Roger O Green

#1s of 1901: Discs versus cylinders

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden

I’ve listed the 14 songs that went to #1 on the charts in 1901. This wasn’t as easy as you might think. Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories 1890-1954 gives due credit to Jim Walsh. He is “the world’s leading authority on the pioneer recording age.” His columns in Hobbies magazine ran “a remarkable 40 years.”

The book also used sheet music sales and historical narratives from the record companies.

Emile Berliner, who had invented the microphone, patented the gramophone in 1887. “It utilized zinc discs rather than cylinders,” which Thomas Edison had used on his 1877 phonograph.

Technology changed rapidly. The Berliner Gramophone Company marketed the first commercial flat disc recording in 1895.

Eldridge Johnson’s Consolidated Talking Machine Company had improved sound quality compared with Johnson’s former employer, Berliner. In October 1901, the Victor Talking Machine Company was formed from the two entities of Johnson and Berliner.

The hits

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden– Harry MacDonough and Grace Spencer, #1 for seven weeks (Edison). I’ve heard a version of this song.

Ma Blushin’ Rosie – Albert Campbell, #1 for seven weeks (Gram-o-phone). Dudley had a #3 hit that year, which I found, as well as this more modern version. Al Jolson recorded this more than once.
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven – Byron Harlan, #1 for five weeks (Edison)

The Tale of the Bumble Bee – Harry MacDonough, #1 for four weeks (Victor). Here’s a newer version.
Any Old Place I Hang My Hat Is “Home Sweet Home” To Me – Will Denny, #1 for four weeks (Gram-o-phone)

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder – Harry MacDonough, #1 for three weeks (Victor)
The Stars and Stripes Forever – Sousa’s Band, #1 for three weeks (Gram-o-phone). This is the 1926 version. The band also had a #3 hit with the finale of the William Tell Overture.
Good-Bye, Dolly Gray – Big Four Quartet, #1 for three weeks (Edison). “Big four quartet: Arthur Collins, Byron G Harlan, Joseph Natus, and A D Medeira. This quartet only recorded for a year or so.” McDonough had a #2 hit that year with this.
Good Evening, Carrie – Dan Quinn, #1 for three weeks (Victor). I didn’t find that, but I did come across Good Morning, Carrie by the same performer. Could the sources be wrong?

Uncle Josh’s Huskin’ Bee Dance – Cal Stewart, #1 for three weeks (Edison)
When Reuben Comes To Town – S.H. Dudley, #1 for three weeks (Gram-o-phone). The photograph is of a black performer with a similar name, not the actual white performer.
Tell Me, Pretty Maiden – Byron Harlan, Frank Stanley, Joe Belmont, and Florodora Girls, #1 for three weeks (Columbia). This is a real hip-hop lineup.
Jim Lawson’s Horse Trade with Deacon Witherspoon – Cal Stewart, #1 for three weeks (Edison)

In the Shade of the Palm – J.W. Myers, #1 for one week (Columbia). The label started in 1890.

In the year of the masks

do I want to know a secret?

In some way, there was no date more 2020 for me than December 7. I received three packages. All contained masks.

One was a package of 50 disposable items I had ordered about a week earlier. The second was a mask featuring the mustache of John Green, which I had ordered about a month and a half earlier. It was a Pizzamas thing; don’t worry about understanding that, because I don’t either.

The third, though, I had ordered so long before that I had forgotten about it altogether. Ten black masks with the letters UNITY in white silhouette. Within each letter, a message. all in caps.

Healthcare for all. Back Lives Matter. Save the Planet. Protect Dreamers. Ensure voting rights. The image description from Democracy for America: “We believe there is more that unites us than divides us. These issues are not just for the few, they are for all of us.” I hope so.

In my Christmas stocking, Santa brought two more masks. One was a woodsy scene. The other was a black mask with Day-Glo musical notes. I like these.

One more

Finally, in the mail on New Year’s Eve, came a mask with a card, sent ostensibly from my church’s address. The lettering was intentionally designed to obscure the handwriting of the sender. The white mask had a pinkish rectangle that featured a white cross. In red letters:
FIRST PRES CHOIR
2020

For the last few years, an anonymous benefactor had left the choir t-shirts and pens, both emblazed with messages about the church, left near the choir loft. Since we haven’t sung since March 2020 – haven’t even been in the building – I was particularly surprised by this largesse. I have a theory about who it might be; my wife thinks it’s someone else. Thanks to the choir Secret Santa once again, whoever you are.

Football!

I went to the local grocery store on Tuesday, moving through as quickly as possible. The cashier wore a Pittsburgh Steelers mask. I asked her if her team was going to win this weekend. She said, “I hope so. They only lost by two last week, and they rested some of their players.” I added, “And the Cleveland Browns needed that game. But what about that three-game losing streak?” She sighed, “I don’t know WHAT that was about.”

