NRR Project: 'Stormy Weather' (1933)

 

NRR Project: ‘Stormy Weather’

Music: Harold Arlen Lyrics: Ted Koehler

Performed by Ethel Waters

Recorded May 3, 1933

3:12

On April 16, 1933, a new show opened at the Cotton Club in New York. It soon became known as the Stormy Weather Review, due to the success and impact of the singing of Ethel Waters.

Up until this time, Black women were typed as blues singers – shouting, stomping, with big-mama energy. Waters was one of these . . . but then she got a chance to sing this song, originally intended for Cab Calloway. Her rendition made her famous.

In doing so, the culture showed itself open to a new style of song – neither a Victorian ballad nor a low-down blues but something in between. It’s a torch song, bluesy but not a blues, replete with catchy lyrics and an essential emotional vulnerability that appealed to audiences not used to seeing it onstage. Soon it and many songs like it from the period would be codified in the national imagination as the Great American Songbook.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again.

NRR Project: 'Goodnight, Irene" (1932)

 

NRR Project: ‘Goodnight, Irene’

Music and lyrics by unknown

Performed by Lead Belly

Recorded 1933

This sweet, plaintive song is an American classic – but it didn’t become a hit until the man who made its definite version was dead.

Huddie William Ledbetter, aka Lead Belly, had a difficult life, full of criminal behavior. He spent many years in prison, and in fact was “discovered” by folklorist John Lomax in 1933 while serving time in Louisiana’s Angola Penitentiary. He was an encyclopedia of songs – blues, folk tunes, gospel songs, children’s game songs . . . something for every kind of function, as was normal at the time for a versatile traveling musician.

Lomax recorded him, and pursued a pardon for “the singing convict” from the governor, which was obtained. Lead Belly then began 16 years of touring, recording, and performing, finding the greatest interest from those into folk music. Two years after his death, the folk group the Weavers had a massive hit with their cover of “Goodnight, Irene.”

The song is a gentle lament in three-quarter time. “I asked your mother for you/She told me that you was too young/I wish dear Lord I’d never seen your face/I’m sorry you were ever born,” says the first verse. Despite the vehemence of the feeling expressed, the singer goes back on his thoughts immediately and sadly declares, “Goodnight, Irene/I’ll see you in my dreams.”

It is difficult to define the origin of the song. Christopher Lornell, in his excellent explanatory essay, does an amazing amount of detective work in tracing the song back to its origins. Lead Belly got the song from his uncle. Where did he get it from? There is evidence that the song was originally a Victorian parlor song, the words and structure of which mutated over the decades, until the song finally assumed its most familiar shape. (The same melody graces the gospel song “If It Had Not Been for Jesus,” recorded in 1930 by Blind Willie Johnson.)

Lead Belly produced a large body of work in a short time, leaving a number of memoriaable songs, such as “Midnight Special,” “Cotton Fields,” and “In the Pines.” Artists such as Bob Dylan, George Harrison, And Van Morrison have cited him as an influence. He had the touch.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Stormy Weather.

NRR Project: FDR - Speeches and Fireside Chats (1932-1945)

 

NRR Project: Complete Presidential Speeches, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932-1945) and

Fireside Chats, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1944)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a phenomenon. Creative, forceful, and patient, he guided America through 13 years of turmoil – the Great Depression and World War II – as the 32^nd President of the United States. The country rarely had so strong and dynamic a figure to look up to, and due to his actions he became one of the era’s great leaders.

He set up many of the social welfare agencies, including Social Security; he set up the Securities and Exchange Commission and many other agencies as well. He created jobs through government work projects, and through those jobs improved vast areas of America’s infrastructure, as well as contributing to the culture. And his resolute defiance of fascism helped to insure the Allies’ defeat of the Nazis and their ilk.

A large part of his popularity with the general public (Republicans and news editorial boards hated him) was due to his ability to communicate. In dozens of speeches, he eloquently and simply put forward the progressive proposals he had for America, and he reassured a worried public about the strength of the economy as well. Instead of hiding behind official pronouncements, he went frequently to the radio, his favorite medium, as a way to inform and influence the general listener (he began using radio as the governor of New York).

His “Fireside Chats” are particularly memorable. (They are so-called because his second chat took place next to a blazing fire.) Rather than avoid the issues, or to make pleasant double-talk, Roosevelt in his broadcasts would develop and expound upon one issue at a time, patiently explicating his thinking and making a case for the reforms he knew would transform society.

