Horrendous recording of a lively version of this 1926 song, written by Haven Gillespie, Seymour Simons and Richard Whiting.
National Music Lovers used masters originally made by other companies, correct? If so, does anyone have any information on where this may have originated? It has a sound like some Cameos I've heard, though even Cameo tended to do a better job than this distorted mess.
Numbers in the deadwax are 6629-2 plus the catalog number that's on the label.
I took a guess as to what label around the mid-20s would have a matrix number in the 6600s and horrendous sound quality on an early electric. I got it in one: Banner.
According to 78discography.com, this recording is shown to have been issued on Banner 1778 and Domino 3747 as by the 'Missouri Jazz Band' with the same matrix and take number. Undoubtedly the vocalist is Irving Kaufman.
I'll hazard a further guess the band here is conducted by Adrian Shubert (sp?), based on observing that 6630-1, 'My pal Jerry', was also billed as by the MJB (Shubert) but released on Banner 1776. Both of these numbers were recorded on 24th May 1926.
The flip side of 'My pal Jerry' is the flip side of NML 1165: 'Baby face' as performed by what's billed as the 'Master Melody Makers' on NML, and as the 'Buffalodians' on the Banner and also on Domino 3749. Vocalist is shown as Harold Arlen(!); matrix number is 6648-2 and the recording date is shown as 2 July 1926.
You've done a good job getting this record to sound tonally balanced, though you had a well-worn (which didn't take long with the poor shellac they pressed records like these on) copy.
I once had a copy of Banner 1695, two titles credited to the MJB, with muffled and even more distorted sound, recorded electrically in February 1926. It was about as bad as the worst early electric Brunswick or Vocalion sides.
One early Banner I still have is 1944, recorded early in 1927. The A side, 'A lane in Spain' by Fred Rich and his orchestra, was recorded on 4th February, matrix 7095-2 (the label states '17095', strangely) and sounds much better than the flip, 'Somebody else' as by the 'Imperial Dance Orchestra' (Adrian Shubert again) from matrix 7071-3 (lss '17071'), recorded eight days earlier on 25th January. I have to wonder if it isn't a crudely dubbed master, given that it's laden with wow (it sounds off-centre when the grooves are quite visibly perfectly centred!), and has a washed-out sound overall with a shrill, harsh top end with lots of distortion.
Perhaps I can dub both sides of it and post them soon so these differences can be demonstrated.
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