[78-L] Frank Luther items on my want-list for decades

[Jack Palmer]

Cary,
    Luther did a good job of imitating Dalhart too.  I had several Luther's 
in my Dalhart collection until I finally developed an ear for Dalhart and 
realized who they were.  I also had several arguments with collectors over 
Luther records which they swore were Dalhart..                  Jack

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Guyotsmith at aol.com>
To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:24 PM
Subject: Re: [78-L] Frank Luther items on my want-list for decades


>
> In a message dated 2/19/2009 11:45:47 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> soundthink at aol.com writes:
>
> Frank  Luther was an extremely talented, prolific artist; unfairly 
> maligned
> by record  collectors, which enabled me to accumulate a good collection of 
> his
> 78s for  very little money. I think I probably have around 50 Luther 
> 78s -a
> drop in the  bucket considering his output, but quite representative of 
> his
> career.
>
> Cary Ginell
>
>
>
>
> Cary, you have stated the case very well.  Unlike so many pioneer 
> recording
> artists whose devotees have worked for years to  gain wide popular 
> acceptance
> for their work, Frank Luther has remained a Johnson  without a Boswell, so 
> to
> speak. His astonishing versatility has made it  virtually impossible to
> succinctly sum up his career. He was one of the most  successful of the 
> early
> hillbilly artists, having more Conqueror 78s on the  country page of 
> mid-1930s Sears
> catalogues than anyone but Gene Autry and making  hit records of songs 
> which
> later became standards. Yet, despite his having been  born and raised on a
> Kansas farm, Frank's formal musical training has caused  generations of 
> country
> chroniclers to look askance at his contributions.
>
> Frank recorded a vast number of popular  dance band vocal choruses, and 
> some
> of those records were major hits of the day  - yet there has been no CD
> reissue specifically highlighting Frank's vocals.
>
> Decca once estimated, in the 1940s, that  85% of the children's records 
> sold
> throughout the English-speaking world were  Frank's. While that figure may 
> be
> somewhat inflated, there is absolutely no  doubt that his two initial 
> Decca
> album sets, "Mother Goose Songs" and "Nursery  Rhymes," plus his classic 
> "Winnie
> the Pooh" and "Babar" albums were huge  sellers. Frank, of course, was
> eventually placed in charge of Decca's recordings  for children, as well 
> as the
> label's religious records and educational product.  The records for kids 
> sold
> extremely well - and yet reissues of vintage  recordings of this sort are
> uncommon. As wonderful as it would be to see a CD  reissue of some of the 
> Frank Luther
> recordings for youngsters, I don't envision  it.
>
> We have grown so everlastingly dependent on  the confounded "charts" to 
> tell
> us what is worthy of reissue and study and what  is not that we are 
> consigning
> a great deal of wonderful music to oblivion. Many  of Frank Luther's 
> country
> records and definitely his records for young audiences  far outsold 
> numerous
> "charted" (how I have grown to despise that term!)  recordings frequently
> reissued on CD.
>
> Some years ago, I had the joy of teaching  what I believe was the only
> college course devoted exclusively to a study of the  work and times of 
> Stephen
> Foster.  The two album sets of Foster  compositions by Frank Luther and 
> Zora
> Layman were played and studied. Many  students requested copies of these
> recordings. I don't think any entertainer  ever captured the spirit of 
> Foster as well as
> Frank did. While I enjoy all his  work, the Foster records represent the
> zenith of Frank's career in my  estimation.
>
> Best wishes to all,
>
> Jonathan
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