Announced recordings

[mf77]

I'm curious as to whether anyone can tell me which company was the first to include an announcement before the performance, and when?
Perhaps someone even knows the catalog number of the very first announced record?

Also wondering what brought about the announced record fad?
I've always assumed it was Edison who introduced announced recordings, and that it possibly began when he got sales competition from Columbia, but I really don't know.
Could it have been simply because there was no song & company information inscribed on the record itself, and the announcement let you know what & who you were about to hear, or was it started by some lesser known company who wanted to let you know the record was NOT an Edison (or Columbia) you were about to hear?

Any information greatly appreciated!

[OrthoSean]

Could it have been simply because there was no song & company information inscribed on the record itself...?

Well, to start, there are both disc and cylinders with announcements that don't say the company name. I can't recall any Berliner or Victor that say the company name, yet the song and artist are announced and listed on the label. I have at least a few Columbia cylinders that don't say "Columbia" in the announcement and another one or two that don't say the artist(s) in the announcement. If we wanted to add even more to the mix, Indestructible and US Everlasting cylinders never had announcements and sometimes there's no artist credit or even a complete title listed on the rim.

Sean

[Phonofreak]

I have some Edison gold molded cylinders that make an announcement of the song title, artist and says Edison records.
Harvey Kravitz

[EdisonSquirrel]

The fact that there was no title or artist information on the rim of early Columbia and Edison cylinders was probably the reason for the announcements. Edison began to include title and artist info on cylinders in August 1904, yet he retained the announcements until very late 1908 or early 1909.

Keep in mind also that the announcements were a colorful and mildly dramatic flourish that reflected the mood of that era. That may have been another incentive for their use.

Some interesting facts about announcements:

Edison cylinders also included the serial number until some time in 1896 (e.g, Edison record number 800, entitled...).

Frequenty the recording artist announced his own records until about 1904.

Note that most Edison cylinders released between 1903 and May 1906 were announced by the same person, and cylinders released between about July 1906 until the announcements were discontinued featured another announcer.

Sean mentioned above that some Columbia cylinders did not identify "Columbia." That may have been because Columbia sometimes shared record masters with others.


Rocky

[rgordon939]

Here are some tips on dating cylinders by the announcement.

1- Many early North American cylinders usually only announce the title and performer.

2- If it mentions "Orange, NJ" , then it is a NA recording made at Edison from late 1888 to 1892.

3- If it begins with "Edison record", then it is a NA recording made at Edison from 1892 to 1892.

4- If it begins with "Edison record number", then it is a recording made at Edison from 1892 to 1894.

5- If it includes only the title and a description of where the performer is from or when the recording was made, the recording is probably pre-1897.

6- If the announcement ends with "Edison record", or mentions an "Edison band or orchestra, then it was made by Edison's National Phonograph Company ( NPC) and dates from 1897 to 1902. If it mentions being made at "Edison's Laboratory", then it is probably an early NPC from 1897 to 1898, or occasionally even later.

7- If it's announced "The Columbia Phonograph Company of Washington, DC", then it dates from 1890 to 1896.

8- If it's announced "The Columbia Phonograph Company of New York Coty", then it dates from 1897.

9- If it's announced "The Columbis Phonograph Company of New York and Paris", then it dates from mid-to-late 1897 to early 1900.

10- If it's announced "The Columbia Phonograph Company of New York and London", then it dates from 1900 to possibly 1902.

11-if it announced simply "Columbia Record", then it dates from 1901 to possibly 1904.


Hope this helps.

Rich Gordon

[Wolfe]

I don't think I've ever heard an announced Gramophone Co. record.

IIRC, some of the 1903 Columbia Grand Opera series (discs) are announced by the artist, and most are by the 'house announcer' whoever he was.

[Viva-Tonal]

There are a number of announced Columbia discs that in later issues (be they Columbia's own A-XXXX series or appearing on Standard et al) the announcement was physically removed from the grooves. These can often be spotted by having the appearance of the record in which the grooves start in further from the edge of the record, closer to ½" in from the edge versus about ⅜" and the music or content beginning in the very first turn of the groove instead of after three or four.

Two instances:

A244, 'Safe in the arms of Jesus' sung by Henry Burr with organ accompaniment, from 1747.
A376, 'Evening time at Pumpkin Center' by Cal Stewart, from 1757.

[mf77]

Here are some tips on dating cylinders by the announcement.

1- Many early North American cylinders usually only announce the title and performer.

2- If it mentions "Orange, NJ" , then it is a NA recording made at Edison from late 1888 to 1892.

3- If it begins with "Edison record", then it is a NA recording made at Edison from 1892 to 1892.

4- If it begins with "Edison record number", then it is a recording made at Edison from 1892 to 1894.

5- If it includes only the title and a description of where the performer is from or when the recording was made, the recording is probably pre-1897.

6- If the announcement ends with "Edison record", or mentions an "Edison band or orchestra, then it was made by Edison's National Phonograph Company ( NPC) and dates from 1897 to 1902. If it mentions being made at "Edison's Laboratory", then it is probably an early NPC from 1897 to 1898, or occasionally even later.

7- If it's announced "The Columbia Phonograph Company of Washington, DC", then it dates from 1890 to 1896.

8- If it's announced "The Columbia Phonograph Company of New York Coty", then it dates from 1897.

9- If it's announced "The Columbis Phonograph Company of New York and Paris", then it dates from mid-to-late 1897 to early 1900.

10- If it's announced "The Columbia Phonograph Company of New York and London", then it dates from 1900 to possibly 1902.

11-if it announced simply "Columbia Record", then it dates from 1901 to possibly 1904.


Hope this helps.

Rich Gordon

Extremely helpful thank you Rich.

[howardpgh]

I thought the announcements were for the benifit of those who couldn't read.

[epigramophone]

Many early Pathé centre start discs are announced, usually in French and spoken very quickly.

At the other extreme, I wonder what were the last records to be announced?

UK Columbia DB2763 "The Teddy Bears Picnic", sung by the Irish tenor Josef Locke and issued in 1950, begins with his spoken introduction.