SPIKE JONES: THE SHEIKH OF ARABY

Now let’s have a look on one of the weirder records in my collection. Well, really, the record and the recording itself isn’t that strange. The late great maniac Spike Jones (1911-65) and his City Slickers made this mad and great parody of “The Sheikh of Araby” in 1942, but have a look on the “Grand” label. Doesn’t it look like a bit home made? Well, it is. There was a “Grand” label in Sweden in the 1930s but the label showed here has nothing to do with the real “Grand” label. Somebody has put together bits of differently colored paper. White background and the top part in some sort of striped pattern with another cutout with the word “Grand” pasted on top of it all and the rest of the information on the label written on a common typewriter. When I found this record, I found it in a pile with lots of different records with similarly handmade labels – there were not two labels who looked the same! Now … the question that comes to mind is of course: Why? In the early twentieth century it was a common and not very legal practice to paste over the proper record labels with your own record labels – which forced some record companies to have the name of the proper record company announced in the beginning – to avoid this kind of piracy. But, if this person who bought this ordinary record (released in Sweden as HMV X 7820 – as you can see, that very same number is used here as well) and wanted to sell it as a record from his own record company, then why not using the same design on all of the records? As I said, this was the only one with this particular design and with this particular label name. Well, I guess, there’ll never be a proper answer to my question. My guess is that the former owner of this record enjoyed label designs and spent a whole lot of energy and time on creating his own record label designs. Bless him! Never mind, let’s listen to Spike Jones!

By the way, the "N.C.B." on top of the label means "Nordic Copyright Bureau", so he wasn't trying to avoid copyright issues.

CRANE RIVER JAZZ BAND: DAUPHIN STREET BLUES

The story of Crane River Jazz Band seems to more or less be an early chapter in the story of the British jazz trumpeter Ken Colyer (1928-88). Colyer has been described as a jazz traditionalist and this recording is a good example of that. The lovely yellow and purple “Melodisc” label (a label design that isn’t as traditional as the recording itself) doesn’t state who the musicians are on this recording of “Dauphin Street Blues”, but according to Wikipedia, Colyer formed Crane River Jazz Band in 1949 together with Monty Sunshine, Sonny Morris and Ben Marshall, so they probably play on this recording together with some other musicians. I haven’t been able to find a recording date of this record but it’s probably from the late 40s or early 50s. If anybody who reads this could provide me with some more information, I’d be very grateful. Anyway, let’s listen.

SIDNEY BECHET: WITHOUT A HOME

Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) the legendary jazz saxophone player, made these recordings together with Bob Wilber (born 1928) and his jazz band in the summer of 1949 in New York. It must have been quite a treat for the young rising jazz musician Wilber and his orchestra to be able to make recordings together with such a legendary musician like Sidney Bechet – or maybe it was more of a rough experience, due to Bechet’s temperament – often decribed as “mercurial”. Well, who knows? Anyway, this recording was originally released on the “Circle” label, but this French pressing is on the “Blue Star” label. When I found this recording, the strikingly cool light blue label with a drawn image of a tenor saxophone player was the main reason why I bought the record in the first place. It’s probably not Bechet, whose drawn on the label though, since he preferred soprano saxophone and clarinet. Well, it’s a nice recording of some great jazz musicians. Have a listen!

MARIE DIEKE: EN MAN

According to ”Stora Schlagerboken, vol 1” by Hans Olofsson and Leif Aulin, the singer Marie Dieke (born 1936) originally came from Holland and moved to Sweden in 1954. This information surprised me a bit, since I always assumed that she came from Norway, since I thought her pronunciation sounded a bit Norwegian. Anyway, Marie Dieke was the vocalist in the Simon Brehm orchestra during the mid 50s, when Brehm’s former vocalist (the very famous Barbro “Lill-Babs” Svensson) had left. Simon Brehm of course recorded Marie Dieke on his own “Karusell” label but she made most of her recordings during the vinyl era. Marie Dieke kept making records until the mid 1960s and she had an orchestra of her own and toured with them until 1980. This recording “En man” was recorded in 1955 and it was the flip side of her third record. I like the joyful quality of Marie Dieke’s voice but even more the dynamic sound of Simon Brehm’s orchestra. Have a listen!

