“Audio archeology with James Errington. This time we head back to 1937, a frankly astonishing year for swing in America and France, as well as for classic blues, country, Cuban son, Greek rebetika, and even a couple of things from the UK.”
Time: 6pm GMT, Sunday 22nd January 2023 Place: Cambridge 105 Radio
You can listen to the show on 105fm in Cambridge, on DAB digital across South Cambridgeshire, on the Cambridge 105 website here, or on any good radio apps, or (as the show has already finished) you can play the whole extended version on this handy mixcloud player.
More time-travel to the early days of recorded sound with James Errington. This time we find out about the interminable history of musical snobbery, hear some immensely beautiful, surprisingly thick Edison diamond discs and hear what Al Jolson and Billy Murray are up to.
Centuries of Sound is an independent podcast without any advertising, and it’s only with the support of my patrons that the show can survive. To download full mixes, get early access to the radio podcast, and a get host of other benefits for $5 (or local equivalent) per month (and yearly payment is also now available) please come to https://patreon.com/centuriesofsound
At Centuries of Sound I am making mixes for every year of recorded sound. The download here is only for the first hour of the mix. For the full 3-hour version please come to centuriesofsound.com to stream, or patreon.com/centuriesofsound for downloads and a host of other bonus materials for just $5 per month. This show would not be possible without my supporters on there, so please consider signing up or sharing this with someone who may be interested.
1944 is a big year. It looms large. This isn’t just a recent development either. Listen to these few hours of music and speech and one thing I think you’ll pick up is that everyone is very much stuck in the present. There’s little in the way of nostalgia, there’s hardly any dreaming, everyone seems to be living for the here and the now. Only a couple of years prior “the war” was this imposition on popular culture – now it seems to be the wellspring from which everything goes. Do we need a song about a GI when we’ve got Cecil Gant the G.I. Sing-Sation? There’s this fateful abandon underpinning everything, like they’re saying “here we are, we may get through this, we may not, but for now we’re going to enjoy every moment” and it’s infectious.
You may have also noticed that this mix is called “Part One” – this is perhaps a temporary solution for how sprawling these mixes have become. It’s been increasingly difficult to contain all I would like in a single mix, the materials available are getting altogether too much, but more importantly I have discovered vast radio archives for these years, and have spent much too long digging through them for gems. I must have listened to over a hundred hours of 1944 radio broadcasts. So this time we will have three mixes, and as I prepare myself for 1945 I promise I will try to find a new strategy.
January
(Clip from 1944-03-xx NRK News Of Norway) (Clip from 1944-12-31 MBS News 1944 In Review) 0:00:00 Lester Young et al. – Jammin’ the Blues (Excerpt 1) (Clip of V1 Bomb) (Clips from 1944-12-31 – WOR Year In Review) 0:02:03 Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters – Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive (Clip from Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters – Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive (rejected take)) (Clip from Phantom Lady) 0:04:50 Boyd Raeburn – Hep Boyd (Clip from Arsenic & Old Lace) 0:05:54 Boyd Raeburn – March Of The Boyds (Clips from 1944-12-31 MBS News 1944 In Review) 0:07:37 Lead Belly – Mr. Hitler (Hitler Song) (Clips from 1944-01-04 CBC Matthew Halton The Fall Of Ortona) 0:10:28 Mary Lou Williams – Blue Skies (Clips from 1944-01-09 CBS World News Today) 0:13:00 Lata Mangeshkar – Barsaat Mein Humse Mile Tum (Clips from 1944-01-13 – It’s That Man Again Navy Show) 0:16:07 Billie Holiday – That Ole Devil Called Love (Clips from 1944-01-16 CBS World News Today) 0:19:13 Dinah Washington – Evil Gal Blues (Clip from 1944-01-26 BBC Wynford Vaughn Thomas In Anzio) 0:22:21 Lester Young et al. – Jammin’ the Blues (Excerpt 2)
February
