Take Two Records

This collection offers samples of 60 selections from major Broadway Musicals and Revues covering a 30-year period from 1904 to 1934. All numbers are from vintage recordings made at the time of the musical—not later revivals. Our purpose is to give today's listener a clear sense of changes in compositions, arrangements and vocal styles in musical theatre over this interesting period—a span that covers the transition of sounds from ragtime to jazz and early swing.

The enduring show business classic Give My Regards To Broadway recorded in 1905 opens this set. This song was originally performed by George M. Cohan in Little Johnny Jones, but was not recorded by him so a contemporary performance by Samuel H. Rous is used instead.

However, several numbers are performed by the artist who introduced them in the original shows such as I'm Always Chasing Rainbows by Harry Fox in Oh, Look!, Birth Of The Blues by Harry Richman from George White's Scandals Of 1926, Doin' The New Low-Down, by Bill "Bojangles" Robinson from Lew Leslie's Blackbirds Of 1928, Heat Wave, by Ethel Waters in As Thousands Cheer and You're The Top by Ethel Merman in Anything Goes. In addition there are actual performances by composers Victor Herbert, Rudolph Friml, George Gershwin and Cole Porter.