[78-L] Two singers who cause me pain

[Harold Aherne]

Vic Damone's initials might also cause someone to chlam up!
 
But seriously, Vaughn DeLeath is one of the shining jewels of the American record
industry, and I've never heard a recording by her that I didn't like. Not all of her material
was equally good, of course, but she always gave it everything she had, and I *highly*
recommend this entry on Jeff Cohen's blog:
 
http://vitaphone.blogspot.com/2006/11/soul-of-adventuress.html
 
I enjoy all the recordings on that page that I've listened to so far, especially her inimitable
rendition of "He's So Unusual". The 1929 Grey Gull (or maybe Van Dyke?) of "Singin'
in the Bathtub" doesn't have quite as good of an accompaniment as you'd find on the 
bigger labels, but I find her interpolation "a rainbow FROM me" instead of "a rainbow
TO me" absolutely side-splittingly hilarious, and we'll never know if it was intentional.
 
"Lonely Lights Upon the Shore" at the bottom of the page is great too. I also love
"Banana Oil" (Columbia, April 1925, where she shows off a bit of comic vocalising) and 
the OKeh of "Blue Skies" from January 1927. The latter two can be heard at
http://www.jazz-on-line.com/pageinterrogation.php
Vaughn's "Blue Skies" is simply one of the vocal masterpieces of the 20s and all
eras--there's an almost aching sense of recherche du temps perdu with the combination
of the lyrics, her voice, the clean OKeh recording, and the spoken interlude. Her voice
isn't always technically flawless, but I've learned that character and likability are just as
(or more) important, and that's why I love Vaughn DeLeath.
 
-Harold
 


--- On Fri, 4/3/09, Taylor Bowie <bowiebks at isomedia.com> wrote:

From: Taylor Bowie <bowiebks at isomedia.com>
Subject: [78-L] Two singers who cause me pain
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Date: Friday, April 3, 2009, 8:43 PM

I can listen to and enjoy a lot of different music and singers,  ranging 
from JW Myers to Layne Staley.

There are two 1920s singers who each made and sold a lot of records,  and 
who I have tried to listen to for years and just can't understand how and 
why they were so popular.   There are lots of horrible vocals on stray dance 
band records by various unknowns,  but these two were very well known to the 
radio listening public and to record buyers.

One is Vaughn De Leath.   The other is Maurice J. Gunskey.  I just tried to 
listen all the way through his Viva Tonal version of How Am I To Know...a 
wonderful song...and I couldn't stand it.  How could anyone in 1929 have 
gone for his so out-of-date r-r-r-r-r-olling of his r-r-r-r-rs?  And an 
ugly,  small voice to go with the mannerisms.

De Leath is an even bigger mystery to me...a flat and unmusical sound to her 
voice,  and she was frequently guilty of some of the worst attempts at being 
"jazzy" that I've ever heard.  I sometimes think she is actually
a sheep who 
has somehow learned to sing in English but at any moment might revert to 
"Ba-a-a-a-a"-ing in her native tongue.

So many others took me a while to appreciate:  Irving Kaufman,   Sid Garry, 
Lee Morse,  Scrappy,  etc.  But nothing seems to work with Maurice or Vaughn 
(note what her initials spell...maybe that's part of the problem)

I don't like all singers equally but I can certainly see what's what
with 
most of them,  even if I don't seek out their records.  But these 
two....what's up with them?  Any fans of either who could suggest some of 
their better disks?


Thanks from

Taylor


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