With the invention of the phonograph cylinder in 1877 (thank you, Mr. Edison) and the gramophone in 1888 (hats off to Emile Berliner), popular music began being recorded and distributed in the late 19th century. Pop crooners, marching bands, barbershop quartets, and comedians had a new way to promote and hopefully profit from their material. Interestingly, phonographic records preceded its best known advertising venue, commercial radio, by several decades. While there are claims of some records selling hundreds of thousands of copies before radio became widely utilized in the early 1920s, sheet music, often of songs performed in theater productions, was the primary staple of the music industry in the early 20th century. In fact, records in that era were generally released to increase sheet music sales.
As technology has progressed (though the compact disc era to iTunes, YouTube, and digital streaming), more of the music from the early 20th century is now more easily accessible than ever before. This article is the first of a three part series on the “Essential Songs of the 1910s and the 1920s.” The determination of what songs are essential is based on simple listening pleasure instead of historical relevance. Archeology has its own rewards, but in the words of modern day philosopher Gretchen Wilson, “We’re here for the party.”
1910. Billy Murray & Haydn Quartet, “By the Light of the Silvery Moon.” The Haydn Quartet were established to record in Edison’s studios and looked like four middle aged white accountants. Billy Murray transitioned from vaudeville and minstrel shows into one of the top pop stars of the era. This is a beautiful performance of what has become an enduring standard. Notably covered by jazz pianist Fats Waller and rock pioneer Little Richard.
1917. Nora Bayes, “Over There.” During War World I, our nation did not want for patriotic anthems. “The Star Spangled Banner,” “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (The Boys Are Marching),” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic” all rotated into the charts, but no anthem struck a chord like the George Cohen penned “Over There.” If you were Nora Bayes or the American Quartet or Enrico Caruso or the Peerless Quartet, you had a #1 hit single with “Over There” in 1917 or 1918. If you were Billy Murray you got stopped at the #5 slot and The Prince’s Orchestra stalled at #6.
1918. Bert Williams, “O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?” Bert Williams was a trail blazer, a black comic who scored big with white audiences in the theater and in music. His signature song was the forlorn “Nobody,” which Williams recorded in 1906 and in 1913. In this comedy number, Williams celebrates an eternity that involves booze, women, and dice. He’s not going to heaven.
1919. Nora Bayes, ”How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree).” Born Eleanor Goldberg, Nora Bayes had over 50 pop hits from 1910 to 1922. This lighthearted number ponders whether sons returning from war will find satisfaction in the family farm or run off for the bright lights of the big cities. No other song asks the musical question, “Who the deuce can parle-vous a cow?”
1920. Al Jolson,” Swanee.” Jolson was the pre-Depression Lithuanian Elvis, scoring over 90 chart hits between 1912 and 1930. “The world’s greatest entertainer” never fretted about over-emoting on stage or on record – he could be pretty hard to take. Can’t fault his instincts though. After hearing this George Gerswhin/Irving Caeser at a party, he took it to the top of the pop charts and beyond. In the words of Gerswhin, the tune “penetrated the four corners of the earth.”
1921. Marion Harris, “I Ain’t Got Nobody.” For her 1921 hit, “I’m a Jazz Vampire,” Harris proclaimed that she, “Went down to the river and stood on the bank/Shook my shoulders and the boats all sank.” She was feeling decidedly less sexy in “I Ain’t Got Nobody,” which sounded terminally disconsolate until Louis Prima made “Just A Gigolo” its perennial tag team partner.
1922. Al Jolson, “Toot Toot Tootsie (Goo’ Bye!).” The name Gus Kahn may not appear on your mental Rolodex too often, but you know the lyricist’s work. In addition to this number, he help pen “It Had to Be You,” “Side by Side,” “Makin’ Whoopee,” “Ain’t We Got Fun?,” and “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby.” Jolson had one of the biggest hits of 1922 with this number and it later was used in a climactic scene in the 1927 film “The Jazz Singer.”
1922. W.C. Handy, “St. Louis Blues.” Handy is often referred to as the “Father of the Blues,” although his music today would be more appropriately classified as jump blues or jazz. “St. Louis Blues” has been recorded as an upbeat dance number, with elements of ragtime and tango rhythms, and as a doleful blues. Bessie Smith had one of her biggest hits, accompanied on cornet by Louis Armstrong, with her 1925 cover.
1923. Bessie Smith, “Down Hearted Blues.” In 1920, Okeh records sold approximately 100,000 copies of “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith. Bessie was not related to Mamie, but record company executives new there was a new commercial market to explore. “Trouble, trouble/I’ve had it all my days,” Bessie sings on this song of unrequited love, her vocal strength belying the sadness of the lyric. Okeh bet right, as this song topped the charts in June of 1923.
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