa’s Blues” for Regal Zonophone in 1947 before becoming the Australian Jazz Band, under which name they made further records, including “Big Chief Battle Axe” (1948), “Chabby Gal Rag” (1949), “Irish Black Bottom” (1950), and “Muskat Ramble” (1951). Bell continued recording and touring throughout the 1960s and beyond (particularly in the UK during the trad jazz boom of the early ’60s) and was made an Ofiicer of the Order of Australia in 1990 for services to music. He died, aged 97, in 2012.

10. Falling in love again by Jack Payne and his BBC Dance Orchestra (Released by Columbia (CB 106) in 1930) Jack Payne was born on 22 August 1899 and began his musical career playing piano while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War One. During the ’20s he moved to London and joined a band which became the house band at London’s Hotel Cecil. Appearances on BBC Radio followed and in 1928 Payne became the BBC Director of Dance Music and the leader of the BBC’s first official dance band. They made many records for Columbia, including “Riding on a camel” (1929), “On her doorstep last night” (1929), “Sittin’ on a five barred gate” (1930) and “Goodnight sweetheart” (1931). After leaving the BBC, the band carried on as Jack Payne and his band, and moved to Imperial Records, where their releases included “Was that the Human thing to do?” (1932), “All over Italy” (1933), and “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” (1933) before moving to Rex Records where their releases included “Tiger Rag” (1934), “An earful of music” (1935) and “When the poppies bloom again” (1936). In 1939 they moved to Decca records and then in the mid ’40s to His Master’s Voice. The band also appeared in the films “Say it with music” (1932) and “Sunshine ahead” (1936). Jack Payne died on 4 December 1969.

3 New CD Releases!

Three more 78Man Digital albums have been made available on CD. They can be bought on Discogs via the 78Man Store Here or on Ebay from seller Decal23. Alternatively contact me via here, Facebook or Twitter if you don’t use Discogs or Ebay.

The albums are :

78Man Favourites Vol 4

1. The Music Goes Round and Around-Eddy-Reilly And Their Onyx Club Boys (Brunswick RL 325, 1935)
2. Mary Ellen’s Hotpot Party-Gracie Fields (Regal Zonophone MR 2067, 1936)
3. Blaydon Races-The Five Smith Brothers (Parlophone F 2342, 1949)
4. Everything Is Fresh Today-Jack Hodges (Regal Zonophone MR 1046, 1933)
5. Feeling My Way-Eddie Lang (Parlophone R 2565, 1938)
6. Sh’ Shiverin’-Leonard Henry (His Master’s Voice B 2883, 1929)
7. Ole Faithful-The Three Gynx (Rex 8328, 1934)
8. Hello Twins-Randolph Sutton (Imperial 2658, 1932)
9. Shinanika Da-Henry Hearty (Zonophone 5302, 1929)
10. Hunting Tigers out in Indiah-Walter Miller With Harry Hudson’s Melody Men ( Edison Bell Radio 1421, 1930)
11. I’ll Bet You Tell That to All the Girls-Billy Cotton And His Band (Regal Zonophone MR 2170, 1936)
12. The Warber’s Serenade (A Musical Travesty)-The London Novelty Orchestra (Regal Zonophone MR 95, 1932)
13. Peter’s Pop Keeps a Lollipop Shop-Jack Payne And His Band (Rex 8886, 1936)
14. My Wife Is On a Diet-Jack Kaufman (Imperial 2178, 1929)
15. Narcissus-Joyce Grenfell And Norman Wisdom (Columbia DB 3161, 1952)
16. The Druid’s Prayer-The International Novelty Orchestra (Regal Zonophone MR 1116, 1934)
17. Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf-BBC Dance Orchestra (Columbia CB 669, 1933)
18. Buy British-Clarkson Rose (Zonophone 6103, 1932)
19. My Last Year’s Girl-Leslie Holmes (Rex Records 8135, 1934)
20. Tiptoe Through the Tulips-Jack Hylton And His Orchestra (His Master’s Voice B 5722, 1929)

78Man Presents Leslie Sarony Vol. 5

1. Coom, Pretty One (Rex 8183, 1934)
2. I Laughed So Hard I Nearly Died (Eclipse 346, 1933)
3. Hold Out Your Pudding for Jam (Eclipse 346, 1933)
4. The Old Sow (Rex 8145, 1934)
5. Jollity Farm (With Jack Hylton & His Orchestra, HMV B5744, 1930)
6. He Played His Ukulele As the Ship Went Down, Pt. 1 (Eclipse 175, 1932)
7. He Played His Ukulele As the Ship Went Down, Pt. 2 (Eclipse 175, 1932)
8. Sing Holly! Go Whistle! Hey Hey! (Broadcast Super Twelve 3026, 1931)
9. Years and Years and Years (Eclipse 871, 1934)
10.No! No! A Thousand Times No! (Eclipse 871, 1934)
11.Sarah Jane (Imperial 2108, 1929)
12.Make Up Your Mind You’re Gonna Be Young (Imperial 2399, 1930)
13.Sunny Days (Imperial 2399, 1930)
14.I Taught Her How to Play (Eclipse 849, 1934)
15.Tom Thumb’s Drum (With Jack Hylton and His Orchestra, Decca F. 2672, 1931)
16.What Are You Going to Do About Mary (Imperial 2121, 1929)
17.On Ilkla Moor Baht’At (Rex 8145, 1934)
18.Virginia (There’s a Blue Ridge Round My Heart) (The Victory 56, 1928)
19.More Rhymes, Pt. 3 (Eclipse 164, 1932)
20.More Rhymes, Pt. 4 (Eclipse 164, 1932)

Songs That Leslie Sarony Taught Us Vol. 2

1. Why Build A Wall Round A Graveyard?-Roy Fox and His Band (Decca F. 3762, 1933)
2. I’m a Little Prairie Flower-Jack Jackson & His Band (Decca F. 6652, 1937)
3. Mucking About the Garden-Jack Morrison (Broadcast 453, 1929)
4. Madonna Mine-Billy Reid And His London Piano Accordion Band (Decca F. 5116, 1935)
5. Once Aboard the Lugger-Jack Hylton & His Orchestra (Decca F. 2795, 1932)
6. When the Band Goes Marching By-Jack Grose And His Metropole Players (Eclipse 265, 1932)
7. Bunkey Doodle I Doh-Albert Whelan (The Victory 182, 1929)
8. Ain’t Love Grand-Joe Loss And His Band (Regal Zonophone MR 2645, 1937)
9. Rhymes, Pt. 1 and 2-Orpheus Dance Band (Zonophone 6016, 1932)
10. More Rhymes, Pt. 1 and 2-George Buck And The Roysterers (Edison Bell Winner 5441, 1932)
11. When the Guards Are on Parade-Arcadians Dance Orchestra (Zonophone 5937, 1931)
12. Ain’t It Grand to Be Bloomin’ Well Dead-Primo Scala’s Accordian Band (Decca F. 9011, 1948)
13. Snap Your Fingers, Clap Your Hands-Billy Cotton & His Band (Regal MR 583, 1932)
14. Wheezy Anna-The Barmy Brothers (Regal Zonophone MR 830, 1933)
15. Over the Garden Wall-Jack Payne & His BBC Dance Orchestra (Columbia CB 132, 1930)
16. I Lift Up My Finger and I Say “Tweet Tweet”-Clarkson Rose (Zonophone 5342, 1929)
17. Jollity Farm-Jack Payne & His BBC Dance Orchestra (Columbia 5729, 1930)
18. Forty Seven Ginger Headed Sailors-Tommy Handley (Piccadilly 140, 1928)
19. Clonkerty Clonk-Jack Hylton & His Orchestra (His Master’s Voice B 5321, 1927)
20. Tom Thumb’s Drum-Tommy Kinsman And His Ciros Club Band (Sterno 845, 1932)

More New Releases !