His familiar voice was listened to by millions – he was carried on all the networks. The more than two dozen chats he initiated became welcome in all manner of homes. People listened to and trusted him – a reality that does not exist with today’s politicians.

Was Roosevelt a visionary or a would-be dictator? No matter where the verdict of history places him, he remained an immense source of inspiration for the Greatest Generation. You can find out more information here and here.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Goodnight, Irene.

NRR Project: 'Voices from the Days of Slavery' (1932-1975)

 

NRR Project: ‘Voices from the Days of Slavery’

American Folklife Center

1932-1975

Another academic entry, but one that is still compelling. The American Folklife Center collected 24 recordings of the testimony of people who were slaves, recorded primarily through the years of 1932 to 1941. These interviews, some of which can be sampled online, are of variable audio quality. The Center transcribed the interviews as well, to overcome the limitations of the sound recordings included. You can listen to some here, and you can read the excellent explanatory essay by Ann Hoog here.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: FDR’s speeches.

NRR Project: 'Show Boat' (1932 album)

 

NRR Project: ‘Show Boat’

Music by Jerome Kern; Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Performed by the cast of the 1932 revival

Show Boat started a revolution in musical theater. Until it premiered, musicals were scattershot affairs – loose collections of sketches and songs, or light-hearted fluff and farce, or operettas set in imaginary European kingdoms. With the creation of Show Boat, a musical with three-dimensional characters and a serious plot, the musical grew up.

It didn’t hurt that some of America’s most enduring ballads are studded throughout the work. “Bill,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man of Mine,” “Make Believe,” “You Are Love,” and of course the iconic “Ol’ Man River – all are classics that continue to be performed today by jazz and cabaret artists. The songs all serve to advance the plot, and stand on their own as well, as all catchy tunes should.

The musical was adapted from a 1926 novel by the best-selling author Edna Ferber. It’s an epic story that plays out between 1887 and 1927, from the banks of the Mississippi to the theaters of New York City, encompassing the evolution of American music from old-time sentimental ballads through bluesy torch songs and on to jazzy standards. Kern had plenty of practice as a songsmith – he’d already been in the business for 20 years, and had cranked out 16 musicals between 1915 and 1920. Hammerstein was similarly experienced.

The story involves the steamboat Cotton Blossom, which serves as a floating, traveling theater along the banks of the Mississippi River. Its owners, Cap’n Andy and Parthy, have a daughter, Magnolia. When it revealed that the show’s leading lady, Julie, is of mixed race, she is forced to leave the show boat. Her role is taken over by Magnolia, who acts opposite the charming gambler Gaylord Ravenal.

Magnolia and Gaylord end up together and have a daughter, but, impoverished and ashamed, Gaylord leaves the two of them. Magnolia goes on to be a successful singer in a club thanks to the selfless sacrifice of Julie. Twenty years later, Magnolia and Gaylord are reunited at their daughter’s Broadway debut.

The musical was the first to deal with racism, and has been accused of a kind of racism itself. While the “n-word” is bandied about freely in the original script, later times have caused alternations to accommodate better sensibilities. It deals frankly with the scourges of the time: the segregation of black and white populations, the inability of a mixed-race person to be thought of as little better than an animal. No one had tried to seriously engage these thorny issues on stage before. Merely the act of having black and white performers on stage together was seen as the breaking of a taboo.

The recording is interesting, as is the comprehensive and explanatory essay by Todd Decker, which you canread here. The cast is that of the first Broadway revival of the musical, in 1932. It features eight musical pieces, six songs and two medleys. Interestingly, the arrangements are unique to the recording, not taken from the score of the musical.

Of particular merit are the performances of Helen Morgan and Paul Robeson. Morgan, a well-known torch singer, was the original Julie, and her renditions of “Bill” and “Can’t Help . . .” are iconic – musically superior and heart-rending. And, of course, Robeson is purely and magnetically Robeson in the role he originated in the London production, a role no one else could play to satisfaction. (An unnamed baritone reprises “Ol’ Man River” in the Finale, and it is obvious not Robeson.)

This became his signature song, one he would reprise with more hopeful lyrics throughout his career. It’s the best remembered song from a history-making production.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Voices from the Days of Slavery.