(Clips from 1944-12-31 MBS News 1944 In Review) (Clip from Know Your Ally – Britain) 0:26:50 Arsenio Rodríguez & Su Conjunto – El Pirulero No Vuelve Mas (Clip from 1944-02-01 Fibber Mcgee – diamond ring at cut rate price) (Clip from Laura) 0:30:11 Cootie Williams and His Orchestra – ‘Round Midnight 0:30:30 Cootie Williams and His Orchestra – Seven Eleven (Clip from 1944-02-05 CAN MacArthur At Flag Raising Ceremony On Manila) 0:34:19 Anjos do Inferno – Acontece Que Eu Sou Baiano (Clip from 1944-02-06 CBS World News Today) (Clips from 1944-02-05 NBC Skelly News Of The World) 0:36:16 Gene Autry – Don’t Fence Me In (Clips from 1944-02-06 CBS World News Today) (Clip from Hare Ribbin) 0:39:10 Louis Jordan – Mop! Mop! (Clips from 1944-02-17 – It’s That Man Again RAF edition) 0:42:22 Duke Ellington – Johnny Come Lately (Clips from 1944-02-20 CBS World News Today) (Clip from Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo) 0:45:51 Andrews Sisters – Straighten Up And Fly Right (Clips from 1944-02-27 CBS World News Today) 0:49:44 Miguel Caló – Sans Souci (Clip from 1944-02-29 Crisco Radio News) (Clip from Supervising Women Workers) 0:53:09 Coleman Hawkins – Rainbow Mist
March
(Clips from 1944-12-31 MBS News 1944 In Review) 0:57:00 Lionel Hampton – Hamp’s Boogie Woogie (Clips from 1944-03-02 Abbott and Costello Show – Special Guests Blondie & Dagwood) 1:00:31 Roy Eldridge, Pete Brown, Willie Smith, Flip Phillips, Les Paul, Hank Jones, Benny Fonville, Alvin Stoller – Blues (Clips from 1944-03-05 CBS World News Today) (Clips from 1944-03-12 CBS World News Today) 1:06:10 Jussi Björling – Nessun Dorma (Clips from 1944-03-19 CBS World News Today) (Clip from Arsenic & Old Lace) 1:09:24 Trummy Young and his Lucky Seven – Hollywood (Clip from Double Indemnity) (Clips from 1944-03-24 MBS Special A Night In A Foxhole) 1:13:12 Halim El-Dabh – Wire Recorder Piece (Clips from 1944-03-26 BBC Winston Churchill – On Allied Victories) 1:15:41 Noel Coward – Don’t Let’s Be Beastly To The Germans 1:18:47 Laurence Olivier – Speech from Henry V 1:20:20 Walter ‘Foots’ Thomas All-Stars – Out To Lunch 1:23:09 Wynford Vaughn-Thomas – BBC News Report 1:25:05 Harry The Hipster Gibson – 4-F Ferdinand (Clip from 1944-03-xx NRK News Of Norway)
April
(Clip from 1944-04-02 CBS World News Today) 1:28:24 Olavi Virta – Ennen Kuolemaa (Clips from 1944-04-02 World News Today) (Clip from 1944-12-31 MBS News 1944 In Review) 1:30:44 Sonny Boy Williamson – Win The War Blues (Clip from 1944-04-17 RSH Germany Calling – We Are Waiting for You) (Clip from Lifeboat) 1:35:00 The Mills Brothers – You Always Hurt The One You Love 1:38:16 Wynford Vaughan Thomas – Springtime At Anzio 1:39:02 Andres Segovia – Minuetto (Clip from Ministry of Fear) 1:40:54 The Nat ‘King’ Cole Trio – I Realize Now (Clip from To Have And To Have Not) 1:44:22 Cozy Cole – Just One More Chance (Clips from Double Indemnity) 1:48:08 Oscar Alemán – Polvo De Estrellas (Clip from 1944-04-13 – It’s That Man Again Army Edition) 1:50:10 Tiny Grimes Quintet – Red Cross (Clip from Abbott & Costello Show – Special Guest Dorothy Lamour) 1:53:18 Billy Butterfield & His Orchestra & Margaret Whiting – Moonlight In Vermont
May
(Clip from 1944-12-31 MBS News 1944 In Review) 1:57:07 Josh White – House of the Rising Sun (Clip from 1944-05-05 BBC Richard Dimbleby Watches Airborne Troops) 2:01:04 Charlie Barnet – Skyliner (Clip from 1944-05-13 NBC Skelly News Of The World) 2:04:24 Spike Jones – Leave The Dishes In The Sink, Ma (Clips from 1944-05-17 BBC Godfrey Talbot in Monte Cassino) 2:07:50 Atahualpa Yupanqui – El Arriero (Clip from 1944-05-25 RRG Heinrich Himmler – Vor Der Waffen SS) 2:11:09 Red Foley – Smoke On The Water (Clips from Know Your Ally – Britain) 2:15:00 Cecil Gant – Cecil Boogie (Clips from 1944-05-18 – Suspense Theater – Donovans Brain) 2:19:08 Ethel Smith – Tico Tico (Clips from 1944-05-15 – Sherlock Holmes – Adventure of the Missing Bloodstains) 2:22:14 Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra – Opus No. 1 (Clip from Since You Went Away) 2:25:25 Billie Holiday – No More
June
