As old record geeks we're very aware of Len Spencer's odd and influential contributions to the progressing of how records were made.
He and his brother Harry were arguably the most well-educated of any of the earliest recording artists, as Len was teaching at his father's business college by age 18, and was already experimenting like mad, similar to the ways that we know Edison himself did in the 1870's. He was still young and immature, so he was still trying to find something of the experiments he did that he found a calling for. Then around 1887, in came the phonograph. Columbia had just set up their headquarters in the same place that the Spencer's were sort of royalty, Washington D.C. This new place became a curiosity for the peculiar young Len, as when they officially became Columbia in 1888, Spencer came back and forth to their place to buy machine parts, records, and rubber tubing. Since he came in so often the boys who worked there were becoming suspicious that the young college teacher could be a valuable asset for the newly-established record company. They hired him in late-1888 and had him start recording by 1889. From 1890 onward, it was free range for the curious boy. He stopped teaching by age 21, and started to devote himself all to this new haven recording. This was where he found his calling. He still experimented all the time with recording ideas, balancing techniques, and making stronger records. Here is an example of these experiments documented years later in The Phonoscope:
This little thing made me laugh. So typical of Spencer.
And in reading this, I had to draw out a fun illustration about it:
(Done using the picture before on this post)
He was still a stringy tall figure by 1893, much contrasting to the thing that his daughter Ethel told Jim Walsh in saying that he was,
"Over six feet tall and had a powerful, well-built physique"
She was born in 1898, so she only saw that side of him, even though she was the one who witnessed his sudden and alarming death in 1914.
So in 1894, Spencer came upon this idea to sell a full set of minstrel records. He laid out the whole plan to the man himself, Edward Easton, and he was impressed by Spencer's bold and progressive decision. Spencer planned to make a series of minstrel cylinders with all of the staff who had become his friends by this time, such as Dan Quinn, George W. Johnson, Billy Golden, Russell Hunting, J. W. Myers, and a few others. These records were made in the traditional Minstrel show format with the opening chorus, and the booming "Gentlemen, be seated!" Some of these records were made and sold by Spencer himself, sometimes even with the help of his 19 year old brother Henry(as he was still called in this time). He was teaching brother Henry how to work the machines and deal the records in the years before he began recording like Len in 1898. He continued to issue these minstrel records, which became a big hit with the record buyers for years, and even with the exhibitioners who did the big demonstration shows with the immense horns on the phonographs. When the North American record company busted in 1894, and when the U.S. Phonograph company burned to bits in 1896, Columbia was all that was left for Spencer to make these minstrel records. So that's exactly what he did. He began remaking these recording 1897 for Columbia with this new crew of artists that were an even better variety than the ones made back in 94. This time he had Roger Harding, Steve Porter, J. W. Myers, George Graham, Dan W. Quinn, Billy Golden, and of course Fred Hylands on the piano behind them(before they had the full orchestra accompaniment that is, but Hylands was still in the orchestra either way).The success of these records nearly doubled the last set's from a few years back, as they were more plentiful cheaper to buy than the other ones. Here are a few example of these records:
(Hylands at the beginning! Oh my god!)
One thing that's so odd about Spencer singing in groups, is that he NEVER blended well, you can always pick him out of the group easily, because his voice was of such a queer range and penetration on the cylinders.
Here's another probably recorded either on the same day or near the last one:
(Hylands at the beginning!! :-D)
When the orchestra accompaniment came along, it changed so much, and it forced many balancing changes to be made:
Roger Harding is fantastic on this one!!
Roger Harding was a wonderful gentleman, not just as a good friend and kind soul to all of the record boys he worked with, but with everyone. It's truly a loss that he died so young.
Here is another orchestra accompanied one from 1900:
This one is really fun, and at the end I'm sure that I can hear Hylands on the piano in the orchestra. This was was VERY well balanced for its time, better than the last one I shared with the orchestra, it's truly genius how the Spencer's put this one together.
To stray from the typical minstrel format, Spencer also managed a little group he called the "Spencer trio", which was really just a small portion of his whole Columbia minstrels troupe, the Spencer trio was more often than not well over three people. The entire personnel of this group was Len Spencer, Roger Harding, Billy Golden, Steve Porter, Harry Spencer, black-faced pianist Fred Hylands, later George Gaskin, Albert Campbell, and George Schweinfest oddly.
Here are two different takes of the same selection with the personnel identified:
Steve Porter, Roger Harding, and Billy Golden with Hylands on the piano:http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/mp3s/8000/8392/cusb-cyl8392d.mp3
Len Spencer, Albert Campbell, and Billy Golden from around 1899:
(make sure you pause the file right at the end of it!)
This one is not a cylinder, but probably comes from one from 1901-02:
(Hylands is VERY loud on this one!!)
The personnel of this one is a little more varied than some of the ones i have heard before, both Spencer's are on this one, brother Harry gets the spotlight on this one, Gaskin is on this, yodeler Pete LaMaire, Len, and Hylands playing is Rag-Time on the piano behind all the madness. Despite all the arguments in the comments on this, saying that George Schweinfest is on the piano, that is not true, we all know by the feel on the piano keys and prominent Rag-Time that their beloved Fred Hylands is on the piano behind them. Spencer still continued to keep up the minstrels he started until about 1910, and then all of that crumbled from there, he still issued minstrel records for Columbia in 1903 and 1904, such as this one with George Graham:
Every source you will possibly find says that this is Len Spencer performing this, but I am 100% sure that this is GEORGE GRAHAM! I don't care what everyone says, Spencer would have called up Graham to do one of his famous stump speeches or comic monologues:
George Graham was a very funny and oddly modern-sounding speaker, all of his records can prove this, but he's a very mysterious character in the early recording business.
To close off, here's another on of these "An Evening with the Minstrels" as this series was called in 1903 by Billy Golden, the whole chorus and the Columbia orchestra(which means you get Hylands on piano also!), so this record really has all of Columbia's best on it:
It's for sure another one of the Spencer's great balancing extravaganzas!
I hope you enjoyed this!
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