There have been several new releases available for download/streaming  in the last few months, these are : “Songs that Leslie Sarony Taught us Vol 2”, “The Bert Layton Recordings Vol 1” by Leslie Sarony, “78Man Favourites Vol 6”, “Charles Penrose Vol 2”, “Novelty songs of the ’20s and ’30s”, and “Durium Dance Band”. Track listings for each release are below. (For copyright reasons these releases are not available in the USA).

Songs That Leslie Sarony Taught Us Vol 2

(A second collection of cover versions of songs written or co-written by Leslie Sarony)

1. Why Build A Wall Round A Graveyard?-Roy Fox and His Band (Decca F. 3762, 1933)
2. I’m a Little Prairie Flower-Jack Jackson & His Band (Decca F. 6652, 1937)
3. Mucking About the Garden-Jack Morrison (Broadcast 453, 1929)
4. Madonna Mine-Billy Reid And His London Piano Accordion Band (Decca F. 5116, 1935)
5. Once Aboard the Lugger-Jack Hylton & His Orchestra (Decca F. 2795, 1932)
6. When the Band Goes Marching By-Jack Grose And His Metropole Players (Eclipse 265, 1932)
7. Bunkey Doodle I Doh-Albert Whelan (The Victory 182, 1929)
8. Ain’t Love Grand-Joe Loss And His Band (Regal Zonophone MR 2645, 1937)
9. Rhymes, Pt. 1 and 2-Orpheus Dance Band (Zonophone 6016, 1932)
10. More Rhymes, Pt. 1 and 2-George Buck And The Roysterers (Edison Bell Winner 5441, 1932)
11. When the Guards Are on Parade-Arcadians Dance Orchestra (Zonophone 5937, 1931)
12. Ain’t It Grand to Be Bloomin’ Well Dead-Primo Scala’s Accordian Band (Decca F. 9011, 1948)
13. Snap Your Fingers, Clap Your Hands-Billy Cotton & His Band (Regal MR 583, 1932)
14. Wheezy Anna-The Barmy Brothers (Regal Zonophone MR 830, 1933)
15. Over the Garden Wall-Jack Payne & His BBC Dance Orchestra (Columbia CB 132, 1930)
16. I Lift Up My Finger and I Say “Tweet Tweet”-Clarkson Rose (Zonophone 5342, 1929)
17. Jollity Farm-Jack Payne & His BBC Dance Orchestra (Columbia 5729, 1930)
18. Forty Seven Ginger Headed Sailors-Tommy Handley (Piccadilly 140, 1928)
19. Clonkerty Clonk-Jack Hylton & His Orchestra (His Master’s Voice B 5321, 1927)
20. Tom Thumb’s Drum-Tommy Kinsman And His Ciros Club Band (Sterno 845, 1932)

The Bert Layton Recordings Vol. 1 by Leslie Sarony (EP)

In 1931, Leslie Sarony recorded several records under the name Bert Layton for Woolworths’ Eclipse label. This EP contains four of those recordings.

1. Lizzie, Come In and Shut That Door (Eclipse 55, 1931)
2. I’m Happy When I’m Hiking (Eclipse 69, 1931)
3. We Won’t Go Home Till Morning and Then We Won’t Go Home! (Eclipse 83, 1931)
4. The Prosperity Song (Eclipse 69, 1931)

78Man Favourites, Vol 6

1. The Music Goes ‘Round and Around-Hal Kemp And His Orchestra (Regal Zonophone C 22700, 1936)
2. No! No! A Thousand Times No, Pt. 1 & 2-Fred Douglas & Bertha Willmott (Regal Zonophone MR 1502, 1934
3. Mickey Mouse’s Birthday Party-Billy Cotton & His Band (Rex Records 8915, 1936)
4. Sitting on a Five Barr’d Gate-Sharp & Flat (Piccadilly 696, 1931)
5. Bees Are Buzzin’-Cicely Courtneidge (Columbia DB 2805, 1951)
6. Put Your Worries Through the Mangle-Randolph Sutton (Edison Bell Radio 1426, 1931)
7. Misery Farm-North And South (Parlophone R 288, 1928)
8. Pass the Biscuits, Mirandy-Spike Jones & His City Slickers (His Master’s Voice B.D. 1207, 1948)
9. Old Soldiers Never Die, Pt. 1 & 2-Gracie Fields (Rex Records 8618, 1935)
10. Abide with Me-Grand Massed Brass Bands (Regal MR 663, 1932)
11. Everybody’s Doing It-Tommy Dorsey & His Clambake Seven (His Master’s Voice B 8809, 1938)
12. Gramophone Yodel-Daimler And Eadie (Eclipse 937, 1935)
13. Constantinople-The Radio Imps (Imperial 1926, 1928)
14. Three Little Fishes-Frankie Howerd (Harmony A1001, 1949)
15. Turn On the Heat-Vincent Howard & His Dance Orchestra (Sterno 260, 1929)
16. After the Night Before-Sammy Gay (Crown 83, 1935)
17. At The Old Pig and Whistle-Harry Fay (Regal Zonophone MR 971, 1933)
18. The ‘Amstead Way-Tessie O’Shea (Columbia DB 2232, 1947)
19. The Flies Crawled Up the Window-Jack Hulbert (His Master’s Voice B 4263, 1932)
20. Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips with Me-Solemn And Gay (Zonophone 5496, 1930)

