Fred Lamire and his Twins: Mighty Lak’ a Rose / Dream Kisses – 1928 Fred Lamire and his Twins perform Mighty Lak’ a Rose and Dream Kisses from 1928. “Fred plucks giant floor banjo while his sons strum a lively duet.”
MORE ...A field recording from an unknown band recorded singing “Mary Don’t You Weep” shot in the 1920’s. Oh, Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you mourn Oh, Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you mourn Pharaoh’s army got drowned-ed. Oh, Mary, don’t weep Oh, Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you mourn. Oh, Mary, don’t you weep, don’t […]
MORE ...Virginia native Zanddervon Beliah Lamb, renamed Bela Lam by Okeh Records, performs the song Poor Little Benny with wife Rose Meadows. With Bela’s brother-in-law Paul and son Alva, they became local favorites near the Blue Ridge Mountain region in the 1920’s, eventually being called to New York City to record six songs. Influenced by the […]
MORE ...Whistler & His Jug Band came up out of Louisville, Kentucky, and became the first recorded jug band, according to R Crumb’s Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country. They recorded at least twenty-one songs between 1924 and 1931. The names of the musicians remain unknown.
MORE ...During the 1920’s, lack of money and technology did not stop folks from making great music. Take this duo who put on a porch concert with a ukulele, washboard & kazoo. A teapot becomes a horn, a wooden tube creates an added acoustic element, while the infectious rhythm keeps it swingy.
MORE ...Folk master Pete Seeger narrates Alan Lomax’s documentary on the evolution and appreciation of American folk music. Special cameo performances include Woody Guthrie and Brownie McGhee, amongst many others.
MORE ...In this clip form the 1930s, the Cumberland Ridge Runners perform “Goofus,” a request from a member of the audience of children from a hospital ward that sit beside them. The Cumberland Ridge Runners were a popular radio act in the 1930s, known for their musical virtuosity as much as their on stage antics, as seen here […]
MORE ...In 1930, Jimmie Rodgers was probably one of the hottest Americana pop artists in America. Five years later, he would be dead. Born in 1897, a native of Mississippi, Jimmie Rodgers, along with the Carter Family, would influence generations of country musicians to come as the Blue Yodeler with songs like “In the Jailhouse Now,” […]
MORE ...In this rare clip from the late 1920’s, an unknown group of musicians perform the American classic “Turkey in the Straw,” which dates back to the 19th century. A mesh of Irish and other folk melodies, “Turkey in the Straw” was popularized in early musical minstrel shows in the 1920’s. As its recognition grew, it […]
MORE ...In this soundie from the early 1930’s, Frank Westphal’s Orchestra performs Sing You Sinners live on WENR Chicago. Westphal, a native to Chicago, began his career as a pianist-for-hire in vaudeville around 1910. It was during his time on the circuit that the up-and-coming performer met the great singer Sophie Tucker who hired him as […]
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