May 31 in Gennett History…

1922: Homer Rodeheaver recorded “Mother’s Prayers Have Followed Me” in New York City.  The recording appeared on Gennett 4897 & 4915, Herwin 75512, Rainbow 1010, and Silvertone 4915. 

1928: Julia Johnson recorded “Hard Headed Daddy” in Richmond.  It appeared on Gennett 6519 and featured Johnson (vox) and Lowell Bolan (piano).  

1930: J. Walter Fewkes, the Chief of the Bureau of Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institute passed away. Fewkes supervised Gennett’s field recordings of the Hopi Indians at the El Tovar Hotel near the Grand Canyon. One of the recordings featured Kutqa,Chief of Walpi Pueblo performing “Mucaiasti Katcina (Buffalo Hunt).” It appeared on Gennett 5758. 

May 29 in Gennett History…

Happy Memorial Day from Gennett Records!  On May 28, 1928, Carl Fenton and His Orchestra recorded “Stars and Stripes Forever” in NYC.  They recorded under the moniker of the Gennett Military Band or in the case of the recording below, the Supertone Military Band.  It appeared on Gennett 6561, Beacon 7003, Champion 15520, Silvertone 8288, and Supertone 9105.  The Champion issue sold 3,188 copies between 1928 and 1930 (and 2 copies in 1931). 

1922: Bailey’s Lucky Seven recorded “Rock Me in My Swanee Cradle” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 4903 and Starr-Gennett 9259 and featured Phil Napoleon (tpt). 

1925: The Blue Beaver Orchestra recorded “When the Eyes of Blue Are Fooling You” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 3080. 

May 28 in Gennett History…

1926: The Blackbirds of Harmony recorded “So’s Your Old Man” in NYC.  The recording appeared on Gennett 3333 and Gennett 3831.  It featured Perry Bradford and Gus Horsley.  

1928: Bailey’s Lucky Seven recorded “Wait’ll You See My Gal” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 5471 and Starr-Gennett 9560 and featured Phil Napoleon & Earl Oliver (tpt), Miff Mole (tb), Frank Signorelli (pn), Jack Roth (d), and others.  

1928: Harrison and Hollinshead recorded “Just As the Sun Went Down” in NYC.  It appeared on Champion 15606 (2,349 copies sold), Silvertone 8241, and Supertone 9146 and featured Charles Harrison (v) and Mr. Hollinshead. 

1928: Byron Harlan recorded “Uncle Josh at the Cafeteria” in NYC.  It appeared on Champion 15607 & 33003, Silvertone 8303, and Supertone 9128 and featured Harlan (v). 

1928: Douglas Stanbury recorded “Silver Threads Among the Gold” in NYC.  It appeared on Supertone 9150, Silvertone 8249, and Angelus 3094 and featured Stanbury (v). 

1928: Gennett made its feeling known about Jerry White’s recording of “Crying for You” in NYC.  On the recording card not only did it note the rejection, but added the editorial “Dog” in the comments section.  Poor Jerry White.  

1930: The Murphree Hartford Quartette recorded “Oh How It Hurt” in Richmond.  It appeared on Gennett 7268 and Champion 16033 (~700 sold).  Gennett sent the Champion royalties to Eugene M. Bartlett. 

May 27 in Gennett History…

1921: Margaret McKee recorded “Our Favorite Bird Songs – Parts I and II” in NYC.  The recording appeared on Gennett 4737. It featured McKee (whistle) and Arthur J. Lyons (v).

1922: The Taylor Trio recorded “In Maytime I Learned to Love” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 4889 and Starr-Gennett 9255. 

May 26 in Gennett History…

1921: Lanin’s Roseland Orchestra recorded “Just Like a Rainbow” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 4732, Starr-Gennett 9136, and Connorized 3037. 

1922: Ladd’s Black Aces recorded “Lonesome Mama Blues” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 4886 and Starr-Gennett 9258. The recording featured Phil Napoleon (c), Miff Mole (tb), Jimmy Lytell (cl), Frank Signorelli (p), and Jack Roth (d).

1922: Homer Rodeheaver recorded “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” in Richmond. It appeared on Rainbow 1001 and featured Homer Rodeheaver (tb & v) and Bob Matthews (pn). 

1924: Tom Morrison’s Irish Orchestra recorded “Tenpenny Bit” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 5477 and featured Morrison (f) and  Miss McGoldrick (pn). 

1925: The Tremaine Brothers recorded “My Mother’s Humming Lullaby” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 3071. 

1930: The Wellington Trio recorded “Hallelujah All the Way” in Richmond.  It appeared on Champion 16078 (~1,300 copies sold) and Supertone 9728 and featured Frank Welling (v & sg), Thelma Welling (v), and John McGhee (v & g). 

1936: Dick Robertson and his Orchestra recorded “A Waltz Was Born in Vienna” in NYC.  It appeared on Champion 40117 and Decca 3707 and featured Robertson (v). 

May 25 in Gennett History…

1921: Flo Bert recorded “All By Myself” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 4731, Starr-Gennett 9135, and Connorized 3003 and featured Bert (v). 

1923: Howard Lanin’s Arcadia Orchestra recorded “I Cried for You (Now Its Your Turn to Cry over Me)” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 5167 and Starr-Gennett 9399.  A note on the recording card simply stated, “RUSH.”   

