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“Even to mention the 1930s is to evoke the period when human civilisation entered its darkest, bloodiest chapter. No case needs to be argued; just to name the decade is enough. It is a byword for mass poverty, violent extremism and the gathering storm of world war. “The 1930s” is not so much a label for a period of time than it is rhetorical shorthand – a two-word warning from history.” – Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian

I am not a historian, but I have a clear enough understanding of what The Thirties means. It starts with the great depression and ends with the world going to war. Bad stuff all round. But sound recordings preserve little of the buildup of fascism in Europe or the struggles of the dustbowl and Hooverville. At this time, more than ever, music seems to be an escape.

In the USA Ella Fitzgerald is singing with Chick Webb’s band, Billie Holiday is performing with Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman has made swing the universal music of American youth, Tommy Dorsey has turned jazz into mainstream entertainment. In France, Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grapelli are already recording in the Hot Club. In Hollywood, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rodgers are performing in Top Hat, The Marx Brothers in A Night At The Opera, and “Gold Diggers of 1935” introduces the Lullaby of Broadway.

This was a hard mix to make, too much good material and none of it really standing out from the crowd. In the end I jammed it all in and let it spread out. The result is surprisingly varied throughout (it was easier not to front-load with such a varied selection available) and I think it works, but will let you be the judge of that.

Is this an accurate picture of the mid 1930s? I cannot say, but it certainly doesn’t feel like a world of darkness and despair.

