Radio was the biggest story of 1922 in America, as hundreds of stations popped up all over the country. A new era of mass communication was born, connecting big city and rural town over hundreds of miles. At the same time, the Jazz Age was getting underway. The songs of 1922 hint at what was to come and look back with a bittersweet nostalgia at the past of popular music. A look forward
Some of the biggest stars of the 1920s, on stage and radio, are heard on this CD. Fanny Brice, a Ziegfeld mainstay for a decade, reached new heights with her trademark double-sided smash, "Second-Hand Rose" and "My Man." Vaughn De Leath, "the original radio girl," scored a hit with the Blake and Sissle vehicle from Shuffle Along, "I'm Just Wild about Harry." Meanwhile, Isabelle Patricola, accompanied by the very hot Ross Gorman-led Virginians, stands out with "Lovin' Sam (The Sheik of Alabam')." All things concerning "The Sheik" were the craze of 1922; Rudolph Valentino played the part in the hit film of the same name, the song "The Sheik (of Araby)" was a hit for the Club Royal Orchestra, and other songs, including Eddie Cantor's "I Love Her--She Loves Me" allude to "the sheik." A look to the past
Like "Swanee" (from 1920), "My Sunny Tennessee" yearns for the yesterday of Southern skies and rolling hills, performed here by the Peerless Quartet, a recording industry staple of nearly two decades. Billy Jones and Ernest Hare, soon to be known on radio as The Happiness Boys, scored big with an early offering, the nostalgic "In the Little Red School House." "When Francis Dances with Me" was a comeback hit surprise for the team of Jones and Murray, who had recorded together infrequently in the late 1910s. "Frances" would be Ada Jones' last record with Billy for Victor, as she died while on tour in May 1922. Dance bands take center stage
Paul Whiteman's band continued its supremacy in national sales, as dance songs such as "Do It Again!" and "Stumbling" reigned supreme in 1922. Trumpeter Henry Busse steps out on "Hot Lips," which he penned as a follow-up to his huge hit "The Wang-Wang Blues," also for Whiteman. "Three O'Clock in the Morning"--a waltz, unusual for Whiteman--would be one of the biggest hits of the entire acoustic era. Isham Jones showed why his outfit was the biggest Chicago band on his first self-composed hit, "On the Alamo." Stage stars translate hit shows into hit records
The *phenom* of 1922 was "Mister Gallagher and Mister Shean," featured in Ziegfeld's Follies of 1922 and performed in hit recordings by a number of artists, including two very different versions included here. One is by the originators, Ed Gallagher and Al Shean (listen to the less-known "B" side of their big hit in our November Recording of the Month"), and the second is by Jones and Hare, who recorded it for both Brunswick and Okeh. As in previous years, Al Jolson continued his unbroken streak of popularity with the smash hit "April Showers," from Bombo, and "Angel Child."
Tracks:
1. Do It Again!óPaul Whiteman and His Orchestra
2. My Man (Mon Homme)óFanny Brice
3. April ShowersóAl Jolson
4. I Love HeróShe Loves Me (I'm Her HeóShe's My She)óEddie Cantor
5. MaóIsham Jones Orchestra
6. Mister Gallagher and Mister SheanóBilly Jones and Ernest Hare
7. The SheikóClub Royal Orchestra
8. When Francis Dances with MeóAda Jones and Billy Murray
9. Sweet Indiana HomeóMarion Harris with Isham Jones Orchestra
10. Weep No More (My Mammy)óVernon Dalhart
11. On the AlamoóIsham Jones Orchestra
12. Song of LoveóLucy Isabelle Marsh and Royal Dadmun
13. My Sunny TennesseeóPeerless Quartet
14. Angel ChildóAl Jolson
15. StumblingóPaul Whiteman and His Orchestra
16. Lovin' Sam (The Sheik of Alabam')óIsabelle Patricola with The Virginians
17. Second Hand RoseóFanny Brice
18. In the Little Red School HouseóBilly Jones and Ernest Hare
19. My BuddyóHenry Burr
20. Mister Gallagher and Mister Sheanó"Positively, Mr. Gallagher?"óEd Gallagher and Al Shean
21. Hot Lips (He's Got Hot Lips When He Plays Jazz)óPaul Whiteman and His Orchestra
22. I'm Just Wild About HarryóVaughn De Leath
23. Mandy 'N' MeóAmerican Quartet
24. Three O'Clock in the MorningóPaul Whiteman and His Orchestra
Running length: 75:11 / 24 tracks
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