Transcription Mystery Disc #113

The smear of black quill ink across the label read s 'Tedy singing." Strangely it has no vocals. In some ways these maimed labels catch my eye more than the clean ones. Often labels are in better shape than the records. This one had some substantial bed noise but the recording levels were high so a 6dB low pass filter brought out the music nicely. Tedy is Ted Clarence. The recording dates to Monday, October 28th 1940. He's got a nice orchestra, whoever he is.  Ted may have been the recording engineer, or the producer. Clarence could be Clarence Williams, but I don't think I'm that lucky.


12942 E. Jefferson Ave in Detroit is a high school now. In the 1950s that address was a dentist office. In the 1940s apparently it was a small recording studio.I have some doubts that it is the more famous Universal recording studio as that was located in Chicago. Universal did buy Motown, which is in Detroit but not until 1960.This disc is a bit of a mystery.

The song here is "Tuxedo Junction" written by Erskine Hawkins and Bill Johnson in 1939. It was a number one hit single for Glen Miller in 1940. So we can tell this was a contemporary cover to it's status as a hit. It's more similar to the Hawkins version than the Miller version with the emphasis on the clarinet solo and the slower pace. It's actually a pretty nice version. It's a shame it was never released.