Baby Face

Baby Face played on my Kimball Electramatic player piano. US Roll # 43959. Played By: Robert Billings. Written By: Harry Akst (music) and Benny Davis (lyrics). Copyright 1926 Remick Corp.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Baby Face
• Kimball electramatic
• player piano
• Written
• By:
• Harry
• Akst
• (music)
• and
• Benny
• Davis
• (lyrics)

[kalight2018]

I love the crisp tinkley sound of this piano. Is the vacuum motor in this piano of the "vacuum cleaner type" or the bellows type. I use to have an Aloleon brand that was similar to this one. Is the mandolin attachment engaged? Do you have several pianos?

[pm0501]

This has a vacuum cleaner type suction motor and is pretty noisy. I pulled out the "uke" attachment but. could reinstall it at anytime.

This is the only piano I have at the moment but, I have a deposit on a full size 1925 upright that is scheduled to be rebuilt this fall. It will be worth my wait.

[Huckabeezer]

@pm0501 No other piano on YouTube produces this same sound (I've listened to probably 800-900 so far). I, too, have found myself curious how yours works. As you no doubt know, there are quite a few different ways of producing the "sound" of the honky tonk era, but yours seems to literally be built into the instrument.  How did they do it?

[pm0501]

@Huckabeezer The piano itself is a Kimball "Artist Spinet" which was supposed to be one of their better quality spinet pianos. They simply installed a "modern" player roll box which largely depends on electronics to do much of the start, stop, and rewind functions. By nature, spinets have a small piano sound and this is no exception. It could sound better on YouTube if I were using better mikes and better acoustics in the room. There is a uke bar but I removed it years ago.

[pm0501]

@KawhackitaRag When I posted this video, I transcribed the label info from the still frame with the typo "Herbert Billings". It is in fact Robert Billings and has been corrected.

[JamesPriceJohnson]

@KawhackitaRag yea it was a mistake in the description. how many rolls did rob make?

[KawhackitaRag]

@hotsickle This is unlike Imperial, who continued to issue distinctive arrangements via its own artist roster from the QRS buyout in 1922 through about 1924 or 25, after which they continued to have distinct arrangements by J. Lawrence Cook for a few years, finally ending their run as a distinctive brand by simply being QRS' budget label with the same arrangements as QRS rolls, but fewer verses and choruses.

[KawhackitaRag]

@hotsickle U. S. Music Rolls was purchased by QRS in 1926 (I think) and I believe that production of new US rolls ceased immediately upon purchase, although QRS kept some of the old rolls available through at least the late 1920s.

[KawhackitaRag]

@hotsickle Robert Billings, along with Lee Sims, James P. Johnson, and a few other people, made rolls that were definitely ahead of their time. In fact, I am firmly of the opinion that Robert Billings' rolls were, harmonically and texturally, about 10 years ahead of their time. His roll of "Eliza" is considered a jazz classic.

[KawhackitaRag]

@JamesPriceJohnson This roll IS by Robert Billings... you can see for yourself at the beginning of the video when the roll label is shown. pm0501 just made a mistake typing the description.

Robert Billings came from a large and musical piano-industry-oriented family. Him, and his brothers Earl and Harry Billings made rolls (I think) for various companies, but I am not aware of any "Herbert Billings" in the family.

Robert was one of the founders of the Billings Roll Co (Staffnote).

[JamesPriceJohnson]

is herbert related to robert?

[kalight2018]

What type of piano are you having restored this fall,

i'm curious what you think the value of my piano is, I took it off ebay after failing to sell it at $1800.00

I paid $500.00 for the piano and $700.00 to the restorer. It took about a year for the restoration.