BEKA ORKESTER: FOLKVISA

You know when you try to remember the name of a very familiar tune, and you just can’t do it. It is very annoying, right? Well, the same thing happened to me when I found this record, almost ten years ago. It is a Beka recording by an anonymous orchestra (here very aptly named “Beka orkester”), conducted by Gustaf Tropp (born in 1873, year of death unknown to me). First of all, it is a very pleasant recording, and it says “Folkvisa” (=Folk song) on the label. Of course, that doesn’t say much to us, so we have to listen to it to be able to hear WHICH folk song it is. In this case, the title is a bit misleading, since the recording is a medley of three famous traditional Swedish folk songs. I recognised them all, but I had great difficulties remembering what the name of the first song was. The second one is “Kristallen den fina” (=the lovely crystal) and the last one is the Christmas song “Nu är det jul igen” (=Now it’s Christmas again), but the name of the first one eluded me for a long, long, long … MUCH too long time. Then finally one day, I remembered. The first song in the medley is the wonderful folk song “Allt under himlens fäste” (=Everything under the hold of the sky). I’m ashamed to tell you how long it took for me to remember the name of the song … so I’m not going to tell you that. Let’s listen to the recording instead …

INGER AXÖ: DEN LILLE SKOMAKAREN

We had many children and youth artists in Sweden who made records way back in the 1950s. The child artist isn’t a new phenomenon. The most popular children artists were Inger Nyström, Rosi Egger, Ingeborg Nyberg, Margret Jonsson, not to mention Monika Lind (later mother to the popular Swedish singer Peter Jöback). My favourite among these girls from the 1950s is Inger Axö (1939-86) from Bromma outside Stockholm. She became famous in the early 1950s when she played “Eva-Lotta” in the Astrid Lindgren movie “Mästerdetektiven och Rasmus” (=The Master Detective, in Germany it was called: “Kalle Blomquist lebt gefährlich”). Because of that fame she’s called Inger “Eva-Lotta” Axö on the record label. She also made some recordings together with her sister Yvonne Axö and appeared in a couple of light comedy movies in the 1950s and 1960s. The song “Den lille skomakaren” is a Swedish version of the French song “Le petit cordonnier”, and Inger Axö recorded it in November 1954 for the Cupol label. Arvid Sundin (1914-99) and his orchestra Speedplayers, plays with lots of speed and energy – and Inger Axö (just a teenager when this was recorded) gives us an inspired and keenly exciting performance. Time to listen …

ANNERS ANNERSA PÅ HULTET: HUR DANT SÄTT MI GUMMÄ HAR

I do enjoy comedy records and own quite a lot of comedy records. This is one of my oldest comedy records. Not that I laugh out loud when I listen to this – and for those of you who doesn’t understand Swedish … tough … anyhow, I find the record interesting since it paints a picture of what Swedish people thought was funny over 90 years ago. Anners Annersa på Hultet (real name Mauritz Björck, born in 1882 and died in 1961) was a comedian from Östergötland in Sweden, and he made 48 recordings between 1914 and 1919 – all of them on the Odeon label. He spoke in a genuine Östergötland dialect and he both sang with a high tenor voice and spoke on his recordings. This is a recording of the latter kind, where he tells us about his wife and the way she always thinks and wants to do the opposite of what Anners thinks and wants to do. “Hur dant sätt mi gummä har” is Swedish (with an Östergötland twist) for “My wife’s behaviour”. This is a somewhat odd version of this record, since this pressing is made for the American market, and I do believe that it was pressed sometime in the 1920s, but the recording was made in 1914 – probably in Copenhagen, Denmark. Time to listen …

CALLE HAGMAN: JAG TAR HATTEN AV FÖR JOSEFINA

Calle Hagman (1890-1949) was one of Sweden’s greatest stage eccentrics during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940. Not many people really knew how to use Hagman’s stage antics in the most suitable way. One exception was the Swedish satirist and theatre legend Karl Gerhard (1891-1964) who used Hagman in many of his shows. Carl Hagman (who by the way preferred to spell his name “Quarl” instead of “Carl”) had a very peculiar way of spitting out the consonants when he talked, and he was actually the first man who performed the “Phonetic Punctuation” monologue, immortalized by the Danish comedian and musician Victor Borge (1909-2000) on stage. Apart from performing on stage, Calle Hagman recorded a number of records, on which he both spoke and sang. This recording was made in Paris for the French record company Pathé in December 1929. “Jag tar hatten av för Josefina” (=I take my hat of for Josefina) about a man who is bullied by his wife, is a very good example of Hagman’s odd style, when he furthermore sings in falsetto in the end of every verse, as well as sings with a somewhat exaggerated nasal voice. Not very beautiful, but rather fun and peculiar.

