Asperger's & Autism Forum

Tired

Drawing more things to add to my "Supportive wall."

tree

@Gerontius
Do you have any recordings by Vernon Dalhart?
Or any by him singing as one of his many aliases/stage names?

Today is the first I have heard any recordings by him.

Gerontius

@Tired those could easily be greeting card illustrations; have you ever considered having cards made? Some folks still love sending and receiving letters!

Gerontius

@tree yes, I do have some Dalhart records! They're still surprisingly available considering they're about 100 years old. I have his "Wreck of the Old 97," of course, as that was the first million selling country record. He did it twice, in 1924 and again in 1926. I have some of his Edison records too

tree

First one I listened to was "The Prisoner Song." Wanted to find
a version that was pre-Burl Ives.

Gerontius

So... special interest dump on Dalhart but he was crazy popular back then! He was born as Marion Try Slaughter and studied grand opera. But when he started country music he named himself after two Texas towns he sang in. The operatic training gave him vocal power for legibility on early (acoustic) record making, as you really have to belt it out to make an audible recording on a wax master without electricity

Gerontius

I'm pretty sure you can find copies of The Prisoner's Song, and I think I have it somewhere but don't remember if it's 78rpm Victor or an Edison Diamond Disc. "In the Baggage Coach Ahead" is typical Dalhart--personal tragedy, death, melodrama, and somehow, a train involved. See also, Wreck of the Old 97.

tree

I looked up stuff about him because the accent in "The Prisoner Song"
was so odd I wanted to know where he was born/had lived.

Gerontius

"Doin' the Best I Can" is a good one and one of my favorites. It's on Edison Diamond Disc so if you find a modern transfer it should have really good sound quality. (Edison was insufferable but his 1912 disc process outperformed the others technically. Victor, and Columbia Graphophone, still thrashed him roundly for sales.)

Gerontius

The accent! Old records sound... actually, quite accurate to the original performance. Have heard performances on vintage instruments, live, and it sounded like a 78.
Well, they sang from the bottom of the diaphragm back then. A was 432-435hz instead of 440 so they all sang flat. Vibrato was considered "expression" and you still find old pump organs with vox humana stops to get the same effect

Gerontius

Dalhart sang like a stage singer, which was common back then--if you listen to Henry Burr's "Goodnight, Little Girl, Goodnight" or the Peerless Quartet's "On the 5:15" you hear that same almost "overacted" singing style.