1927: Vernon Dalhart recorded “Lindbergh (The Eagle of the USA)” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 6169, Challenge 369, Champion 15286, Herwin 75555, Silvertone 5087, Silvertone 8144, Silvertone 25087, and Supertone 9238. The Champion issue sold 3,673 copies in 1927 and 1928.  

May 24 in Gennett History…

1922: Henry Moeller recorded “Sorter Miss You” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 10062 and Starr-Gennett 9264 and featured Moeller (v), Thomas Griselle (pn), and Ruth Stickney (vn). 

1926: Porter Grainger’s Jubilee Singers recorded “Wish I Had-A Died in Egypt Land” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 3349, Silvertone 3837, and Bell 1163 and featured Bert Howell (v), Perry Bradford (v), Gus Horsley (v), and Porter Grainger (pn). 

1927: Johnny Ringer’s Rosemont Orchestra recorded “Buffalo Rhythm” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 6183, Gennett Rayo 40112, and Champion 15304 (607 copies sold) and featured Sammy Castin (tpt), Gus Fretterer (as/cl), Bill King (ts/cl), Harry Radford (pn), Pete Epelitto (bjo), and Johnny Ringer (d). 

1930: Carl Zoeller and His Melodists recorded “To My Mammy” in Richmond.  It appeared on Gennett 7215 and Champion 16019.  Champion 16019 sold approx. 900 copies between 1930 and 1932. The track featured Johnny Schafer (v).  

1974: Duke Ellington passed away. Ellington recorded several sides as both a leader and sideman in Gennett’s NYC facility, including “If You Can’t Hold The Man You Love” recorded on March 30, 1926 in NYC. It appeared on Gennett 8010 and Buddy 3291.

May 23 in Gennett History…

1922: Baileys Lucky Seven recorded “Kicky-Koo (You for Me – Me for You)” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 4887, Starr-Gennett 9256, Apex 473, and Velvet Face 1054 and featured Phil Napoleon (tpt). 

1924: Members of the New York Philharmonic recorded “Introductory Music: (a) Little Miss Muffet, (b) Bells, (c) Little Miss Petticoat, (d) Night and Day, (e) The Wind, (f) The Cobbler” in NYC.  It appeared on Ginn Music Appreciation G3-A and was under the direction of Henry Hadley. 

1928: Vic Price and his Orchestra recorded “Everywhere You Go” in NYC. It appeared on Silvertone 8046 (The Sherman Sundodgers) and featured Jerry White (v), Leo McConville (tpt), Larry Abbott (as/cl), and Frank Marvin (bjo).  

1928: Vernon Dalhart and Carson Robison recorded “When The Sun Goes Down Again” in NYC.  It appeared on Champion 15583, Silvertone 8144, and Superior 2546, and Supertone 9238.  Champion 15583 sold 5,251 copies between 1928 and 1932. 

May 22 in Gennett History…

1924: Members of the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Henry Hadley recorded “Rhythmic Instrumental Folk Songs: (a) Harvest Dance, (b) Shoemaker’s Dance, (c) Folk Dance, (d) Polka Harlequin” in NYC.  It appeared on Ginn Music Appreciation G2-A.

1926: Lt. Felix Ferdinando and Orchestra recorded “Valencia” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 3328 & S-3357, Champion 15109 (4,954 copies sold), Challenge 129, and Aco G-15936.

1928: Vernon Dalhart recorded “The Death of Floyd Collins” in NYC. It appeared on Champion 15048, Silvertone 8134, and Supertone 9227. The Champion issue sold 6,292 copies between 1926 and 1930.

From wikipedia re: Floyd Collins: On January 30, 1925, while trying to discover a new entrance to the system of underground caves that were a popular tourist attraction in Kentucky, Collins became trapped in a narrow crawl way 55 feet (17 m) below the surface. The reports about efforts to save Collins became a nationwide newspaper sensation and among the first major news stories to become a major sensation on the new technology of amateur radio. After four days during which Collins could be brought water and food, a collapse in the cave closed the entrance passageway to everything except voice contact. Collins died of exposure, thirst, and starvation after about fourteen days underground, three days before a dug rescue shaft could reach his position. Collins’ body was recovered two months later. 

May 21 in Gennett History…

1926: Lt. Felix Fernandino’s Dance Orchestra recorded “I May Be Dancing with Somebody Else” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 3326, Champion 15109 (4,954 sold), Beltona 1082, Challenge 137, Coliseum 1926, and Guardsman 1949 and featured Chas. Gordon (v). 

1928: The Happiness Boys recorded “Bridget O’Flynn” in NYC.  It appeared on Gennett 6492, Champion 15519 (1,641 copies sold), Silvertone 8030, and Supertone 9280 and featured Billy Jones (v) and Ernest Hare (v). 

1929: Patterson, Caplinger, & The Dixie Harmonizers recorded “Gonna Raise a Ruckus Tonight” in Richmond.  It appeared on Gennett 6872, Champion 15770 (2,400 copies sold), and Supertone 9473 and featured Warren Caplinger (v & g) and Andy Patterson (v & f). 

1930: The Tweedy Brothers recorded “Home Brew Rag” in Richmond.  The recording appeared on Gennett 7240, Champion 16048, Champion 33056, Superior 2784, and Supertone 9748.  Champion 16048 sold approx. 3,500 copies between 1930 and 1933. The recording featured Harry Tweedy (f & v) and Charles W. Tweedy (p & v).