[78-L] Lee Wiley/Liberty Music Shop

[Royal Pemberton]

Muni Zudekoff?  Buddy Morrow.

On Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 3:39 AM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>wrote:

> The Lee Wiley Gala labels have GALA in block letters, like many of the
> hard-edged Dwight Fiske discs. Willie Howard and Belle Baker's albums have
> GALA
> in Olde English style. Both Willie and Belle's albums have marquee artwork
> on
> the cover and both are conducted by Harley Dainger (whoever he be). Belle's
> album, btw, credits a guest appearance by the world's greatest trombonist,
> Muni
> Zudekoff (bonus points for anyone who identifies him). Willie's album is
> Gala
> #1, discs 1000/2. Belle's album is #3, discs 1006/8. I don't know what
> album #2
> is and for that matter, I've never found the Belle Baker album complete.
> Belle's matrices are 103/108, Willie's matrices are 115/120 and were cut at
> two
> different studios! #119 is clearly Reeves while the others look as if they
> were
> cut at Schmuyle's Record-Your-Voice booth on Coney Island (or by Timely)
> and
> the matrix numbers are machine-cut  with each "1" facing the wrong way, but
> the
> numbers are not reversed. Willie's album says "Novelty Record Company" on
> the
> labels. Belle's..no such credit. Rust says "c. 1940" for Belle and doesn't
> list
> Willie at all. The liner notes to Willie's album refer to him as "now the
> star
> of the Broadway hit, 1942 Priorities". The Belle Baker album has no notes.
>
> And now I see David Diehl with a review of the Willie Howard album and
> "Favorite Mfg Co"! I think Gala got their stuff cut and pressed wherever
> they
> could.
>
> Back to Lee. The Gala album has a maroon spine and says "Rodgers and Hart -
> Lee
> Wiley - Gala Album". No number. Inside liner has notes by Ernie Anderson
> and
> photos of Mr. Kaminsky, Mr. Bushkin, Miss Wiley and Mr. Freeman, in dark
> blue
> print on white background. The cover is that hideous underwater thing that
> Ted
> Ono also used on Devil's Music DM 6003 except that on Ted's, the print is
> black
> and sepia and on Gala, bluish monochrome. Same cover as on
>
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B00009QGDZ/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1
> but I can't read the red letters under the pianist's right hand on what may
> be
> the Rabson's Music Box album.
>
> If the Gala album was pressed in 1944, I wonder why Paul Wetstein's name
> wasn't
> changed to Paul Weston? The "through courtesy of Tommy Dorsey" credit still
> appears on the labels. Weston was on his own by then.
>
> dl
>
> Thomas Stern wrote:
> > Billboard Music Year Book, 1944 lists Lee Wiley recording for Commodore
> and Gala
> >           Sep 28 1946 advert directed to juke box operators Gala 1020
> 1021  Nan Blakstone with Artie Fields and his Orchestra
> >           various mentions of Gala up to 1952
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
> > [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com]On Behalf Of Michael Biel
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 8:57 PM
> > To: 78-L Mail List
> > Subject: Re: [78-L] Lee Wiley/Liberty Music Shop
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks for the help.  I would really like to find an exact recording
> > date for the Music Box recordings but early early Feb could be possible.
> >  These two albums were reviewed together in April 1940's American Record
> > Guide: "Liberty evidently set a precedent when it brought out the
> > Gershwin album for shortly thereafter Rabson issued the Rodgers and
> > Hart."  The two reviews that followed on that page are for Rodgers'
> > R&Hart Columbia C-11 and Pinocchio RCA P-18.
> >
> > Han Enderman wrote:
> >>> Was the Rabsons' release also issued in 1940, parallel with Gala? Label
> is not in ARLIE.
> >>> The Music Box Album is pres. identical to the Gala Album.
> >
> > My research shows that it is obvious that the original issue was Music
> > Box. Since it seems the Gala discs are also numbered 1-4, they might be
> > the first Gala issue.  When did Gala go into business?
> >
> >>> And Rabson is incorrect; label name is Music Box, released by Rabsons'
> Music Shop.
> >
> > I've seen the records and have photographed them.  Yes the label name on
> > the Rodgers and Hart is Music Box, and the store which commissioned
> > them, and whose name IS on the label, is "Rabson's Music Shop, 111 West
> > 52nd St. New York City".  It is easy to miss the label name Music Box at
> > the top of the label when the store name and address takes up most of
> > the lower half!
> >
> >> I'm pretty sure the Gala issue is later. Both sets appear to be
> Decca-type pressings.
> >
> > This seems to be the only issue that Rabson made on Music Box.  There is
> > no indication as to what distribution they had to other stores beyond
> > their own store, likewise Liberty Music Shop and Gramophone Shop
> > Varieties.  We know that Commodore was widely distributed.  Geoffrey
> > Wheeler can probably provide the answer.  The reason I bring this all up
> > is because the Gala issue might be a replacement for national
> > distribution.
> >
> >> I have both but the Music Box is in a substitute
> >> album, so no info from the liner of that one.
> >
> > I can send the photos of the cover and liner notes.  Also, the cover is
> > one of the alternate photos on the Amazon page for the CD, Vol 3. except
> > that the two Music Box copies I photographed had a binding with vertical
> > candy striped pink and purple cloth binding rather than the black
> > pebbled paper that is in the photo, and the title printing is a much
> > darker red-purple.  What does the Gala cover look like?  Is this photo
> > really the Gala, not the Music Box?
> >
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B00009QGDZ/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1
> >
> >>> All Galas (1-4) state "Recorded by Ernie Anderson".
> >
> >> As for LMS, my set consists of 3 laminated pressings and one
> >> non-laminated, and get this..Ernie Anderson's name appears
> >> on the laminated pressings only!   dl
> >
> > Interesting.  Makes it seem obvious that the non-laminated are later,
> > and the pressings I saw at R&H were laminated with Ernie's credit.
> >
> > Thanks for the discographical info, making it obvious the Liberty
> > session was earlier than the Columbia sessions with Rodgers, but that
> > Columbia was blindsided when the plans also included a R&Hart album
> > issued simultaneously if not earlier.
> >
> > Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
> >
> >
>
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