The Pathé records that were recorded in the late 1920s are rather rare, since they didn’t sell that well when they were released. The main reason for that is not that the musical content is bad, but the technical quality is fairly insufficient. They crackle and hiss more than other records from the same time, and sound as if they were many years older. Still, time to listen to Mr Quarl Hagman’s vocal antics …

BERTHA "CHIPPIE" HILL: CARELESS LOVE

Bertha “Chippie” Hill (1905-50) was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and she made a comeback in the 1940s, when jazz- and blues enthusiasts started to search for the roots of jazz. She made around twenty recordings in the 1920s, and when she made her return to the spotlight after working many years in a bakery, she recorded nine more songs in 1946. This recording on the Circle label is one of them. Bertha Hill sings “Careless Love”, accompanied by Lovie Austin’s Blues Serenaders: Lee Collins, trumpet, Lovie Austin, piano, John Lindsay, bass, Baby Dodds, drums. I must say that I enjoy the raw and powerful singing of Bertha “Chippie” Hill. She is not as famous or ‘legendary’ as contemporary singers like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, but I think she has the same kind of soulful quality in her voice. Listen for yourself, what do you think?

MARIA MICHAILOWA: AVE MARIA

This slightly warped old gramophone record from 1905 contains the beautiful voice of the soprano Maria Alexandrowna Michailowa (1864-1921). When she started recording she was already a star and she performed in the first Russian production of “Falstaff”. She made her recording debut as early as in 1901 and made hundreds of records for the next ten years. When World War I began, she had already retired from stage. On this recording she sings Gounod’s “Ave Maria”, and she does it VERY beautifully. Even though the recording is over 100 years old, the clarity of her voice is astounding and cannot be hidden by the primitive recording technique. Alas, the record was a bit warped and I had to record it at a slower speed to the computer to avoid the needle skipping – and afterwards electronically speed up the recording.

By the way, I use the program “Magix Audio Cleaning Lab 11 deluxe”. It is a good program for all kinds of recordings (I also use it to transfer vinyl records, cassettes and for recording radio programs), but there are many better alternatives (and more expensive – I might add) if you want to record 78 rpms. Still, it’s good enough for me, and I’m rarely bothered trying to remove disturbing hiss and pops. Those are part of the listening experience, and when one tries to remove it, so often lots of the actual music is removed as well. I haven’t tried to remove much of the background hiss on this very old recording. I think Mademoiselle Michailowa’s voice comes through with great panache without too much heavy sound cleaning. Listen and see if you don’t agree …

LOU GOLD AND HIS ORCHESTRA: RADIO LADY O'MINE

Lou Gold was a very popular orchestra leader during the 1920s. Born Lewis Milton Goldwasser in 1894, and mainly active in the New York area during the 1920s and 1930s as a composer, pianist and orchestra leader. His orchestra made several recordings both with his own name and with different pseudonyms, depending on what label the recordings were made for. He died in 1950 and during his life he worked with artists like Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Abe Lyman and many others.

This recording, “Radio Lady O’Mine” probably recorded in 1924 is a great little Charleston number, which I believe is a good example of what people in the cities enjoyed listening to and dancing to over 80 years ago. I think the black Cameo-label is very beautiful and distinctive, and the material on the Cameo-label is quite often interesting. Still, I rarely find them here in Sweden, but when I do I rarely get disappointed.

Let’s listen!

/Björn Jakobsson

ROLF'S CABARET-ORKESTER: IT'S A BIRD

I’ve written before about Ernst Rolf (1891-1932), but this time I won’t write about his artistry, but this time I’ll talk about his days as a record company owner. He formed the label “Rolf Winner Succès” in 1918. It was a cooperation with the British J. E. Hough Ltd. (Edison Bell; with the trademark “Winner”). The light green label had a black Phoenix bird drawed by the Swedish artist Einar Nerman (1888-1983). The record company mainly recorded Ernst Rolf, the celebrated accordion player Carl Jularbo (1893-1966) and a few other artists. Also, a group called Rolf’s Cabaret Orchestra released many instrumental sides. Ernst Rolf might be the conductor on these recordings, but I don’t think he does anything else on the recordings, since he wasn’t a musician.

