Len Spencer
Leonard Garfield Spencer (February 12, 1867 – December 15, 1914) was an early American recording artist. He began recording for the Columbia Phonograph Company, in 1889 or 1890. Between 1892 and 1897 he recorded extensively for the New Jersey Phonograph Company and its successor the United States Phonograph Company. He specialized in vaudeville sketches and comic songs, but also sang sentimental ballads popular at the time. He returned to Columbia in 1898 for an exclusive contract then began recording for Berliner Gramophone (disc) records in 1899 and continued with Victor and Columbia as discs became the dominant format in the early 1900s. He began performing with banjoist Vess L. Ossman in 1901 and with Ada Jones in 1905. He is best remembered today for his vaudeville-style comic sketches, such as "The Arkansaw Traveler" (1902), combining clever turns of phrase, ironic elocutionary delivery, sound effects and music to create colorful dialogues featuring itinerant Southerners, auctioneers, circus barkers, and Irish, Jewish or Black Americans. Many of his roles were performed in either blackface or brownface. Spencer's output was eclectic. He imitated animal sounds in "A Barnyard Serenade" (1906) and released another record titled "The Transformation Scene from 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'," but also popularized songs still known today such as "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom De-ay" and "A Hot Time in the Old Town." Music historian Bob Stanley deems it "probable" that Spencer's comedic "Arkansaw Traveler" routine was the first record to sell one million copies, though official documentation is lacking. As the popularity of Len's style of humor waned in the latter part of the decade, he opened a booking agency called "Len Spencer's Lyceum" in New York. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage while working at the Lyceum on December 15, 1914. |
Birth and Death Data: Born February 12, 1867 (Washington, D.C.), Died December 15, 1914 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1896 - 1925
Roles Represented in DAHR: speaker, author, baritone vocal, performer, composer, adapter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 501-525 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 3325 | 10-in. | ca. 1905-Feb. 1906 | Fritz and Louisa | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3340 | 10-in. | between 1905 and February 1906 | The original Cohens | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with female-male vocal duet | performer, composer | |
Columbia | 3373 | 10-in. | between January and April 1906 | Panhandle Pete's patrol | Len Spencer | Comic monologue, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3374 | 10-in. | ca. 1905-Apr. 1906 | The merry mail man | George W. Johnson ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3403 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-May 1906 | Maggie Clancy's new piano | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with piano | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3433 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-June 1906 | The happy German twins | Len Spencer ; George P. Watson | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | author, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3441 | 10-in. | between January and July 1906 | Coming home from Coney Island | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra and female vocal solo | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3442 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-July 1906 | Hans and Gretchen | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra and female vocal solo | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3446 | 10-in. | Jan.-Apr. 1906 | Seeing New York | Prince's Orchestra | Orchestra, with talk | speaker | |
Columbia | 3467 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Aug. 1906 | A Darktown courtship | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3468 | 10-in. | between January and September 1906 | Peaches and cream | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene and vocal, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Columbia | 3470 | 10-in. | between January and August 1906 | A barnyard serenade | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with animal imitations | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3471 | 10-in. | Jan.-Sept. 1906 | Punch and Judy | Alf Holt ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with animal imitations | speaker | |
Columbia | 3545 | 10-in. | ca. 1906 | Jealous | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3566 | 10-in. | between 1906 and January 1907 | Cherry Hill Jerry | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3619 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Apr. 1907 | How mat got the mitten | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3620 | 10-in. | between January and April 1907 | Pedro, the hand organ man | Steve Porter ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 3640 | 10-in. | between January and May 1907 | Uncle Josh at the dentist's | Len Spencer ; Cal Stewart | Comic dialogue, unaccompanied | speaker | |
Columbia | 3664 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-June 1907 | Becky and Izzy | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue and vocal, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Columbia | 3665 | 10-in. | between January and June 1907 | Meet me down at the corner | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue and vocal, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3666 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-June 1907 | Blondy | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue and female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 3690 | 10-in. | between January and August 1907 | Herman and Minnie | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue and female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Columbia | 3719 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Oct. 1907 | You've got to love me a lot | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3734 | 10-in. | between January and November 1907 | Bronco Bob and his little Cheyenne | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3736 | 10-in. | between January and November 1907 | The vagabonds | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with animal imitations | speaker |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed November 13, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 13, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 13 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Spencer, Len, 1867-1914 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n90608750
Wikidata: Len G. Spencer - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6521966
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/75467103
MusicBrainz: Len G. Spencer - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/4e41dee2-f22a-41a1-89da-4aee63b84393
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.