History of Recorded Sound

Manufactured by Universal Recorders in Los Angeles. Modelled after the AFRS Basic Music Library for station programming, which in turn was modelled after the commercial transcription libraries, and the World Program Service in particular. The repertoire was categorized as Popular, Western, Miscellaneous, Symphonic-Popular, Concert, Latin and Religious. The series draws on commercial releases of the 1939-1955 period..

LA NOVELA DE AUGUSTE VILLIERS SE TITULA LA EVA FUTURA (1878-1886) Y ES LA HISTORIA DEL JOVEN LORD EWALD QUE SE ENAMORA DE UNA MUJER HERMOSA A LA QUE CONSIDERA POCO INTELIGENTE. ENTONCES DECIDE REEMPLAZARLA Y FABRICA UNA ANDROIDE (1° VEZ QUE SE EMPLEA ESTE TÉRMINO) O, MEJOR DICHO, UNA GINOIDE QUE SE PARECE A LA MUJER PERO QUE TIENE EL CORAZÓN DEL INGENIERO THOMAS EDISON.
ESTE AUTOR ES MUY INTERESANTE Y TIENE ADEMÁS CUENTOS COMO “LA MÁQUINA DE GLORIA” QUE RELATA LA HISTORIA DE UNA MÁQUINA QUE TRANSFORMA LA MEDIOCRIDAD DE LOS ESCRITORES CON ESCASO TALENTO EN OBRAS GLORIOSAS.

”Si nuestros dioses y esperanzas no son nada más que fenómenos científicos, entonces se puede decir que nuestro amor es también científico." Auguste Villiers.

Samuel William Cousins was a vaudeville singer, comedian and instrumentalist (banjo, guitar). As well he is one of the earliest African-American recording artists. At the turn of the century, from the 1890s to 1905, he had a career in black musical theatrical and musical stage performances. He then left for Europe and toured the British and Continental music halls as a duettist with his wife. At the outbreak of the First World War he headed east. That he held the position of bandmaster for the Siamese Government in 1918 is a testimony for his musical skills. He was last heard of in Batavia (Dutch East Indies) in the early 1920s, his fate is yet to be discovered.

German violinist and orchestra leader Bernhard Ette, later Bernard Etté (1898-1973) was a most prolific recording artist between 1923 and 1950, and regular visitor to radio broadcasting studios. His dance bands often included Anglo-American hot soloists

The jazz and dance orchestra directed by Lud Gluskin (1898-1989) was the longest-lived of all American bands in Europe (1927 thru 1934), and no other band cut more titles on record - including some highlights of 1920s jazz. His records influenced an entire generation of jazz musicians in Europe.
The return to the US was the end of his jazz business: he became a radio broadcaster featuring "sweet music" (for the Armed Forces Radio Service during the war). Up to his retirement in 1976 he mainly worked for Broadway.

“‘Cake Walks and Culture’: The Black Struggle for Sovereignty at the Dawn of Jim Crow,” by Daniel E. Atkinson, provides fresh historical analysis of George W. Walker and Bert Williams, offering the groundbreaking duo proper due as keepers of Black culture at the turn of the twentieth century. The piece explores the ways Walker and Williams left behind a living, breathing document for Black people climbing to the top and making it on Broadway through a close examination of their “Cake Walks and Culture,” which was originally published in The World in 1898. The essay, which glosses the history of the coon song, ragtime, and the cake walk, invites us to consider how vernacular traditions of Black dance and Black theatre remain mutually constitutive. At the same time, it underscores how the cake walk, which was derived from enslaved Black people parodying enslavers in the nineteenth century, typifies the Black aesthetic tradition of repetition and revision.

Composer and singer Seyyed Javad Badeezadeh (1903-1980) is one of the most important figures of modern Iranian music. He can be called the founder of Iranian pop music during the years 1922-1946. Apart from old and traditional music he performed and recorded satirical songs, western-inspired romances, and theatrical music. The recordings took place in Tehran, India, Syria, and Germany. This discography focusses upon Badeezadeh’s activities in Germany and his recordings for Lindström on their Odeon label.

The cabaret artist and composer Friedrich Hollaender (1896-1976) emigrated after the Reichstag arson. Three years earlier he had celebrated his first Ufa success in Berlin: “The Blue Angel”. The cabaret jack-of-all-trades had written “shabby songs” which were to become popular hits. Friedrich Holländer embodied the Berlin of the “Golden Twenties” like no other. Marlene Dietrich's dark voice can be heard for the first time in the wonderful chanson “Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte”. In exile in Paris, Holländer met Marlene again: she siang “Song Of Songs” on the screen. Soon after, Hollaender ended up in Hollywood. As Frederick Hollaender, he delivered hits for Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Deanna Durbin and Marlene. In 1948, Billy Wilder featured Marlene in “A Foreign Affair”, and Holländer accompanied her on the piano one last time. After more than 200 film scores in Hollywood, Holländer returned to Germany in 1955. He left the screen in 1961 and passed away in 1976. His recorded legacy is documented in this boxed set.

