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 176-200 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3458 | 10-in. | 6/11/1901 | Vilkins and his Dinah | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo and vocal effects | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3459 | 10-in. | 6/11/1901 | The fable of the goat and the fox | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Recitation, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3460 | 10-in. | 6/11/1901 | Auction sale of household goods | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene | speaker | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3461 | 10-in. | 6/11/1901 | A trip to the circus | Len Spencer | Monologue, with imitations and band | speaker | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3462 | 10-in. | 6/11/1901 | Mother Goose and other rhymes | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Recitation, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3463 | 10-in. | 6/11/1901 | Scene at a dog fight | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Monologue, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix C-]31071 | 12-in. | either 1901 or 1902 | Sing hallelujah! | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix C-]31072 | 12-in. | either 1901 or 1902 | The kid from the Bowery | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix C-]31073 | 12-in. | either 1901 or 1902 | Hot times on the levee | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | composer, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | A-1 | 7-in. | 4/24/1903 | Just kiss yourself goodbye | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | B-1 | 10-in. | 4/24/1903 | Just kiss yourself goodbye | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | B-2 | 10-in. | 4/24/1903 | Sing hallelujah! | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | A-2 | 7-in. | 4/24/1903 | Sing hallelujah! | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | B-206 | 10-in. | 7/28/1903 | An evening with the minstrels, no. 2 | Minstrels [Victor Records group] | Minstrels, with orchestra | performer | |
Victor | C-206 | 12-in. | 5/24/1905 | An evening with the minstrels, no. 2 | Victor Minstrel Company | Minstrels, with orchestra | performer | |
Victor | C-217 [Old series] | 12-in. | 2/9/1903 or 5/26/1903 | The kid from the Bowery | Len Spencer | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | C-218 [Old series] | 12-in. | 2/9/1903 or 5/26/1903 | Sing Hallelujah | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | composer, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | C-221 [Old series] | 12-in. | 2/9/1903 or 5/26/1903 | Hot times on the levee | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | composer, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | B-452 | 10-in. | 9/24/1903 | Hot times on the levee | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with banjo | composer, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | A-452 | 7-in. | 9/24/1903 | Hot times on the levee | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with banjo | composer, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | B-453 | 10-in. | 9/24/1903 | The banjo evangelist | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Monologue, with banjo | composer, speaker | |
Victor | A-453 | 7-in. | 9/24/1903 | The banjo evangelist | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Monologue, with banjo | composer, speaker | |
Victor | B-454 | 10-in. | 9/24/1903 | Hickory Bill | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Monologue, with banjo | speaker | |
Victor | A-454 | 7-in. | 9/24/1903 | Hickory Bill | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Monologue, with banjo | speaker | |
Victor | B-455 | 10-in. | 9/25/1903 | Sing hallelujah! | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 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
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