Forgotten Encounters

All of the early recording duos we know of as record geeks met somewhere. Some of them have great stories for the encounter, but some are vaguely remembered, or even forgotten altogether. One of these path crossing encounters that many collectors want to know is how these two met:

Byron Harlan(ha! or "The Western Tenor")

Yes indeed, how they first met and when has been a mystery since the days of their popularity. It's surprising that neither one of them ever said when and how they met the other. They were good partners and had a clinging friendship, but how it began, we will never know. Some think it began with them bumping into each other on a train ride in the 1890's, but some think of it more reasonably in that it was Frank C. Stanley(seen below) who first introduced them in 1900 or 1901:

I'm not sure what of the theories to favor, as I love Frank Stanley, and I like the image of younger Collins and Harlan running into one another getting on the same train in say, 1897. We do kind of know well that Collins and Harlan met prior to their first recording session on Halloween of 1902, as they are together in Edison's 42 artists picture of 1900:

Collins and Harlan are in the far left corner. Collins' smile is the way to find them, with the tall fresh-faced Fred Hager between them. 

They are right next to one another in this very significant picture! Coincidence? 

You think what you may about how Collins and Harlan first met. I personally think it was more of a work encounter in 1899, where Collins was in for the day announcing behind some orchestra and singers, and Harlan just happen to walk in, and you know the rest. 

Another duo I would like to know the beginning of is these two:

Len Spencer

And Dear old Freddy Hylands

Tall and strong Len Spencer met fat Freddy Hylands at some point in mid or late-1897, but how they met, I haven't the least idea. In 1896 and 1897, Fred was just a lazy music director who did an awful lot of lying around, but got a hell of a lot work done somehow. Spencer was a man hard at work in Columbia's studio, where you couldn't keep him away from the horns, as he was going at over four hundred rounds a week for two songs. When Spencer met Fred(however he did!), he must not have had much hope in him to be able to take on the amount of rounds he did in a week. How those boys at Columbia were wrong. As much as Fred hated the amount of work, and as much as it was wearing him away, he was the damn best pianist Columbia ever employed in the acoustic era. Just Like Banta, Hylands had to work his tail off every day in the studio, and with the added edition of exhibitions(prior to 1901), he had to be up late, sweating himself senseless in the semi-formal attire, and almost passing out after the crowds left by midnight. 

Len and Fred were a perfect match, and their musical minds came together to create the best examples of early Rag-Time there are.Whatever it was that brought them together first, it was that something that made their records together work so perfectly and evenly. 

Another duo I wonder about is these two:

Vain Vess Ossman

and freakish Frank Banta(from my art)

Ossman met Banta in 1892 or 1893, and he must have been impressed by the 22 year-old professor and intermediate band leader. Young Banta was a local musician and one who could take on anything that was needed from any artist in the area. Ossman must have been captivated by Banta's winning ways , his piano playing, and especially his perfect pitch. He was willing to play anything that Vess threw at him, and half the time Banta didn't need any sheet music, he just needed to know the key and he would be fine. Ossman and Banta pretty much had the same musical mindset(like Hylands and Spencer!). Banta and Ossman(ha! switched the names around for Banta's benefit!) seemed perfect for one another, which they were really, but Ossman being too bright for his own good couldn't focus on one stage partner for more than 5 years, so by 1898, great big Freddy Hylands had Vess taken, almost ending the partnership altogether, to the point of there it was only occasional that Banta saw Ossman on the stage. He left the extremely gifted Banta in the dust pretty much, until he died in 1903 in fact, but he still had ties with him anyhow, and I'm sure he(along with supposedly just under a thousand people) attended Banta's funeral. 

I hope you enjoyed this!