Who's that?
Exactly.
That's all we know as of now. Hopefully by the end of this post, some of the mystery here will be sorted out.
Now, while searching around the pages of Antique Phonograph Monthly this evening, I stumbled across this image:
Now it looks like any old studio picture that was made into a lithograph of some kind, much like those pictures from The Phonoscope. At first, the pianist I had assumed to be Hylands, just like most of the time, especially since the singer whose face we can see is Steve Porter. But that doesn't seem to look like Hylands... not nearly as... ...eh...stout as he was...
But that profile... ... ...
That looks suspiciously like some other picture we know of:
Hmm... ...
This is a real hard one. More so than any previous photographic findings. One thing that is for sure--that's Hylands' profile(the picture at the very top of this post).COME ON! This are his lips, they are both the same in that picture and the exhibition picture immediately above, same slicked back hair, chin and neck, intensely bright and reflective eyes, that distinctly nose, the overall height--it's all the strangest thing. I have not any idea of what to think of this, since it really does look like Hylands, but the weight is not there. It almost seems to me like the lithographer who drew out the image fixed around Hylands' figure, which seems unthinkable, but isn't impossible. Remember that retouching was a very common practice in photography in this time period, particularly in show business and entertainment. Of course, this seems just completely like a far-fetched, outrageous, inconceivable theory, since most people who know of my almost obsession over Hylands would know that I'd chuck this sort of possibility immediately upon looking at the image. This is a special situation however. It seems weird of me to go off an say that this:
is Fred Hylands, but really, since it's a Lithograph, anything's possible. Also, if you really study the look of his clothing, you can kind of see a little more of Hylands in it. That's still not enough to prove it, it still seems laughable for me to even think that's Hylands.
Come to think of it, it looks a little disproportionate if you really study the body structure of the figure, as well as the size of the upper arm.Who am I kidding, this is just a crazy theory, that probably none of you reading this believe. If you do think it's Hylands, PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS POST! I would love to hear other voices in this conversation, because there's no way I can figure this out on my own.
Do note that the pianist is VERY tall.
Whatever becomes of this, I REALLY hope that's Hylands, because if so, he was better-looking than I thought!
*Again, PLEASE share your thoughts about the pianist in this image, they are mightily appreciated in this circumstance, more so than any other time I've asked for feedback*
Now to move to something also Columbia related! It's clear that Columbia had their own sort of "Clan" in the 1890's, with Russell Hunting as its leader and founder. Hunting was the king of the crass humor and little censorship that makes many early Columbia records charming and attractive to younger listeners, even in the modern terms. Many things slipped out on these early Columbia's, not only countless mistakes from the distracted piano player(Hylands), but well-hidden obscene humor, such as that of both Spencer's. Someone like Dan W. Quinn refused to let any of these things cause him trouble in the studio, and with that, many takes of his must have had to be redone. However, when we move to figures like Gaskin, that's a different story.
Gaskin is becoming an ever more interesting character than previously thought. Not only was he an advocate for George W. Johnson, but since he dealt with oppression of the Irish, he had time to become self-aware and wise about suffering and discrimination. Gaskin was poor Irish scum. Roger Harding was well-to-do Irish. That right there says everything about Gaskin's outlook, and how he was viewed by even his colleagues in the business. Gaskin pretty much personified all Irish stereotypes, from the weird and crooked speech with a thick dialect, to the firey red hair and steel blue eyes. Gaskin also didn't care a rap about messing up often on recordings, which seems strange to say since his records seem all fine when thinking that over at first, but there are a few recordings that could change our preconceptions of Gaskin. One record in particular caught my attention, and it was posted just this week.
Before the analysis, here's Gaskin's 1898-ish recording of "Drill Ye Tarriers Drill"(with Hylands). This recording is very interesting(despite the fact that it's played too fast). Now this seems like just any crazy Columbia record from the late-1890's, with all of the aspects loud and clear, especially the piano! Not only is Hylands' playing really great, especially at the end when he plays his whole Irish jig thing that he used to do on many records by Quinn and Gaskin, but one thing Gaskin says really caught my attention. If you know about Gaskin's routine with this song, you'll know that he did the usual protocol when the singers said "hell" on recordings. Quinn exemplified this by always saying "h-well!", and Collins and Harlan never said the word flat out. You may notice that Gaskin on this take just above actually says the word.
Oh--the boss was a fine man all around,
but he married a great big fat fall down.
She baked good bread, she baked it well,
---she baked it hard as the hearts of hell.
Yes folks, that is what Gaskin sings on this recording. That is what makes this take so unique, as the other takes by Gaskin have him not even saying "Hell" in the lyrics. On his famous Berliner you can hear this.
He says on the Berliner:
she baked good bread, she baked it well,
she baked it hard, well I won't tell!
This small thing really says a whole lot about Columbia compared to other record companies. It backs up the fast that Columbia was a much more liberally run company that others of the time, and that Emerson didn't care about small ticks like this, despite the fact that Edison would overreact to things like this. A few recordings were deleted almost immediately from the Edison catalog because someone at the playback thought they heard "hell" in the lyrics, but really that's not what the singer(Will F. Denny by the way) actually said. Emerson probably couldn't care less about Gaskin or anyone saying that on recordings. It must be noted that Columbia released something called their "tough series" in 1899-1900, which included "The Side Show Shouter" and early takes of Spencer's "The Dog Fight". These recordings were along the lines of Gaskin carelessly saying "hell" on a recording, from around the same time. Even after Hunting went to prison, and went out overseas, the boys back at home still held on to the humor he helped influence.
I hope you enjoyed this!
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