Pete Hampton and Laura Bowman were Africa-American recording pioneers, who toured Europe extensively as a husband and wife team during the 1903-1914 period. The act was billed as "The Darktown Entertainers", and it has been suggested they also used the name "The Darktown Aristocrats". This paper is an attempt to create a bio-discography though few of their records were available at the time of writing.

Italian violinist, orchestra leader and recording artist Carlo Minari (1901-after 1969) encountered jazz at age 20, and moved to Germany in 1924. Recording debut in 1926, broadcasts from 1930, film soundtzrcks from 1931. Toured Germany, Switzerland and Italy up to 1945, then settled in his home country. He retired in 1969

Subject entry. Iconography of record labels (circular design with center hole, ca 8 cm diameter); combination of ornaments, text, image. Functions: Information, advertising, incentive to purchase. Historical development. Production of labels. Manufacturers in Germany. Collections and deposits.

The German Beka company was a latecomer in the recording industry. Yet it was one of the earliest producers of world music - the traditional and popular music of the Near East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The company owner Heinrich Bumb and his technician embarked on a recording tour around the world, with stops in Cairo, Bombay, Calcutta, Rangoon, Batavia, Hongkong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, and Nikko.

Liner notes. Re-issue and first issues of historical sound documents from Switzerland. The Lanigirois (Original, spelled backwards) were founded in 1926 as an amateur band by Hans Philippi (who, in 1934, also started the Basle Hot Club). In 1929 the Lanigiros first recording session took place for the Columbia label in Zürich - the first jazz recording by a purely Swiss formation after the legendary session by Frank Guarente's Georgians for Kalophon in 1926.
In 1932 the musicians finally decided to become full-time professionals. The outbreak of war in 1939 caught the Lanigiuros during a tour of Belgium. The musicians were temporarily drafted into service, but were able to return to Columbia in 1942. After playing for US servicemen, the Langiros were reduced to a quartet in the 1950s, and were disbanded in 1961.

The official registration of BUMB & KÖNIG GmbH (Be-Ka, after the initials of the founders) was in 1903; record production started in 1904. Although a small company, Beka undertook field recordings - notably to Asia in 1905 and again in 1906. The repertoire included Russian, English, Hebrew, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic and various Asian languages. As a consequence of financial strain, Beka was swallowed by the Lindström concern in 1910. Beka-record AG continued to be a separate company. Recording activities in Berlin ceased in 1929 (the material was continued as Parlophon). Though Lindström - and thus Beka - were swallowed by EMI in 1931, the company remained independent and was especially active in the Far East (Dutch East Indies, Malaya, China, Vietnam) until war broke out in 1939

Liner notes. First issue of privately recorded historic sound documents. On 8 May 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally. The "1000-year reich" was reduced to Trümmer (ruins and rubble). The population was under shock, but the younger generation realized the opportunity to pick up on cultural developments that had previously been forbidden - and that included jazz. Most commercial pressing plants were inoperative, and much of the early activity was privately recorded on direct cut acetates.

Liner notes. Re-issue of historical sound documents. Alex Hyde (1898-1956) was an American-German violinist and jazz band leader. He had been in Germany before m(1923 and 1924), and returned a third time in 1925 with an all-American jazz band.
American-Italian banjoist Mike Danzi joined in Berlin and organized recording sessions for Deutsche Grammophon. On some titles the band was augmented by members of the Sam Wooding orchestra, and Harl Smith’s Lido-Venice Orchestra. Later that year the band broke up, most members stayed behind in Germany.
Hyde toured Germany again between 1929 and 1932 with an all-girl orchestra, which did not record.

Ludwig Karl Koch (1881-1974) was a German broadcaster and field recordist. In 1928 he became director of "Kulturabteiling"  in the Lindström record company, from 1929 he was also in charge of their monthly "Kultur und Schallplatte". From 1932 he promoted the idea of combining scientific illustrated publications with sound recordings, to be published as "Tönende Bücher" (sound-books). The series came to an end in 1935, and in 1936 Koch was forced to emigrate to England.
A couple more sound-books were produced later, notably "Das Erlebnis der XI, Olympischen Spiele in Wort, Bild und Ton" (Olympia-Tonbuch, 1936),

History of the  gramophone needle industry. German manufacturers of gramophone needles and their tin containers. Odeon as trade mark of the International Talking Machine Company, and after the takeover, of the Lindström company. Plastic containers in use from 1933 to the end of the industry in the 1950s.

