Sixty seven years ago this program was broadcast live to the world. Fred waring performed with his orchestra and glee club on Christmas Eve 1942. This transcription recording begins and ends abruptly on each side suggesting it's a dub of the original transcription, or that the engineer was piss poor.In the 1920s Waring's Pennsylvanians were touring and recording and performing continually. They were a big seller for Victor Records. Waring also began to feature more and more choral music in his performances. In 1933 Fred stopped recording completely, furious that he could not stop radio stations from broadcasting his records, nor people playing them on Juke boxes. Then he came to find out that some stations were recording his performances and re-broadcasting them. He felt that it competed with his live broadcasts. Fred flipped his shit and filed a number of lawsuits and learned that essentially... there was nothing he could do.
It might have been surrender but he began recording again commercially in 1942 for Decca. During the recording hiatus Fred added troupe of male singers as a a Glee Club. The Waring Glee Club toured split off as it's own unit.
In the 1940 he concentrated on choral recordings. It was decidedly unhip even at the time. In 1942, the same year as this live broadcast they released "‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” This was a Christmas program with his Glee club on some station somewhere... Each side starts a bit rough and then cleans up to pretty listenable.
SIDE A
SIDE B
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Hello, this was posted yesterday on youtube: ".navydoctrinidad. As a boy in the 1940's I loved Fred Warings Glee Club. They had one great song in particular that was and still is a great favorite of mine, "And Russia Is Her Name." I hope you know it.It is magnificent. Thanks for inviting me to be friends. Charlie"
ReplyDeleteHave you heard anything about this song? I wonder if it's possible to find a link and hear it. Thank you. Friend