Background information about the recordings can be found below the audio selections.
| “Look At The World And Smile” Jean Goldkette And His Orchestra February 1, 1927 (Victor 20472-B) |
| “Somebody Else” George Olsen And His Music; Fran Frey, Bob Borger, Bob Rice, vocal February 4, 1927 (Victor 20472-A) |
Here is a nice record from the Edward Mitchell collection featuring two songs from the 1927 Broadway production, Yours Truly.
Jean Goldkette was a Detroit-based dance band impresario whose organization secured bookings throughout the Midwest for dozens of bands he owned or managed. He also owned venues such as Detroit’s legendary Greystone Ballroom.
Goldkette’s band on this recording features an all-star lineup of the era’s top white jazz talent, including Bix Beiderbecke on cornet, Tommy Dorsey on trombone.
Frank Trumbauer, on C-melody saxophone, Eddie Lang on guitar, and
Joe Venuti on violin. All of the men mentioned were subsequently hired away by Paul Whiteman later on in 1927.
While it was largely forgotten by the middle part of the century, during the 1920s, George Olsen’s band was a strong rival to Paul Whiteman’s and Fred Waring’s in terms of popularity and remained very prominent on network radio into the early 1930s. I think this recording of “Somebody Else” is very pleasant and rather charming.