[78-L] Who was the first . . .

[Royal Pemberton]

The first person I ever knew, who'd recorded on 78 rpm lacquers:  Dad.
   The oldest recording I have of him is from November 1943, on one of
those YOUR MAN IN SERVICE  6 1/2" fibre base Recordiscs.  The Pepsi
bottler (I guess) would have brought round a portable cutter.  Instead
of talking on the record, Dad got the guy to announce 'The Pepsi-Cola
Company is happy to bring you the playing of your soldier son Pete and
his buddies, from Truax Field, Madison, Wisconsin.'   There follows
one chorus of a Charlie Barnet hit of the day, 'Southern fried', with
Dad on lead alto sax.  Two other unknown saxes are audible in the
background.  The disc is very checked and cracked now; I restored it
onto 15 ips tape 20 years ago, and it's since been put onto digital as
well.

I'd briefly met a pianist called Howard Matson (or Mattson) who'd
claimed he'd played and recorded with the Casa Loma Orchestra in the
early 1930s, and that they'd recorded direct to copper!  But nothing I
ever found on the band from that time period listed any other pianist
than Stan Dennis....

As far as anyone who is substantiated as having recorded on 78s, that
would be Hugh Ashley, who died on 4th November last year.  I first met
him in 2004.  He'd made his first records in 1929 for Victor in
Memphis, in a group with his dad.  Ralph Peer produced the sessions,
which were held at the Peabody hotel.

On 4/5/09, melodicmarimba at comcast.net <melodicmarimba at comcast.net> wrote:
> I met the late Sammy Herman, xylophonist extraordinaire, in 1983.
>
>
> Sammy led one helluva recording / broadcasting career from about 1924 -
> 1960, starting with Edison Diamond Discs with the Congo Four, solo sides for
> Victor in 1926, with Andy Sannella's Trio in 1928-29, and on and on. Sammy
> was staff xylophonist at NBC in New York for over thirty years, doing
> broadcasts in the morning, record sides in the afternoon, and society gigs
> in the evening.
>
>
> I play xylophone myself and collect xylophone records, and visited Sammy at
> his home when I was fairly new to record collecting. He was 80 years old at
> the time, sharp as ever, and still playing music professionally. Sammy was
> gracious and hospitable, spending   an entire day with me talking,
> reminiscing, and playing piano.
>
>
> That experience bridged the gap from the past directly to me, connecting me
> somehow to a lineage that seems more tangible as a result. In meeting Sammy
> Herman, I met that musical past face-to-face, so to speak. I cherish the
> memory, and am a better musician due to that special day.
>
>
> Best, David Harvey
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