NRR Project: Rosina Cohen oral narrative from the Lorenzo D. Turner Collection

 

NRR Project: Rosina Cohen oral narrative from the Lorenzo D. Turner Collection

Recorded by Lorenzo D. Turner

1932

This is an academic entry, none of which can be accessed online. The recording is merely a representative piece of an enormous study composed of interviews, stories, and songs in the Gullah dialect by Dr. Turner, who discovered Gullah speakers quite by accident and then took an immense interest in their language and culture.

The Gullah is a distinct African American subgroup, whose members live along the Eastern Atlantic seaboard between North Carolina and Florida. Due to their relative isolation from mainstream culture, they retained many African words and mean of expression, all of which Dr. Turner studied thoroughly. His work on their language and culture is still referred to today.

For a more complete picture of the entry, please refer to the excellent explanatory essay by Alcione M. Amos, which can be found here.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Show Boat.

 

 

NRR Project: 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' (1932)

 

NRR Project: ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?’

Music: Jay Gorney; Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg

Performed by Bing Crosby with Lenny Hayton and his Orchestra; 3:12

Performed by Rudy Vallee; 3:40

Recorded 1932

This song is truly what NPR declared to be “the anthem of the Great Depression.”

It first appeared in the October 1932 Broadway show Americana. It became a hit overnight, and by the end of the year both Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee recorded it with great success – thus the double listing of performances.

The composer, Jay Gorney, born Abraham Jacob Gornetzky, was a refugee from Russia when he was 10. He is best remembered as the discoverer of Shirely Temple. “Brother”’s tune is based on a lullaby he heard as a child, a minor-key ballad that emphasizes the pathos expressed in the words. And what words! They tell a story, convey a complex mood, and serve as a call to action, all at the same time. They were the marvelous work of E.Y. Harburg.

 They used to tell me I was building a dream,

And so I followed the mob,

When there was earth to plow,

Or guns to bear, I was always there,

Right on the job.

They used to tell me I was building a dream,

With peace and glory ahead.

Why should I be standing in line

Just waiting for bread?

 

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.

Once I built a railroad; Now it's done.

Brother, can you spare a dime?

Once I built a tower up to the sun, brick and rivet and lime.

Once I built a tower, now it's done.

Brother, can you spare a dime?

 

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,

Full of that Yankee Doodle dum.

Half a million boots went sloggin' through Hell,

And I was the kid with the drum!

 

Say don’t you remember?

They called me Al. It was Al all the time.

Why don't you remember?

I'm your pal.

Buddy, can you spare a dime?

In the aftermath of the Wall Street crash, various unrealistically cheery songs made their way into the popular consciousness – “Happy Days Are Here Again,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries.” “Brother” was different – it faces the overwhelming problem of having nothing to eat, outlining the singer’s recitation of his willing participation in the World War and business schemes, only to find no financial security at all.

The lyrics take advantage of past and present tense. “Once” the singer went to war, built things; now, he stands in the breadline. “Buddy, can you spare a dime?” is a roughly expressed plea, embarrassing and shamed. The words are few, well chosen, and powerful. “Made it race against time” is an implied lament that can’t be answered.

Lyricist Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg was born Isidore Hochberg in New Tork, the son of immigrants. A boyhood friend of Ira Gershwin, he began to write light verse while he served as the co-owner of an appliance company. In the crash of 1929, he lost his company and turned to writing lyrics. After the “Brother” breakthrough, and after Harburg ran away with Gorney’s wife, he wrote the lyrics for such songs as “April in Paris,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” and “Over the Rainbow.”

Harburg and Gorney were socialists, and Harburg was especially militant in his beliefs, to the extent that he was blacklisted by Hollywood for his leftist views from 1951 to 1962. There is definitely an emphasis on the plight of the little guy here; in fact, many radio stations banned it, feeling it was too depressing for the general public.

Both the Bing Crosby and the Rudy Vallee performances of the songs are referenced here. Crosby’s version is more heartfelt and sorrowful, Vallee’s more upbeat, in strict 4/4 time, presented as an almost danceable tune. Vallee includes a spoken introduction, describing it as “A song that has taken its audiences by storm, which may be explained by its theme, which is both poignant and different.” It would be a long time before such hard-hitting material was heard again on the airwaves.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Rosina Cohen’s oral narrative.