Polkas and Dance Bands, New Family History, and Other Random Thoughts

I am not writing as much as I usually do, but I have had a couple of things I wanted to talk about today so I figured I would "suck it up" and do just that.  This post may be a little different, but it should also be informative too, so hang on to your hat!

Last Friday, I got some new CD's in the mail of a polka variety, and they were some great stuff.  That, of course, pushes my CD collection to 1095 discs, 5 short of 1100.   I started collecting CD's 17 years ago, although I had been collecting vinyl since I was 10 years old.   Anyone who knows me also knows that my primary musical preference is vintage dance bands - Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, Lawrence Welk, etc. - yet over the years it has gotten much more complex than even those.  Which is why I am going to talk a little about that, and also do my first-ever directory here of good music sources for any of you with similar interests.

Big bands essentially played dance music, since the first orchestras came onto the scene in the early 1900's.   And, of course, big dance bands didn't just appear out of nowhere - they had roots!  The roots, I discovered, are intertwined with America's own history as a "melting pot" of ethnic groups, and that makes big bands probably one of the most American of musical forms, because they represent everything!  Some of my fellow big band afficianados say the era started with Art Hickman's orchestra in San Francisco in 1913, while others say it was Fletcher Henderson in 1923, and still others maintain that there wasn't a true "Big Band Era" until Benny Goodman supposedly initiated it in 1935.   I don't think any of these are the facts - in reality, it took small bands to make big bands, and it also took a diversity of cultural contributions to simmer into the delicious musical stew known as the big band.   If one really looks at the facts, the true origins of the big bands go back to the late 1800's and early 1900's, when bands playing a lot of different music - jazz in New Orleans, klezmer in the big East Coast cities among the Jewish communities, cowboy string bands in the Southwest, German-Czech-Polish-Slovenian folk musicians forming polka bands up around the Great Lakes region and the upper Midwest, and Latins in the islands, Florida, and the Southwest forming small orchestras to play rumbas, sambas, etc.    Not to mention overseas influences - the bal musette orchestras on the streets of Paris, and the tipicas in Spain, Cuba, and Argentina playing tangos, among others.   Add to that the "chamber" or "parlor orchestras" that played ritzy parties for the upper crust in Boston, Manhattan, and Nob Hill in San Francisco - small ensembles heavy on strings and successfully fusing ragtime and classical so debutantes could dance the soft-shoe with their dapper tuxedoed escorts.   All of that was American entertainment at the turn of the last century - recordings were not abundant, and some that would become big names were still struggling musicians.  It is actually quite unfortunate that many of those little orchestras of various genres were not recorded then, as they would have been a valuable documentary legacy of some great music.  However, there are some new orchestras today, such as the Mont Alto Theatre Orchestra in Colorado and the Lenny DeLux Vaudeville Orchestra in Georgia, that are rediscovering and recording that era of music in stereo, so we now in the digital age have the advantage of hearing what the earlier stuff sounded like.   I also wanted to make mention though, for those who see a totally jazz root of the big dance bands, of the late Will Marion Cook, who was perhaps the first big bandleader ever, as he had a big orchestra in the 1880's that unfortunately was never recorded.   An African-American, Cook was also a prolific composer, and along with fellow African-American composer William Grant Still he created a new concert idiom that a White bandleader some years later, Paul Whiteman, would solidify into "Symphonic Jazz" and some 25 years afterward another White bandleader, Stan Kenton, would take it to even more pioneering extremes.  This too, interesting enough, is all part of the big band legacy as well. 

And, it must be noted that not all big bands were "big."  Some of the greatest recordings of that era were made by small groups and soloists, such as accordionists Charles Magnante and Ernie Felice, small combos such as the Three Suns, and unique groups like the all-harmonica Rascals, led by their zany Russian-born leader Borrah Minnevitch (one member of this group, Armenian-American Jerry Murad, formed an award-winning harmonica trio later called the Harmonicats, and another, a dwarf named Johnny Puleo, formed his own harmonica orchestra).  Then, there were other great personalities - mandolin virtuoso Dave Apollon, pioneering guitarist Les Paul, and small-group jazz combos such as Slim and Slam, the Nat King Cole Trio, Louis Jordan's Tympany Five, and the John Kirby Sextet - all of these were also part of the big dance band soup too.   And, it must be added that the era just didn't start in 1935 and end in 1945 - big bands were still making good records even into the 1980's, and in 1960, one even made the Top 40 - Si Zentner's recording of "Up A Lazy River."  I mean, even Lawrence Welk, the most visible of bandleaders after 1950, still has an audience 20 years after his death with his signature TV show!  I tend to be a lot more all-compassing than many collectors, and I feel as if many big band afficianados miss out on some rare gems because they more or less focus on just the "swing" aspect of the genre or they limit themselves to the 1935-1945 timeframe.   I hope to change that too, as all great instrumental (and some vocal!) dance music deserves to be preserved.