78Man Presents Charles Penrose Volume 2

1. Our Albert’s Accordeon-Charles Penrose & Kaye Connor (Columbia DB 1461, 1934)
2. Jolly Coppers on Parade-Charles Penrose (Columbia DB 1461, 1934)
3. The Laughing Scot, Jock McLean Fra’ Aberdeen-Charles Penrose (Piccadilly 230, 1929)
4. Laugh and Grow Fat Like Me-Fred Arthurs (Columbia 2089, 1913)
5. Laughing, Love and the Old Trombone-Charles Penrose & Kaye Connor (Columbia DB 266, 1930)
6. Laughteritis-Charles Penrose (Columbia DB 302, 1930)
7. He’d a Funny Little Way With Him-Charles Penrose (Winner 2155, 1912)
8. Laughing Brown of Camden Town-Charlie Happy (Guardsman 2083, 1926)
9. The Village Laugh-Smith-Charles Penrose (Columbia 4691, 1928)
10. Laughing Railway Porter-Charles Penrose (Columbia DB 302, 1930)
11. Laughing Through Part 1 and 2-Charles Penrose (Columbia DB 1010, 1931)
12. The Laughing Yodeler-B. Gay and O. Joy (Sterno 541, 1929)
13. The Laughing Wife and the Clarinet-Charles Penrose & Kaye Connor (Columbia DB 266, 1930)
14. I Tried to Keep From Laughing-Charles Penrose (Winner 2155, 1912)
15. The Artful Verger-Charles Penrose (Zonophone 1817, 1917)
16. That Contagious Laugh-Charles Penrose (Zonophone 1817, 1917)
17. An Irish Courtship-Charles Penrose & Leslie Hope (Regal G 8284, 1924)
18. The Laughing Crazy Bassoon-The Laughtermongers (Decca F. 2226, 1931)
19. The Laughing Curate-Fred Arthurs (Columbia 2089, 1913)
20. The Piccadilly Laughing Band-Charles Penrose (Piccadilly 230, 1929)

78Man Presents Novelty Songs of the ’20s and ’30s

1. I Laughed So Hard I Nearly Died-Billy Cotton & His Band (Regal Zonophone MR 747, 1932)
2. Barnacle Bill the Sailor-Bud Billings (Zonophone 5399, 1929)
3. I’m Popeye the Sailor Man-Harry Leader & His Band (Eclipse 978, 1935)
4. Why Is the Bacon So Tough?-Leonard Henry (His Master’s Voice B 2883, 1929)
5. Hunting Tigers Out In India-Jack Payne & His BBC Dance Orchestra (Columbia CB 151, 1930)
6. Roger the Lodger-The Two Gilberts (Regal MR 198, 1930)
7. He Played His Ukulele as the Ship Went Down-Fred And Leslie Gilbert (Broadcast Super Twelve 3151, 1932)
8. The Lunatics Lullaby-Clarkson Rose (Zonophone 2785, 1926)
9. Make Yourself a Happiness Pie-G H Elliott (Edison Bell Radio 1453, 1931)
10. The Yodelling Sailor-George Van Dusen (Rex Records 8655, 1935)
11. There’s a Song They Sing at a Sing Song In Sing Sing-Primo Scala’s Accordian Band (Rex Records 8719, 1936)
12. Me Too, Ho-Ho! Ha-Ha!-Alfredo’s Band (Edison Bell Winner 4553, 1927)
13. We All Go Oo Ha Ha! Together-Albert Whelan (Imperial 2404, 1930)
14. Oh Mum!-Florrie Forde (Imperial 2554, 1931)
15. Don’t Have Any More Missus Moore-Jack Hay (Imperial 1706, 1927)
16. Sophie on the Sofa-Sharp & Flat (Piccadilly 628, 1930)
17. Down In the Field Where the Buttercups All Grow-Charlie Higgins (Rex Records 8065, 1933)
18. When the Guardsman Started Crooning On Parade-Bobbie Comber (Rex Records 8679, 1935)
19. Alice’s ‘Ouse-Peter Rush (Imperial 1706, 1927)
20. With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm, Pt. 1 & 2-Sammy Gay (Eclipse 842, 1934)

78Man Presents Durium Dance Band

(All tracks originally released on Durium Records in 1932/3, as single sided 2 track cardboard records)

1. Just Humming Along (EN 13)
2. Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies Sing (EN 42)
3. Venetian Lady (EN 42)
4. What Would You Do ? (EN 14)
5. Gipsy Moon (EN 16)
6. It Ain’t No Fault of Mine (EN 19)
7. The Echo of a Song (EN 19)
8. Lovable (EN 21)
9. Foolish Over You (EN 21)
10. Round the Marble Arch (EN 17)
11. Oi! Song (EN 29)
12. When Yuba Plays the Rumba On the Tuba (EN 23)
13. Why Be So Unkind to Me? (EN 30)
14. We All Wanna Know Why (EN 30)
15. You Loving Me (EN 43)
16. After the Ball (EN 7)
17. My Donna Rita (EN 40)
18. Sweethearts Forever (EN 38)
19. By the Sycamore Tree (EN 10)
20. An Ev’ning in Caroline (EN 10)

78Man Podcast Number 32-Classical Music

From the very beginnings of recorded music being available on 78s, Classical music was being recorded and released. This Podcast looks at some of that music. It can be found on itunes Here and Podbean Here . Tracks featured are :

1. Intermezzo from Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” by New Light Symphony Orchestra (Released by His Master’s Voice (B 2377) in 1926). Pietro Mascagni was born in December 1863, in Tuscany, Italy. He began studying music aged 13, and began composing his own works at 16. His first major succes was with the opera “Cavalleria Rusticana” in 1890 and he went on to compose many other operas, including “L’Amico Fritz” (1891), “Silvano” (1895), “Iris” (1898), “Amica” (1905) and “Lodoletta” (1917). He died in August 1945. The New Light Symphony Orchestra made many records for His Master’s Voice, the majority between 1925 and 1934. Others include “Rustic Wedding Symphony” (1925), “In A Clock Store” (1927), “Poet And Peasant-Overture” (1930), “Juba Dance” (1932) and “Glow Worm Idyll” (1934).

2, Narcissus by Joyce Grenfell and Norman Wisdom (Released by Columbia (DB 3161) in 1952). Joyce Phipps was born in February 1910 in London. She married Reginald Grenfell in 1929, so was known as Joyce Grenfell when she made her stage debut in 1939. During the Second World War she toured Italy, North Africa, the Middle East and India, entertaining the troops with her pianist Viola Tunnard. She appeared in a couple of films during the war but it was after the war that her film career took off, appearing in such films as “Alice in Wonderland” (1949), “Stage Fright” (1950), “The Million Pound Note” (1953), “Fobidden Cargo” (1954), and three “St. Trinians” films between 1954 and 1960. As well as her film career, she had a successful recording career and toured extensively, as well as in later years appearing regularly on TV. She died in November 1979. Norman Wisdom was born in February 1915 in London. Born into a poor family, he joined the army at 15, and was sent to India, where he became the flyweight boxing champion of the British army in India, and learned to play trumpet and clarinet. It was while in the army that he developed his stage act, and made his debut as a professional musician in 1946, after he’d left the army. He made his TV debut and made a series of successful films during the ’50s and ’60s, including “Trouble in store” (1953), “One good turn” (1955), “The Square Peg” (1958), “Follow A Star” (1959), “On the beat” (1962), and “The early bird” (1965). The film roles dried up by the late ’60s but in the early ’70s he appeared in three TV series, “Norman”, “Nobody is Norman Wisdom” and “A little bit of Wisdom”. In later years Wisdom appeared sporadically on TV and the occasional film, as well as live appearances. Later TV appearances included “Last of the Summer Wine” and “Coronation Street”. He announced his retirement at 90 in 2005 (although he did make one further short film, “Expresso”). He died aged 95 in October 2010.

