"CONSOLATION" - Maurice J. Gunsky (1926)

CONSOLATION - Tenor with violin, 'cello and piano
(Maurice J. Gunsky - Merton H. Bories)
Maurice J. Gunsky
Victor 20236-A, 1926.

In the collection I inherited from my grandmother there are several records featuring Maurice J. Gunsky (1888-1945), a popular recording artist of the late 1920s. He has an interesting voice. Its tremulous quality easily conveys the tenderness, longing, and melancholy found in the type of songs in which he seems to have specialized. "Consolation" was his hit song; it was recorded on September 8, 1926.

I have found very little information about Maurice Jacob Gunsky on the internet. He recorded about three dozen records on the Victor label. The 1930 Victor catalog contains many of them. By 1934, only one was still listed: "Why Do I Always Remember" (which dates from Gunsky's first recording session).

A 1927 article from a Eugene, Oregon, newspaper (paraphrased here) sheds some light on his career:
. . . Gaining his first fame as a composer, Maurice Gunsky turned to the radio as a means of trying his compositions on as large an audience as possible. His first broadcast was of "Consolation," a ballad he had just written, and the voice of Gunsky was heard singing that now-famous number for the first time over a San Francisco radio station. The success of both the singer and the song were so phenomenal, that Gunsky put his vocal talents ahead of his role as composer.
The phonograph interests were soon attracted and soon the name of Gunsky made its first appearance on a Victor label. The nation-wide sale of "Consolation" established Gunsky as a recording artist and the tenor now has scores of disc successes on his list. . .

Maurice Gunsky's grandson, in a recent communication, confirms, to a certain degree, this somewhat simplified and idealized newspaper account. He writes that his grandfather was born in California and was living in San Francisco in the 1920s, where he worked at a local radio station as a vocal talent on a part-time basis. He would sing, on demand, for the station's in-house needs. The station was soon overwhelmed with interest in this unknown singer!

Gunsky's grandson continues, "It was this exposure at the station which eventually lead to his signing with Victor. He was a natural musician: his passion for writing and composing music started as a young teenager. He never had formal lessons.
"He was quite popular in the late twenties. The stock market crash and depression took quite a hit on him and most other performers at that time. His music is still played in Europe."

The singer did not have to travel far to make his first recordings for Victor; just a quick ferryboat ride across the bay from San Francisco to Oakland, where Victor had established a West Coast studio.

My grandmother lived in San Francisco when Gunsky was performing on the radio and I would be surprised if she had not heard him over the airwaves! She had a sentimental nature, and the words and sentiments in his songs, that Maurice Gunsky brought to life with his exceptional voice, would have appealed to her. (After all, she did buy his records!)

As indication of just how popular Maurice Gunsky was at the height of his career, his grandson concludes with this anecdote from decades later, "As a little boy, my last name would garner attention from older ladies who remembered Maurice Gunsky."

Maurice Gunsky wrote the words to "Consolation":

"Feeling mighty blue,
The world has lost its charm for me.
Since you left, my happiness is gone.
Don't know what to do or where to look for sympathy.
Just a word from you would cheer me up. . .

Just a little word of consolation, when I'm blue.
I would need no other explanation that you're true,
Just a bit of tenderness,
Just a fond caress;
Even a little smile would do....
Just a little of bit of consolation!
That's all I ask of you!"

For more information about Victor's Oakland, California, plant, visit this site: www.gracyk.com/oakland.shtml

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Maurice
• J.
• Gunsky
• 1926

[Inky261]

this is sweet!

[abendstunde49]

@Inky261

Thank you!

[bsgs98]

Thanks for the additional notes on Gunsky and for giving recognition to this nearly forgotten artist. Your graphic talents also add much to the enjoyment of this song. Great job!!

[abendstunde49]

@bsgs98 Thanks for the much appreciated words of support!

I am hoping more of his records will eventually appear on Youtube.

[camille885]

This is a dreamy melody! Like a lullaby, very sweet.

Thanks for sharing!

[abendstunde49]

@camille885 I like the words you used to describe this song!

Thanks!

[abendstunde49]

@SuperLuckydream Thank you so much, Tamara, for your comments!

I am pleased to share these few Gunsky records and I hope someone else will post more of them!

[abendstunde49]

@LillyC68 Hot chocolate?!? What a nice compliment!

Thank you, Lilly!

[SuperLuckydream]

A lovely song. Maurice Gunsky's singing is unusual and expressive. Sure, ladies adored it. Thank you for posting this treasure and your interesting essay and a fine video, dear Anthony!

[LillyC68]

Visiting your channel feels like enjoying a hot chocolate on a cold winterday... :)

thanks for this lovely upload, dear Anthony,

Lilly