Acoustic and Orthophonic sound boxes / Spring-wound and Electric motors
Victor Talking Machine
Victrolas only.
Email me for details:
okgrove@yahoo.com
Reasonable rates
Custom service
Professional Audio Restoration Services
Digital transfer and restoration available for:
Disc records:
78, 45, 33 rpm
Shellac, vinyl, acetate, laquer
up to 12" diameter Cassette tape 1/4 inch reel-to-reel tape
Email me for details:
okgrove@yahoo.com
Probably the most enduring popular song written about the automobile is Gus Edwards' and Vincent Bryan's "In My Merry Oldsmobile," which was written in 1905 and is still recognized by a great many people today:
Young Johnny Steele has an Oldsmobile
He loves his dear little girl
She is the queen of his gas machine
She has his heart in a whirl
Now when they go for a spin, you know,
She tries to learn the auto, so
He lets her steer, while he gets her ear
And whispers soft and low...
Come away with me, Lucille
In my merry Oldsmobile
Down the road of life we'll fly
"Automobubbling," you and I
To the church we'll swiftly steal
Then our wedding bells will peal
You can go as far as you like with me
In my merry Oldsmobile.
Naturally this song has been recorded by many artists over the years. Our first record is an "original version" recorded by the prolific singer Billy Murray for Columbia Records in 1906:
In 1927, the Jean Goldkette Orchestra was invited by General Motors to make an updated record of the song. One side of the record was a waltz arrangement of the song in the
traditional style, while the other side, the one I have included here,
is a lively fox-trot arranged by Bill Challis. It notably features cornetist
Bix Beiderbecke improvising over the last chorus. These performances were recorded by Victor Records in May of 1927, and the special record was given by GM as a souvenir to those who attended the 1927 Detroit Auto Show. (If you click on the label image, you'll notice that one of the composers is incorrectly listed as "Vincent Edwards.")
Our final version of "In My Merry Oldsmobile" dates from 1946 and features Les Brown and his Orchestra, with vocals by Pat Flaherty and Butch Stone. This swinging 1946 arrangement captures the excitement of American car buyers who anxiously awaited the arrival of the new post-war American automobiles. (If you recall, US domestic auto production was halted from 1942 through 1945, as Detroit's factories were re-tooled to produce military vehicles and airplanes.) The new 1947 Oldsmobile featured Hydra-Matic Drive, the first practical automatic transmission, and attractive "fast back" styling. (The legendary "Rocket V8" Oldsmobile engine wasn't introduced until 1949.)
Billy Murray, who successfully transitioned from records to broadcasting and had become a radio star in the late 1920's due in part to his partnership with another singer, Walter Scanlon, was invited by the Max Fleischer studios to to lead a sing-along cartoon of "In My Merry Oldsmobile" that was released by the studio in 1932:
Lots of vintage Oldsmobile advertisements are available here. I always enjoy looking at old car ads from the 1950's, if for no other reason than to appreciate the effots of artists to draw the cars so they look as big is possible.
A number of record collectors including yours truly have uploaded videos of classic performances played on their vintage record players to YouTube. You'll enjoy the videos uploaded by:
A video of my Sparton 8-57 console playing the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra's 1936 Brunswick recording of "Organ Grinder's Swing." The Sparton 8-57 is circa 1948 and belonged to my mother.
The Sparks-Withington Corporation is most famous for its highly collectable 1936 "Bluebird" tabletop radio, as well as several other colorful plastic Art Deco radios from the 1930's. Otherwise, Sparton products seem to be of average interest to old radio enthusiasts.
This particular console has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. In fact, playing Mom's 78's on this machine when I was a kid was what got me hooked on old records. And back in the day when radio still supported instrumental-music-only formats, with no breaks except for short commercials and hourly news, my parents listened to this radio in the evenings after supper; they were old enough to still enjoy an evening accompanied by music from the radio, rather than by television.
Young Johnny Steele has an Oldsmobile
