Tom Hinds wrote:
<<A business called Bargain Books just advertised a CD called Square Dance, Music and Calls. There's no date. There are 6 instrumental and 6 called cuts. To me the music sounds early modern western.>>
This sounds like a reissue of "Town and Country Square Dances," an LP on the Everest label (also issued on Olympic). I don't think the caller was ever identified; I agree that the calls are not danceable.
<<The cover of this CD has the same dancers and musicians as found on the cover of the LP of Robert Treyz and the Action Promenaders but the camera shots are different.>>
Originally, I believe there was no connection between the Treyz album and the Town and Country album, which didn't use the same photo shoot.
The Treyz album was probably reissued more times, with more different fake names for the caller, than any other SD record. Robert (Bob) Treyz was his real name; I knew him slightly in the 1970s. He lived in the Acton-Boxborough area of Massachusetts. (The original issue of his album uses the correct spelling of "Acton Promenaders.")
<<Also, I have a vinyl recording of Emery Adams calling. It's the same as a different recording of someone called Tex Daniels. The only difference between the two recordings is the pitch (speed at which it plays). Who's the real caller?>>
There were several LPs that were repeatedly reissued on $1.99 supermarket labels with various callers' names:
1. The Bob Treyz album; I've seen "Zeb Smith" listed as the caller, among other names. Bob was a real caller, and the selections (mostly traditional singing calls) are danceable. The music is a bit thin but adequate.
2. This one shows up most often as "Swing Your Partner" with "Uncle Bill Wiley and his Tall Corn Boys." The caller has a decent voice, and the singing calls are pretty good, but he was obviously reading the patter calls from a script: he's not even on the beat, and he doesn't allow any time between commands. The band, however, is excellent, with a nice full sound. It's unmistakably the Pinetoppers, who made several instrumentals for Decca/Coral including a terrific Life on the Ocean Wave backed with a Buffalo Gals that for years was the standard recording for Pattycake Polka (aka Heel and Toe Mixer).
3 & 4. I don't know who the caller was on either of these; I believe they were both originally issued without a name. They can be identified by the dance titles: One includes "Caballero," "Opposite Jitterbug," "Round and Round Ho Down," and "Inky Dinky Parley Vous" (sic). The other includes "Hi Jinks," "Nine Pins," "R.H. High," "Merry Farmer," and "Fort Lee Line." (There's some overlap in titles between this and the Treyz album, but if memory serves, it's not just Treyz with the titles changed.) I assume that the "Emery Adams" and "Tex Daniels" issues are either #3 or #4 (unless they're Treyz).
<<And then there's Holler Hawkins........>>
HH is the esteemed Jerry Helt of Cincinnati, who has been a full-time caller for decades. He made this album over 50 years ago under his own name and was not pleased to see it under a false name. (I don't think it's been reissued as often as #1-4 above.) It's an interesting album for two reasons: (1) The dance selections vary widely in difficulty, from absolute beginner level to routines that would have been challenging for the club dancers of the time ("Turn by the left to an arky thar - head gents, side ladies in a right-hand star"). (2) Jerry told me that the music was recorded on a tight budget; in some cases (e.g. Turkey in the Straw) the musicians were told to play one "A" part and one "B" part, and the parts were strung together in the studio to make a multiple-AABB sequence.
<<I wonder why no names or fake names. It probably has to do with
money - no big surprise if that's the case.>>
I've always assumed that these albums were issued in most cases without informing the caller and musicians, let alone paying them.
By the way, some of the 1960s supermarket LPs were much better than average. If you see one by Mac Gant and the Tennessee Dew Drops, grab it; it's an excellent job of teaching and calling Southern sets - two-couple figures in a big circle, with spoken instructions.