The “Rolf Winner Succès” didn’t last long, it folded in 1920 since the cooperation with Hough ended. Rolf formed a new label without the “Winner” trademark, called “Rolf Succès”. This label was even less long-lived. It folded later the same year. During the cooperation with J. E. Hough, the recordings were made in London, but when that was over, most of the recordings were made in Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm.

This record was made in London in April 1919, and it’s a good example of the latest dance-craze of the time, the one-step. It’s played by Rolf’s Cabaret-Orkester (conducted probably, as stated above, by Ernst Rolf), and it’s called “It’s a bird” – (no it’s Superman! – sorry, couldn’t resist it). I like this 78 rpm record very much … ah … it’s actually an 80 rpm record, to be more precise – but never mind.

Let’s listen to “It’s a bird”.

/Björn Jakobsson

CELLO (OLLE CARLE): CELLOS SNARKOLOGI

OK, for those of you who doesn't understand Swedish this recording might not be that interesting, but for those of us who understand Swedish, this recording is hilarious. It's called "Cellos Snarkologi eller Säg mig hur du snarkar och jag skall säga dig vem du är" ("Cello's Snore-ology or Tell me how you snore and I'll tell you who you are"). Cello (Olle Carle 1909-98) was a humorous columnist who was a real master at wordplay and at making puns. This idea of this recording from 1950 comes from "Sneezes" by Robert J. Wildback (Victor 35990, 1917). Never heard that recording though, although I would very much like to do so one day. Anyway, Wildback also performed "Sneezes" in the movies "Broadway Melody of 1936" and "Broadway Melody of 1938".

Well back to Cello, this recording is about how different types of snoring describes different personalites, exemplified by descriptions of the snoring, it's name in (fake) latin and loud examples of the snoring. Unlike many other 78 rpm records, this particular one was released with a special cover. The foldout cover shows drawings of different types of snorers and the name of the (very) temporary label is a very typical example of Cello's sense of humour: Cello-Phone.

Time to listen ... but don't fall asleep.

/Björn Jakobsson.

GUNNAR NILSON: SIL-JA-BLOO

I may be biased (since I come from the same town, Luleå), but I think Gunnar "Siljabloo" Nilson (1925-89) was one of the best European male scat singers. Anyhow, scat singing was his trademark and he got his nickname from this recording. He was very successful in Stockholm during the 1940s and 1950s as a singer and clarinetist, and he enjoyed it very much. Maybe a bit too much since he got problems with alcohol, which started to dominate his career instead of the music. He disappeared from the music scene and was gone for many years, until he was rediscovered in the late 1960s. He got back on his feet and started recording and performing again. One great album I can really recommend is "That's my desire" from 1971. He kept on touring, performing and recording until his death in 1989. He died by the way on a train journey between his home in Gothenburg and a gig in Västerås.

This recording from 1953 was released on the Roulette label, which has nothing to do with the American New York based Roulette label, which was founded a few years later. The Swedish Roulette label must have some sort of connection with the Triola label (see blogpost about Sonya Hedenbratt), since I've found records with the sleeve stating that it's a Roulette record and then the record has a Triola label. Maybe Triola reissued Roulette records - I don't know.

Not far from where I grew up in the town Luleå, a house was named after Gunnar "Siljabloo" Nilson shortly after his death. It was named "Träffpunkt Siljabloo" (I would translate that to "Rendezvous Siljabloo" since it's not only a good translation - it rhymes as well). During my years as a musician in the 1990s, I played there myself a couple of times.

OK, time to listen to Siljabloo, performed by Gunnar Nilson and Carl-Henric Norin's Orchestra.

/Björn Jakobsson.

ORQUESTA DE PACHO GALAN: RAPSODIA SUECA

One of the most beloved composers in Sweden was Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960), and one of his most famous pieces is "Midsummer Vigil (Swedish Rhapsody No. 1. Op. 19)", based on Swedish folk music and inspired by the traditional dances often danced at the annual Midsummer Vigils. Alfvén's piece of music perfectly describes the cheerfulness and playfulness of children dancing around the traditional maypole, so it's hard for any Swedes not to love Alfvén and his delightful music.

Percy Faith made a horribly stiff version of "Midsummer Vigil" in the early 1950s, but this Colombian version by Francisco "Pacho" Galan (1904-88) and his orchestra on the Tropical label is much more playful and enjoyable ... and I don't think mr Alfvén himself would have objected much to this latino treatment.

I found the record in a charity shop South of Stockholm, near my work, and it's in pretty bad shape. Also it's badly warped, so I had to record it at 33 1/3 rpm to the computer, and then speed it up in the computer program. The record seems to be made of vinyl (not shellac) and is probably recorded in the 1950s. I haven't had any luck finding discographical data so far. If you can help me further, please do. I'd be very grateful.

All right. Let's listen to Pacho Galan.

/Björn Jakobsson

ERNST ROLF: ROLFS NYÅRSHÄLSNING

This is a very jolly record with very humourous and witty lyrics. Still the sad story behind the recording gives me a feeling of discomfort every time I listen to it.


One of the most famous and loved entertainers in Sweden during the 1910s, 1920s and early 1930s was Ernst Rolf (born Ragnar Johansson in 1891, died in 1932). He was also one of the most prolific recording artists of the time and had a great knack for finding new tunes which he made popular by recording them for many different recording companies. He travelled a lot and got many of his ideas for his expensive and extravagant stageshows abroad. Rolf was also one of the first Swedish artists who had jazz references in his songs. Since "JAZZ" was a new and popular word, Rolf called many of his recordings jazz recordings, but to be quite honest, Ernst Rolf didn't have much of a clue about jazz. Still, his recordings were almost always cheerful and many of his old recordings have been re-released on LP and CD through the years. During the early 1930s, it was apparent that the days of big luxurious shows were over. Rolf's economy got extremely bad, since he always was a great spender. That was all right as long as he made lots of money, but in the early 1930s very few made lots of money - and even less had money after the so-called "Kreuger Crash" - when Ivar Kreuger's matchbox empire fell to pieces and Kreuger committed suicide in March 1932.


Ernst Rolf's shows were less successful, he had fewer hits on the gramophone than before, but December 23 in 1932, Ernst Rolf recorded a short film, that was supposed to be shown in movie theatres on New Years Eve 1932. In this short film he sang a song with very witty lyrics about looking at the future with an optimistic heart, despite the bad times ... and to have a happy new year. The day after the recording Rolf made a suicide attempt (which was not his first one) by throwing himself into the cold lake, and it has been discussed through the years how serious the attempt really was. Maybe it was just meant as a cry for attention. As I wrote above, he had done that before, but this time it all went terribly wrong. He caught an pneumonia and died the next day, December 25. Needless to say, the whole nation was shocked and the short film wasn't shown until many years later.


20 years after the tragic death of Ernst Rolf the soundtrack of the short film was released on a 12" record on the Cavalcade label, owned by the legendary Swedish record collector Robert Rönström.


A very interesting recording, although the sad events that took place the next couple of days, made the recording a bit gruesome as well.


Click here to listen.

/Björn Jakobsson

TOBIS AND HIS GAUCHOS: ZACATECAS

Tobis and his Gauchos - led by singer and guitar player Torvald "Tobis" Tollgren (1910-86) - could be described as the first Swedish latino pop group. During the 1940s and early 1950s, Tobis and his Gauchos was very popular with their (in the eyes and ears of the Swedes) exotic and colourful music. They lad lots of tangos, rhumbas and (as in this case) sambas and even a couple of hillbilly numbers on their repertoir and made over fifty 78 rpm records 1940-53. Tobis formed his group in 1938 and disbanded the group in 1956. Torvald Tollgren later worked as a manufacturer of ballet shoes.

This recording "Zacatecas" was made in Stockholm, in October 1948, and is just one of many recordings of that famous samba. Still, it was the first Tobis and his Gauchos record I bought, many years ago, and I can understand why they were so popular. Another witness of their popularity is the fact that it isn't very hard to find their recordings - but many times they are "played to death" - so to speak.

Well, time to grab the maracas and shake away to Tobis and his Gauchos.

/Björn Jakobsson

HELLO AGAIN ...