3. Rachmaninoff’s 18th Variation on a theme by Paganini by Winifred Atwell (Released by Philips (PB 234) in 1954). (For info on Winifred Atwell see previous blog Here ).

4. In the hall of the mountain King by Edna Hatzfield and Mark Strong (Released by Rex Records (10.050) in 1941). “In the Hall of the Mountain King” is from Grieg’s “Peer Gynt”, the incidental music to the Ibsen play of the same name, composed in 1875. Edvard Grieg was born in June 1843, in Bergen, Norway. His Mother was a music teacher and taught him to play piano as a child. At 15 he enrolled in the Leipzig Cpnservatory where he studied piano, and at 18 made his debut as a concert pianist. A couple of years later he started composing and went on to compose Sonatas and Concertos for piano, violin and cello. He died in September 1907. The Operetta “Song of Norway” (1944) and the 1970 film of the same name tells the story of Grieg’s early years.

5. Chopsticks by Carmen Cavallaro (Released by Bruswick (05577) in 1956). Carmen Cavallaro was born in May 1913 in New York City. He showed promise as a pianist from an early age, picking out tunes on a toy piano at the age of three, and went on to study Classical Piano. In 1933 he joined Al Kavelin’s Orchestra, and went on to play with Rudy Vallee before forming his own band in 1939. He consolidated his success during the ’40s with radio and film appearances, appearing in the films “Diamond Horseshoe”, “Out of this world” (both 1945), and “The time, the place, and the girl” (1946). He died in October 1989.

6. The Flight of The Bumble Bee by Harry James and His Orchestra (Released by Parlophone (R 2848) in 1942). Harry James was born in March 1916 in Albany, Georgia. His father was a bandleader in a circus, while his mother was an acrobat. His father began teaching him trumpet aged 8. By the age of 15, his family had settled in Texas and Harry began playing in local dance bands. He played with various bands, before joing Benny Goodman’s band in 1937, and then formed his own band in 1939, scoring a major hit with “You made me love you” in 1941. During the early days of the band, a young Frank Sinatra sang with them, although he left them after a matter of months. The band also had success in radio and film, and Harry continued playing with them until his death in July 1983.

7. Trusting Eyes by Enrico Caruso (Released by His Master’s Voice (4-2480) in 1914). Enrico Caruso was born in Naples, Italy, on 28th February, 1873. As a child, he sang in the church choir, where his exceptional voice was noted. His Father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a mechanical engineer, and he was enrolled as an apprentice at the age of 11, but his Mother (who died when he was 15) encouraged him to carry on singing and he would earn extra money as a street singer and in cafes. He made his first professional singing appearance at the age of 22 in the Opera “L’Amico Francesco”, and several years later, in 1902, made his first recordings for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company. The following year, 1903, he made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and in 1904 signed a lucrative recording contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company. He stayed with Victor for the rest of his life. Over the next decade and a half he sang worldwide, becoming the world’s biggest opera star. Towards the end of World War One he undertook a lot of charity work for the war effort, and in 1918 married Dorothy Park Benjamin. During late 1920 Caruso began to suffer ill health, initially as a result of a pillar falling on him during a performance of Pagliacci at The Met. He was diagnosed with Bronchitis, and in December suffered a throat haemorrage on stage, leading to the cancellation of his performance. During early 1921 he underwent a series of operations as his condition worsened and died on the 21st August, aged 48.

8. Greensleeves by The Beverley Sisters (Released by Decca (F 10853) in 1957). The Beverley Sisters were a UK trio comprising sisters Joy (1924-2015) and twins Teddie and Babs (born 1927) Chinery. They came to prominence after successfully auditioning to sing in an advert for Ovaltine, and then for BBC Radio in 1944. They made many appearances on BBC Radio during the late ’40s an early ’50s, and signed to Columbia Records in 1951, then to Philips in 1953 and finally Decca in 1955. They scored their first UK hit with “I Saw mommy kissing Santa Claus” in 1953 and had several other hits over the following years including “Willie Can” (1956), “I Dreamed” (1957), “Little drummer boy” (1959) and “Green Fields” (1960). The group’s hits dried up in the early ’60s and they rarely recorded after then, although they continued to sing live and appear on TV. As late as 2009 they were still making occasional live appearances, before retiring.

9. The Conclusion to Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March Number 1” by The Royal Festival Hall Orchestra and Choir conducted by Sir Malcolm Sergeant (Released by His Master’s Voice (D.A. 1981) in 1951) The Royal Festival Hall, on the South bank of the river Thames in London, was built as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain. This recording was made at the Ceremonial Opening Concert on May 3rd 1951. Edwatd William Elgar was born in June 1857 in Lower Broadheath, a village just outside Worcester, England. His Father owned a shop selling sheet music and musical instruments, which led to the young Elgar’s interest in music. Although he had piano and violin lessons, Elgar largely self taught himself music theory from books. After leaving school he had a short period as a solicitor’s clerk before devoting his career to music, giving piano and violin lessons, working in his Father’s shop and playing music in live concerts. It was at this point he began composing.His first major succes came in 1899 with The Enigma Variations. Elgar composed five Pomp and Circumstance Marches, the first two in 1901. With words added by A C Benson, the conclusion of March number 1 became better known as “Land of Hope and Glory” and became a mainstay of the last night of the proms. Elgar was knighted in 1904 and although his major works were all composed by around 1910, he continued composing up to his death in February 1934. During the late 1920s after electrical recording became the norm he recorded many of his own compositions for His Master’s Voice, many of which were recorded at the then new Abbey Road Studios in London.

New Releases !

There are two new releases available now to download and stream on all the usual platforms. They are “78Man Presents Leslie Sarony Vol. 5” and “78Man Favourites Vol. 5”. (Note-for copyright reasons these are not available in the US). Two previous digital releases are now also available on CD, these being “78Man Presents Leslie Sarony Vol. 4” and “78Man Presents The Two Leslies”. These are available on Discogs Here . Track Listings for these releases are :

78Man Presents Leslie Sarony Vol 5

1. Coom, Pretty One (Rex 8183, 1934)
2. I Laughed So Hard I Nearly Died (Eclipse 346, 1933)
3. Hold Out Your Pudding for Jam (Eclipse 346, 1933)
4. The Old Sow (Rex 8145, 1934)
5. Jollity Farm (With Jack Hylton & His Orchestra, HMV B5744, 1930)
6. He Played His Ukulele As the Ship Went Down, Pt. 1 (Eclipse 175, 1932)
7. He Played His Ukulele As the Ship Went Down, Pt. 2 (Eclipse 175, 1932)
8. Sing Holly! Go Whistle! Hey Hey! (Broadcast Super Twelve 3026, 1931)
9. Years and Years and Years (Eclipse 871, 1934)
10.No! No! A Thousand Times No! (Eclipse 871, 1934)
11.Sarah Jane (Imperial 2108, 1929)
12.Make Up Your Mind You’re Gonna Be Young (Imperial 2399, 1930)
13.Sunny Days (Imperial 2399, 1930)
14.I Taught Her How to Play (Eclipse 849, 1934)
15.Tom Thumb’s Drum (With Jack Hylton and His Orchestra, Decca F. 2672, 1931)
16.What Are You Going to Do About Mary (Imperial 2121, 1929)
17.On Ilkla Moor Baht’At (Rex 8145, 1934)
18.Virginia (There’s a Blue Ridge Round My Heart) (The Victory 56, 1928)
19.More Rhymes, Pt. 3 (Eclipse 164, 1932)
20.More Rhymes, Pt. 4 (Eclipse 164, 1932)

78Man Favourites Vol. 5

1. The Music Goes Round and Around-Primo Scala’s Accordian Band (Rex 8719, 1936)
2. Oh Alice! Where Art Thou-Leonard Henry (Sterno 682, 1929)
3. Everything Stops for Tea-Jack Buchanan (Brunswick 2125, 1935)
4. Wunga Bunga Boo-George Formby (Regal Zonophone MR 2709, 1938)
5. I’m The Last of the Red Hot Mamas-Mabel Marks (Broadcast 450, 1929)
6. Who’s Gonna Take You Home Tonight-Roy Fox and His Band
7. Himazas-Jack Hylton and His Orchestra (HMV B 5321, 1927)
8. Puss! Puss! Puss!-The Barmy Brothers (Regal Zonophone MR 830, 1933)
9. Horsey Horsey-Jack Jackson and His Band (Decca F 6552, 1937)
10.The Teddy Bears Picnic-Jay Wilbur and His Band (Rex 8347, 1935)
11.Shout! for Happiness-New Matfair Dance Orchestra (HMV B 5984, 1931)
12.Why Waste Your Tears?-Gracie Fields (HMV B 4281, 1932)
13.Les Trois Cloches-Edith Piaf (Columbia DCX 76, 1948)
14.Lazybones-Alf Bertram and His Dance Band (Plaza P 132, 1933)
15.Things Are Looking Up-Cicely Courtneidge (HMV B 8314, 1935)
16.The Catch Record-Leslie Holmes (Imperial 2797, 1932)
17.When Are You Going to Lead Me to the Altar, Walter?-Randolph Sutton (Panachord 25366, 1932)
18.I Took My Harp to a Party-The BBC Dance Orchestra (Columbia CB 674, 1933)
19.I Can’t Wed a Woman Like That-Leonard Henry (Sterno 682, 1929)
20.Tiptoe Through the Tulips with Me-Val Layton (Broadcast 492, 1929)

78Man Presents The Two Leslies

1. Cut Yourself A Little Piece Of Cake (Regal Zonophone MR 1965 in 1935).
2. Forty Four Fousand And Five (Regal Zonophone MR 1965, 1935).
3. Now You’ve Been And Gorn And Done I (Yes Not ‘Alf You Ain’t) (Regal Zonophone MR 2457, 1937).
4. Nay! Nay! Nay! (Regal Zonophone MR 2034, 1936).
5. The Campbells Are Coming (Regal Zonophone MR 2225, 1936).
6. Down At The Hole In The Wall (Regal Zonophone MR 3183, 1939).
7. Sweet Fanny Adams (Regal Zonophone MR 3183, 1939).
8. Old Potato Jones (Regal Zonophone MR 2457, 1937).
9. The Love Bug Will Bite You (Regal Zonophone MR 2443, 1937).
10.We’re Tired Of The Tiger (Regal Zonophone MR 2061, 1936).
11.Audrey Just Laughed And Laughed (Regal Zonophone MR 2277, 1936).
12.Prairie Flower (Regal Zonophone MR 2277, 1936).
13.Why Must We Keep On Working ? (Regal Zonophone MR 2898, 1938).
14.The Dart Song (Regal Zonophone MR 2443, 1937).
15.The New Sow (Regal Zonophone MR 2061, 1936).
16.Umpa, Umpa (Stick It Up Your Jumper) (Regal Zonophone MR 1920, 1935).
17.Let Me Go Back To The Farm (Regal Zonophone MR 2898, 1938).
18.Let’s Set The Town Alight (Regal Zonophone MR 2225, 1936).
19.Miss Porkington Would Like Cream Puffs (Regal Zonophone MR 1920, 1935).
20.Good Night (Got Your Torchlight) (Rex Records 9721, 1940).

78Man Presents Leslie Sarony Vol. 4

1.Malt, Hops and Water (Eclipse 668, 1934)
2. Wheezy Anna (Imperial 2831, 1933)
3. An Elephant Never Forgets (Eclipse 668, 1934)
4. Mucking About the Garden (with Jack Hylton and His Band) (His Master’s Voice B 5696, 1929)
5. Sittin’ on a Five Barred Gate (Broadcast Super Tweleve 3013, 1931)
6. One and One Are Two (Parlophone R 273, 1928)
7. My Wife Is On a Diet (with Harry Hudson’s Melody Men) (Edison Bell Radio 1276, 1930)
8. Ain’t It Grand to Be Bloomin’ Well Dead, Pt. 1 & 2 (Imperial 2688, 1932)
9. We All Go Oo Ha Ha Together (Broadcast Super Tweleve 3013, 1931)
10.Get Up Nice and Early (with Jack Payne and his BBC Dance Orchestra & Tommy Handley) (Columbia 5555, 1929)
11.You Can’t Get a Divi On That (Eclipse 581, 1933)
12.Do You Know? (Imperial 2831, 1933)
13.When I Play on My Spanish Guitar (Eclipse 581, 1933)
14.Jolly Good Company (Eclipse 122, 1932)
15.In the Woodshed She Said She Would (Imperial 1843, 1928)
16.Oh There Ain’t Such a Thing as Worry (Eclipse 482, 1933)
17.Ice Cream (Edison Bell Radio 837, 1928)
18.Shout! For Happiness (Imperial 2451, 1931)
19.It Ain’t Half Alright Ain’t It (Eclipse 482, 1933)
20.Topsy Turvy Talk (Broadcast Super Twelve 3026, 1931)

78Man Podcast Number 31-Fathers Day

The 31st 78Man Podcast has Fathers as its theme in celebration of this month’s Fathers Day. It can be heard on Itunes Here  and Podbean Here . Tracks heard are :