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
UNH is the University of New Hampshire. The collection of square dance
historical material is at the Milne Special Collections Department which is a
section of the UNH Library. To link to the general Library use
http://www.library.unh.edu/
To look for records use:
http://www.library.unh.edu/special/search/advanced.php?t=nhltmd
To go to the Square Dance Foundation of New England collection at UNH go
to:
http://www.library.unh.edu/find/archives/collections/square-dance-foundation
-new-england-collection
In a message dated 7/25/2016 3:04:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com writes:
What is UNH? And wversity of New Hampshireis the Unihat is the URL?
thanks
Jim Tait, canton MI
square dance caller
iv
In a message dated 7/25/2016 3:04:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com writes:
What is UNH? And what is the URL?
thanks
Jim Tait, canton MI
square dance caller
In a message dated 7/25/2016 3:04:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com writes:
What is UNH? And what is the URL?
thanks
Jim Tait, canton MI
square dance caller
No, the UNH resource will stay. The CALLERLAB set makes it easier to load
the whole set into your own computer making searches much easier.
Jim Mayo
In a message dated 7/21/2016 1:34:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com writes:
Otto Warteman wrote:
<< For all those on the traditional callers list, Gardner Patton has come
to an agreement with Bill Boyd, the current owner of American Squares, to
release all issues between 1945-2010, a total of 779 issues. They will be
available on a USB Flash drive for $40.00.>>
These issues are currently available free on the UNH website. Does this
agreement mean the free scans will be taken down?
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
Otto Warteman wrote:
<< For all those on the traditional callers list, Gardner Patton has come to an agreement with Bill Boyd, the current owner of American Squares, to release all issues between 1945-2010, a total of 779 issues. They will be available on a USB Flash drive for $40.00.>>
These issues are currently available free on the UNH website. Does this agreement mean the free scans will be taken down?
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
Jim Saxe wrote:
<<Does anyone know of a guide for determining the dates of issue
of old square(/contra/folk) dance records? Most such records
have no date printed on the label. And even where publication
dates are given on the label or packaging, they typically won't
be included in listings of the records in printed or online
catalogs.
It has occurred to me that one might go through the archives of
_Sets in Order_ and/or _American Squares_
http://newsquaremusic.com/ASDindexUNH.htmlhttp://newsquaremusic.com/sioindex.html
(many thanks, btw, to Gardner Patton for digitizing these, to
the publishers for granting permission, and to the University
of Denver and the University of New Hampshire for hosting),
looking at, say, the last issue published in each year and
noting the catalog numbers of records reviewed or advertised,
especially those indicated as being new. This information
might provide a rough timeline from which one could guess the
approximate issue dates of other records made by the same
companies.
It has also occurred to me that someone might already have
compiled such a timeline, whether based on magazine ads or
on other sources of information. *** Do any of you know of
such a thing?
I am of course aware that various complications might come up...>>
Jim, I had to laugh at the timing of your query. A few hours before you posted it, I was online reading the early mimeographed issues of American Squares (AS), to which I had never had access before, and noticing that they contain more precise information about record release dates than most other sources I've seen. Editor Charley Thomas, who wrote the AS record reviews during his tenure there, frequently mentions that a particular album is "just out" or writes that he's looking forward to receiving it. Reading this digitized treasure trove made me think, for the umpteenth time, how nice it would be if such a database existed.
Back in the pre-Jurassic era when I was newly interested in all things squaredancical, I began a list (in hard copy - no home computers in those days) of all the records I encountered. It included label, number, title, and I think artist(s), but not release date. From time to time I've contemplated starting a computerized discography, but (1) I thought someone might have beaten me to it, and (2) I had no idea whether anyone but me would find any value in it. It would necessarily be a labor of love, and I have higher priorities at the moment (such as writing Volume Two of my caller's textbook, dealing with squares in depth, which I hope will earn me a dollar or two). It could conceivably be crowdsourced, but we'd need to be clear on how we'd defend the date we assigned to a recording, if it wasn't taken from a producer's catalog.