Carl Elof Lindström (1869-1932) was a Swedish mechanic who had moved to Berlin, Germany, in 1892 at the age of 23. He started manufacturing phonographs for the reproduction of cylinders, from 1904 he concentrated on the manufacture of talking machines for the reproduction of flat disc records.
The company flourished and bought several competitors and their record labels, notably Beka, Favorite, Odeon, Dacapo, Lyrophon. In 1911 he branched out into pressing 30cm diameter disc under the trade name Parlophon. By the outbreak of WWI The Lindström company had become a global player: one of the most important international concerns in the record business, bearing his name (he was then the technical director). In 1917 Lindström was a founding member of Universal Film (Ufa).
After the war the company was revived-. The headquarters was still Berlin, further production facilities were established in Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Milan, London, Paris, and Warsaw. In 1926 the British Columbia Graphophone Company acquired a majority share in Lindström, providing Lindström with access to Gramophone masters, to be released on the Electrola label. In 1937 Lindström acquired the assets of the Kristall Company.
After WWII the company once again had to start from scratch and restructured from a joint stock operation into a limited liability company. In 1972 Electrola merged with Lindström to form EMI Electrola.

Discographical survey of the historical Favorite 78rpm record label (1904- 1913), in particular their activities in Czarist Russia.
Favorite was an independent company located in Hanover (Germany) until it was acquired by the Lindström concern in 1913. During the war years the production of records using this label was discontinued.

Omaggio al blues femminile degli anni '20 attraverso l'analisi dell'attività produttiva della grande cantante Ida Cox, divenuta simbolo delle donne libere col suo brano "Wild women don't have the blues". Il libro si articola attraverso cinque momenti. Viene stilato un esauriente ritratto dell'epoca in cui la ‘blueswoman’ è vissuta. Risalto viene dato anche al carattere della donna e dell’artista. Al centro del lavoro emergono i canoni e le formule del blues e, attraverso un’attenta analisi verbale, viene evidenziato il senso del blues che la Cox ha saputo trasmettere nella sua musica.  Il libro accoglie un cospicuo corredo di testi scritti dalla cantante che servono a dimostrarne il valore di genere. Quattro appendici finali, di cui due riportano stralci dalla stampa dell'epoca e contemporanea e la sua ultima intervista. L’autrice del saggio ha effettuato la stesura di alcune partiture musicali ricavate dall'ascolto di brani di Ida Cox, ha realizzato anche un originale confronto tra la versione di "Saint Louis Blues" di Ida Cox e quella della grande 'sorella' Bessie Smith. Trova spazio anche un inedito, creato all’ uopo, con la collaborazione di un ’bluesman’ contemporaneo, secondo i canoni tradizionali del blues. Un libro per amanti e curiosi della musica.

A tribute to the female blues of the 20s through the analysis of the productive activity of the great singer Ida Cox, who became a symbol of free women with her song "Wild women don't have the blues". The book is divided into five moments. An exhaustive portrait of the era in which the 'blueswoman' lived is drawn up. Emphasis is also given to the character of the woman and the artist. At the center of the work emerge the canons and formulas of the blues and, through careful verbal analysis, the sense of the blues that Cox was able to transmit in her music is highlighted. The book includes a large set of texts written by the singer that serve to demonstrate its value as a genre. Four final appendices, two of which report excerpts from the press of the time and contemporary and her last interview. The author of the essay has written some musical scores obtained from listening to songs by Ida Cox, she has also made an original comparison between the version of "Saint Louis Blues" by Ida Cox and that of the great 'sister' Bessie Smith. There is also space for an unpublished piece, created for this purpose, with the collaboration of a contemporary 'bluesman', according to the traditional canons of the blues. A book for lovers and those curious about music.

The human body is capable of making a variety of sounds, from burping to flatulence. All this is recorded on sound recordings.
Of course, the human voice has a very special meaning. The voice is the most important and direct means of human communication. 90 percent of our communication takes place with the voice.
Then comes the "body language": eye contact, frowning, gestures. The voice is extremely versatile and is used to transmit a variety of information in the form of speech, sounds and noises to musical forms of expression. Particularly well-known are whistling, yodelling, scat singing and "mumbling", but also the vocal imitation of musical instruments and noises, onomatopoeia, or the phenomenal overtone singing from Tannu Tuva.
Some examples and their main protagonists will be presented in this series. Let's start with laughter and crying on the record
The human body is capable of making a variety of sounds, from burping to flatulence. All this is recorded on sound recordings.
Of course, the human voice has a very special meaning. The voice is the most important and direct means of human communication. 90 percent of our communication takes place with the voice.
Then comes the "body language": eye contact, frowning, gestures. The voice is extremely versatile and is used to transmit a variety of information in the form of speech, sounds and noises to musical forms of expression. Particularly well-known are whistling, yodelling, scat singing and "mumbling", but also the vocal imitation of musical instruments and noises, onomatopoeia, or the phenomenal overtone singing from Tannu Tuva.
Some examples and their main protagonists will be presented in this series (3) : Noise Imitation - Onomatopoeia - Vocal Virtuosity in Classical Music - Glissandi - Coloratura - Yodelling - Mumbling - Screaming - World Music

