California Ramblers - Song Of The Blues (1929)

The California Ramblers, were one of the hottest dance bands of the 1920s and consistently turned out records of the highest musical quality. They were is such demand, that many labels wanted to record them, and so the Ramblers recorded under many different names including 'The Goofus Five', 'The Five Birmingham Babies', 'The University Six', and the 'Varsity Eight' (with occasional slight personnel changes) All of their recording were spectacular, but it should be mentioned that nobody mastered the bass sax like Rollini. his playing remains an absolute joy to this day.

The band's career started when two of their members called on band agent Ed Kirkeby to find them work in New York City.

Banjoist Ray Kitchenman was the band's first leader. Kirkeby found work for them as accompaniment for a singer named Eva Shirley, but they broke up due to internal dissensions.

Violinist Arthur Hand had a band at that time, which included the Dorsey Brothers; Loring "Red" Nichols, and Adrian Rollini. Kitchenman talked Hand into giving him the band, and then again asked Kirkeby to find work. Kirkeby first booked them into Shanley's Dance Hall on New York's famed Broadway for a tryout. Shortly thereafter, the band took up residence at the 'Post Lodge' in Pelham Bay Park, Westchester county, -a suburb of New York City. The lodge was then renamed The California Rambler's Inn.

The group's instant success was to last for over a decade. They recorded prolifically under the California Rambler's name for Columbia Records, and under numerous pseudonyms for other labels. Kirkeby has told interviewers that the band waived all royalties with Columbia for the right to record for other companies under differing names. Their records appeared on most of the independent labels active in the mid-1920s including: Edison, Harmony, Silvertone, Pennington, and Broadway. For the Pathe' Actuelle label, they were the 'Palace Garden Orchestra.' On the Perfect label, they were billed as 'Meyer's Dance Band.' Grafton Records called them the 'Windsor Orchestra'." Some other names they used were "The Golden Gate Orchestra", "Goldie's Syncopators", "Ted Wallace and his Orchestra" and more. During the month of April 1926 - to cite just one example - they recorded over a dozen tunes using several pseudonyms on ten different labels, making more records than any band in New York.


California Ramblers - Song Of The Blues (1929)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• California
• Ramblers
• 1929
• 20s
• 30s

[amberola1b]

Ive got this reocrd, it was pressed on an Edison needle cut disc near the end of the Edison recording studios existance

[theschumanity]

Is this song by Isham Jones?

[JCJasion]

@jhoncena9111 HATER!!!!!!!!

[JCJasion]

@jhoncena9111 - HATER!!!!!

[jhoncena9111]

@JCJasion haha GAYY X2

[jhoncena9111]

gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[carrotjuse]

What a smooth, sophisticated sound, slightly jazzy. I've never heard them before. Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, who became big band leaders in the forties, were members of the California Ramblers. Thanks for posting.