I'd love to have a complete discography, with caller's name, musicians if known, key, tempo, playing time, arrangement (AABB? Tags? Number of choruses?), source for date, a field for comments on the music or dance figures, and links to audio clips of tracks we think are historically significant or particularly nice. But who would host it, and who would take overall responsibility for it? I have some of the knowledge and skills, but not the time or the access to computer resources. I'd certainly be interested in collaborating on such a project. (There is an excellent online Gilbert & Sullivan Discography, a one-man labor of love, but it excludes most 78 and 45 rpm singles and EPs. Even if it were to include them, I believe there are only hundreds of G&S recordings, whereas square dance releases run to many, many thousands.)
If Jim or anyone else is wondering about the dates of specific recordings, feel free to ask on this list. I have a lot of knowledge rattling around in my head, gleaned from reading and re-reading old magazines and collecting records. Stig Malmo, probably the world's most assiduous collector of square dance ephemera, probably knows a lot that I don't. Don Ward has connections in the recording world and is another good source of specialized information. The other "core consultants" to the Square Dance History Project (Bob Dalsemer, Larry Edelman, Phil Jamison, Bill Litchman, Jim Mayo) each know a lot about their specialty. Phil Jamison in particular has made an in-depth study of called records that pre-date the mid-20th-century revival; his finds date from 1924 to 1933. Phil has made audio files of these records available on his website (www.philjamison.com<http://www.philjamison.com>) in connection with his masterful book _Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics_. He set out to write a history of Southern Appalachian dance, but in the process he gives a thoughtful and fairly comprehensive overview of the entire arc of country-dance history in the U.S.
If anyone on this list is new to the world of square dance records, let me say that it's sizable and largely undocumented. As mentioned above, there have been thousands of releases, mostly singles. In both the pre-revival and revival eras, every major recording company issued square dance albums and/or singles, as did many smaller companies specializing in country music. Many of these records were made by some of the top country bands of their day, under their own names or pseudonyms. In addition, since the late 1940s, companies devoted to square dance recordings have come and gone; typically two to three dozen have existed at any one time. Some such companies were one- or two-hit (or -flop) wonders, but some have lasted for decades, issuing hundreds of titles. The whole field is ripe for research.
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
Does anyone know of a guide for determining the dates of issue
of old square(/contra/folk) dance records? Most such records
have no date printed on the label. And even where publication
dates are given on the label or packaging, they typically won't
be in included in listings of the records in printed or online
catalogs.
It has occurred to me that one might go through the archives of
_Sets in Order_ and/or _American Squares_
http://newsquaremusic.com/ASDindexUNH.htmlhttp://newsquaremusic.com/sioindex.html
(many thanks, btw, to Gardner Patton for digitizing these, to
the publishers for granting permission, and to the University
of Denver and the University of New Hampshire for hosting),
looking at, say, the last issue published in each year and
noting the catalog numbers of records reviewed or advertised,
especially those indicated as being new. This information
might provide a rough timeline from which one could guess the
approximate issue dates of other records made by the same
companies.
It has also occurred to me that someone might already have
compiled such a timeline, whether based on magazine ads or
oh other sources of information. *** Do any of you know of
such a thing?
I am of course aware that various complications might come up
in dating SD record: A particular company may have used more
than one series of catalog numbers. A recording originally
issued pn a 78 RPM disc may later have been reissued as a 45
or as one track on a 33 RPM LP. An instrumental recording
might later be used as music for called recording. Record
companies might get bough out and some of their might be
reissues with new numbers. Some catalogs list records with
distributor stock numbers that may have no obvious relation
to the record producers' catalog numbers. I seem to recall
reading about one label (Folk Dancer?) that issued records
for years with the same copyright date on all the labels.
Maybe there are other significant issues I've overlooked.
I also know that for any particular record there are various
web searches I might try in order to get a clue about its
date. But thos could get rather tedious if one were trying
to find approximate dates for dozens or hundreds of records.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can point me useful
resources/
--Jim