The human body is capable of making a variety of sounds, from burping to flatulence. All this is recorded on sound recordings.
Of course, the human voice has a very special meaning. The voice is the most important and direct means of human communication. 90 percent of our communication takes place with the voice.
Then comes the "body language": eye contact, frowning, gestures. The voice is extremely versatile and is used to transmit a variety of information in the form of speech, sounds and noises to musical forms of expression. Particularly well-known are whistling, yodelling, scat singing and "mumbling", but also the vocal imitation of musical instruments and noises, onomatopoeia, or the phenomenal overtone singing from Tannu Tuva.
Some examples and their main protagonists will be presented in this series. Part 2: Whistling - Scat singing

The human body is capable of making a variety of sounds, from burping to flatulence. All this is recorded on sound recordings.
Of course, the human voice has a very special meaning. The voice is the most important and direct means of human communication. 90 percent of our communication takes place with the voice.
Then comes the "body language": eye contact, frowning, gestures. The voice is extremely versatile and is used to transmit a variety of information in the form of speech, sounds and noises to musical forms of expression. Particularly well-known are whistling, yodelling, scat singing and "mumbling", but also the vocal imitation of musical instruments and noises, onomatopoeia, or the phenomenal overtone singing from Tannu Tuva.
Some examples and their main protagonists will be presented in this series. Let's start with laughter and crying on the record

Biography of the Hungarian-born violinist, orchestra leader and recording artist (1904-1975). Recorded for Pallas (Berlin 1931), Artiphon (Berlin, 1932), Telefunken (Berlin 1934), Bellaccord (Riga, 1939), Pathé (Paris 1947) La Voce del Padrone / Columbia (Rome 1947). Emigrated to Venezuela 1947 where he directed the National Symphony Orchestra. Married the sister of the country's president.

René Dumont directed a hot dance band in Berlin from 1927, and recorded some 40 titles for deutsche Grammophon - but neither Dumont’s ancestry (from Alsatia?) nor the members of his orchestra could be identified. Two years later Dumont on alto sax recorded cover versions of Wiedoeft titles for the Odeon label. radio broadcasts in Frankfurt (Main), Dumont was engaged with various orchestras in Germany and abroad, and made radio broadcasts in Frankfurt (Main), and Stuttgart. In 1930 Dumont returned to Berlin, and further recordings were made for the Artiphon label. He resumed his tours through various European countries. He may have been of Jewish descent. He certainly did not return to Germany from late 1933 and accepted engagements in Luxemburg, and Switzerland. After the war he emigrated to Argentina.

Leopold Polnareff („Léo Poll“) from Odessa directed The Russian North Stars jazzband in Paris in 1923. Later that year a sideman, trumpeter Gregoire Nakchounian from Armenia, took leadership and played in the Netherlands and Germany up to 1931. In 1936 a Russian North Star orchestra under direction of Russian-born trumpeter and trombonist Victor Zolotareff was reported from Switzerland. The first recordings took place in Rotterdam in 1924, as accompaniment for the Dutch cabaret singer Willy Derby. In 1926 some mythically rare jazz sides were taken in Amsterdam, and relayed by telephone line to the Vox record company in Berlin

Dutch-born Jacob „Jaap“ Henrik Willem Kool was a musician (alto sax), composer, band leader, author, and artist director for the Vox record company for which he also waxed his own works.. His excentric compositions for revues and avant-garde ballet were performed in Berlin by such as Erik Charell, Lotte Pritzel, Anita Berber, Grit Hegesa, or “Der blaue Vogel” dance company. He was a major contributor to the Weimar Republic artistic scene, but in his profession as a school teacher and school director he leaned toward Nazi ideology from 1933 in the Netherlands and Germany.

Although the origins of "talking postcards" can be traced back to the early days of the phonographic industry, their history has never been comprehensively documented. They are postcards with a glued-on sound foil that could be played on gramophones at about 78 revolutions per minute. These artifacts were known in several countries under various names, such as Sprechende Postkarte, Musik-Postkarte, Tonbild-Postkarte, Musika, Talking Card, Singing Postcard, Carte Postale Parlante, Phono-Postal, Carte Disque, and variations of these designations