[78-L] Lee Wiley/Liberty Music Shop

Wed Jan 27 19:45:23 PST 2010

Buddy Morrow.

Don

> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:39:15 -0500
> From: dlennick at sympatico.ca
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Lee Wiley/Liberty Music Shop
> 
> 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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