(Clip from 1944-12-31 MBS News 1944 In Review) 2:28:25 Al Trace Silly Symphonists – Mairzy Doats And Dozy Doats 2:31:25 Judy Garland – The Trolley Song (Clip from Cover Girl) 2:34:35 Louis Prima – Oh Marie (Clip from Abbott & Costello Show – Special Guest Alan Ladd) 2:37:38 Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Strange Things Happening Every Day (Clip from Going My Way) 2:42:04 Sister Ernestine Washington – If I Could Just Make It In 2:44:39 Dylan Thomas – Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines 2:47:02 Erroll Garner All Stars – Gaslight (Clip from Double Indemnity) 2:49:22 Betty Hutton – It Had To Be You (Clip from The Woman In The Window) 2:52:50 Thyagaraja Bhagavatar & Manmatha Leelaya – Haridas (Clip from Gaslight) 2:54:16 The Nat ‘King’ Cole Trio – Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You (Clip from 1944-02-20 CBS World News Today) (Clip from 1944-02-27 CBS World News Today)
Another year is at an end, unfortunately it has been quite an unproductive one for Centuries of Sound as I seem to have become bogged down in the Second World War – in case you were wondering, I consider the main culprit to be the hundreds of hours of original radio recordings which I downloaded and then had to listen to. It was also a difficult year in some other ways I would rather not go into.
I have a plan as to how to reduce working time on mixes and should be able to get back to a one-per-month release schedule. 2023 therefore looks something like this:
10th January – 1944 part 1 6th February – D-Day Special 6th March – 1944 part 2 3rd April – 1945 part 1 1st May – 1945 part 2 5th June – 1946 part 1 3rd July – 1946 part 2 7th August – 1947 part 1 4th September – 1947 part 2 2nd October – 1948 part 1 24th October – Halloween Special 6th November – 1948 part 2 4th December – Christmas Special
Can I get back to a-year-every-month? If I can manage to make this a full-time job for myself, then yes. But no expectation for that to happen within the next 12 months.
I have a new show launching next year called “Texture and Artefact”. It’s a different kind of a show to Centuries of Sound, a combination of personal stories, field recording, interviews and original music, but some of you may be interested, so I will share a couple of episodes on this feed (hope nobody minds) – I am not sure how much overlap it will have with Centuries of Sound in terms of audience, so will try not to mention it too much here unless requested otherwise.
So, see you in 2023 for all of that. In the meantime, here’s a list of the films, books, Youtube channels, podcasts and LPs I’ve consumed in 2022.
Films (watched at cinema)
Alcarràs (2022) **** (Slow, relatively low-stakes story about Catalan farming community, all the better for its scope and pace.) Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) ****** (The third perfect film of the 21st century, endlessly inventive, insightful into human condition, relevant on very personal level for me and my half-Chinese family) The Souvenir Part II (2021) *** (enjoyed but also found it quite self-indulgent and felt I took nothing away at the end, probably would have enjoyed more if I’d seen part 1) She Said (2022) **** (investigative journalism movie has very much been done before, this is more of the same but just done better)
Films (watched at cinema with kids)
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) **½ (fine, I guess.) Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) *** (first minions/DM film I’ve seen, perfectly acceptable) Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022) * (just horrible, every shot seemed to be a misfiring ironic joke, visually repellent, kids seemed to like it)
Films (watched at home)
Carnival (1946) ** Carol (2015) ***½ (particular highlight was all the shots that look like the cover of the first Peter Gabriel album) Chariots of Fire (1981) *** Coronation (2020) ****½ (wasn’t what I was expecting, but visually spectacular boredom plus occasional horror is one of my favourite vibes) Eighth Grade (2018) ****½ (such a brilliant film which captures something real and generally uncovered about being that age at this time) Go Kart Go (1963) *** (anarchic early 60s British kids film, surprisingly dangerous race scenes) Goodfellas ***½ (A quarter of a century after film school I can appreciate Scorcese, but I don’t care for empathising with selfish murderers, I do not share their feelings.) Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) ****½ Lady Bird (2017) ****½ (really personal film about the shifting personas we adopt in early adulthood, characters very complex and believable, very mature work for someone so young) Maps To The Stars (2014) **** (My favourite Cronenberg films teeter on that edge between reality and unreality so long that you begin to see both as equally illusiory, despite its flaws, this is true here.) Match Point (2005) ***½ (a pleasant surprise) Nowhere Special (2020) ***½ (low-key but very much not low-stakes) Promising Young Woman (2020) ** (why didn’t I like this? everything just felt unconvincing, could not forget they were acting, also the ending is extremely glib and badly thought-through) Rebecca (1940) ****½ (third viewing, I am increasingly convinced that Maxim is the real villain) Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987) **** (utter bleakness in the guise of a knockabout sex comedy, only let down by the cop-out ending) Suspicion (1941) **½ (very much D-tier Hitchcock, but evil (OR IS HE?) Cary Crant is worth a look) The Fabulous Dorseys (1947) ** (The Dorsey Brothers, in their mid-40s, play themselves in their mid-20s, and, musical performances aside, they shouldn’t have bothered.) The Magnetic Monster (1953) * (Is it possible to make a horror film where the monster is an immobile piece of grey metal? Not on this evidence.) The Martian (2015) *** (Fails basic suspension of belief, just plain stupid at times, still kind of entertaining) The Power of The Dog **** (very well-crafted and subtle, can even accept Cumberbatch’s American accent) Yesterday * (once again Richard Curtis takes an interesting premise and manages to wring aboulutely zero insights out of it)
Films (watched at home with kids, most have seen many times before)
Addams Family Values (1993) ****½ Beetlejuice (1988) ***½ Big (1998) ***½ eXistenZ (1999) ***** Groundhog Day (1993) ***** Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom (1984) **** Interstellar (2014) **** Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003) **½ Shaolin Soccer (2001) **** (a big hit with both my football-loving son and my football-hating son) Sing (2016) *** Slumdog Millionaire (2008) ***½ Stand By Me (1986) ****½ The Jungle Book (1967) ****
Books
PG Wodehouse – Heavy Weather (1933) **** (amazing that this and Summer Lightning take place within two weeks, such intricate, flawless plotting) Mark Fisher – Capitalist Realism (2009) **** (still essential, wish he were around to give us an update) David Nobbs – Pratt à Manger (2006) **½ (dregs of the Henry Pratt series, still worth reading) Jonathan Coe – Middle England (2018) *** (diminishing returns in the Rotters Club series, some parts excellent, some parts should have been cut) Mervyn Peake – Titus Groan (1946) ****½ (yes, I should have read this years ago, I know) Eric Hobsbawm – Age of Extremes The Short Twentieth Century, 1914-1991 (1994) **** Taylor Downing – 1942: Britain at the Brink (2022) ** (just not what I was looking for here) Terry Teachout – Duke (2013) ** (some parts are excellent, unfortunately spoiled by his bizarre insistence on tutting at Ellington for not being a classical composer) PG Wodehouse – Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935) **** (some of the best Blandings stories, Mr Mulliner stories are fine but not up to same standard) Ted Gioia – The History of Jazz, Second Edition (2021) **½ (interesting as an overview of what the consensus (to be challenged) is, devoting more of the book to Winton Marsalis than all non-US Jazz is pretty inexcusable, also he is very sniffy about free jazz and has apparent contempt for hip-hop) Alex Ross – The Rest Is Noise (2007) ***½ (very good overview of 21st century classical music, which I am still not really into after reading) PG Wodehouse – Lord Emsworth and Others (1937) ***½ (some stories are excellent, not enough Blandings for me though) Louis Menand – The Free World (2021) **** (excellent primer on cold war era culture and thought, have just finished this and am letting it sink in) Edward Joffe – Hancock’s Last Stand (1998) *½ (on Tony Hancock’s last months from someone who was there, would expect any showbiz memoir to be more engaging than this)