As of last week, I launched a small campaign as a matter of fact to get Jimmy Sturr, the 18-Grammy winning current reigning "Polka King," inducted into the Big Band Hall of Fame and Museum located in West Palm Beach, FL.   I got to actually meet Jimmy in person at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, FL, this year (he is a nice guy, I might add), and that got my wheels turning.  Jimmy does have a program, if you get satellite, on Friday nights on the RFD-TV network, and he features quality music.  Although he is the reigning "Polka King," and among his accomplishments are his induction into the International Polka Association Hall of Fame as well as being the only dance band/polka band on record to play on the Grand Ole Opry stage, I feel that he deserves recognition for his part in preserving the legacy of big bands as well, which he does with excellence in both his live performances and on television.  I only hope that maybe some fellow big band afficianados will take that into consideration as well - many, unfortunately, are not even aware of Jimmy's existence even, despite the fact he's won 18 Grammys and has had a band for over 40 years.  So, perhaps it is time to introduce this great musician and showman to the wider world.

Me meeting polka legend/bandleader Jimmy Sturr in person at the 2012 Strawberry Festival, Plant City, FL.  He is autographing a CD for me also.

My CD collection now at 1095!!

There are of course other great polka bandleaders of the past that deserve similar recognition - some that come to mind are of course Whoopee John Wilfahrt, who started the first well-known Polka band in New Ulm, MN, back in the 1920's.  Also, there is Harold Loeffelmacher, the late leader of the Six Fat Dutchmen, as well as Will Glahe, whose versatility was both in polkas and in society-style tango music too.  Additionally, there were early pioneers Lawrence Duchow, Romy Gosz, Dick Rodgers, Bernie Roberts, and Larry Chesky, not to mention Slovenian-American legends Frankie Yankovic, Johnny Pecon, Lou Trebar, and Verne Meisner.   Some big band historians do recognize some of them - Richard Grudens, for instance, in one of his books includes Whoopee John, the Six Fat Dutchmen, and Dick Rodgers in his "roll call" of big bands, and others have rightfully included Frankie Yankovic.   I also feel that many great klezmer legends need recognition as well, including late clarinetist Dave Tarras, bandleader Sam Musiker, Naftule Brandwein, Abe Schwartz, and Mickey Katz, among others.   There are so many more that could be mentioned but time or space don't allow.  If conventional big band halls of fame and literature can't recognize these great talents, I am even contemplating doing my own "Big Band Hall of Fame," possibly even virtually if resources don't allow a tangible place, that would include them.  Besides, I owe a lot to polka music for my interest in big bands anyway - as a kid, it was polka that got me interested later on in big bands! 

That being said, I now want to share with you some great resources to find music if you are interested in collecting.   Today, almost anything can be found on Amazon or EBay, and I do shop on those a lot, but over the years I have established a select number of people I deal with on a regular basis that I want to share here for you to take a look at, so let us begin that.

The first resource I want to share with you is one I have personally been dealing with for almost 15 years now, and if you are looking for any vintage big band music on CD, this is your place to find it.  The company is World's Records, and they are based out of Novato, CA, just north of San Francisco.  Ren Brown, the owner, has operated this company for many years, and simply put, if he don't have it, he will find it for you, and if he can't find it, then it simply doesn't exist!  Their website is at www.worldsrecords.com, and you can sign up to receive weekly notifications from them of anything new they have in stock.   

The second source is one of the few places I shop with that unfortunately Worlds Records doesn't stock, and they are based out of Australia.  I have gotten several items off of them over the years, and they have basically reissued every recording Paul Whiteman ever made, as well as excellent material in complete collections of Smith Ballew, Leo Reisman, Freddy Martin, and others.  The company is Crystal Stream Audio, and their website is www.crystream.com.au .   They are also very affordable collections, considering the material you get on them.

A third resource is a good one for getting a lot of bandleader Orrin Tucker's recordings, as well as some excellent material from rare hotel/society bands that has not been issued anywhere else on CD, and the company is Bermuda House, based out of California.   Their CD's are very affordable (around ten bucks each) and they have a lot of material from rare LP's of orchestras such as Ernie Hecksher, Meyer Davis, Ron Howard, Jack Malick, and others.  Their website is http://www.bermudahouse.com/, and their founder, Bob Stone, is also a wealth of knowledge in regard to Orrin Tucker trivia. 

