Blue Amberol Records

Blue Amberol Records was the trademark name for cylinder records manufactured by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. in the US from 1912 to 1929. They replaced the 4-minute black wax Amberol cylinders introduced in 1908, which in turn replaced the 2-minute wax cylinders that had been the standard format since the late 1880s. Blue Amberols can play for as long as 4 minutes and 45 seconds and have a surface layer of the "indestructible" plastic celluloid, which Edison tinted a trademark blue color.

History

Edison wax Amberols

The four-minute "Amberol" cylinder made its début in 1908. Amberols were made of a brittle, black wax-like compound which was harder than the original 1902 black wax. This Amberol wax was also used for 2-minute "Standard" records from 1908 until the Blue Amberol appeared in 1912. The introduction of the Amberol started a resurgence of interest in cylinder records, but problems soon became apparent. Amberols crack rather easily and could break during playback. Amberols often shattered when they broke, unlike some kinds of 2-minute wax cylinders that would simply crack into a few pieces. Another problem was that wax Amberols wore out too quickly. Some Amberols mistracked or played with a wavering pitch due to uneven shrinkage during the manufacturing process.

Edison

Edison may refer to:

Education

Places

Other uses

Blue

Blue is the colour between violet and green on the optical spectrum of visible light. Human eyes perceive blue when observing light with a wavelength between 450 and 495 nanometres. Blues with a higher frequency and thus a shorter wavelength gradually look more violet, while those with a lower frequency and a longer wavelength gradually appear more green. Pure blue, in the middle, has a wavelength of 470 nanometres. In painting and traditional colour theory, blue is one of the three primary colours of pigments, along with red and yellow, which can be mixed to form a wide gamut of colours. Red and blue mixed together form violet, blue and yellow together form green. Blue is also a primary colour in the RGB colour model, used to create all the colours on the screen of a television or computer monitor.

The modern English word blue comes from Middle English bleu or blewe, from the Old French bleu, a word of Germanic origin, related to the Old High German word blao. The clear sky and the deep sea appear blue because of an optical effect known as Rayleigh scattering. When sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the blue wavelengths are scattered more widely by the oxygen and nitrogen molecules, and more blue comes to our eyes. Rayleigh scattering also explains blue eyes; there is no blue pigment in blue eyes. Distant objects appear more blue because of another optical effect called atmospheric perspective.

Vernon Dalhart

Vernon Dalhart (April 6, 1883 – September 14, 1948), born Marion Try Slaughter, was a popular American singer and songwriter. He is a major influence in the field of country music.

Biography

Dalhart was born in Jefferson, Texas on April 6, 1883. He took his stage name from two towns, Vernon and Dalhart in Texas, between which he punched cattle in the 1890s. Dalhart's father, Robert Marion Slaughter was killed by his brother-in-law, Bob Castleberry, when Vernon was age 10.

When Vernon was 12 or 13, the family moved from Jefferson to Dallas, Texas. Vernon, who already could play the jaw harp and harmonica, received vocal training at the Dallas Conservatory of Music.

He married Sadie Lee Moore-Livingston in 1901 and had two children, a son and a daughter. Around 1910 the family moved to New York City. He found employment in a piano warehouse and took occasional singing jobs. One of his first roles was in Giacomo Puccini's opera Girl of the Golden West; following this he played the part of Ralph Rackstraw in a production of HMS Pinafore. He also played the part of Lieutenant Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly.