American Grooves Radio Hour, hosted by filmmaker and collector Joe Lauro, takes you on a deep dive into the music of pre-World War II America. It focuses on the Jazz, pioneering Blues, early Country, Gospel, Vaudeville and World Music which was being performed on the streets and in the taverns and nightclubs of pre-1935 America. ONLY original 78 rpm records from Joe’s world-renowned archive and the libraries of other notable collectors will be played. There will also be stories from the firs ...
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Chick Bullock, Charlie Palloy, Russ Columbo and so many others followed in the path of Bing - Once the microphone was incorporated into recording a softer more intimate style of singing became the rage - lets' here some of these fellows!
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Back before spotify and MTV music was played in the living rooms of America - what could be more convienient then starting a band with your folks! - this broadcast presents an amazing array of family bands from Nat King Cole's to thre Boswell Sisters!
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The late Rich Contay was the voice behind the Big Broadcast radio program for near thirty years. An old friend and inspiration - we will present a series of episodes dedicated to Rich and focused on the sort of thing he played on his BIG BROADCAST - Boswells, Mills Bros, Cab, Whitemans, Hendersons, Armstrongs, Aaronsons and plenty of BING!…
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Spooky songs by Blues, Jazz & Hillbilly performers Blue Ghosts and Mysterious Moses!
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Mr. Porters early works as recorded in the 1920s-30s classics such as LET's DO IT, LET'S MISBEHAVE and some obscure surprises! - we will even hear Cole himself ! - Irving Aaronson & His Orch and the fabulous and mysterious BANJO BUDDY
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This episode focuses on five great pre-war trumpet men - Jabbo Smith, Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge among them
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Jelly Roll Morton was one of the most colorful characters of early jazz- story teller, band leader, piano man, innovator. American Grooves presents a two parter dedicated to his genius and stories - some of them in his own words!
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Joe's choice of " new acquisition" pre-war 78s - New shellac by Uncle Dave Macon, Robert Johnson, Cazey Collins and more!
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Immigrants from all over Europe flocked to the New Land - most with nothing more than the shirts on their backs and what ever they could salvage of the cultures they left behind..music being a cartable, free commodity and New York City was the center of most of the "Ethnic" recordings made in the new land - this episode explores the patchwork of mu…
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Rare and amazing Delta Blues, Gospel and more!
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All things GEORGIA! songs about and musicians from and recorded there! Luke Hignight Ozark Strutters, Barbecue Bob, Blind Willie and more!
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The great crash of 29' brought on a slew of tunes related to the Stock Market- from jazz to some hysterical comedy and topical recordings - we will play a bunch of them here!
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From his first traveling gig wi the territory band THE BUFFALODIANS to his earliest Harlem and Hollywood years - at the cotton Club and MGM! The songs and singing of HAROLD ARLEN
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From Joe Venuti and Stuff Smith to the Mississippi Sheiks - a journey through the early records of jazz via fiddle!
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Originally broadcast as a Bix Birthday Bash -we will just call this episode a celebration of the short life of one of Jazz's true early legends
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Salvadore Massaro was born in Philadelphia in 1902 -picking up the banjo in the early 1920s by the early 1930s' he became the most sought after recording guitarist - both for jazz and offering accompaniments to a slew of pop and blues singers alike - it all ended to fast- by 1933 he was gone, the victim of a botched tonsillectomy! But he left behin…
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Many American Jazz musicians travelled across the ocean to Europe and beyond from the earliest years of recording into through the 1930s ( the era we cover here on American Grooves) This episode explores some fine Jazz recorded on the continent!
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Victor labels budget BLUEBIRD imprint recorded quite extensively in Charlotte North Carolina in the mid-1930s - Iconic "firsts" happened there ( Bill Monroe for one!) and 100s of Hillbilly and some dance and jazz sides by local bands were preserved. We will re-discover some of Charlotte's finest!
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time for the kids to head back to school - time to take a deep dive listening to some of the remarkably HOT recorded College bands of the 1920s - Yale Collegians, Texas Troubadours, Princeton Triangle Club babd and more!
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Beat the heat with some cool pre-war blues, jazz, country and vaudeville from the 1920s-30s -
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From 1930 into the ealry 1940s MAX FLEISCHER and brother DAVE produced a series of ground breaking animated cartoons that have endured for near a century - popular icons in their day the artists who provided the voices for Betty Boop and Popeye had recording careers on their own and themes from the cartoons were recorded by dance bands of the era -…
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From 1928 to 1932 RCA Victor records had specific series desiganted to the African American recird buying public- The Blues of Tommy Johnson & Frank Stokes, The Jug Band recordings of Gus Cannon and Memphis Jug Band, the sanctified and gospel recordin=gs of Pace JUbilee Singer snd Reverend Gate and the Jazz of the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Duke E…
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From 1928 to 1932 RCA Victor records had specific series desiganted to the African American recird buying public- The Blues of Tommy Johnson & Frank Stokes, The Jug Band recordings of Gus Cannon and Memphis Jug Band, the sanctified and gospel recordin=gs of Pace JUbilee Singer snd Reverend Gate and the Jazz of the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Duke E…
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We celebrate Louis' first years on record 1923-35 as a sideman, band member and rising jazz star
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We celebrate Louis' first years on record 1923-35 as a sideman, band member and rising jazz star
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How RAGTIME was a continuing influence in 1920s-30s Blues, Jazz and Country recordings - From Blind Blake to Hoosier Hot Shots!