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs (Episode 146: “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys) Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown (S12 E10 “Draw The Curtains) Revolutions (10.103 – The Final Chapter) Rex Factor (S3.36 Margaret of Anjou: Biography) RHLSTP with Richard Herring (RHLSTP 409 – Sally Phillips) The Adam Buxton Podcast (Ep.180 – Jarvis Cocker) The Alexei Sayle Podcast (21: Spycops Like Us) The British Broadcasting Century (E57/E58 – 100 Years In 100 Minutes) The British History Podcast (391 – The Battle of Hastings) The Prince (E07 – Wolf Warriors) The Trojan Horse Affair (Part 5: A Study in Scarlett) This American Life (786: It’s A Game Show!) Which Decade Is Top For Pops? (E03 Rockin Berries vs Rubettes vs Nick Kershaw vs The Mreal McCoy vs Geri Halliwell vs Ed Sheeran)
1 Broadcast – 244 scrobbles 2 Art Tatum – 148 3 Miles Davis – 135 4 Bernard Herrmann – 107 5 Toby Fox – 95 (this one is my kids) 6 Astor Piazzolla – 86 7 Benny Moré Y Su Banda Gigante – 83 8 Glenn Gould – 82 9 Frank Sinatra – 74 10 Machito and His Afro-Cuban Salseros – 72 11 Charlie Parker – 61 12 Howlin’ Wolf – 57 13 Jacques Brel – 56 14 Lawrence Winters, Camilla Williams, Inez Matthews, Warren Coleman, Avon Long, J. Rosamond Johnson Chorus – 56 15 Dizzy Gillespie – 54 16 Hank Williams – 54 17 C418 – 53 (this one is my kids) 18 Masaru Satoh – 52 19 Fred Astaire – 51 20 Music of the Magindanao in the Philippines – 51 21 Yma Sumac – 51 22 Akira Ifukube – 48 23 Sarah Vaughan – 48 24 Boston Symphony Orchestra/Munch; New England Conservatory Chorus – 46 25 Elmer Bernstein – 46 26 Fats Domino – 46 27 Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant – 45 28 Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – 42 29 – Broadcast & The Focus Group – 39 30 Elvis Presley – 38
Albums (there were a lot of these – here is a selection of some of my favourites, all have music from the years 1948-1956)
Akira Ifukube – Godzilla OST Art Blakey – A Night at Birdland Astor Piazzolla – Ses Premiers Enregisrements Benny More Y Su Banda Giganta – Grabaciones Completas Bernard Hermann – The Day The Earth Stood Still OST Bo Diddley – The Indispensible Bo Diddley, Vol.1 Four Freshmen – Four Freshmen and Five Trombones Frank Sinatra – In The Wee Small Hours Glenn Gould – The Goldberg Variations J.J. Johnson with Clifford Brown – J.J. Johnson with Clifford Brown Jackson Do Pandeiro – Sua Majestade: O Rei Do Ritmo Jerry Byrd – Early Country & Hawaiian Steel Guitar Classics Les Baxter – The Exotic Moods of Les Baxter Maria Tanase – Malediction d’Amour Mahalia Jackson – Gospels, Spirituals & Hymns Maxima Mejia – Los Grandes Exitos de Maxima Mejia Miles David – The Complete Blue Note Sessions Moondog – Moondog & His Honking Geese Peggy Lee – Black Coffee with Peggy Lee Salum Abdallah & Cuban Marimba – Ngoma Iko Huku Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant – Stratosphere Boogie: The Flaming Guitars of Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant Stan Kenton – New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm Thelonious Monk – Genius of Modern Music Vol 1/2 Various – 1950: The Bomb In The Heart of The Century Various – Africa at 78RPM Various – Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 Various – Blowing The Fuse (Series) Various – Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Hillbilly Music: Country & Western Hit Parade (Series) Various – Forgotten Guitars from Mozambique Various – London is the Place For Me: Trinidadian Calypso in London, 1950-1956 Various – Music of the Magindanao in the Philippines Various – OHM+: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music Various – Township Jazz ‘n’ Jive Various – The Complete Sun Singles Various – The Doo Wop Box Various – The Pig’s Big 78s Various – Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 1: Mondo Exotica Yma Sumac – Mambo!
This year’s Christmas show features me as usual, presenting a selection of Christmas music from the 1920s and 1930s, joined by my son Theo to share opinions and commentary.
You can have listened to the show on 105fm in Cambridge, on DAB digital nationwide, on the Cambridge 105 website here, or on any good radio apps. Or if you want to listen at a time which is not 6pm on Christmas day, a Mixcloud player with an extended cut of the show is available below. Merry Christmas!