Another source I have found quite good over the past several years is a good friend of mine from Herculaneum, MO, by the name of Mark Caputo.  Mark has several hundred thousand rare radio transcriptions of big band remotes, and practically any big band that has ever been on radio, Mark has a sampling of them somewhere.  He unfortunately does not have a webpage, so in order to contact him, you would need to email him at mmwcaputo@msn.com, or write his address at Mark Caputo, 19 Howe Crossing, Festus, MO  63028.   He will generally charge you about $10 per disc you request, and he makes them to order.  I would suggest requesting a listing from him to see what you are looking for, as he has a LOT!  He will be good to email you that as well upon request. 

Now, we want to talk polka!  My main vendor for polka CD's is Jimmy K Polkas, located in Ohio.  He has an excellent selection of all styles - Tex-Czech, Polish, Slovenian, Dutchmen-style - and he also is pretty easy to order from as well.   His website is http://www.jimmykpolkas.com/index.html.

Another great vendor - who has also become a good friend, as he's a nice guy - is Cy Pfannenstein in Minnesota.   He has a somewhat larger collection than Jimmy K's, but he also has a gift for tracking down something you're looking for if you can't find it anywhere else.   His website is http://www.cysmusic.com/.  

The final resource I wanted to list is a good place to buy vintage klezmer recordings, and that is the Bookstore at the Jewish Workmen's Circle in New York.   They are a little offbase politically, as they are somewhat socialist, but they do manage to maintain a great reservoir of items of Yiddish culture, including a resource for getting some vintage klezmer music in reissue.   Thier website is at http://circle.org/, and you will have to look around a bit to find the bookstore to order from them, but it is there.  

These are just some of the resources I use personally to find good music, and I also have some good ones as well for liturgical music, Southern Gospel, and Assyrian and Armenian music too, although all of that is outside the scope of this article.  Write me if interested though.  Again, if these resources don't have what you are looking for, you can also find a lot of great stuff on Amazon.com as well.  


Any rate that is our musical journey for today, but I wanted to also mention another neat development this week too.  As you have seen, I have posted much about my family history in earlier articles, and on occasion I get these little gems of genealogy from some unexpected sources.  One of those emailed me a couple of days ago, and as it turns out, he is a third cousin to me.   His name is Marcus Briggs Cloud, and my relation to him comes from my great-grandmother, Nettie Richburg Compton, who was the sister to his great-great grandmother, Mary Susan "Sudie" Richburg McLeod.   Marcus is also fascinating in that he is a full participating member of the Muskogee Creek Indian nation, which is a part of our genetic makeup too, as I know I am about 1/8 Muskogee myself.  A Harvard Divinity School graduate, he now teaches at a Muskogee college in Oklahoma, and getting in contact with him yesterday was actually a pleasant surprise, as he is very interesting.   He also educated me a lot about my own Muskogee heritage, as he is a wealth of information about that (he even posts his Facebook entries sometimes in Muskogee language!).  One thing he shared with me was a photo of my great-great grandmother, Parsilla Buckelew Richburg, which I will share with you here too:

My great-great grandmother, Parsilla Buckelew Richburg (1851-1931)

As we continued to correspond, Marcus also shared with me the mystery about the Muskogee blood in our veins and where it was at, and wouldn't you know it, I was looking in the wrong place!  See, for many years I thought the Creek connection came from the Thrower branch of the tree, as a lot of unsubstantiated stories - read that "family legends" - circulated about that, in particular my great-grandmother Carrie Parker Thrower.  However, I was puzzled because I could not find anything, until yesterday when Marcus told me where it was.  Parsilla's grandfather, Richard Taylor, was actually registered with the Eastern Creek Tribe in south Alabama after a major Creek/US conflict occurred at a place called Fort Jackson around 1813-1814 (the Treaty of Fort Jackson, as Marcus told me, happened in 1814 ending the hostilities, but it was a hollow and ambiguous victory depending on which account you hear about it).  So, with documented proof, I can now begin to track that part of my family history, and I cannot express the gratitude I have to my cousin Marcus for his assistance with that - he was a true blessing.   Hopefully, later on, I can document some more as I learn more and acquire more information from my own research. 

That all being said, I want to close now, but Lord willing I will be back again soon.  Take care and God bless.