3 thoughts on “The Complete Commodore Recordings”

1. This is NOT a proper DISCOGRAPHY. Where are the MATRIX numbers, session dates, personnel, take info, catalogue numbers?
   This site is for newbie fans who plan to buy one two Billie Holiday downloads, and go back to Taylor Swift.
   Frankly, I think a swift listen to a Billie Holiday swing side will tailor most record buyers with a new set of, better fitting, ears. They will realise that they have been WASTING their music budget.
   I am presently putting all my recordings of Lady in exact recording session date order, with the location, studio, personnel, matrices, record company and label name. I own ALL of her known recordings, —Released or not. I need to have them in EXACT date sequential order with a graphic of the original 78 RPM label. I am about halfway through this endevour. Why the Complete Billie Holiday Columbia Sides collection was assembled with many songs out of sequence is beyond me. The remastering is excellent, but somebody goofed. I like to hear all
   of a selection’s takes in date/time sequence. AND, I like to hear Billie’s recods in exact date sequence.

   By 1933, Columbia had purchased both the Brunswick and Vocalion budget, “sepia” labels. Both smaller labels were put out of business by the great depression and the lack of creative thinking.
   Using these well known, budget label names and trademarks was how a young (25) Columbia A/R man named John Hammond Sr. planned to produce and market small combo, swing Jazz to a Depression beaten public. —Great records for half the price. Hammond knew that you did not need a huge, expensive orchestra, with a big name Leader, music Arranger, Orchestra Director, music copyists, more sound engineers, a larger studio and more microphones to make a hit record.
   Young John Hammond had been hitting the small Jazz clubs (i.e. the “speaks). He saw a SMALL Jazz combo (one of many) playing “head arrangements” with an unknown singer named Billie Holiday. Young Hammond’s mind was blown, as he had discovered a way to make HIT records at one tenth the price.
   Fate was smiling down on Hammond when someone advised him to catch a young, unknown, unrecorded, 18 year old “girl” singer named Billie Holiday.
   Hammond immediately thought of pairing the great Teddy Wilson (as music director) with 5 or 6 negro Jazz musicians to create SWING Jazz records on a BUDGET.
   The Depression-plagued public could no longer afford to buy full priced records like that of Paul Whiteman or George Olsen. Besides, the famous white orchestras were only copying swing Jazz music being heard played at , The Cotton Club, or Small’s Paradise, etc. —Plus, a zillion SMALLER clubs were making hay by featuring small, Hot Jazz combos cutting a mean rug for a fraction of the cost. Whiteman only had one coronet player who could really “get off” (i.e.,improvise). Segregation was the LAW of the land and there was no way Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, Adrian Rollini, Eddie Lang and Jack Teagarden (Mr. “T’) were ever going to be heard playing with Louis Armstrong, Fathah’ Hines, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and Don Redmond, etc Hammond knew that the lower priced “sepia”, budget labels sold for prices about 50% cheaper than a red label Columbia pressing. He knew that a lot of white music lovers, with near empty pockets, no longer cared about the skin tone of the musicians playing on a swing record.
   Recordings by non-white bands and singers were generally thought to be inferior. —Thus, a Blind Blake record sold at less than half the price. Recording a Blind Blake Record cost a hundred time less than what a George Olsen Orchestra record cost to make! Hammond was no fool. As Duke said, “There are only TWO kinds of music; good and bad. John Hammond happened to dig the good music.
   1933. —A bitch of a time to pay the rent and eat, but GREAT time to be a music lover!
   The best music was FAR batter. AND, it was cheaper. A lot cheaper to make. Hammond was young and could do simple sums. What’s to decide?
   Some squares still wonder why George Olsen did not make it out of 1929 with his career intact. The world remains the same. Fools abound. Today, however, we seem to have a high ratio of fools to hep cats. Never mind.
   Both Brunswick and Vocalion were two decent record companies that the Great Depression quickly put under. Columbia quickly purchased the rights to the old Vocalion and Brunswick label names, along with the great “O-keh” and a few more cheap labels.
   Columbia Records thought to employ these less expensive record labels to quickly communicate to record buyers that they would be buying cheaper swing records of hot Jazz recordings played by “Negros” (hence, the term, “sepia”).
   Columbia probably apologised to their customers for inflicting this inferior, new swing Jazz upon them, but at least they would cut the price, nearly in half. almost half. The record buyers, now with less money in their pockets, would instantly recognise the new Teddy Wilson records (w/ Billie Holiday singing) as a record they might be able to afford.
