Classic-Banjo
A Site Dedicated to all enthusiasts of Classic Style Banjo
Morley solo recordings...
I was a bit surprised to find the very rare Joe Morley solo sides don't seem to have made it onto either our music library or onto Youtube, at least I couldn't find them. So I have taken the liberty of digitising my copy.
I don't try to do any restoration on them so they are complete with pops, scratches, RIIA EQ and the lot.
Still remarkable that he made just these two solo recordings. A very commercially minded choice of a couple of novelty numbers.
Views: 83
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jody Stecher on
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Noise and all these two sides are still the clearest recordings of Joe Morley's solo banjo playing I have heard. The Tarrant Bailey Sr cylinders of his playing are noisier. Thanks for this, Russ. This gives an insight into why Morley's playing was admired: his timing and clarity are excellent. I was curious about the record label which seemed to be "Homo Chop" but which I assumed was the equally peculiar Homo Chord. I had a look on Discogs and found many discs on the Homochord label. Here is a link. I noticed that the actual round label surrounding the center hole had many designs and colors.
https://www.discogs.com/label/356140-Homochord?srsltid=AfmBOooMNXtk...
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21 views? The first easily accessible public sharing of a clear recording of Joe Morley and on the website devoted to classic banjo playing it gets only 21 views? On Youtube Donkey Laugh got 13 views. A disappointing state of affairs.
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Permalink Reply by Russ Chandler on
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These recordings date from around 1925 and would almost certainly have been recorded electronically so they are much more advanced than Tarrant Bailey Seniors hobbyist cylinders.
Do we know why he only recorded two solo sides?
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Permalink Reply by Evan Crisman
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I tried to do some digging and found one source that claimed that the D-## recordings on Homochord was used for masters contracted from the Gramophone Company. Interestingly, I found that the D recordings originally were used to issue Zonophone masters before Gramophone gave Homochord their own content. I say interesting because Olly Oakley did a few records for Zonophone, so I wonder if there's some connection between this release and the session that Oakley did with Joe Morley? Wonder if the Gramophone Company was sitting on masters from an earlier recording session and decided to put them out later through Homochord.
Mostly just my own harebrained speculation but they're great recordings, nonetheless. Thanks for sharing.
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