Long time no see ... I haven't written anything here since November 2005, which is some time ago. Last Autumn I noticed that all the sound files in this blog were gone - which of course made me despair a bit, and I had no time whatsoever to fix the stuff I was able to fix. Still, now I finally have some time, and I'll try to get most of the sound files ready for listening again. I won't be able to fix all of them now, since some of the records still are in my former home town Luleå. I lived there when I last wrote here, but moved to the Stockholm suburb Kista in March 2006 to live with my great love Galina and her two sons. I've been able to get some of my 78 rpms to Kista, but there still are many left in Luleå - also I really don't have that much place for them right now. Anyway ... I'm back, so I say: "Welcome back!" both to myself and to you.

By the way, the image above shows my lovely Lenco L78 turntable.

/Björn Jakobsson

TENNESSEE ERNIE: STACK-O-LEE

Tennessee Ernie Ford (of "Sixteen Tons" fame) recorded this version of the traditional old folk song / blues song "Stagger Lee" in 1950. The song (or rather the story in this song) has been recorded several times in many different styles and versions. The most famous is the rhythm and blues-hit in the late 1950s by Lloyd Price, and the most obscene version is Nick Cave's version on the album "Murder Ballads" from 1996. I can really recommend this interesting article about the song.

Musically, Tennesse Ernie Ford's "Stack-o-Lee"hasn't much in common with Lloyd Price's or Nick Cave's versions. This is more in the country style that made Ford famous (to be quite honest; "Sixteen Tons" isn't very typical of Ford's songs), and he's accompanied by the barrelhouse piano giant Jo "Fingers" Carr and a vocal group called "The Carr-Hops" - very witty indeed.

I like Tennessee Ernie Ford very much, but I like "Stagger Lee" (or "Stack-O-Lee" or however you choose to spell it) even more, most of all because I find it interesting that the story of Stagger Lee has inspired so many varied songs - or versions of the same song.

Go! Stack-O-Lee! Let's listen to Tennesse Ernie Ford!

All the best!

Björn Jakobsson

MACKY KASPER UND SEINE STAR-BAND: DRUM BOOGIE

I don't really know much about Macky Kasper, and searching the web hasn't helped me much either. I know that this record was recorded in Berlin, March 23, 1953 and that Macky Kasper played the trumpet (I got that info from my chums at the 78-L). Nevertheless, it is a very nice and lively version of this famous Gene Krupa composition "Drum Boogie".

Anybody who knows more about Macky Kasper, please let me know.

Alas, this is one of the records still in Luleå - but when I get hold of it, I'll make it possible for you to listen to this great recording.

Cheers!
Björn Jakobsson

JOSH WHITE: HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN

When I bought an EP with Josh White over ten years ago, I immediately became an admirer of Josh White and his music, and when I found this great Metronome record (issued in 1950, but recorded in New York for the Mercury label in 1947) I was happy as a little child locked in a toyshop. I like this version of "House of the rising sun" much more than the rather tedious version by The Animals. Josh White both plays and sings with great passion as well as virility. He was great!

The label "Metronome" was started in the summer of 1949 by the young jazz drummer Anders Burman (or Andrew Burman - as he sometimes called himself on some of the recordings he played on), his brother Lars Burman and their friend Börje Ekberg. Metronome was somewhat of a brave pioneer label, since it was the first Swedish label who made vinyl records, it was the first label that dared to record odd, but soon very popular artists like Owe Thörnqvist, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Fred Åkerström and Pugh Rogefeldt. In the 1950s, Metronome also recorded many famous foreign jazz and pop artists like Stan Getz and James Moody, and the Burman brothers also got the idea to let the American vocal group "Delta Rhythm Boys" record popular songs in Swedish! A weird idea, but a great success, and in Sweden Delta Rhythm Boys are more famous for their version of "Flickorna i Småland" (sung with American accent) than any of their American recordings.

Before I digress anymore, let's listen to Josh White as he sings "House of the rising sun".

Superb!

Have a nice day!

Björn Jakobsson

PERRY COMO: KO KO MO (I LOVE YOU SO)

All right, I can't really say that I'm a Perry Como fan, and I haven't got many Perry Como records in my collection, since frankly I think he is pretty boring. Still, when I found this record, I couldn't resist the nice HMV portrait label. When I listened to the record (recorded in the mid-1950s), I had to admit that I enjoyed this uptempo song and that Perry Como sounds pretty inspired.

