Thursday, October 29, 2009

Salt And Pepper - Crazy Blues



Not to be confused with Salt n' Pepa, this is an old-timey ukelele combo who recorded this 78 on July 14, 1924.

Salt And Pepper - Crazy Blues

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Pope Leo XIII - Ave Maria



Recorded not long before his death in 1903, this is a snippet of Pope Leo XIII performing the Ave Maria.

Pope Leo XIII - Ave Maria

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Snip and Snap - M`n Weekend Huisje


Snip and Snap (aka Willy Walden and Piet Muyselaar) were a Dutch crossdressing comedy act popular in the Netherlands between 1937 and 1977. Read more about them here.

Snip and Snap - M`n Weekend Huisje

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Indestructible Military Band - The Liberty Bell March


I got all excited about the name of this band until I realized it referred to their record label, Indestructible Records. I had previously been imagining a group of metallic bulletproof robotic automatons dressed in marching-band gear. Dash it all.

Fans of a certain British comedy troupe may recognize this melody.

Indestructible Military Band - The Liberty Bell March

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Bob Skyles and his Skyrockets - Ghost Of The St. Louis Blues


This obscure Western Swing band from Texas lays down a really primitive and ill-rehearsed version of the perenially spooky Emmett Miller classic. Love it.

Bob Skyles and his Skyrockets - Ghost Of The St. Louis Blues

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Grinnel Giggers - Duck Shoes Rag


The Grinnel Giggers were a rural band from the Missouri-Arkansas border, near an inlet from the Mississippi River named Big Lake. The band took its name from a type of fishing done in the Big Lake area. Locals would find in these pools a "trash fish" known as Grinnel (also known as Bowfin), and they would "gig" them in the same way that one would go frog-gigging.

The Grinnel Giggers made only eight recordings, all done in one session in Memphis, May 1930.

The Grinnel Giggers - Duck Shoes Rag