I mention this because, too often, the mask is a sign of less sharing. You can’t see people’s facial expressions. But at that moment, the mask facilitated a human connection that I too often miss.

Here’s hoping that in 2022, I won’t need the masks anymore. But I keep seeing those newspaper headlines. LA Times, Jan 1.: Spiraling COVID-19 deaths leave morgues overflowing and funeral homes turning away grieving families. And even around here. Times Union, Jan. 1: In Albany County, the mark of 346 new infections in one day is 77 more than the prior record. So know I’ll still have those masks available in 2021. It’s good to have a variety…

At least I don’t have to deal with these folks.

Inciting an insurrection

January 6, 2021: a date which shall live in infamy.

We witnessed an American President inciting an insurrection against the United States. How did we get here?

Every morning since November 3, my wife watches the 7 a.m. CBS News eye-opener. After it’s over, I ask her, “Are we at war with Iran yet?” It’s not a glib question. This regime seemed primed to do just that not long ago. And IMPOTUS, increasingly unhinged from reality, seems to have taken a scorched earth policy towards his own country.

He says the election was rigged, and that he’ll never give up, never concede. Yet he has shown almost zero interest in actually doing the job he says he still ought to have. He has said little about the raging COVID numbers. Nothing was mentioned about the Christmas morning bombing in Tennessee.

Even his appearance at a rally for the Republican candidates for the US Senate in Georgia was mostly about how his own agenda. He even called that GA runoff into question, which helped the Democrats grab BOTH seats.

Senate Majority Leader McConnell noted “Our democracy would enter a death spiral” if Congress overturned the November 3 election.

January 6

My friend Alan had linked to this January 3 article by Jack Rasmus. It is titled What Happens January 6th, 20th & After? I agreed with much of it.

As I’ve noted, the Weekly Sift wrote The Increasingly Desperate Attack on Democracy, posted on January 4. “Once Congress has recognized Biden’s election, Trump has no more cards to play within the American political system. His only option then is to attempt a violent revolution.”

And we got it. The terrorist attack on the US Capitol was “instigated by the President of the United States.” Those are the words of Presidential historian Michael Beschloss.

Twitter and Facebook both locked Trump’s accounts “after he posted false accusations about the election as a mob of his supporters broke into the Capitol following a rally.” Why has it taken so long?

CBS News reports that Cabinet members are discussing invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. Why has it taken so long?

Even impeachment has been floated, again, with reasons far stronger than the last time.

“Alternative facts” is a threat to democracy. His repeating lies incited the rioting. We may be shocked by the first breach of the Capitol since 1814, but not all that surprised.

For months, even years, people have wondered if he mentally fit, and has the temperament to handle the Presidency, even for the next 13 days.

Tracking the U.S. savings bonds

older series of savings bonds cannot be redeemed directly at the bank

Savings Bond

The family was looking to calculate the value of some United States Savings Bonds we’ve unearthed. I have about 30 of them, $100 Series EE, from the mid-1990s. I went to the TreasuryDirect site, Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bond(s). The earliest one is gaining interest at a robust 4%, the last one at a paltry 1.08%.

When I leafed through them recently, I noticed that I was missing one! I could tell because I was buying them every eight weeks but there was a gap in the summer of 1995. Fortunately, I can send info to the Treasury Department and get an electronic replacement. Savings bonds these days are only issued in an electronic version of either bond, also trackable at TreasuryDirect.

Here’s a useful feature on the website. You can create a list of your paper bonds. BUT “if you’re using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge as your browser, the Calculator won’t save your inventory.” Nope. You can use Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape Navigator or Communicator, MSN Explorer, Opera, or Safari. Now I have used IE and Netscape. To my surprise, I DO have Firefox on my current computer, though I don’t recall actually using it.

As a librarian, I had often discovered that there are some obscure state and federal websites that simply don’t use certain popular browsers. Some note this right on-site — and some DON’T. About a decade ago, I realized that if I wanted to download a file from a certain Census page, IE was the only way to go.

Series EE, Series I…

This FORBES article explains the different types of U.S. Savings Bonds. Bankrate notes that “in general, holding any savings bond beyond 30 years is essentially pointless as this is when bonds stop earning interest. So if this is your situation, it’s time to cash in that bond.

Forbes: “If you have a paper savings bond, you can often redeem this bond at a local bank or credit union. According to the Treasury Department, more than 95% of savings bonds are cashed at local banks and credit unions.

“But some older series of savings bonds cannot be redeemed directly at the bank or credit union. In that case, you will need to fill out a special form FS Form 1522, and send the bond to the Treasury Department’s Treasury Retail Security Services team with a certified signature and direct deposit instructions.

