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American Vaudeville Pioneers
’Gene
Greene's Victor Recordings
An Illustrated Discography
Compiled
and annotated by Allan Sutton
File data courtesy of John Bolig and the UCSB Victor Project
'Gene Greene, the self-styled "Ragtime King"
had a sporadic recording career, splitting his time between the U.S. and British
studios when not busy touring. The majority of his American recordings were made for Victor, during
the height of his success on the Keith and Proctor vaudeville circuits,
and several of them number among his best recorded efforts. Greene's tenure with Victor, however, was
cut short by his departure for an extended stay in England. There, he recorded prolifically
for Pathé during 1912–13, producing more than sixty sides,
most of them with piano accompaniment by his vaudeville partner, Charley
Straight.
Victor
announced its signing of Greene in July 1911 and inexplicably issued his
first records on
single-sided discs, a format it had largely abandoned for popular releases
by that time.
(Courtesy of John Bolig)
Greene made his first documented recording
on February 14, 1911, at a Victor test session in Camden, New Jersey.
Three days later, Greene was in the Columbia studio making what would
be his first issued records, "Cancel That Wedding March" and
"King of the Bungaloos" (coupled on Columbia A994). The latter,
a fairly new composition at the time, would come to be Greene's signature
piece, concluding with an improvised "scat" chorus that was reported
to bring audiences to their feet. He soon returned to Victor's Camden studio, where he recorded on four consecutive days during April 1911. They would be
his last American sessions before sailing for England.
Victor's
August 1911 release of "King of the Bungaloos" was the first
of two versions Greene
recorded for that company. He also recorded his signature piece for Columbia,
English
Pathé, Emerson, Little Wonder, and — finally, in 1929 —
as a Brunswick test.
(Courtesy of John Bolig)
Greene did not return to the American studios until
December 1916, when he recorded several sides for the new Emerson label,
as well as two test selections for Victor. His final Victor session, on
March 9, 1917, produced remakes of two old favorites — "King
of the Bungaloos," in a livelier and more self-assured rendition
than the original; and "Ruff Johnson's Harmony Band," a song
long associated with Greene, which Victor had handed to Will Halley in
1914 in Greene's absence.
The
two Victor versions of "King
of the Bungaloos." The 1917 remake (right) is far livelier
than the original, which was taken at a slower tempo and is somewhat tentative-sounding,
suggesting that Greene was still perfecting delivery of his signature
piece.
(Author's collection)
The 1911
announcement of Greene's first double-sided Victors.
(Courtesy of John Bolig)
’GENE
GREENE VICTOR DISCOGRAPHY
The following discography is compiled from
the Victor ledgers (via John Bolig and the UCSB Victor Project)
and has been cross-checked against the original pressings in the
author's collection. It is particularly interesting to note how
often only a single take was made of a selection; Victor's usual
policy at the time was to record three takes of each title.
|
| Camden, NJ: February 14,
1911 |
|
| Acc: Not listed in
ledger |
|
| Trial — |
Title(s) not listed in ledger |
Victor unissued |
|
| Camden, NJ: April 18,
1911 |
|
| Acc: Studio orchestra
(no conductor listed in ledger) |
| B-10191-1 |
Maybe You Think I'm Happy |
Victor 16887 |
| B-10192-1 |
Dublin Daisies |
Victor 16894 |
|
| Camden, NJ: April 19,
1911 |
|
| Acc: Studio orchestra
(no conductor listed in ledger) |
| B-10196-1 |
Slip On Your Glad Rags and Come with Me |
Victor unissued |
| B-10197-1 |
Alamo Rag |
Victor 16887 |
| B-10198-1 |
Stay in Italy |
Victor 5850 |
| B-10199-1 |
That Carolina Rag [remade April 19,
1911] |
Victor unissued |
| B-10209-1 |
Go Back |
Victor 16894 |
| B-10210-1, -2 |
Cancel That Wedding March [remade April
20, 1911] |
Victor unissued |
| B-10211-1, -2 |
King of the Bungaloos [remade April
19, 1911] |
Victor unissued |
| B-10212-1 |
I'm Going to Stay on Solid Ground
[remade April 20, 1911] |
Victor 5848 |
| Note: The unissued
takes were destroyed. |
|
| Camden, NJ: April 19,
1911 |
|
| Acc: Studio orchestra
(no conductor listed in ledger) |
|
| B-10199-2 |
That Carolina Rag |
Victor unissued |
| B-10211-3 |
King of the Bungaloos |
Victor 5854 |
| Note: The unissued
take was destroyed. |
|
| Camden, NJ: April 20,
1911 |
|
| Acc: Studio orchestra
(no conductor listed in ledger) |
| B-10210-3 |
Cancel That Wedding March |
Victor 5853 |
| B-10212-2 |
I'm Going to Stay on Solid Ground |
Victor unissued |
| B-10213-1 |
The Long-Lost Chord |
Victor unissued |
| B-10214-1 |
The Piano Man |
Victor unissued |
| Note: The unissued
takes were destroyed. |
|
| New York: December 15,
1916 |
|
| Acc: Piano |
|
| Trial — |
From Here to Shanghai |
Victor unissued |
| Trial — |
Ruff Johnson's Harmony Band |
Victor unissued |
|
| Camden, NJ: January 30,
1917 |
|
| Acc: Studio orchestra (Rosario
Bourdon, conductor), with Peerless Quartet on B-19143 |
|
| B-19143-4 |
From Here to Shanghai |
Victor 18242 |
B-19144-
1,-2,-3 |
Ruff Johnson's Harmony Band [remade
March 9, 1917] |
Victor unissued |
| Note: The unissued
takes were destroyed. |
|
| Camden, NJ: January 30,
1917 |
|
| Acc: Studio orchestra |
|
| B-19145-1 |
Dance and Grow Thin |
Victor unissued |
| Note: The unissued
take was destroyed. |
|
| Camden, NJ: March 9, 1917 |
|
| Acc: Studio orchestra
(Rosario Bourdon, conductor) |
|
| B-10211-6 |
King of the Bungaloos |
Victor 18266 |
| B-19144-5 |
Ruff Johnson's Harmony Band |
Victor 18266 |
| B-19356-1,-2 |
Frankie and Johnnie |
Victor unissued |
| Note: The unissued
takes were destroyed. |
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"A
major improvement over The Complete Entertainment Discography... informative."
— ARSC Journal
Gene
Greene's other recordings — and those of more than 420 other actors, vaudevillians, and musical comedy stars — are
detailed in The American Stage Performers
Discography, available from Mainspring Press. |
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