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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 1-25 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Berliner | 915 | 7-in. | 5/4/1896 | Nearer, my God, to Thee | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 991 | 7-in. | 4/17/1896 | Ma onliest one | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 01 | 7-in. | 4/8/1899 | The Lord‘s Prayer | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Berliner | 02 | 7-in. | 4/8/1899 | Beatitudes | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Berliner | 03 | 7-in. | 4/15/1899 | Let me see the old plantation | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 04 | 7-in. | 4/15/1899 | Whistling Rufus | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 05 | 7-in. | 4/15/1899 | Hello ma baby | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 06 | 7-in. | 4/8/1899 | My Ann Eliza | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 07 | 7-in. | 4/15/1899 | Kiss me honey do | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 08 | 7-in. | 4/15/1899 | How I love my Lou | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 09 | 7-in. | 4/8/1899 | The hottest coon in town | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 011 | 7-in. | 4/8/1899 | I don’t like no cheap man | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 012 | 7-in. | Before June 1899 | I don’t care if you nebber comes back | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 013 | 7-in. | Before June 1899 | What is dat coon's game | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 014 | 7-in. | 4/15/1899 | You'll get all that's coming to you | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 015 | 7-in. | 4/15/1899 | Darktown is out tonight | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 017 | 7-in. | 4/15/1899 | When you aint got no money | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 018 | 7-in. | 4/8/1899 | All I wants is ma chickens | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 097 | 7-in. | 4/29/1899 | Auction sale household goods | Len Spencer | Comic monologue | speaker | |
Berliner | 098 | 7-in. | 4/29/1899 | Auction sale pawnbrokers goods | Len Spencer | Comic monologue | speaker | |
Berliner | 099 | 7-in. | 4/22/1899 | My coal black lady | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 0100 | 7-in. | 4/29/1899 | Martha Jane Green | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 0102 | 7-in. | 4/28/1899 | I’am livin’ easy | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 0105 | 7-in. | Before June 1899 | Ma onliest one | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Berliner | 0117 | 7-in. | Before June 1899 | The future Mrs. Hawkins | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed September 4, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 4, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 4 September 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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