[78-L] Two singers who cause me pain

[David Lennick]

The flip side of Banana Oil is Ukulele Lady, as I recall. The producers of "The 
Cider House Rules" liked that one enough to want it for the film (and to use my 
transfer of it, which got me a credit and a few bucks).

Totally agree re "Blue Skies". She also recorded as Gloria Geer, Jane Kennedyt, 
Betty Brown, Glory Clark and Marion Ross.

dl

Harold Aherne wrote:
> 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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