The latest installment from RCA Victor's 1953 "Show Time" series of 10-inch LPs features rerecorded highlights from two notable Broadway shows from the 1920s, both starring African American performers.
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| Sissle and Blake |
The songs for
Shuffle Along were written by the team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake. The successful 1921 show set the pattern for a number of similar shows through the 20s and beyond. The big hit from the show was "I'm Just Wild About Harry." The RCA version derives from an unsuccessful 1952 revival of the show, and includes Avon Long, Thelma Carpenter, Louise Woods and Laurence Watson, all from the revival cast. Blake, who continued performing into his 90s and was often on American television in later years, conducted the revival.
Long had played Sportin' Life in the 1942 revival of
Porgy and Bess. Thelma Carpenter had a long career as singer and actress; I'll have to present her Decca LP sometime in the future.
Sissle himself was one of the stars of the original production, although he does not appear in the revival. I thought you might want to hear a record he and Blake made in 1920, just before
Shuffle Along. This is not one of their own songs, but a version of Perry Bradford's
Crazy Blues, which had become a huge hit for vaudeville singer Mamie Smith. I've included the Smith version as well, for contrast. Trombone player Dope Andrews, one of Smith's "Jazz Hounds," sets a record for slide trombone slurs that may never be broken. Both of these are from my original 78s.
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| Thelma Carpenter |
Thelma Carpenter also can be found on the other side of the LP, in songs from
Blackbirds of 1928. This show starred African American artists (Bill Robinson, among others), but had music and lyrics by the white team of Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. The big hit was "I Can't Give You Anything but Love," here presented by Cab Calloway. (Gratuitous aside: I just don't like Cab.) Brunswick recorded songs from
Blackbirds of 1928 in 1932-33, and Calloway appeared on one of those records - although not on "I Can't Give You Anything but Love."
Good sound on these records, even on the acoustically recorded versions of "Crazy Blues," although the Mamie Smith version is worn.