1. Let’s Sing the Song Father used to Sing by The Hottentots (Released by Eclipse (105) in 1931). The Hottentots were a pseudonym of the Jay Wilbur band. As The Hottentots they recorded several records on Eclipse, including “Sweet Jennie Lee”, “In Geneva with Eva”, “Whistling In The Dark” and “When Yuba Plays The Rumba On The Tuba”.
2. If a Grey Haired Lady Says How’s Your Father by Jay Wilbur and His Band (Released by Rex Records (8691) in 1936). Jay Wilbur was born (as Wilbur Blinco) in 1898. He learned piano and by 1928 had his own band, which was resident at the Tricity Hotel in London. He made his first recordings for the Dominion label, where he became musical director-his records for Dominion included “Spread a little happiness”, “Button up your overcoat” and “When Niccolo plays the Piccolo”. He moved to the Imperial label in 1931, then onto Rex Records in 1933, where he continued to record for over a decade. His Rex releases include “The wedding of Mr. Mickey Mouse”, “Sweetmeat Joe, the candy man”, “The down and out blues” and “Someone’s rocking my dreamboat”. After a brief period with Decca, he stopped recording in the late ’40s. He was also a popular radio star, appearing on BBC radio from 1936 onwards, with the programmes “Melody from the sky” and “Hi Gang!”. In later years he lived in South Africa, and died there in 1968.
3. I’m a Daddy at 63 by Charlie Higgins (Released by Rex Records (8065) in 1933). Charlie Higgins was born circa 1897, and began his entertainment career as part of a duo called “The King’s Jesters” in 1923. In 1925 he went solo, appearing in the Revue “Magnets” at the Hippodrome in Devonport. He began his recording career in 1930 on the Broadcast label, where his records included “With Me Gloves In Me ‘And”, “Down In The Field Where The Buttercups Grow”, “Charlie’s Breach Of Promise Case”, and “Down In The Old Churchyard”. He then moved to Rex Records, where his releases included “Where The Violets Are Blue-oo And The Roses Are Red” and “Charlie Makes Whoopee”. He made a few appearances on BBC Radio and Television in 1936 and 1937, but after that his career was confined to stage work, until his retirement in the mid 50s.He died in 1978.
4. Dream Daddy by Oliver Dance Band
5. Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar by The Andrews Sisters (Released by Brunswick (03082) in 1940). The Andrews Sisters were Laverne (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), Maxene (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995), and Patty (February 16, 1918 – January 30, 2013). They began performing together in the mid ’20s but only really came to prominence in 1937, after being signed by Decca. During the ’40s they spent a lot of time entertaining the troops while the Second World War was on, and recorded many records with Bing Crosby. Patty left to start a solo career in 1953, which led to a temporary split, but the trio reformed in 1956 and went on to make many more records before Laverne’s death in 1967. The remaining pair of sisters, Maxene and Patty briefly re-united on Broadway in the ’70s but never really worked together professionally again.
6. Put A Bit of Powder On It Father by Billy Williams (Released by Homophon (6752) circa 1913). Billy Williams was born Richard Banks in Australia in 1878, but moved to the UK in 1899, becoming an entertainer and changing his name to Billy Williams. He made his first recordings in 1906 and over the next 9 years became a huge star and prolific recording artiste, making over 500 recordings. He billed himself as “The Man in the Velvet Suit”. He died in March 1915 aged 37. Among his most famous records are “When Father papered the parlour”, “Little Willie’s Woodbines” “Save a little bit for me”, “Come into the garden, John”, and “John go and put your trousers on”.
7. When Father tried to kill the Cock-a-doodle-doo by Billy Williams (Released by Zonophone (511) in 1911).
8. Tell Your Father, Tell Your Mother (That I’m Good Enough For You) by Leslie Sarony (Released by Imperial (2790) in 1932).If Leslie Sarony is remembered at all today, it is usually for writing “Jollity Farm” (covered by The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band on their 1967 album “Gorilla”) or “Ain’t it grand to be bloomin’ well dead”, still a popular song at funerals (and the first record to be banned by the BBC on the grounds of taste), but from the late ’20s to the end of the ’30s he was one of the UK’s most popular singers, releasing hundreds of songs on a plethora of labels, initially as a solo artist and later as part of The Two Leslies, with Leslie Holmes.  Sarony was born (as Leslie Legge Frye, his stage name of Sarony being his Mother’s maiden name) in January 1897. He began appearing on stage as a teenager but his singing career was cut short by World War One. Having survived the war he returned to the stage but it wasn’t until 1926 that he began his recording career. Over the ensuing decade and a half he recorded for Imperial, Eclipse (the Woolworths label), Victory, His Master’s Voice, Regal Zonophone, Edison Bell Radio, Rex and Parlophone among others. Making sense of the Sarony discography is a hard task, as he often recorded for different labels simultaneously, even recording multiple versions of the same song for different labels. He wrote many of his best known songs himself- “Rhymes” (covered by The Goons when they briefly reformed in the ’70s), “Gorgonzola”, “I lift up my finger and I say Tweet Tweet” “Over the garden wall” (the latter two covered by Gracie Fields), “Mucking about the garden” and “Tom thumb’s drum”. Many singers of the time recorded cover versions of Leslie’s songs. As well as writing his own songs he also covered some of the best comic songs of the day-“All by yourself in the moonlight”, “Hunting tigers out in India” (another Bonzos cover), “The old kitchen kettle” and “He played his ukulele as the ship went down” along with the lesser known classics “There’s a song they sing at a sing song in Sing Sing” and “When H’I was H’out in H’India”. What’s great about these rarely heard recordings is that 80 odd years later they’re still funny, if perhaps not always as politically correct as would be acceptable today! In 1933 Sarony teamed up with Leslie Holmes (a fellow singer of novelty songs, known as “the man with the smiling voice”) and for the next 12 years they performed as The Two Leslies recording many records such as “Sweet Fanny Adams”, “I’m a little prarie flower”, “Miss Porkington would like cream puffs” and “Umpa Umpa (stick it up your jumper)” (a phrase used at the end of The Beatles’ “I am the walrus”-wonder if John Lennon had heard the record?)Apart from an album made by Roy Hudd in 1980, Sarony didn’t record commercially after 1940 but was constantly working on stage and TV both as a singer and actor-he had appeared in several films during the ’30s and ’40s and later acted on TV shows such as Nearest and Dearest, The Gaffer, I didn’t know you cared and Minder. He worked into his 80s, appearing in Paul McCartney’s film “Give my regards to Broad Street” in 1984 and the Monty Python short “The Crimson Permanent Assurance” in 1983. Leslie died on Feb 12th 1985, and his final two TV appearances-cameos in an episode of the first series of Victoria Wood As seen on TV, and an episode of “There comes a time” (a short lived comedy starring Andrew Sachs) both aired posthumously.

   There are now 4 volumes of “78Man Presents Leslie Sarony” available on most major streaming and download sites as well as on CD, each volume contains 20 tracks, many not commercially available for over 80 years. In addition, the album “Songs that Leslie Sarony taught us” features 20 cover versions of songs written by Sarony. CDs can be ordered HERE

   9. Don’t Sell Daddy Any More Whiskey by Matty O’Neill (Released by London (HL. 1037) in 1951). Little is known about Matty O’Neill, other than there was a follow up to this record, called “Whiskey took my Daddy away”, also in 1951.

