The Rise and Fall of J. Fred Helf
In the first decade of the 20th century, few composers were as prolific and J. Fred Helf. Not many remember him now, but for decades
In the first decade of the 20th century, few composers were as prolific and J. Fred Helf. Not many remember him now, but for decades
Charles Prince could seem like a rather boring character on the surface; he led his own band and orchestra for the same label for 20
Any seasoned record collector is likely aware of the baritone Steve Porter. He was a main fixture of the famous American Quartet, and a common
Last year, in this column was an article on drummer Jimmy Hager, bandmaster Fred Hager’s brother, but since that publication, more has been discovered about
In 1910, a new phonograph company emerged in Boston, it was founded upon a few generous donations from local elites. Their donations set the company
A question that phonograph collectors and historians often get asked is, “what was the most popular song to be recorded in the 1890s?” This question
In 1904, the famous composer Victor Herbert sued the Universal talking machine company (better known as Zon-O-Phone) for illegal use of his name. The folks
These days we often take performers who sing and play piano for granted, but in the acoustic phonograph world things were a little different. Long
Last month’s piece in this column was on Charlie Carson and his partner in crime Russell Hunting. This month will be a continuation of Carson’s
In 1896, two phonograph engineers were arrested for the first crime not patent related within the recording business. The more famous of the two, Russell
In the 19th century, novelties and curiosities were all the rage. We have all heard of the circus performers, snake oil salesmen, sideshow freaks—but there
In 1903, two of the major disc record companies ventured into unexplored territory: long playing records. The Victor talking machine company and Columbia phonograph company
In the 19th century, the bass drum in military bands was essential. The use of bass drums continued into the earliest days of recording, but
Justin Ring had a lot of love to give in his long life, as he cared for so many close friends and family. Later in
For many decades, Justin Ring has been an elusive character in the world of early recording and ragtime. Researcher Jim Walsh spoke of him only
Around the first half of 1905, Justin Ring and Fred Hager split up, and they spent nearly a decade apart from each other. With such
In the 1890s and 1900s, military bands were all the rage. From Gilmore’s band to your village community band, they were loved by everyone. One
In the music world, it is easy to overrate the popularity of songs and performers. This is not a new concept, and in terms of
When researching, oftentimes what we don’t know about someone can be more interesting than what we do know. In this situation, it can allow our
This month’s article in this column will step away from the usual type of research done here; this month we will explore a bit of
For researchers, scouring newspaper archives is an essential, yet at times tedious, process. Hours spent reading through century-old papers may yield only a small nugget
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mamie Smith’s first records. In February of 1920, Mamie Smith made history as the first black woman to
Record collectors may be familiar with the name Frank Banta—a name usually associated with hot novelty and jazz piano of the 1920s, and rightfully so.
In the field of collecting acoustic era recordings, many scholars carry on their research and listening with the idea that items like diaries and scrapbooks