[78-L] St Louis Blues?-Chicken-Bert Williams

[Taylor Bowie]

Thanks very much for the info,  Ray.  I'm really surprised that the Prince 
is the first record of the song...I'm not certain but I think it was 
published two or three years before that.  Is it possible that record 
companies didn't quickly catch on as to the merit of the thing?  But at the 
same time I don't think the Prince must have sold all the well,  as I'd 
never before seen it in 40+ years of poking through stacks and boxes of 78s.

BTW,  the Prince was one of about 100 interesting records I bought at an 
estate sale yesterday...about 25 Viva Tonals from 1927-28 (including some 
really odd dance band items I'd never seen) and about 75 mostly one-sided 
and other early Victors,  pre-1918...including a fine recitation on Victor 
called "The Chicken."

The biggest surprise was a one-sided Columbia of Bert Williams doing "I'm 
Tired of Eating in the Restaurants" which seems to be the original issue 
from 1906.  I've seen zillions of his blue Columbias and quite a few of his 
double-sided black labels,  but this one-sider was a first for me.

Taylor B.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "RAY KILCOYNE" <kil at roadrunner.com>
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 3:49 AM
Subject: Re: [78-L] St Louis Blues?


> Looks like you may have the original, Taylor.  Here's what Wikipedia
> lists........
>
> Researcher Guy Marco, in his book Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound in the
> United States, stated that the first audio recording of "St. Louis Blues"
> was by Al Bernard in July 1918 on the record company label 
> Aeolian-Vocalion
> (cat. no. 12148). This is however not true, since Columbia's house band,
> directed by Charles A. Prince, had recorded a released instrumental 
> version
> already in December 1915 (Columbia A5772). Bernard's version may have been
> the first US issue to include the lyrics though. However, by then Ciro's
> Club Coon Orchestra, a group of black American artists appearing in 
> Britain,
> had already recorded a version including the lyrics in September 1917 (UK
> Columbia 699).
> RayK
>
> From: "Taylor Bowie"
>>I just got a very enjoyable 12"  Columbia of Prince's Band playing  the 
>>St.
>> Louis Blues...recorded in December of 1915.
>>
>> I know this is a pretty early record of the tune...can anyone tell me the
>> earliest recorded versions?  I have an Ernest Hare Gennett vocal of it
>> from
>> 1919...there must be earlier vocal versions as well but I don't know what
>> they are.
>
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