Isham Jones Orchestra

Years before writing "It Had to Be You," Isham Jones honed his craft at Mann's Rainbo Gardens in Chicago—composing, arranging, and perfecting songs that he and his band performed nightly before the dinner-and-dance patrons. Jones' style, capturing elements of the social dance craze of the 1910s and anticipating the jazz revolution of the 1920s, offers a rare glimpse into the beginnings of the era of great American dance bands. This two-CD set presents all 37 sides Jones' Rainbo Orchestra recorded in 1920 and includes a 32-page booklet, with notes by Grammy-nominated author and trombonist David Sager, exploring Isham's earliest years, his gift for tuneful arrangements, and his importance as an architect of the American dance band. Read more
List price: $27.99

25 hits from 1921, the year that the Tulsa underwent the worst race riot in American history. Top songs by Paul Whiteman, Campbell and Burr, Al Jolson, Marion Harris, Eddie Cantor, Van and Schenck, Zez Confrey, the Paul Biese Trio and Frank Crumit, Isham Jones, and Vernon Dalhart. 24-page color booklet features detailed notes on the songs, an historical essay, and rare graphics. Read more
List price: $17.49

24 hits from 1922, the year that sales of radios to American homes skyrocketed. The music was also getting jazzier, witnessed by hits such as "Lovin' Sam" by Miss Patricola and the Virginians, "On the Alamo" by Isham Jones, and "Hot Lips" by Paul Whiteman with Henry Busse. Other hits are by Fanny Brice ("My Man" and "Second Hand Rose"), Jones and Hare, Henry Burr, Al Jolson, and Lucy Isabelle Marsh and Royal Dadmun. Features the last hit by Jones and Murray, and the song of the year, the insanely popular "Mister Gallagher and Mister Shean" in two different versions. Deluxe, full-color 24-page booklet features detailed notes on the songs, an historical essay, and rare graphics.  Read more
List price: $17.49

The newest volume in our Phonographic Yearbook series, 1923: “Gonna Play the Villain Part” features 25 selections from the year a popular president died amid growing public scandals, a new sign illuminated the Los Angeles skyline, and the country was swept up musically by the question of where one could find bananas. Read more
List price: $17.49