[78-L] Solitaire/Cameo mystery music

[David Lennick]

I've mentioned Solitaire here a number of times over the years, and 
occasionally been given bits of information as to the origin of these 
recordings. Art Zimmerman thinks they came out of Boston originally, I believe, 
and the late Robert Angus thought a lot of the classical recordings were taped 
off the CBC. The label seems to have lived on in Canada more prominently than 
in the US through the 50s. I still pick up any Solitaires or their Cameo 
reissues, just to continue to be mystified.

Two cases in point here:

CAMEO 440, a reissue of SOLITAIRE 528.."Music of Irving Berlin and Cole Porter 
+ All Time Musical Hits" by Roy Borden's Orchestra. This is one of the weirdest 
ones I've ever come across. For starters, the labels are reversed, but the 
numbers in the disc (the original Solitaire numbers) are identical! Both sides 
say "528-B" but the music is different on both sides. Each side is unbanded, 
but the selections (not listed anywhere on the labels) are separated, by long 
gaps, about 15 seconds. Everything seems to be taken from radio transcriptions, 
either syndicated or from broadcasts, and the selections begin with a uniform 
"World of Music" theme with a chorus. And there is transcription surface noise 
at the start of several of the selections.

CAMEO 445, a reissue of SOLITAIRE 536.."Hammond Organ and Piano Favourites". 
Note the Canadian spelling of 'favourites', but this is a Canadian pressing. 
Artists identified as "Rodney Davis and Donald Hicks". Stuff like Too Fat Polka 
(identified as Most Fat Polka), Minuet, Stormy Weather, Minute Waltz 
(identified as Linger Awhile)..you get the idea. Shlocky stuff, would make 
great themes for Bob & Ray parodies. And I can clearly hear 78 swish on a 
couple of the tracks.

These discs, and most others, have no fidelity, noisy surfaces, sound as if 
they were cut with an unheated stylus, and all have an E in a diamond in the 
dead wax, which I thought stood for Electro-Vox Studios..which would put them 
in Los Angeles, not Boston. Plus, at various times they reissued masters from 
small labels like Black & White, ARA, Mirror, Universal/VitaCoustic. And 
Boston-based material as well. Their more expensive Manhattan label put out 
some of Gene Austin's late 40s recordings, an Ed McCurdy collection I've never 
been able to source, reissues of some of the Solitaire discs with extra tracks, 
and all sorts of other strange stuff, sometimes pressed on shellac. Some of 
their 78s were double-track discs from Universal stampers, like The Harmonicats.

Very mysterious.

dl