New Album Release-78Man Presents The Two Leslies

Now available for streaming and download, 78Man Presents The Two Leslies features 20 tracks taken from original 78s released in the 1930s, many not available since their original release. The Two Leslies comprised Leslie Sarony and Leslie Holmes. Tracks are :

1. Cut yourself a little piece of cake (Originally released by Regal Zonophone (MR 1965) in 1935).

2. Forty four fousand and five (Regal Zonophone (MR 1965), 1935).

3. Now you’ve been and gorn and done it (Yes not ‘alf you ain’t)  (Regal Zonophone (MR 2457), 1937).

4. Nay! Nay! Nay! (Regal Zonophone (MR 2034), 1936).

5. The Campbells are coming (Regal Zonophone (MR 2225), 1936).

6. Down at the hole in the wall (Regal Zonophone (MR 3183), 1939).

7. Sweet Fanny Adams (Regal Zonophone (MR 3183), 1939).

8. Old Potato Jones (Regal Zonophone (MR 2457), 1937).

9. The love bug will bite you (Regal Zonophone (MR 2443), 1937).

10. We’re tired of the tiger (Regal Zonophone (MR 2061), 1936).

11. Audrey just laughed and laughed (Regal Zonophone (MR 2277), 1936).

12. Prairie Flower (Regal Zonophone (MR 2277), 1936).

13. Why must we keep on working ? (Regal Zonophone (MR 2898), 1938).

14. The Dart Song (Regal Zonophone (MR 2443), 1937).

15. The New Sow (Regal Zonophone (MR 2061), 1936).

16. Umpa, Umpa (Stick it up your jumper) (Regal Zonophone (MR 1920), 1935).

17. Let me go back to the farm (Regal Zonophone (MR 2898), 1938).

18. Let’s set the town alight (Regal Zonophone (MR 2225), 1936).

19. Miss Porkington would like cream puffs (Regal Zonophone (MR 1920), 1935).

20. Good Night (Got your torchlight) (Rex Records (9721), 1940).

The album can be streamed on Spotify Here or downloaded on Itunes Here . Due to copyright reasons it is not available in the US, but will be made available shortly on CD.

78Man Podcast Number 30-Leslie Sarony

The 30th 78Man Podcast looks at Leslie Sarony and can be heard on itunes Here or on Soundcloud Here

Tracks heard on the podcast are :

1. Let me carry your bag to Bagdad Dad by Leslie Sarony (Released by Regal Zonphone (MR 1967) in 1936).
2. Don’t be cruel to a vegetebuel by Leslie Sarony (Released by His Master’s Voice (B. 2714) in 1928).
3. I Lift up my finger and I say “Tweet Tweet” by Gracie Fields (Released by His Master’s Voice (B. 2999) in 1929).
4. Rhymes by Albert Whelan (Released by Imperial (2605) in 1932).
5. The Chicken or the egg by Leslie Sarony (Released by Victory (141) in 1929).
6. Mucking about the garden by Jack Hylton and his Orchestra (Released by His Master’s Voice (B 5696) in 1929).
7. The Prosperity Song by Bert Layton (Released by Eclipse (69) in 1931).
8. Coo! Lovaduck! Crikey!Coo!Blimey! by The Two Leslies (Released by Regal Zonophone (MR 2034) in 1936).
9. Ain’t it grand to be bloomin’ well dead Parts 1 & 2 by Leslie Sarony (Released by Imperial (2688) in 1932).

If Leslie Sarony is remembered at all today, it is usually for writing “Jollity Farm” (covered by The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band on their 1967 album “Gorilla”) or “Ain’t it grand to be bloomin’ well dead”, still a popular song at funerals (and the first record to be banned by the BBC on the grounds of taste), but from the late ’20s to the end of the ’30s he was one of the UK’s most popular singers, releasing hundreds of songs on a plethora of labels, initially as a solo artist and later as part of The Two Leslies, with Leslie Holmes.  Sarony was born (as Leslie Legge Frye, his stage name of Sarony being his Mother’s maiden name) in January 1897. He began appearing on stage as a teenager but his singing career was cut short by World War One. Having survived the war he returned to the stage but it wasn’t until 1926 that he began his recording career. Over the ensuing decade and a half he recorded for Imperial, Eclipse (the Woolworths label), Victory, His Master’s Voice, Regal Zonophone, Edison Bell Radio, Rex and Parlophone among others. Making sense of the Sarony discography is a hard task, as he often recorded for different labels simultaneously, even recording multiple versions of the same song for different labels. He wrote many of his best known songs himself- “Rhymes” (covered by The Goons when they briefly reformed in the ’70s), “Gorgonzola”, “I lift up my finger and I say Tweet Tweet” “Over the garden wall” (the latter two covered by Gracie Fields), “Mucking about the garden” and “Tom thumb’s drum”. Many singers of the time recorded cover versions of Leslie’s songs. As well as writing his own songs he also covered some of the best comic songs of the day-“All by yourself in the moonlight”, “Hunting tigers out in India” (another Bonzos cover), “The old kitchen kettle” and “He played his ukulele as the ship went down” along with the lesser known classics “There’s a song they sing at a sing song in Sing Sing” and “When H’I was H’out in H’India”. What’s great about these rarely heard recordings is that 80 odd years later they’re still funny, if perhaps not always as politically correct as would be acceptable today! In 1933 Sarony teamed up with Leslie Holmes (a fellow singer of novelty songs, known as “the man with the smiling voice”) and for the next 12 years they performed as The Two Leslies recording many records such as “Sweet Fanny Adams”, “I’m a little prarie flower”, “Miss Porkington would like cream puffs” and “Umpa Umpa (stick it up your jumper)” (a phrase used at the end of The Beatles’ “I am the walrus”-wonder if John Lennon had heard the record?) 

Apart from an album made by Roy Hudd in 1980, Sarony didn’t record commercially after 1940 but was constantly working on stage and TV both as a singer and actor-he had appeared in several films during the ’30s and ’40s and later acted on TV shows such as Nearest and Dearest, The Gaffer, I didn’t know you cared and Minder. He worked into his 80s, appearing in Paul McCartney’s film “Give my regards to Broad Street” in 1984 and the Monty Python short “The Crimson Permanent Assurance” in 1983. Leslie died on Feb 12th 1985, and his final two TV appearances-cameos in an episode of the first series of Victoria Wood As seen on TV, and an episode of “There comes a time” (a short lived comedy starring Andrew Sachs) both aired posthumously.

