“To-Wa-Bac-A-Wa”
Louis Dumaine’s Jazzola Eight
(HMV B-5385 mx A-37978) March 7, 1927
“Pretty Audrey ”
Louis Dumaine’s Jazzola Eight
(HMV-B 5385 mx A-37977) March 5, 1927
From the Edward Mitchell collection, here is a British pressing of a record made by the Victor Talking Machine Company during a March 1927 field trip to New Orleans. The royalty stamp on the label suggests it was likely exported for sale in France.
Both sides are excellent examples of New Orleans-style jazz, which saw renewed interest and revival in the 1940s and 1950s as “Dixieland” jazz.
Louis Dumaine, a well-regarded cornet player and bandleader in New Orleans, cut four sides for Victor on March 5 and 7, constituting his band’s entire recorded output under its own name. On March 5, the band provided uncredited accompaniment for two sides by blues vocalist Genevieve Davis, and on March 7, a smaller ensemble of its musicians accompanied two blues selections by Ann Cook.
The American issue of this record was on Victor 20723, with “To-Wa-Bac-A-Wa” described as Creole Blues. The British issue, however, describes it as Yale Blues, likely because Yale Blues was both a song title and the name of a popular dance in Britain at the time. “To-Wa-Bac-A-Wa” later became famous as “My Bucket’s Got A Hole in It,” recorded by various artists and becoming a hit for Hank Williams.
Ralph Sylvester Peer, the session supervisor for the March 1927 New Orleans recordings, was a record producer and talent scout for “race” and “hillbilly” records at the OKeh and Victor labels. In that capacity, he was responsible for discovering many important jazz, blues, and country artists. You can find an interesting article about his career at this link.