A rare one, and a tragic end

[beaumonde]

Walter Barnes and His Royal Creolians on a 1929 Brunswick (4480) in two smokin' renditions of these tunes (he plays clarinet).

If You're Thinking of Me (matrix C-3941-; Chicago, 25-July-29)

Birmingham Bertha (v. May Alex) (matrix C-3942-A; Chicago, 25-July-29; I also have a transfer of the non-vocal version, from a '70s LP)

Wikipedia's entry on Barnes relates a sad end to his career:

Walter Barnes (July 8, 1905, Vicksburg, Mississippi - April 23, 1940, Natchez, Mississippi) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and bandleader.

Barnes grew up in Chicago and studied under Franz Schoepp in addition to attending the Chicago Musical College and the American Conservatory of Music. He led his own bands from the early 1920s in addition to playing with Detroit Shannon and his Royal Creolians. After Shannon's retinue became dissatisfied with his leadership, Barnes took control of this group as well. He played mostly in Chicago, though the band did hold a residency at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City as well. His band recorded in 1928-29 for Brunswick Records. He toured the American South in the 1930s to considerable success, touring there yearly; by 1938 his ensemble included 16 members.

Barnes was one of the victims of the Rhythm Club Fire in Natchez, Mississippi on April 23, 1940. He played in an eight-piece band that night when the club caught fire; he had the group continue playing the song "Marie" in order to keep the crowd from stampeding out of the building. Nearly all of the band's members (which included Paul Stott and vocalist Juanita Avery) except for drummer Walter Brown and bassist Arthur Edward, were among the 201 victims of the fire. Barnes's death was repeatedly immortalized in song thereafter.

[barnettrp21122]

Thanks, Adam, for posting these tunes, along with the interesting background info. Your transfers are excellent, as always! I noticed getting the thumbnail of the record label along with the download. How you make that happen? I've often wondered how to add label scans to the audio files.
Bob

[beaumonde]

That's through iTunes on my Macbook Pro, Bob. I wouldn't know how to do that (if it is possible at all) without a Mac. I'm not even sure if iTunes for Windows has the same capability.

[Valecnik]

Very nice transfers. Thanks for posting. I downloaded the MP3s on my windows machine. No Thumbnails! Another reason to go MAC.

[VintageTechnologies]

I have noticed that it is possible to embed a small thumbnail directly into a .mp3 file. There is free software in the public domain that will do it. I know it exists for Linux and probably should be available for Windows as well. Sorry, I cannot remember the name of the program at this time -- having a senior moment.

[pno4tay]

You can attach a picture in the Windows version of iTunes through one of the options in the "Get Info" menu. IIRC, you simply drag the picture into a little square. I've done it many times, and label scans show up on my iWhatever when iPlay them.

Rick