This is a mix of original Christmas-related records and radio broadcasts from 1939 to 1945. It’s also available as a compilation CD for supporters on Patreon here – https://www.patreon.com/posts/76151409
0:00:00 Bernard Herrmann – Snow Ride (1942) 0:00:41 Bing Crosby – White Christmas (1942) 0:03:48 Jimmy Durante – Clip from Christmas Show (1944) 0:04:20 Lionel Hampton – Gin For Christmas (1939) 0:06:48 King George VI – The Royal Christmas Message (1939) 0:07:08 Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney – Hollywood Christmas Parade (1940) 0:08:36 Claude Thornhill – Snowfall (1941) 0:11:32 Winston Churchill – The White House Christmas Tree (1941) 0:11:57 Franklin D. Roosevelt – Christmas Broadcast (1941) 0:12:14 Woody Herman & His Orchestra – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (1942) 0:14:49 Mayor of The Town – Clip from ‘A Christmas Carol’ (1942) 0:14:53 Christmas with The Eighth Army (1942) 0:16:18 Flanagan & Allen – There’s A Boy Coming Home On Leave (1940) 0:18:52 Fibber McGee and Molly – Listening to Christmas Carols (1942) 0:19:45 Glenn Miller Orchestra – Jingle Bells (1941) 0:22:53 Amos and Andy – Clip from Annual Christmas Show (1942) 0:23:41 Heavenly Gospel Singers – When Was Jesus Born? (1941) 0:26:49 The Andrews Sisters – Sing (1943) 0:29:52 Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters – Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1943) 0:32:31 Columbia Workshop Theatre – Clip from “The Plot To Overthrow Christmas” (1944) 0:32:40 Bob Crosby – The Skaters Waltz (In Swingtime) (1939) 0:35:27 Billy Mills & The Orchestra – Jingle Bells (1944) 0:37:05 Erroll Garner with Columbia Workshop Theatre – Great Christmas (1944) 0:41:12 Jimmy Durante – Clip from Christmas Show (1944) 0:41:30 Spike Jones & His City Slickers – Jingle Bells (1944) 0:44:19 Ken Derby & The Kings Men – The Night Before Christmas (1944) 0:50:53 The Mills Brothers – I’ll Be Home For Christmas (1944) 0:53:04 King George VI – The Royal Christmas Message (1944) 0:53:22 Lead Belly – Christmas Song (1943) 0:56:01 Amos And Andy – Clip from Christmas Show With Andy As Santa (1944) 0:56:13 Fats Waller – Swingin’ Them Jingle Bells (1944) 0:58:54 NBC Studio Orchestra – Clip from Amos & Andy Christmas Show (1944) 1:00:19 Dinah Shore – I’ll Walk Alone (Through Every Christmas) (1944) 1:03:02 Life of Riley – Clip from ‘Roswell’s a Guest for Christmas’ (1944) 1:03:21 Kenny Baker, Karen Kemple and Alexander Smallens – Hail To Christmas (1944) 1:05:52 Vick’s Matinee Theatre – A Stable in Bethlehem Pennsylvania (1944) 1:06:06 Tex Ritter – Christmas Carols By The Old Corral (1945) 1:08:27 Life of Riley – Clip from ‘Roswell’s a Guest for Christmas’ (1944) 1:08:56 Judy Garland – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (1944)
This compilation of Christmas recordings spans the early years of electronic recording, the explosion of radio, sound films and newsreel, the end of the roaring thirties and the great depression.
I’m presenting this in two formats – a mix, which is on my main feed at centuriesofsound.com and as a compilation, which is only available to patrons. Join my patreon at patreon.com/centuriesofsound and get a load of bonus content like this, as well as helping this site to survive in these very difficult times.
Here is the tracklist, the same for both versions.
