Classic-Banjo
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Morley Recordings
According to Wikipedia (which we all know never lies) Joe Morley only made one commercial solo recording but he did record with Olly Oakley.
Does anyone have a list of the recordings he made with Oakley? And are any of these (and the solo Jovial Huntsman / Donkey Laugh for that matter) available on CD or MP3 anywhere?
Not counting the Tarrent Bailey stuff, obviously.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jody Stecher on
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The solo Morley recording of Donkey Laugh was restored and reissued on CD on Neovox #3 "Twilight Echoes". Three of the Morley/Oakley duets, Banjo Capers, A Darkie Chuckle, and Peach Blossoms were reissued on Neovox #7 "The Rooster's Revenge", a collection of restored ragtime recordings originally recorded for (English) Pathé.
There appear to have been two recording sessions of the same repertoire and each of the recordings were released by different labels. Chaotic? You bet? Abnormal? No, just business as usual.
According to The Banjo On Record (Heier & Lotz) there were two recording sessions of Oakley and Morley, in May and October of 1914. The May recordings were issued by Beka, Favorite, Scala and Coliseum. The October recordings were issued by Pathé and Diamond.
In May they recorded the Palladium March, A Darkie Chuckle, Banjo Capers, Peach Blossoms, and The Drum Major.
In October they recorded those same 5 pieces and also A Banjo Oddity.
The same book confirms that Joe Morley recorded only the one pair of banjo solos for commercial release which were done "before December 15, 1925" for the bizarrely named Homochord record company. One Chord Joe? Banjo music for gays?
The Kentucky Banjo Team originally included Morley and they seem to have recorded as accompanists to singing in both 1929 and 1939 but I suspect the 2 is a typo and both sessions were in 39, after Morley's death. At any rate his banjo would have been buried under organ, bass, piano, vocals, and 2 other banjos.
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Permalink Reply by Russ Chandler on
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Cor - thanks Jody!
Dumb question - where can I get hold of the Neovox recordings?
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*I* am the dumb one. NeoPHONE is what I meant. It was Steve Walker's enterprise and it used to have a web presence. His discs came with superb liner notes too. Neovox was Norman Field's old record copying service and he issued lots of banjo cassettes. Neophone was the issuer of the Tarant Bailey Collection with all those Joe Morley pieces. I'm not sure how to reach Steve Walker any more. I'd search in a ragtime direction rather than a banjo one. Ten years ago he lived in Devon or Cornwall. If you like I can post the 3 duets and 1 solo here on the ning site. But it might be a day or two or three until I can get to it. That said, each Neophone disc is worth having in its entirety and the liner notes are well written and insightful. Each disc is mostly ragtime and includes orchestras and brass bands as well as banjos.
Russ Chandler said:
Cor - thanks Jody!
Dumb question - where can I get hold of the Neovox recordings?
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