John McCormack

Featuring 56 tracks, Archeophone's The Great War: An American Musical Fantasy traces the history of American involvement in World War I by reviewing the kind of records that were released. What unfolds is a drama in which the U.S. transforms through a series of stages: from curious bystander and political neutral to naive dove, then from idealistic booster to jingoistic hawk, and finally from jubilant victors to street-wise questioners asking "What was it all for?" With a 76-page full-color booklet featuring historical graphics, original research on the recording industry and a personal reflection on the war, The Great War is an essential release for those who love the music of World War I. Read more
List price: $29.99

26 hits from 1911, the year the nation got wrapped up in the aviation craze and the Triangle fire changed workplace safety laws. Highlights include Gene Greene's "King of the Bungaloos," Blanche Ring's "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine," and Collins and Harlan's "Alexander's Ragtime Band. The set includes a 24-page full-color booklet with an interpretive historical essay on key events of the year and notes on all of the selections. Read more
List price: $17.49

1914: "Her Memory Haunts You" features 25 selections from the year that the hopes and dreams of the progressive coalition that had put their faith in the presidency of Woodrow Wilson saw their agenda put on hold while economic issues--and then the beginning of World War I--took center stage. The soundtrack to the year brings us a good mix of future classics and songs of the moment, odes to country life, and more than a handful of songs longing for home and hearth, both pathetic and humorous. As with Archeophone's other Phonographic Yearbooks, 1914 includes a full-color 24-page booklet.  Read more
List price: $25.00

25 songs from 1915, the year submarine warfare and the sinking of the Lusitania hit the news. Popular songs included the American Quartet's "On the 5:15" and Billy Murray's "The Little Ford Rambled Right Along," Al Jolson's "Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers," and one of the most famous war protest songs of all, "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier." 1915: "They'd Sooner Sleep on Thistles" includes a 24 page full color booklet featuring an essay on the Lusitania and the push to war, discographical information on the records, notes on the songs, and rare images and photographs. Read more
List price: $17.49

25 hits from the year that Woodrow Wilson won re-election to the U.S. presidency on the campaign, "He kept us out of war." Behind the scenes, however, Wilson was preparing the nation for entry into the conflict, which came in April 1917. At the same time, child-labor laws were passed, and Emma Goldman found herself convicted for breaking the Comstock law.  Read more
List price: $17.49

1917: "Yankees to the Ranks" presents 25 songs from the year the U.S. declared war on Germany and entered into World War I. The 24-page color booklet includes extensive notes on all the songs and an interpretive historical essay that tells the story of patriotic volunteerism. Old favorite artists such as Billy Murray, Campbell and Burr, and Collins and Harlan are all here in clear restored audio; so too are newcomers Van and Schenck, Marion Harris, Dietrich and Wright, Anna Wheaton with James Harrod, Arthur Fields, and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on their first record! Read more
List price: $25.00

1918: "Like the Sunshine After Rain" features 24 selections from the year World War I came to a close and an influenza epidemic swept the nation. Selections include wartime and comic songs, songs that would become part of the Great American Songbook, and early jazz and dance numbers by Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. The CD includes a full-color 24-page booklet featuring an interpretive historical essay, notes on the selections, full discographical information and a bounty of historic photos and illustrations. Read more
List price: $17.49

25 selections from 1919, the year the White Sox threw the World Series and the nation experienced one of the largest labor strikes in history. Highlights include Marion Harris' "After You've Gone," John Steel's "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody," Billy Murray's "The Alcoholic Blues" and hits by some of the leading dance orchestras of the day. The set includes a 24-page full-color booklet with an interpretive historical essay on key events of the year and notes on all of the selections. Read more
List price: $17.49