00:40 The Savoy Orpheans – Radio Christmas (1926) 03:46 Adolph Miles – Adeste Fideles (1926) 07:03 Chor Sw. Lucji – Pasterka (Wesola Nowine) (Christmas Eve At Church) (1927) 10:10 Richard Tauber – O Sanctissima (O Du Frohliche) (1929) 12:51 Andrej Pelak – Pospešte Sem Pastuškovia (Hasten, Shepherds) (1930) 16:00 Joe Gumin And His Orchestra – Jingle Bells (The One-Horse Open Sleigh) (1931) 19:20 Popeye The Sailor – Seasin’s Greetinks (1933) 19:26 Ozzie Nelson Orchestra – Christmas Night In Harlem (1934) 22:23 Laurel & Hardy – Clip From Babes In Toyland (1934) 22:33 Paul Whiteman Orchestra – Christmas Night In Harlem (1934) 25:55 Shirley Temple – Clip From Bright Eyes (1934) 26:55 Harry Reser And His Orchestra – Jingle Bells (1934) 29:30 Franklin Delano Roosevelt – White House Christmas Tree Lighting Clip (1935) 29:49 Bing Crosby With Victor Young And His Orchestra – Silent Night (1935) 32:49 Victor Novelty Orchestra – Christmas Eve (Fantasie) (1935) 35:50 British Movietone – Merry Christmas (1935) 36:26 The Chapel Quartet – Oh, Little Town Of Bethlehem (1936) 39:31 Hoosier Hot Shots – Jingle Bells (1936) 42:30 Edith Fellows & Jackie Moran – Clip From And So They Were Married (1936) 42:45 The Madrigal Sisters & Lehman Engel – Jingle Bells (1937) 44:27 Mae Questel (The Betty Boop Girl) – I Want You For Christmas (1937) 47:10 Michel Warlop – Christmas Swing (+ Django Reinhardt & Louis Vola) (27-12-1937) 49:58 Andy Hardy & Family – Christmas Greetings (1938) 51:22 Swing And Sway With Sammy Kaye – (Don’t Wait ’til) The Night Before Christmas (La Vispera De Navidad) (1938) 54:06 Reginald Owen – Clip From A Christmas Carol (1938) 54:47 Silly Symphonies – The Night Before Christmas (1933)
In this festive edition of Centuries of Sound, audio curator James Errington is joined by his son Theo to check out some Christmas records from the years 1902 to 1924. We have choirs, carols, brass bands, and of course a selection of bizarre novelty Christmas wax cylinders for your Christmas evening listening.
At Centuries of Sound I am making mixes for every year of recorded sound. Please come to patreon.com/centuriesofsound for downloads and a host of other bonus materials for just $5 per month. This show would not be possible without my supporters on there, so please consider signing up or sharing this with someone who may be interested.
At Centuries of Sound I am making mixes for every year of recorded sound. Please come to patreon.com/centuriesofsound for downloads and a host of other bonus materials for just $5 per month. This show would not be possible without my supporters on there, so please consider signing up or sharing this with someone who may be interested.
00:36 Harry E. Humphrey – Santa Claus Hides In Your Phonograph 03:53 Choir Of The Royal Court Opera With Orchestra And Church Bells, Acc. Harmonium, Bells – Silent Night, Holy Night 06:43 Gilbert Girard – Santa Claus Tells of Mother Goose Land 08:19 Band – Christmas Memories 12:17 Nebe-Quartett – O Tannenbaum 14:07 Albert Whelan – Scrooge’s Awakening 16:20 Edison Concert Band – Bells Of Christmas 20:31 Thomas Edison – Mr. Edison’s Christmas Greetings 24:41 George Hamilton Green Novelty Orchestra – Moonlight Waltz 28:12 George Islon – Christmas Eve In The Old Homestead 30:42 Edison Mixed Quartet – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 33:43 Metropolitan Quartet – Christmas, Christmas, Blessed, Blessed Day 37:10 Bransby Williams – The Street Watchman’s Christmas 41:05 Edison Concert Band And The Edison Mixed Quartet – Ring Out The Bells For Christmas 45:16 Carol Singers – Joy To The World 47:42 Yolande Noble And Percy Clifton – Buying The Christmas Dinner 49:56 Robert Gayler – Christmas Eve- a Fantasie On Old German Christmas Carols 52:53 Manuel Romain – Christmas Time Seems Years And Years Away 54:50 Harry E. Humphrey – The Night Before Christmas 58:11 Elizabeth Spencer, Harry Anthony And James F. Harrison – Silent Night
In this very special episode of Centuries of Sound, sound curator James Errington plays a selection of Halloween-themed recordings from the acoustic recording era, prior to 1927. Be ready for ghosts, skeletons, vampires, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, “The Goose Bone Man” and Mr Halloween himself, Aleister Crowley
Centuries of Sound is an independent podcast without any advertising, and it’s only with the support of my patrons that the show can survive. To download full mixes, get early access to the radio podcast, and a get host of other benefits for $5 (or local equivalent) per month (and yearly payment is also now available) please come to https://patreon.com/centuriesofsound
