Louisiana Five - Odd Sizes and Rarities

I have expressed my fondness for The Louisiana Five, that early recording jazz band, elsewhere in this blog, when I posted their Edison Diamond Disc sides. My warm feelings for this band are, as I stated earlier, are possibly out of balance with the actual musical value of the ensemble. But, again, my admiration for New Orleans clarinetist Alcide "Yellow" Nunez makes me rate this band very highly. 

The Louisiana Five recorded for several labels - most extensively for Emerson, but also for Columbia, Edison, Okeh, and probably for Little Wonder. The two sides made for Okeh are probably the band's rarest recordings. At the time they recorded for Okeh, in May, 1919, the label was still issuing records in the vertical "hill and dale" format to avoid violating the Victor / Columbia lateral record patents. Luckily, my turntable will handle vertical records as well as the more common lateral format. Of course, Okeh issued their two Louisiana Five sides on two different records backed by different bands. I have only been able to track down one of these issues - but here is "After All," an extremely rare track by the band. It is available elsewhere on the internet, but I think my transfer is better. The song is 1919 pop offering written by Lee Roberts and Will Callahan. The section the band plays from 1:15 to 1:59 sounds like a different song. Record companies often had their artists interpolate unrelated songs into their recordings as medleys; I'm guessing that's what happened here, but I don't know what the interpolated song is.

Most of the Louisiana Five's records were made for Emerson. Victor Emerson's label issued records in a variety of sizes, apparently adopting a "let's throw a bunch of stuff against the wall and see what sticks" attitude. So we have Louisiana Five Emerson records in 7", 9", 10", and 12" formats. The most well-known LP reissue of Louisiana Five's Emerson recordings (on the Fountain label) features eight of the 9" records, including take two of "Heart Sickness Blues." I have included take one of that tune from the 78 RPM record. It's quite similar to take two, but I thought it might be of interest for folks to hear the alternate take.

It also might be interesting to compare the 9" version of "Heart Sickness Blues" to the 7" version. Nine of the Louisana Five's sides were issued on unusual 7" size records by Emerson, with a playing time of about two minutes per side. I've included three of them here. For whatever reason, the seven-inchers were issued under the name Frisco Five. 

Emerson also issued one 12-inch record by the Louisiana Five. One side features "Yelping Hound Blues," which they also recorded around the same time for Edison. The other side is another then-current ragtime/pop song which the band did not record elsewhere. Each side interpolates a second tune, as shown below. Again, these sides can be found elsewhere on the web, but they are still rare enough to make it worthwhile to post them here.

Finally, we have a recording for the odd Little Wonder label, the first "budget" record label. As I have explained elsewhere in this blog, Little Wonder made five-inch, one-sided records which sold in dime stores for ten cents. Little Wonder's recordings were invariably made at Columbia sessions, and it is thought that "Hello Hello" was recorded at the session which produced "Slow and Easy" for Columbia - the only Louisiana Five session on which they added a cornet.

The personnel on all cuts is:

Alcide "Yellow" Nunez - clarinet

Charlie Panelli - trombone

Joe Cawley - piano

Karl Berger - banjo

Anton Lada - drums

On "Hello Hello," Doc Behrendson is added on cornet.

After All (Okeh 1200 [vertical]) - recorded c. May, 1919

Heart Sickness Blues (Emerson 9150 [9" record]), take one - recorded c. December, 1918

Heart Sickness Blues (Emerson 7481 [7" record]) - recorded c. December, 1918

A Good Man is Hard to Find (Emerson 7481 [7" record]) - recorded c. December, 1918

Church Street Sobbin' Blues (Emerson 7517 [7" record]) - recorded c. March, 1919

Yelping Hound Blues introducing "Foot Warmer" (Emerson 501 [12" record]) - recorded c. September, 1919

High Brown Babies Ball introducing "Ming Toy" (Emerson 501 [12" record]) - recorded c. September, 1919

Hello Hello (Little Wonder 1234 [5" record]) - probably recorded December 16, 1919

Okeh Catalog Supplement, January, 1925

It's been a while since my last post. But, inspired by a new turntable, I've been madly spinning 78s, and have some new transfers to post soon. In the meantime, here is a complete scan of the Okeh records monthly catalog supplement from January, 1925. Plenty of forgettable stuff is listed, of course, but several of these new releases are of interest to record collectors. There are country discs by Fiddlin' John Carson and Henry Whitter, and hot jazz/dance sides by The Goofus Five (a California Ramblers sub-group), Red Nichols' Arkansaw Travelers, and the Arcadia Peacock Orchestra of St. Louis. But the winner in Okeh's releases for the month has to be "I'm a Little Blackbird"/"Mandy, Make Up Your Mind" by Clarence Williams' Blue Five. Any jazz collector would love to have an original copy of this record, which features the first two great soloists in jazz (excepting pianists), Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. "Mandy" even features a solo by Bechet played on the contrabass sarrusophone, rather than on his customary soprano saxophone. Most of these records were recorded in November and December, 1924, which tells you how quickly record companies got their products on the shelves in those days.

Although I love browsing through the various record labels' big annual catalogs, with their comprehensive listings, these monthly supplements have their pleasures. There are often short biographies of performers, or, as here, descriptions of the recordings. But the fact that they often have artist pictures not found in the annual catalogs is one of the most valuable aspects of these monthly supplements. I particularly like the washed-out photo of a dour-looking John Carson here.

 

Scottdale String Band

Yesterday I listened to some old-time country 78s, and the Scottdale String Band really made me smile.  This three-piece band was based in the mill village of Scottdale, Georgia, east of Atlanta.  The band was unusual in that the instrumental lead was taken by Charlie Simmons on mandolin and banjo, not by a fiddler.  The other members of the band were Barney Pritchard and Marvin Head, both guitarists.  The group made a dozen or so records for Okeh and Paramount between 1926 and 1932.

Scottdale, only a few miles from my house in Atlanta, grew up around the Scottdale Cotton Mill, opened by George Washington Scott in 1901.  The mill remained in operation until 1982.  Many great early country bands sprung up in the shadows of Southern cotton mills - check out Patrick Huber's fine book Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South. 

The mill has been demolished, although there is a newer steel mill looming over the railroad tracks.  Many of the mill houses built for the workers remain, mostly freshly painted and restored.  The main design seems to have been a rather plain duplex- there are dozens of these nearly identical double houses in Scottdale.

My Scottdale String Band records are pretty worn, as many early country records tend to be.  But one side of Okeh 45103, "Chinese Breakdown," is in better shape than the rest.  You can hear Charlie Simmons' lead banjo, played with a pick, mandolin-style, it sounds like, rather than in the more common clawhammer style.

Unfortunately, the label of my copy of "Chinese Breakdown" is almost illegible, so I'm posting the best-looking label, along with the best-sounding music I have, by this great Georgia country group.  "Chinese Breakdown" was recorded in Atlanta on March 21, 1927.

Scottdale String Band - Chinese Breakdown