Songs of the Night: Dance Recordings, 1916-1925
Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra

It took a violin virtuoso leading the band at an upscale New York hotel to turn the world of dance records upside down. Eschewing the cold, impersonal arrangements of military bands, Joseph C. Smith brought a warmth and intimacy to the soundtrack of the 1910s dance craze–always with taste and discipline. He reinvigorated the waltz, helped standardize the fox trot, incorporated vocal refrains, and introduced many future classics. For a brief moment, the night belonged to Maestro Smith.

A Thorough Retrospective

Featuring 47 tracks recorded between 1916 and 1925, these two CDs and 32-page booklet tell the story of Smith’s career and the innovations he pioneered. Researcher Ryan Barna has uncovered new information on Smith’s life and shares valuable insights into the bandleader’s singular contributions during the rapidly-changing world of early-century dance music. He made his name at the Plaza Hotel in New York, where Victor discovered him and then employed him to be their dance master. He recorded “Songs of the Night,” “Poor Butterfly,” “Allah’s Holiday” and the first Cole Porter tune ever waxed, “I’ve a Shooting Box in Scotland.” Initial public reaction to the new dance stylings presented by Smith seemed muted, so the company allowed him to go to Columbia, where he made two sides: “Calicoco” and “When You Come Back” (both included here). Then everything changed.

How to Waltz

“Missouri Waltz” was the last thing Smith did at Victor before defecting to Columbia. Sales skyrocketed, and Victor called him back for good. Other bands made waltz records, but not like this. Smith’s arrangements were intimate and romantic; his violin was the language of love. Smith would keep the waltz, his specialty, fresh and up-to-date–whether in a sustained mood of sadness, like with “That Naughty Waltz,” or by employing a remarkable hesitation beat, like with “Three O’clock in the Morning.” Smith’s proponents insisted that while fads would come and go, the waltz would always stay around, and nobody could play a waltz like Smith’s band.

Innovations

Smith was the first bandleader to introduce vocal refrains on dance records, and you can hear old industry pros Harry Macdonough on songs such as “Smiles” and “Peggy” and Billy Murray on “Ching-a-Ling’s Jazz Bazaar.” Moreover, Smith provided a launching pad for many top musicians, who perform their solo specialties here, including trombonist Harry Raderman; xylophonists Teddy Brown and George Hamilton Green; pianists Hugo Frey, Harry Akst and William Bergé; and saxophonist Rudy Wiedoeft. Smith himself provides sometimes beautiful (“Missouri Waltz”), sometimes scorching (“Sally”) violin work throughout the proceedings. And he also gives renditions of several of his own compositions, including “Coo Coo” and “Who Did It?”

Caught in the Middle

Despite giving Victor some powerful hits, such as the exotic-sounding “Hindustan,” the eerie “The Vamp,” the tender “Mickey” (with vocal by Henry Burr), and the all-time best-selling “Love Nest,” Smith found himself without a label by mid-1922. A victim of his own success, Smith became passé when other bandleaders no longer followed his lead but, rather, championed new innovations and left the Maestro behind. Brunswick gave Smith a chance, billing him as”The Man Who Made Dancing to the Phonograph Possible,” and Gershwin’s “Where Is the Man of My Dreams,” as well as “Sweetheart of Sigma Chi” and “Stella” represent his time with the upstart company. Smith ended his recording career with the Canadian branch of Victor in Montreal, where Smith and His Mount Royal Orchestra were engaged. “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo!” “Driftwood,” and “(I Like Pie, I Like Cake but) I Like You Best of All” show this final period to grreat advantage. Smith even provides his own vocal on “I Like You Best of All,” the last track he ever recorded.

Goodbye–Hello

Smith spent nearly another 20 years in the business, playing hotels and restaurants to appreciative dance-and-dinner patrons, before retiring to south Florida, where he passed away in 1965 at the age of 81. There remain a number of questions about Smith’s biography, so we’ll let the music speak for itself and perhaps tell a thing or two about the essence of the man.

A Long-Requested Release

For years, Smith’s fans have been clamoring for Archeophone to produce a set devoted to the Maestro, and here it is. With over two and a half hours of music (about a third of Smith’s complete output) and extensive notes by Ryan Barna, Songs of the Night is destined to be an early dance-band classic. The set is produced by the team of Richard Martin and Meagan Hennessey, fresh off their Grammy-nominated work on Happy, the 1920 sides by Isham Jones’ Rainbo Orchestra. As on Happy, the restorations and remastering of Songs of the Night are top notch, revealing depth and clarity in the ancient grooves that most listeners have never heard.

• Waxing the Gospel included in New York Times Gift Guide

  November 26th, 2016

  Waxing the Gospel is one of the box sets included in this year’s edition of The New York Times Pop Music Gift Guide. Read the recommendation and grab yours today!

• The Vinyl District gives Waxing the Gospel an A+

  October 06th, 2016

  The Vinyl District’s “Graded an a Curve” column has given Waxing the Gospel a great review and a grade of A+.

  From Joseph Neff’s review:

  Only an utterly obstinate subscriber to the notion of olden times equating to slower times will disagree that 1888-1925 brought considerable changes around the world, and said developments and ...

• Pop Matters on Waxing the Gospel: A masterpiece of scholarship and curatorship

  October 01st, 2016

  Pop Matters has reviewed Waxing the Gospel, saying “A masterpiece of scholarship and curatorship, this collection sets a new standard for the presentation of early recordings.”

  From Ed Whitelock’s review:

  Archeophone’s Waxing the Gospel: Mass Evangelism & the Phonograph 1890-1900 offers a fascinating and deep perspective into some of the earliest recordings of sacred ...

• Songs of the Night named “Reissue Pick” by The Vinyl District

  September 10th, 2016

  The Vinyl District has given Songs of the Night an ‘A’ grade and named it Reissue Pick for September 2016.

  Read the full review: http://www.thevinyldistrict.com/the-tvd-record-store-club/2016/09/graded-on-a-curve-new-in-stores-september-2016/

• Songs of the Night reviewed in Jazz Weekly

  August 08th, 2016

  “…this music holds up amazingly fresh, and the recording sound quality is startlingly alive and clean. An important footnote of an era needing to be appreciated.”

  Read full review: http://www.jazzweekly.com/2016/08/history-lesson-via-musicjoseph-c-smiths-orchestra-1916-1925-songs-of-the-night/

• Lost Sounds named one of 2005’s top ten overlooked albums

  January 06th, 2006

  Lost Sounds was named on Jody Rosen’s list of the top ten overlooked albums of 2005. His list can be viewed at Slate.com.

GRAMMY Awards

• GRAMMY Nominee, Best Album Notes, 2015

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