The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Thanks Flywheel! I just found the first documented reference to J.C. Thomas in an Edison discography.

82076 "Ah! Non Credea Mirarti" La Somnambula, v. Anna Case. Explanatory Talk - John Charles Thomas. (Not known whether ever issued) no date. (Wile, Edison Disc Recordings, book II of II, Eastern National Park and Monument Association, Philadelphia, c. 1978)

Well, thanks to you, we now know that this record was issued. Thanks. you say you have two records with the same script. Are they both the same record of 82076? I don't think I have any DD with J.C. Thomas, so I have not heard the voice on DD.

I wish now that I had made note of the Explanatory side that got me trying find out who it was since obviously it wasn't Humphries. Someone I think on this group told me about Thomas being the earlier commentator. That is how I ran into his name though a search for Edison Disc explanatory voices. Don't recall the exact thing I typed it but it brought up that biography of Thomas stating he made the comments on the opera records for Edison as a young man. That is the only other voice I have heard on the rear of those one sided records. Somehow I don't think I have that example up on my you tube site, but it is possible. Early on I didn't always include those sides but decided they were too interesting to ignore. If I find it in my videos or a record I will put up a notice and I suppose a video of it.

Larry

I recorded the last minute or so of the two La Sonnambula explanatory talks to my cell phone tonight to share it here. Please excuse the the quality. Compare Humphreys to the other individual. It doesn't sound like Thomas to me unless he was putting on a forced snobbish tone

thanks so much Gov. Firefly! That was excellent! The sound quality was excellent! If the first voice is actually John Charles Thomas, he is putting on an English accent. The voice reminded me of the late movie actor Peter Ustinov. But that is possible, because he had training as an actor and i'm sure studied diction and voice. But the voice is a far cry from the voice you hear in the above clip from You Bet Your Life from 1957! The Humphrey's voice is all American. I can picture the recording producer telling the young Thomas "can you give me a more sophisticated voice?" "This is opera and our buyers want someone with a little more 'class'."