“Even if your bank or credit union cannot cash an older bond for you, or if you have special circumstances like needing to redeem a bond that was inherited as part of a deceased person’s estate, the bank will typically be able to help you understand the process for redeeming the bond and can certify your signature on the Treasury form. So, when in doubt, start by going to the bank.”

The year 2020: Hugh Downs, because

The Zen of alphabetization

The nail in the coffin of my 2020 recollection after I stick a silver dagger in its chest.

What was the best book you read?

This Brilliant Darkness by Jeff Sharlet. Probably because I’m briefly mentioned therein.

What did you want and get?

Some semblance of connectivity. Zoom is good for Bible studies, the Dads group at church. Actually, it’s been great for communicating with my sisters. It’s fine for keeping in touch with the choir, but not nearly as good as singing together.

What did you want and not get?

The sense of the creative. I didn’t sing or see a lot of performances or read a lot of books.

What were your favorite films of this year?

This will be different because I didn’t see a lot of films at the cinema. Note these are not the BEST films, necessarily, which is probably Parasite or 1917, but the ones I most enjoyed.

Knives Out
Just Mercy

On video:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Coco
Thor: Ragnarok

What did you do on your birthday?

Our church did a performance of Once On This Island the following day, just before the lockdown. So I spent much of the time at the dress rehearsal.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2020?

Comfortable footwear. These long-sleeved shirts my wife bought from L.L. Bean that help prevent me from getting sunburned.

What kept you sane?

To the degree that is true – and one could argue that – I play music constantly. Compact discs, because I like the tangible. Then every three months, I put the ones I played away because it involves the mental exercise of alphabetization.

Yeah, most of it is already online, but listening to that doesn’t bring me… JOY. I love reading the liner notes – Ricky Fataar is on a 2016 Bonnie Raitt album; Emmylou Harris is everywhere.

And sometimes, I would alternate between listening to a CD and riding the stationary bike for 15 minutes. The CD might be 29 minutes, or 45, or 74. I like the asymmetrical nature of the process.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Chadwick Boseman (RIP), Kobe Bryant (RIP), Lebron James.
Ji-Man Choi – pronounced like Eliot Ness – the pudgy but amazingly athletic first baseman of the Tampa Bay Rays.

There are probably others. But it’s been a long year.

In fact, this is so true that I actually forgot Hugh Downs died in 2020. Of course, he did. And I mentioned it

What political issue stirred you the most?

My general belief that we may have already irrevocably destroyed the planet. Democracy in the USA may be unfixable. Oh, and that – surprise! – racism still exists in America.

Who was the best new person you met?

Who meets new people? Actually, one of the best things, in my telephoning exercise, is to reconnect with people I had not talked with in years, such as Janet, Diana, Jeff, Al, Judith, Kim, Maureen…

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2020

Sometimes, the workarounds are successful, and sometimes, not so much.

Small Zoom gatherings work. Or they don’t for reasons some of us can recite in our sleep. I’m betting Jeffrey Tobin’s ZOOM meeting was really boring. Someone failed to mute, so he forgot to turn off the camera.

“Parties” on Zoom I’m most uncomfortable with. If you’re at a real party, you talk for a while, observe for a while, haul empty cups to the kitchen. But online, you’re expected to be “on.”

At one gathering this year with three dozen people, someone asked ME specifically why I hadn’t said anything. It’s mostly because 1) it’s difficult to know when to speak and not talk over people and 2) I didn’t really have anything to say.

Takeout food. Some are great. Pizza, Indian food. I haven’t had Chinese this year, but I imagine it’d be pretty good. But some, from restaurants I love, are lackluster. Italian food is hit or miss, e.g.

Telemedicine, as noted – meh.

Performances – better than nothing, but an ersatz experience. It’s interesting that, because of the pandemic plus the technology, there are MORE opportunities to hear music online than I could possibly take in.

Tell you what, 2021. If you don’t suck as much as 2020 did, my summary about you will be half as long. Deal?

December 36, 2020

Hey, 2021, you’re not starting off very well. Sluggish COVID vaccine distribution.

And such a blatant attempt to steal the election by the Republican party that all living former defense secretaries have condemned GOP attempts to overturn the election and involve the military.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who I do not like, nevertheless is partly correct in opposing challenging the Electoral College tally. “Congress would take away the power to choose the president from the people, which would essentially end presidential elections and place that power in the hands of whichever party controls Congress.”

Newsmax, having sold its soul, said that it has “reviewed the full tape and transcript of [his] call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

It claims “The transcript shows [Trump] pressed the Secretary on serious vote fraud issues in Georgia and Trump never acted improperly.”

Naturally, Newsmax blames the mainstream media for “duplicity” in spreading “false” information. The man said on tape, “I just want to find 11,780 votes” and alternately berated, flattered, begged, and threatened with vague criminal consequences if the secretary of state refused to pursue his false claims. He is soliciting election fraud, in his increasingly desperate attack on democracy, dammit.