Track list

0:00:00 Centuries of Sound – 1935 Audio Collage Intro(Clip of HMV Weather Effects – Wind)(Clip from Hitler Youth Rally Speech from Triumph Of The Will)(Clip from NBC Joe Louis vs Max Baer)(MGM Lion Roar)0:01:09 Tommy Dorsey & His Clambake Seven – The Music Goes ‘Round And ‘Round(Clip from Top Hat)0:05:31 Fred Astaire – Isn’t This A Lovely Day(Clip of Carl Sandburg)0:08:39 Lydia Mendoza – Palida Luna(Clip of Robert Benchley – David O. Selznick ‘Your New Producer’ Short Film)0:11:24 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys – St. Louis Blues0:14:28 Boswell Sisters – St. Louis Blues(Clip of Groucho Marx in A Night at the Opera)0:15:21 Fats Waller – Truckin’(Clip from No Ghosts)0:18:13 Mills Blue Rhythm Band – Harlem Heat(Clip from Stoopnagle and Budd – If We Supervised Radio)0:21:51 Hoosier Hot Shots – I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones(Clip from Review of 1935)0:23:37 Kokomo Arnold – How Long How Long Blues(Clip from NBC ATMOTA – Personal Liberty and the Modern State with Lawrence Dennis & Lena Madison Phillips)0:26:07 Omolo Washiembu – N. Odera (Luo; Kenya)(Clip from Review of 1935)0:27:45 Benny Goodman Orchestra – Eeny Meeny Miney Mo(Clip from Marihuana)0:29:43 Memphis Minnie – Selling My Pork Chops(Clip from Marihuana)0:32:38 Leslie Hutchinson – Anything Goes(Clip from NBC WEAF Let’s Dance – Benny Goodman)0:34:15 Nat Gonella – Tiger Rag0:36:32 Nakano Tadaharu & Columbia Rhythm Boys – Tiger Rag(Shirley Temple Organ Grinder’s Swing Scene from The Littlest Rebel)0:38:09 Chick Webb & His Orchestra – Down Home Rag(Clip from Hollywood Extra Girl)0:39:54 Chick Webb & His Orchestra with Ella Fitzgerald – I’ll Chase The Blues Away(Clip from Review of 1935)(Clip from EIAR Benito Mussolini – Italy Invades Ethiopia)0:42:34 Oum Kalthoum – Lehy Ya Zaman Kana Hawaya(Clip from CBS Calling All Cars)0:44:22 Udi Hrant – Hicaz Taksim(Clip from James Weldon Johnson – The Creation)0:44:50 Georges Boulanger – Avant De Mourir (My Prayer)(Clip from Carl Sandburg – The People, Yes)0:47:52 Professor Wali Ullah Khan – Sitar Instrumental(Clip from Mad Love trailer)0:49:22 Wingy Manone & His Orchestra – Black Coffee(Clip from A Night at the Opera)0:51:55 Tiger – Marabella Wedding(Clip from CBS Calling All Cars)0:53:23 Giorgos Batis – I Filakes Tu Oropu(Clip from The 39 Steps)0:54:44 Xavier Cugat – Mama Inez(Clip from Review Of The Year 1935)0:57:02 Hildegarde – Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup0:59:35 Jean Sablon with Django Reinhardt – Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup(Clip from PTT Leon Degrelle Denonce Les Scandales En Belgique)1:02:49 Josephine Baker – Reves1:05:19 Maurice Chevalier – Les Mirlitons(Clip from A Party On A California Isle Avalon, beside the bay)1:07:26 Winnifred Shaw & Dick Powell – Lullaby Of Broadway1:08:25 Boswell Sisters – Lullaby Of Broadway1:09:10 Winnifred Shaw & Dick Powell – Lullaby Of Broadway(Clip from Bing Crosby Studio Dialogue)1:10:37 Bing Crosby – Take Me Back To My Boots And Saddle(Clip from Bing Crosby Studio Dialogue)1:12:27 Stéphane Grappelli’s Hot Four – I Got Rhythm(Clip from Review Of The Year 1935)(Clip from Screen Interview With Sheffield Wednesday)(Clip from Cup Final 1935)(Clip from Interview With Captains)1:17:08 Egbert Moore – M.C.C. vs. West Indies(Clip from Review Of The Year 1935)1:20:12 Henry Hall BBC Dance Orchestra (Vocal Dan Donovan) – Mickey’s Son And Daughter(Clip from The 39 Steps)1:22:40 Western Brothers – We’re Frightfully BBC(Clip from W.C. Fields in David Copperfield)1:25:29 Noel Coward – Don’t Put Your Daughter On The Stage Mrs. Worthington(Clip from David Copperfield)1:27:25 George Formby – Fanlight Fanny(Clip from The Three Stooges in Uncivil Warriors)1:29:41 Goebble Reeves The Texas Drifter – The Cowboy’s Dizzy Sweetheart(Clip from Chevrolet Ad)1:32:35 The Ink Spots – Your Feet’s Too Big(Clip from A Night at the Opera)1:36:10 Lucille Bogan – Barbecue Bess(Clip from Financing The American Family)1:38:48 Bunny Berigan – Chicken And Waffles(Clip from Billy Costello – I’m Popeye The Sailor Man)1:41:00 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys – Osage Stomp1:43:32 Fănică Luca – TudoriÈ›o, Nene(Clip from Métodos Infalíveis Para Acabar Com A Insônia)1:45:51 Michel Warlop Et Son Orchestre – Strange Harmony(Clip from NBC ATMOTA – Has the New Deal Promoted or Retarded Business Recovery)1:48:20 Petit Mirsha – Vieni Vieni (+ Django Reinhardt)1:50:18 3 Flutes & Vocal – Kuadinkro Bessueba1:50:49 Lawrence Tibbett – Summertime(Clip from Carl Sandburg – The People, Yes)1:53:12 He Zemin & Huang Peiying – Big Idiot Buys A Pig1:54:02 Ms. Taeng, Ms. Sam, Ms. Huch & The Ensemble Of Mr. Soi Sang Wan – Cha Pi1:55:06 Jesse Stacy Piano Solo – In The Dark(Clip from Amelia Earhart – A Womans Place in Science)1:56:46 Billie Holiday – I’m Painting The Town Red(Clip from Down the Gasoline Trail)1:59:04 Big Joe Williams – 49 Highway Blues(Clip from Chevrolet Ad)2:00:57 Louis Prima & His New Orleans Gang – Chinatown, My Chinatown(Clip from ComiColor Balloon Land)2:03:22 Benny Goodman – King Porter Stomp(Clip from Review Of The Year 1935)2:05:35 Django Reinhardt & The Hot Club De France Quintet W Stéphane Grapelli – Djangology(Clip from Flash Gordon 27/04/35 – On the Planet Mongo)2:08:50 Jorgos Batis – O Buffedsis(Clip from Gangster Puts Underworld On Spot For You)2:10:44 Cripple Clarence Lofton – Strut That Thing2:13:23 Elizabeth Austin – Sail Gal (Ring Game)2:13:37 David Pryor – Roll ‘im On Down (Bahamian Launching Song)2:14:32 Harry Roy – Temptation Rag (Piano Duet – Ivor Moreton & Dave Kaye)(Clip from Review Of The Year 1935)(Clip from Emperor Haile Selassie delivers speech on Italian invasion)2:16:02 Arthur Schnabel – Sonata No 29 In B Flat Major Op 106 ‘hammerklavier’ Iv Largo – Allegro Risoluto(Clip from Huey P Long Share the Wealth speech)2:18:53 Leo Soileau’s Four Aces – La Valse De Gueydan(Clip from Review Of The Year 1935)2:20:56 Giorgos Katsaros & Yorgos Katsaros – Mana Mou Ime(Clip from A Midsummer Night’s Dream)2:24:10 The Carter Family – Can The Circle Be Unbroken (Bye And Bye)2:25:39 The Lone Star Cowboys – Just Because2:26:59 Milton Brown & His Brownies – Down By The O-Hi-O(Clip from Huey P Long VFW Speech)2:29:46 Meade Lux Lewis – Honky Tonk Train Blues(Clip from Baldwin Speech – Himley Hall)2:31:23 Duke Ellington – Showboat Shuffle2:32:49 Duke Ellington & Billie Holiday – Symphony In Black; A Rhapsody of Negro Life(Clip from Sylvia Scarlett)2:36:05 Raymond Quecedo – Duke And Duchess Of Kent(Clip from Hitler Youth Rally Speech from Triumph Of The Will)(Clip from Jewish Demonstration Against Hitler in New York)2:38:35 Samuel Malavsky – V’shomru(Clip from The 39 Steps)2:41:36 Big Bill Broonzy – Good Liquor Gonna Carry Me Down(Clip from Como Dormir – Métodos Infalíveis Para Acabar Com A Insônia)2:44:06 Leadbelly – Mr. Tom Hughes’ Town(Clip from CBS Calling All Cars)2:45:11 Xavier Cugat And His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra – Begin The Beguine(Clip from Dangerous)2:47:12 Septeto Machín – El Guateque(Clip from Mad Love)2:48:56 Len Fillis Hawaiians – Blue Hawaiian Sky2:50:56 Adrian Rollini – Jazz O’ Jazz (Vocal – Jeanne Burns)(Clip from Naughty Marietta)2:52:59 Cleo Brown – Me And My Wonderful One2:55:36 Teddy Wilson – What A Little Moonlight Can Do (Billie Holiday + Benny Goodman & Ben Webster)(Clip from Henry Hathaway)2:57:37 Louis Armstrong – You Are My Lucky Star(Clip from British Pathé – Ten Stone Baby…Teased With Chocolate)3:01:18 Coleman Hawkins & Ramblers – I Only Have Eyes For You(Clip of White House Christmas Tree Lighting)3:03:13 Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb and His Orchestra – Rhythm And Romance(Clip from Les Miserables)3:06:12 Wingy Manone – House Rent Party Day(Clip of Groucho and Chico Marx in A Night at the Opera)3:09:33 Willie ‘ The Lion ‘ Smith – Swing Brother Swing(Clip from The 39 Steps)(Clip from CBS Calling All Cars)(Clip from Gangster Puts Underworld On Spot For You)3:12:23 Fats Waller – Lulu’s Back In Town(Clip from Roberta)3:15:06 Ray Noble Orchestra – Top Hat3:17:38 Fred Astaire – Cheek To Cheek(Clip from Picnic Panic)3:19:32 Frank Froeba & His Swing Band – The Music Goes Round And Round(Clip from KNX Radio Revival Hour (12-29-1935) Charles Fuller)