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Let's get drunk and TRUCK! - Songs about drinking in blues, jazz and country!
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The stuff that dreams are madeof...JAZZ on Richmond Indiana's GENNETT records - From King Oliver to King Mutt- we take a deep dive into some hot Gennett rarities!
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Blue Blowing- the art of playing jazz on a kazoo or comb was all the rage in Skiffle Bands, Jug Bands and even some Jazz Bands - we will hear some fine and hot examples!
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For Fathers' Day 2023 - all tunes about Papas and Dad's! From Jimmie Rodgers to Helen Kane!
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This Sheldon Brooks pen tune became the theme song for SOPHIE TUCKER back in the teens and never left the playing field as a jazz standard covered by most every hot band in the land - several versions are played on this episode
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Brody Hunt's shellac extravaganza held bi-yearly in the lovely Asheville NC brings a multitude of like minded shellac collectors young and old - here's some of the goodies I scored at the awesome event! ( 2023)
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Besides the usual assortment of pre-war goodies, Joe features severa versions of the pre-war perennial AFTER YOU'VE GONE - From Sophie, Bessie and Miff om!
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Ralph Rinzler, Alan Lomax, John Cohen and Mike Seeger were just a few of the talent scouts that searched the rural south for forgotten pre-war Bles and Country artists to revive at the ealry Newport Folk Festivals - DOCK BOGGS, MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT, ROBERT WILKINS to name a few were given new, late era careers...no to mention SKIP JAMES and SON HO…
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One of those tunes that most every jazz band played...sort of the Johnny B. Goode of it's day - in this episode we play all kinds of cool pre-1935 versions of.....TIGER RAG!
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some of the eclectic music that helped fuel the cultural explosion known as the Harlem Renaissance - From its earliest days with BERT WILLIAMS and Charles Gulpin to Duke and Cab!
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We celebrate some jazz's FIRST great bassists - Wellman Braud, Steve Brown Bill Johnson and others will be featured!
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The "Big Apple" in song from the Bowery to Harlem1920s-30s - from Fanny Brice and Clayton, Jackson & Durante to Red Nichols! Some fun stuff here for sure
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Tunes recorded during Franklin Roosevelts big experiment of getting Great Depression ravaged regular folks back to work - we tap into a slew of topical WPA related Blues, Country and Pop tunes recorded during the dog days of the Great Depression
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Joe plays an eclectic selection of pre-war Jazz, Blues, Gospel and Hillbilly pre-war 78s from his collection and the collection of some of his generous friends .
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From Joel Shaw and his orchestra on CROWN to Bessie Smiths final session in 1933 we will have a party and play some fun 1920s-early 30s tunes celebrating good times!
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100s of gospel recordings were recorded and sold to the "race Records" market- sermons, quartet singing, sanctified singing and preaching AND Sacred quartets, duos, fiddle-vocals you name it! - we play a selected set of some of these masterpieces of Americana
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We trace the old groaners' career from his first recording in 1926 with Washington State pal Al Rinker and the PAUL WHITEMAN Rhythm Boys to his early solo years!
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Rare recordings of some of the legendary 1900s-30s songwriters performing thier own songs - from Irving Berlin in 1913 to Willard Robison in 1927 and much more
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In 1923 Ralph Peer recorded Henry Whitter and Fiddlin John Carson - the record executives released there was shellac gold in them thar hills - this episode explores some of the first Hillbilly recording stars
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Joe and his pal Russ Shor present some of the dances that were rage circa 1900-1936 as presented on original 78 rpm recordings! CHARLESTON, BLACK BOTTOM, HEEBIE JEEBIES, LINDY HOP, SUZIE-Q will all be in the house!
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LGBTQ themed songs were NOT widely recorded in the pre-ww2 era...Gay performers were also certainly not the norm but there was a vibrant underground movement in the adukt nightclubs of Paris, New York and Los Angeles We will present some of those amazing rare recordings!
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One of the few topics that had more songs written about it than HEAVEN likely has been HELL! - Lets' hear some cool 1920s-30s sermons, blues tunes and HOT jazzers about that place you don't want to go!
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The 1920s and 30s was not as buttoned up one may think- some of the dirtiest " double entendre " blues tunes made their way to the market by the likes of Bessie Smith ,Ethel Waters, Lucille Bogan and many more - !
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The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. Its roots actually go back to the turn of the century- In two episodes we will present some of the recordings of the…
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