(Week 241)
UPDATE (2/20/2014): Read this first. Short version: I was wrong!!
This RADIOLA! concerns monarchs of various realms and those who would pretend to be.
In particular, we focus in on Tempo King and his vocal resemblance to crooner Don Darcy, aka John Arcesi. Darcy/Arcesi worked with major bands from the mid-1930s through the 1940s and recorded an album of psychedelia in 1971.
RADIOLA! streams continuously on my Live365 station.
Dennis King - Song of the Vagabonds (1925) - Victor 19897 A
Frank Froeba and his Swing Band (Tempo King v) - It Ain't Nobody's Biz'ness What I Do (1936) - Bunny Berigan (Mosaic 219)
Willard Robison w/Ipana Troubadours - Wake Up! Chill'un, Wake Up! (1929) - from Columbia 1779-D
Roger Wolfe Kahn and his Orch (Johnny Marvin v) - We'll Have a Kingdom (1926) - Victor 20338 B
Wayne King and his Orch - Song of the Islands (1929) - Victor 22301 B
Louisiana Rhythm Kings - That's a Plenty (1929) - Jazz Oracle BSW 8024
Harry Richman - King For A Day (1928) - Brunswick 4035
Louis (King) Garcia and His Swing Band (Don Darcy v) - Love Is Like a Cigarette (1936) - New York Jazz Combos 1935-1937 - Hep CD 1077
Tempo King and his Kings of Tempo - Floating On A Bubble (1937) - Bluebird B 6780 B
Van Eps Trio - The Original Fox Trot (1915) - Victor 17677-A
Sophie Tucker and her Five Kings of Syncopation - Everybody Shimmies Now (1919) - Origins of the Red Hot Mama 1910-1922 (Archeophone 5010)
King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band - Dippermouth Blues (1923) - Off The Record (Archeophone OTR-MM6-C2)
Bix Beiderbecke and his Gang - Rhythm King (1928) - Complete Bix Beiderbecke
Louisiana Rhythm Kings - Futuristic Rhythm (1929) - Jazz Oracle BSW 8024
Washboard Rhythm Kings - Hummin' to Myself (1932) - Volume 2--1932
Louis (King) Garcia and His Swing Band (Don Darcy v) - Christopher Columbus (1936) - New York Jazz Combos 1935-1937 - Hep CD 1077
Paul Monty Dance Band - Masquerade (1932) - Sterno 1040
Tempo King and his Kings of Tempo - Alligator Crawl (1937) - Vocalion 3653
Sophie Tucker and her Five Kings of Syncopation - Learning (1920) - Origins of the Red Hot Mama 1910-1922 (Archeophone 5010)
Al Bernard - The King Isn't King Any More (1925) - orig Edison 51577-L
King Oliver's Jazz Band - High Society Rag (1923) - Off The Record CD (Archeophone OTR-MM6-C2)
Paul Whiteman and his Orch - Broken Hearted (1927) - Victor 20757 B
Louisiana Rhythm Kings - Tell Me (1930) - Jazz Oracle BSW 8024
Frank Froeba and his Swing Band (Tempo King v) - Just To Be In Caroline (1936) - Bunny Berigan (Mosaic 219)
Prince's Orch - Narcissus (Nevin) (1910) - Columbia A 912
Sophie Tucker and her Five Kings of Syncopation - It's All Over Now (1920) - Origins of the Red Hot Mama 1910-1922 (Archeophone 5010)
Van Eps Trio - Notoriety Rag (1914) - Victor 17601-B
Frank Luther and his Orch (Victor Young) - Spellbound (1934) - Melotone M 13050 A
Henry King and his Hotel Pierre Orch (Joe Sudy v) - You've Got Everything (1933) - Vocalion 2562-A
Chicago Rhythm Kings - Stompin' at the Savoy (1936) - Bluebird B-6412-A
Louis (King) Garcia and His Swing Band (Don Darcy v) - There Is No Greater Love (1936) - New York Jazz Combos 1935-1937 - Hep CD 1077
Tempo King and his Kings of Tempo - High, Wide and Handsome (1937) - Vocalion 3630
Meyer Davis' Hotel Astor Orch (Joe Moss dir) (SL v) - Farewell (1930) - Brunswick 4728
Rare 1952 footage concerning John Arcesi's "spellbinding" publicity stunt:
CBS Interview 1952
John RC Arcesia | Myspace Video
3 comments:
Andy -
A Happy New Year To You & Yours.....
Just listened to this very fine program, with particular interest to the Tempo King sides..when Timeless Records put out a delightful CD as part of their Chris Barber Collection, I featured it on my old program - and heard several theories about exactly who Tempo King actually was from my listeners....
So...keep up the detective work!
Sad news to pass on - I just heard that the distinguished jazz historian & discographer Brian Rust has passed away in his sleep 1/5/2011 at the age of 88.
I've read hundreds of his columns,
Own several of his discographies, and have heard dozens of episodes of his Capital Radio 1970's-80's series "Mardi Gras - A Carnival Of Vintage Popular Music & All The Jazz" - a delightful program.
His "Mardi Gras" theme song was a raucous version of "Tiger Rag" - NOT performed by his idols, The Original Dixieland Jazz Band - but by Charles Dornberger & His Orchestra, from 1927 {Victor}.
Brian Rust was a giant of a documenter and historian of classic jazz and vintage popular music, and his discographies were frequently used as the basis for other's works - not always with attribution. He shall be missed by all who truly love our kind of music.
Nick,
Thanks! I'm glad you liked this.
The Tempo King enigma is fascinating. One of my esteemed correspondents who heard Darcy on "Christopher Columbus" and one of the vocals from the Timeless set (and who has some real familiarity with Arcesi's work) said there is "no question" that Tempo King is Darcy/Arcesi.
I won't offer so definite a pronouncement but the similarity is worth noting. Darcy/Arcesi was a real mystery man. Even the late and much lamented Brian Rust listed him as "Dan Darcy" on the Garcia sides in his invaluable Jazz discography. Liner notes on the Hep CD missed the Darcy/Arcesi connection entirely, and perpetuated the "Dan Darcy" error.
I will mention Brian Rust on the next show. He did more than any one person to make it possible for me to do this show other than in a complete haze of conjecture and ignorance. Rust collected all this data and collated it--and all before computers. It was a superhuman (if not Sisyphean) labor. Anyone who collects records owes him a HUGE debt of gratitude.
Many thanks,
Andy
Thank for the Meyer Davis recording. He is one of my favorites.
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