Como is accompanied by Mitchell Ayres and his orchestra and the Ray Charles singers - no, not that Ray Charles! If you want to read more about Ray Charles, the leader of the Ray Charles singers, you can visit this rather mean but fun website.

This is also one of the records still in Luleå - hope to get it to Kista (and this blog) in the near future.

All the best!

Björn Jakobsson

COLUMBIA SAXOPHONE SEXTETTE: WHERE THE LANTERNS GLOW

I found this old American Columbia disc from 1919 in the same pile of American records where I found the Matzenauer-Amato record as well as the Harry Lauder record, which I've written about previously. This disc contains two dashing recordings of a saxophone sextette and a piano player. I don't know the names of any of the musicians, and the group's name "Columbia Saxophone Sextette" doesn't really say that much. Nevertheless, this side has a vocal chorus by the singer Henry Burr, and if you want to know more about Henry Burr, click here to read an article written by Tim Gracyk.

"Where the lanterns glow" is actually a medley of the two songs "My Golden Rose" and "Everybody calls me honey", and it is a great example of an early saxophone recording - looooong before Swedish saxophone-based orchestras like "Ingmar Nordströms" and "Rolling Phones" were to begin their recording careers.

Let's listen to Columbia Saxophone Sextette!

Saxophone is sexyphone!

Take care!

Björn Jakobsson.

POVEL RAMEL & FLICKERY FLIES: FARS FABRIK

Those who know me also know that I'm a great admirer of the Swedish legendary entertainer, singer, composer, pianist, comedian, writer, baron (and so on) Povel Ramel. He made his first recording in 1942 and his last 2006. I have written a profile on him some years ago, and you can read it here if you want to know more about this remarkable man in the history of Swedish entertainment. In June 2007, the great artist Povel Ramel passed away, just a couple of days after his 85th birthday.

What would this 78 rpm blog be without a Povel Ramel record? Yes, you're right - absolutely nothing! I've decided to include a Povel Ramel record that isn't one of the most well known: "Fars Fabrik" (="Father's Factory"), an easy-going and playful song about all the different noises different machines created in his father's factory. Povel Ramel sings the song together with the vocal group "Flickery Flies" - a group Ramel worked with for many years in the 1950s and early 1960s. "Flickery Flies" included the alto singer Brita Borg, who also was some kind of a prima donna in the Povel Ramel comedy shows (known as the 'Knäppupp' shows), the tenor Tosse Bark and the bass singer and multi instrumentalist Oscar Rundquist.

Ramel made his first (and today very rare) records on the small label "Scala", before his big breakthrough 1944 with "Johanssons Boogie Woogie Vals" on "HMV". He continued recording for "HMV" until 1952 when he made some records for the newly started Swedish label "Metronome", but he started his own record label "Knäppupp" in 1954. This record from late 1954 is the second release on "Knäppupp".

All right! Time to listen to "Fars Fabrik".

All the best.

Björn Jakobsson.

THE WARPED DISC (MARGARETE MATZENAUER - PASQUALE AMATO: FAVORITA - AH! L'ALTO ARDOR)

Well, now it's time to listen to a wonderful opera duet from the early 1910s (my 'guesstimation' is that this recording was made in 1912 - I might be wrong). The contralto Margarete Matzenauer and the baritone Pasquale Amato will sing the romantic duet "Ah! l'alto Amor" from Donizetti's "La Favorita".

When I transferred the recording to my computer I discovered that the record was a bit warped and the needle was 'skipping' a bit in the track. Not too much, though, it's possible to listen to it, but it was kind of disturbing. What to do? What to do? Well, since the needle couldn't keep up with the track's vertical movement at the speed of 78 rpm, I had two alternatives: increase the needle preasure or record the disc to the computer at a lower speed. Since I'm not to fond of messing with the needle preasure, I tried to record it at 45 rpm instead, but the needle still had problems keeping contact with the track. This called for drastic measures! I recorded the record at 33 1/3 rpm.

Hooray! The skipping tendencies were gone. All right ... at 33 1/3 rpm, it sounds more like a sad whale singing, but there you go.

So, the next step was to raise the pitch and the speed of the recording from 33 1/3 rpm to 78 rpm, that's approximately a raise of 136%. So I did just that.

And this is the result: Listen.

Isn't it delightful? No skipping and a lovely duet by two great singers from the past - what more could you need?

Björn Jakobsson