{"id":2174,"date":"2026-07-01T14:30:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/?p=2174"},"modified":"2026-07-01T19:24:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:24:41","slug":"markel-his-orchestra-1925","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/2026\/07\/01\/markel-his-orchestra-1925\/","title":{"rendered":"Markel &#038; His Orchestra &#8211; 1925"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/FannyColumbia.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"539\" height=\"741\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/FannyColumbia.png 539w, https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/FannyColumbia-218x300.png 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 31px;\">\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb; padding-left: 40px; height: 31px; width: 628px;\">&#8220;Nobody But Fanny (from <em>Big Boy<\/em>)&#8221;<br \/>\nMarkel &amp; His Orchestral<br \/>\nNovember 19, 1928\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(Columbia 475-D mx 141106)<br \/>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2174-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Markel-His-Orchestra-Nobody-But-Fanny-from-Big-Boy.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Markel-His-Orchestra-Nobody-But-Fanny-from-Big-Boy.mp3\">https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Markel-His-Orchestra-Nobody-But-Fanny-from-Big-Boy.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 13px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 13px; width: 628px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 31px;\">\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb; padding-left: 40px; height: 31px; width: 628px;\">\u201cSugar Plum (from <em>Gay Paree Revue<\/em>)\u201d<br \/>\nMarkel &amp; His Orchestra<br \/>\nNovember 20, 1928\u00a0 \u00a0 (Columbia 475-D mx 141107)<br \/>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2174-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Markel-His-Orchestra-Sugar-Plum-from-Gay-Paree-Revue.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Markel-His-Orchestra-Sugar-Plum-from-Gay-Paree-Revue.mp3\">https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Markel-His-Orchestra-Sugar-Plum-from-Gay-Paree-Revue.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>From the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/2024\/01\/10\/update-edward-mitchell-78-rpm-collection\/\">Edward Mitchell collection<\/a>, here are two songs from musical stage productions running in New York City in the autumn of 1925, performed by a then well-known society band.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Nobody But Fanny&#8221; is an Al Jolson, Buddy G. de Sylva, and Con Conrad composition from the musical comedy Big Boy, in which Jolson starred.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibdb.com\/broadway-production\/big-boy-9377#OpeningNightCast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The production<\/a> opened at the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Winter_Garden_Theatre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Winter Garden Theatre<\/a> on January 7, 1925, and ran for 56 performances before closing on March 14.\u00a0 It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibdb.com\/broadway-production\/big-boy-7840\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was revived<\/a> on August 24, 1925, at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibdb.com\/theatre\/44th-street-theatre-1384\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">44th Street Theatre<\/a> for 120 performances before closing again in December.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sugar Plum,&#8221; composed by Joseph Meyer with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva, was featured in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibdb.com\/broadway-production\/gay-paree-1925-7835#OpeningNightCast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Gay Paree Revue of 1925,<\/em><\/a> which opened at the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shubert_Theatre_(Broadway)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shubert Theatre<\/a> on August 18, 1925, and enjoyed a run of 181 performances before closing on January 30, 1926.\u00a0 Among the production&#8217;s cast was a then-unknown chorus girl, future film and television star, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Barbara_Stanwyck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barbara Stanwyck<\/a>.\u00a0 (There was also a subsequent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibdb.com\/broadway-production\/gay-paree-1926-6937\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Gay Paree Revue<\/em> <em>of 1926.<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian-born pianist and bandleader Mike Markels (sometimes spelled as &#8220;Markel&#8221;)\u00a0 made his first recordings during World War I for Victor under the name Sergeant Markel&#8217;s Orchestra.\u00a0 By the early 1920s, he led one of New York City&#8217;s more prominent society bands, which became known for mixing elements of hot jazz into its still-danceable arrangements, and was especially popular with affluent Upper East Side audiences.<\/p>\n<p>Markels was one of several bandleaders of the era who simultaneously operated multiple bands, sometimes under their own name or under the name of the person who led a particular unit.\u00a0 Such bandleaders essentially functioned as early band booking agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Among the bandleaders who were famous for having multiple, and sometimes dozens, of bands were Meyer Davis, Jean Goldkette, and Lester Lanin.\u00a0 Even Paul Whiteman, at the height of his popularity in the 1920s, maintained multiple ensembles billed as either the &#8220;Paul Whiteman Orchestra under the direction of&#8230;&#8221; or as &#8220;Paul Whiteman Presents &#8230; and His Orchestra.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Markels specialized in providing society bands for well-to-do audiences at country clubs, private parties, and other venues in the Northeast.<\/p>\n<p>Markels&#8217; flagship band was also busy in the recording studios, cutting several hundred sides for a variety of labels, including Columbia, OKeh, Edison, Brunswick, and various low-priced and dime-store labels distributed by the Plaza Music Co. between 1921 and 1928.<\/p>\n<p>After 1928, the only mention of him being back in the recording studio was in March 1932, when he provided the piano accompaniment for a side by a tenor vocalist named A. M. Limburg that was never issued.\u00a0 I was not able to locate any information about who A. M. Limburg was.<\/p>\n<p>The few mentions I found about Markel after 1928 suggest that he began to focus more on booking bands than leading them.<\/p>\n<p>By the late 1930s, there were occasional mentions of him in Billboard magazine as head of the then-dominant band booking agency <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MCA_Inc.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Music Corporation of America&#8217;s<\/a> club division, responsible for booking MCA&#8217;s talent into country clubs and other high-end venues.<\/p>\n<p>A 1952 mention indicates that Markels had been hired to book talent for television conductor <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ray_Bloch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ray Bloch<\/a>, who had opened a talent management firm still in business as a New York City <a href=\"https:\/\/www.raybloch.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">event production company<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Both of the recordings featured here include prominent banjo passages.\u00a0 Unfortunately, a listing of the personnel of the band at the time is not available.\u00a0 \u00a0It is possible that the banjo player was Frank Gravito, who appeared on Markels&#8217; recordings a few years earlier, though it is unclear how long he remained in the band.\u00a0 \u00a0Famous banjoist and bandleader <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Harry_Reser\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harry Reser<\/a> also worked as a sideman in Mike Markels&#8217; band during the early 1920s, though as a saxophone player.<\/p>\n<p>On &#8220;Sugar Plum,&#8221; starting at 1:52 into the recording, you can hear an unusual instrument that was occasionally included in early 1920s dance bands, the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Musical_saw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">musical saw<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &#8220;Nobody But Fanny (from Big Boy)&#8221; Markel &amp; His Orchestral November 19, 1928\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(Columbia 475-D mx 141106) \u201cSugar Plum (from Gay Paree Revue)\u201d Markel &amp; His Orchestra November 20, 1928\u00a0 \u00a0 (Columbia 475-D mx 141107) From the Edward &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/2026\/07\/01\/markel-his-orchestra-1925\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":170,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14,12,78],"class_list":["post-2174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-1920s","tag-broadway-music","tag-mike-markel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2174"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2184,"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174\/revisions\/2184"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}