I'd Rather Be A Beggar With You

As the liner notes suggest, Supper Time (by Irving Berlin) from the satirical revue 'As Thousands Cheer' might  be taken for a deserted woman's lament", but it was performed by Ethel Waters wearing rags with newspaper headlines declaring onstage: "Unknown negro lynched by a mob!" Not only was the poverty and the depression hurting people, but the show gave a "glimpse of ugliness behind the ornate safety curtain of theatrical make-believe" that was very real for many in the South. Track 2 here is from Russ Carlson, and is one of my favorite tunes of the era. Be sure to check out the fantastic TOM cds of Crown Records recordings. Banks were fair game, and so was Hoover. A Shanty In Old Shanty Town was recorded by several artists, including Chick Bullock (on another post). Chick steps up with a fine version of I'd Rather Be A Beggar With You. Guarded optimism marks the next few titles including Rome Wasn't Built In A Day, and If I Ever Get A Job Again. Ben Selvin suggests that good times are indeed on the way, although his entry here was recorded on March 8, 1932 when the country was anywhere but headed for recovery. Six of these tracks were recorded in 1932, three in 1934 and the rest in 1933. After the havoc of 1932 things were looking up, right? Ben Bernie, Ted Lewis, Ruth Etting and another Chick Bullock tune promise that the Grass Is Getting Greener (the latter with Bunny Berigan with the Victor Young Orchestra). The theme continues with the Boswells and We're In The Money. Yes, I believe! For all the effort to cheer up and convince people that it really was just a matter of 'confidence', but then Emil Coleman brings us down to earth with Let 'Em Eat Cake. And with that, we're back to a one-room flat. Enjoy! +

Tracks

01 - Leo Reisman & His Orchestra - Super Time
02 - Russ Carlson High Steppers - Banking On The Weather
03 - Gene Kardos Orchestra - A Shanty In Old Shantytown
04 - Joe Morrison - (Here We Are) Rolling In Love
05 - Chick Bullock's Levee Loungers - I'd Rather Be A Beggar With Love
06 - Freddy Martin Orchestra - Here You Come With Love
07 - Bing Crosby - Let's Put Out The Lights And Go To Sleep
08 - Graham Prince Orchestra - The Clouds Will Soon Roll By
09 - Abe Lyman Orchestra - Rome Wasn't Built In A Day
10 - Gene Kardos Orchestra - If I Ever Get A Job Again
11 - Ben Selvin & His Orchestra - Them Good Old Times Are Coming Back Again
12 - Ben Bernie Orchestra - Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?
13 - Ted Lewis Orchestra - There's A New Day Coming
14 - Ted Lewis Orchestra - Buy American!
15 - Ruth Etting - Hey! Young Fella
16 - Victor Young Orchestra - The Grass Is Getting Greener
17 - Ted Fio Rito Orchestra - (I Went Hunting) And The Big Bad Wolf Was Dead
18 - Ramona With The Park Avenue Boys - We're Out Of The Red
19 - The Boswell Sisters - We're In The Money
20 - Dick Powell - The Road Is Open Again
21 - Emil Coleman's Riviera Orchestra - Let 'Em Eat Cake
22 - Freddy Martin Orchestra - In A One Room Flat

Here It Is Monday And I've Still Got A Dollar

It's 1931 and Tin Pan Alley is working overtime trying to psyche America out of the Great Depression, but there were rebuttals. There's No Depression In Love and Now's The Time To Fall In Love were countered with I'm An Unemployed Sweetheart and Last Dollar. Unlike the current Depression, in the 1930s America wore its heart on its sleeve. I think the people who chose the tunes for this set must have had fun - following Lee Morse's contribution, the next four tracks feature the elusive 'Dollar' before giving in to the fatalistic resignation of Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams, followed by darkness and ultimately Alone Together (sans sous, people tended to stay home more). Coinciding with Hoover's attempts at injecting optimism as a panacea, not even Ted Lewis was convincing enough as Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee slams the remedy with biting satire followed by Sittin' On A Rubbish Can and Underneath The Arches (a roof was a luxury, no doubt). Two desperate pleas follow before ending with It Must Be Swell To Be Laying Out Dead - and this was popular music! According to the book (again, pick up a copy of this set), an "RCA Victor executive heard the tune and ordered its immediate withdrawal from the market, and all existing copies and masters were destroyed. Even the blue file cards at the company's archives in Manhattan have no listing of the song." The record was re-released with another song in its place. As if denying reality could change it! Not all of the sides here are listed chronologically, but the playlist tells an interesting tale nonetheless. Not to be overlooked, of course, is the fantastic music. Enjoy! +


Tracks

01 - Vincent Rose Orchestra - There's No Depression In Love
02 - Victor Young Orchestra - Now's The Time To Fall In Love
03 - Lee Morse - I'm An Unemployed Sweetheart
04 - Emil Coleman's Orchestra - I Got Five Dollars
05 - Paul Specht Orchestra - I Found A Million Dollar Baby
06 - Eddie Droesch Orchestra - Last Dollar
07 - Chick Bullock's Levee Loungers - Here It Is Monday And I've Still Got A Dollar
08 - Mildred Bailey - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
09 - Sam Lanin's Orchestra - Whistling In The Dark
10 - Ben Selvin & His Orchestra - Dancing In The Dark
11 - Victor Young Orchestra - Alone Together
12 - The Mills Brothers, The Boswells, Bing Crosby - Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries
13 - The Boswell Sisters - (We've Got To) Put That Sun Back In The Sky
14 - Ambrose Orchestra - Shoo The Hoodoo Away
15 - Ben Selvin & His Orchestra - Whistle And Blow Your Blues Away
16 - Ted Lewis Orchestra - Headin' For Better Times
17 - Enric Madriguera's Hotel Biltmore Orchestra - Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee
18 - Julia Gerity - Sittin' On A Rubbish Can
19 - Henry Hall & The BBC Dance Orchestra - Underneath The Arches
20 - Bing Crosby - Brother Can You Spare A Dime?
21 - Freddy Martin Orchestra - Remember My Forgotten Man
22 - Alex Bartha's Hotel Traymore Orchestra - It Must Be Swell To Be Laying Out Dead

Sweet Madness - Sweet Bands (Record 2)

Here is the second record from this 5-LP set (see April 22). Full info is in the idtags, but you can hear more tunes from Hal Kemp and his Orchestra, as well as Abe Lyman, Richard Hember and his Essex House Orchestra (which features Artie Shaw and Jerry Colonna), Anson Weeks (Bob Crosby vocal), another Casa Loma side and one from Freddie Martin and his Orchestra. I hope to get the rest of this set up a little quicker. Recording dates for these are from May 4, 1933 to September 20, 1933. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Living In Doubt - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
2. Heart of Stone - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
3. I Cover The Waterfront - Abe Lyman and His California Orchestra
4. Lying In the Hay - Abe Lyman and His California Orchestra
5. To Be Or Not To Be In Love - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
6. It Might Have Been a Diff'rent Story - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
7. Shadows On the Swanee - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
8. Love Is The Thing - Richard Himber and His Essex House Orchestra
9. Love Is The Sweetest Thing - Richard Himber and His Essex House Orchestra
10. If You Lived In The Mountains - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
11. Ain'tcha Glad? - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
12. You've Got Everything - Anson Weeks and His Orchestra
13. Sweet Madness - Casa Loma Orchestra
14. Beatiful Girl - Freddie Martin and His Orchestra