1916: "The Country Found Them Ready"
Various Artists

The Great War was raging in Europe, but 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. Archeophone’s newest release in our Phonographic Yearbook series, 1916: “The Country Found Them Ready,” packs 25 songs together with notes and an essay about domestic preparedness during this pivotal moment in American history.

War Songs Imported from Abroad and Home-Grown Anthems

“(Keep the Home-fires Burning) ‘Till the Boys Come Home,” sung by Frederick Wheeler, and “There’s a Long, Long Trail,” by Reed and Harrison, were songs the British soldiers were singing in the early days of the war, and they found favor with American audiences as well. The record companies, sensing the change in the wind, began pumping out patriotic product and making big hits out of the old standards, such as “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee),” sung here by the Columbia Mixed Double Quartette, and “The Star Spangled Banner,” expertly performed by Prince’s Band.

America Enters the Hawaiian Craze

The coming storm was not on everybody’s mind. In 1916, the U.S. was in the middle of a fad for things Hawaiian, mirrored in the nonsense song by Collins and Harlan, “Oh! How She Could Yacki Hacki Wicki Wacki Woo,” and Al Jolson’s “Yaaka Hoola Hickey Doola.” Perhaps the biggest hit of the year was one that combined the Hawaiian craze with fascination over the newest technological advance in communications-the wireless telephone. The song is “Hello, Hawaii, How Are You?” and it was a smash for several artists in 1916, including Nora Bayes and Anna Chandler; but here is the biggest hit version of all, by Billy Murray. As an added bonus is a 4-minute medley version of “Hello Hawaii” made by Prince’s Band, under the supervision of G. Hepburn Wilson, Columbia’s dance expert.

Songs from Hit Broadway Shows

Several shows had long runs in 1916 and generated well-known songs. They are sung here by the stars who introduced them in the original shows: from Sybil, we have Joseph Cawthorn singing (actually talking at breakneck speed!) his famous “I Can Dance with Everybody but My Wife”; from Lew Fields’ Step This Way comes “If I Knock the ‘L’ Out of Kelly” by Marguerite Farrell; and from Stop, Look and Listen are two Irving Berlin classics, “The Girl on the Magazine” by Harry Macdonough and “I Love a Piano” by Billy Murray-two hit songs paired on a single disc that was probably the most popular record of the year.

Old Familiar Favorites

Like the other titles in Archeophone’s Phonographic Yearbook series, 1916: “The Country Found Them Ready” includes top hits by the big artists of the day, so there’s plenty of familiar faces here: Campbell and Burr doing “There’s a Quaker Down in Quaker Town”; Henry Burr soloing on the sentimental classic, “M-O-T-H-E-R”; the Peerless and American Quartets providing top-notch harmonies on “The Lights of My Home Town” and “Along the Rocky Road to Dublin,” respectively; and John McCormack with the haunting “Somewhere a Voice Is Calling.” A new face you’re sure to love is the stage star Anna Chandler, singing the very wry “You Can’t Get Along with ‘Em or without ‘Em.”

A Value You Can Be Sure of

Archeophone always gives you full-length CDs, with beautiful packaging and informative notes. This one is no different. The CD clocks in at over 77 minutes and features a gorgeous full-color 24-page booklet with a fascinating look at the year by poet and scholar Gigi Thibodeau. The 25 songs are classics of American history, just as this compact disc is destined to be a classic in your collection.

This release is included in the following packages.