There are now 4 volumes of “78Man Presents Leslie Sarony” available on most major streaming and download sites as well as on CD, each volume contains 20 tracks, many not commercially available for over 80 years. In addition, the album “Songs that Leslie Sarony taught us” features 20 cover versions of songs written by Sarony. CDs can be ordered HERE

78Man Podcast Number 29-Ireland

The 29th 78Man Podcast has Ireland as its theme. It can be heard on Itunes Here or on Soundcloud Here. Tracks heard are :

1. Did your mother come from Ireland? by Joe Petersen (Released by Rex Records (8949) in 1936). Although promoted as a boy singer, Master Joe Petersen was in fact female, his/her real identity being Mary O’Rourke, born in Helensburgh, Scotland, in 1913. In 1915 the family moved to Glasgow, and as a child Mary and her brother Joe entertained family and friends with their singing. Mary left school at 14 and began work, as well as singing locally in music halls. In 1930 she moved to London, intent on a career in music. In London she stayed with her Uncle, Ted Stebbings, who was an entertainer and impressario himself. Boy singers were popular at the time and Ted had several boy singers on his books but had the problem that their voices broke, ending their careers. It was Ted who had the idea of Mary impersonating a boy to solve this problem. Although initially reticent, she agreed and Joe Petersen was born. She initially recorded with Harry Bidgood’s dance band, before signing to Rex Records in 1934, releasing dozens of records for them over the next eight years, including “Just a little grey haired lady” (1934), “Old Mammy mine” (1935), “It’s a sin to tell a lie” (1936), “I’m sending a letter to Santa Claus” (1939), and “When they sound the last all clear” (1941). She also recorded under the names Wilfred Eaton and Michael Dawnay. By the late 1930s Joe was one of the biggest stars in the UK, but behind the scenes things were not so good, Mary being trapped in an unhappy marriage, a situation which led her to turn to drink for solace. The second world war hit the record industry badly, and she made no further records after 1942. After the war her appearances were mainly limited to Scotland. Mary battled alcoholism for the rest of her life, but was still performing as Joe as late as 1963. She died on December 24th, 1964.
2. My girl’s an Irish girl by Bing Crosby (Released by Brunswick (03882) in 1948). Bing Crosby was born in May 1903, in Tacoma, Washington, US (originally named Harry, he was nicknamed Bing as a child and the name stuck). As a teenager he saw singers while working at his local auditorium, but it wasn’t until he was 20 that he started singing in a band himself, called The Musicaladers. Two years later this band split and he started singing with a vocal trio, The Three Harmony Aces. He then formed a duo with Al Rinker, with whom he made his first record, “I’ve got the girl” in 1926. The act then expanded to a trio again, with the addition of Harry Barris, and were rechristened The Rhythm Boys. Several successful records followed before Bing was offered a solo recording contract in 1931 with Brunswick records. Over the next decade he became one of the most successful American singers worldwide, with hits such as “Stardust” (1931), “Please” (1932), “Let me call you sweetheart” (1935), “Basin Street Blues” (1937) and “My melancholy baby” (1939). It was during the ’30s that Bing also started appearing in films, such as “College Humor” (1933), “She loves me not” (1934), “Anything goes” (1936), “Sing, you sinners” (1938) and “East side of heaven” (1939). As well as appearing in films and releasing records, Bing also had his own US radio series. In 1942 Bing released what would become his most famous recording, “White Christmas”, which was also used in the film “Holiday Inn”. He re-recorded the song in 1947 after the original master became damaged and the record still sells every Christmas. Bing continued recording, appearing in films, radio and TV into the 1970s, right until his death in October 1977 (he gave his last live performance 4 days before his death, and recorded his last radio session and interview the following day.)
3. Laughing Irish Eyes by Billy Cotton and his Band (Released by Regal Zonophone (MR 2189) in 1936). Billy Cotton was born in London on May 6th 1899. He started playing drums during the Great War, and went professional in the early ’20s, starting his own band in 1925. His recording career started shortly after and he made many records over the years, including “I’m Smiling through my tears” (1928), “The new Tiger rag” (1930), “Rhymes” (1931), “Skirts” (1933), “I’m on a see saw” (1934), “Basin Street blues” (1936), and “I wish I could fish” (1941). During the Second World War he spent time entertaining the troops, and in the ’50s and ’60s he presented “The Billy Cotton Band show” on radio and TV. He died on March 25th, 1969.
4. Smiling Irish Eyes by Gerald Adams (Released by Regal (G 9428) in 1929). Gerald Adams was active in the recording world in the 1920s and early ’30s, His other records include “Only a broken heart” (1920), “Omaha” (1921), “Sanctuary” (1922), “Maggie McGhee” (1925), “Oh, how I miss you tonight” (1926), “The song is ended” (1928), “Daisy Bell (A bicycle made for two)” (1930) and “You will remember Vienna” (1931).
5. Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) by Dennis O’Neil (Released by Edison Bell Radio (1399) in 1930). Dennis O’Neil was an Irish actor and singer, born in 1886, who came to prominence in the 1910s. His other records include “Sometimes you’ll remember” (1916), and “Terence’s Farewell” (1931). He appeared in the films “No Lady” (1931), “Danny Boy” (1934), “Barnacle Bill” (1935) and “Father O’Flynn” (1935). He died in 1952.
6. Killarney is Calling to me by The Hottentots (Released by Eclipse (218) in 1932). The Hottentots were a pseudonym of the Jay Wilbur band (see Podcast 13 blog-January 2017 for more info on Jay Wilbur.) As The Hottentots they recorded several records on Eclipse, including “Sweet Jennie Lee”, “In Geneva with Eva”, “Whistling In The Dark” and “When Yuba Plays The Rumba On The Tuba”.
7. When It’s Moonlight by Killarney by The Biltmore Players (Released by Eclipse (30) in 1931). Like The Hottentots, The Biltmore Players were a pseudonym for the Jay Wilbur band. Their other releases for Eclipse included “Good Friends”, “When it’s night time in Nevada”, “Prosperity Song”, “Elizabeth” and “The Waltz you saved for me”.
8. Jigs by Leo Rowsome (Released by HMV (B.D. 1312) in 1950. Leo Rowsome was born in Dublin in 1903. Both his Father and Grandfather played the Uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes), and Leo learned to play as a child, becoming a teacher at the Dublin school of music at the age of 16. His Father made and mended pipes, and Leo took over the business when his Father died. In the early ’20s he became the first piper to perform on Irish National Radio, and in 1933 became the first Irish artist to appear on BBC TV. He recorded for Imperial, Columbia, Decca and His Master’s Voice, and was active musically up to his death in 1970.
9. There’s a little bit of Irish by Joe Lynch (Released by Beltona (BE 2668) in 1956). Joe Lynch was born in 1925 in County Cork, Ireland. Mainly known as an actor, in the 1950s he also had a radio show and a brief singing career, his other records including “Pretty little Galway girl”, “By the banks of the calm winding Feale”, “The pride of Tipperary”, and “Homes of Donegal”. As an actor, he came to prominence during the ’60s and ’70s, appearing in films such as “Girl with green eyes” (1964), “Ulysses” (1967), “Loot” (1970), and “The Outsider” (1979), and in TV Series such as “Compact” (1964), “Never mind the quality, feel the width” (1967-1971), “The Frighteners” (1973), “Rule Britannia!” (1975) and “Coronation Street” (1978-1980). He was a regular in the 1990s on the Irish TV series “Glenroe”, making his last appearance in 2000. He died in 2001.