   It did not require more than 20 seconds for a record buyer to take a stack of budget label Billie Holiday records to the sampling booth at their local record store to drop the needle on
   To use a small combo of 5 – 6 musicians , allowed “head arrangements”, eliminating the cost of an arranger.
   John Hammond conceived the idea of these, first ever, swing Jazz records where the singer was not simply another instrument who would take a break (usually a single verse and chorus, or just a chorus) that would appear later in the recording (no longer than 3:20 – 3:30, depending upon the lathe).
   Hammond not only chose an 18 year old Lady Day for this extensive series of inexpensive “swing” recordings, but insisted and fought other Columbia executives and A/R people who wanted, Ethel Waters. Waters was certainly top-drawer; —she was Billie Holiday’s main pilot! And more expensive.
   Plus, John Hammond knew the real thing faster than any other A & R man who would ever live. At 25 years old, Hammond was firing on all eight, burning pure “Ethyl”.
   —Not Ethel Waters, but an unknown 18 year old girl named Billie Holiday. She had been sing in small club. She had little expereince, but John Hammond was sealed and mailed. In a single career, John Hammond signed Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson, Benny Goodman, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. And, um, there were a lot more.
   The formula was simple and cost effective. Use no more than 6 musicians. Choose the best musicians who happened to be in town, —making sure to use an INTACT rhythm section. There was always at least one great band in town. Smart people do NOT break up rhythm sections.
   For the players, the extra dough was cake, and the sessions were easy. They could play out of their heads, and get off. —Translated, the arrangement was on the fly, they didn’t need to learn new charts and could improvise on their solos. They agreed on the changes, and Teddy nodded to a player to take a chorus. They’d do a run through, or two, —or even nail it on the first try. With only 5 or 6 players it’s a lot simpler. The rhythm section was mixed more prominant to give the records a driving groove. This is when the modern hit record was invented. From Lady to the Beatles. This was the first time that the record was mostly about THE SINGER. Billie sang through out the entire record instead of just a single chorus with maybe a verse, at the end of the record. Today, people take these things for granted, but in 1933, it had NEVER been done. The closest was Jimmy Rodgers and The Carter Family. But they didn’t start until 1928. And, they played country folk music. Folk. Simple music with simple musicians. And Victor Records made a HUGE FORTUNE.
   A phonograph record was NOT Carnegie Hall. It could be small and intimate, or small and SWING. It was someone’s living room or bed room, NOT the Philharmonic. A record only had to be GOOD.
   Today, we take this for granted, but in 1933, no one knew what John Hammond knew. It has been suggested that the man had a time machine. Could be.
   And they’re were strokes of luck. E.g. the great Lester Young ‘Prez’ —when he was young and less known. Prez would not cut “Body And Soul” until 1939. Prez was just another cat,…who happened to be one of five or six of the greatest tenor sax players of all time. Hawk, Bird, Chu, Webster, Johnny Hodges, and Prez. Prez, playing obbligato under Lady’ singing (a major innovation). And only because Lester Young happened to be in town for a few days ad had an after noon off.
   And then, Faaazzzzz; —Irving Fazola, on clarinet, thank you.
   Dick McDonough on guitar. Hold me down.
   OR, Freddie green becoming, one, with the hat and ride cymbals driving the hottest rhythm to ever move a couple of dancers across the living room floor.
   Note: Benny Goodman played only one of the early dates. He did fine, but was preoccupied. 1] He needed to get out of his contract for future dates, as he had offers for more bread. Hence, enter one Irving Fazola. FAAZZZZ!
   2] Benny Goodman and Lady Day were an item during those first weeks or months. —You didn’t know that? Neither did I, until a cat even more ancient than I, gave it up. A reliable cat. Trust me, this happened.
   Lightening struck on every session. No exceptions There is not a mediocre Billie Holiday, Columbia swing side. Every side is perfection. Atheists need not apply.
   A session made from “head” arrangements and a small combo of super pros goes super fast. Compared to a Paul Whiteman session, it was likely cheaper than the catering. —No arranger, music copyist, no conductor, no charts to learn, recorded in a small studio, with two or three microphones, a single engineer, and catering was not necessary.
   By 1936, this new formula forever changed the popular song. Columbia Records made a MONSTER FORTUNE. It also made Billie Holiday the World’s First Singing Superstar. —1936, she was not yet 21 and Billie’s name was featured large on the record label with Teddy Wilson’s in smaller print, a couple of steps below. Yep, she was the world’s FIRST singing SUPERSTAR. Madonna did NOT invent this.
   Billie Holiday, out sold all other budget label recordings during an economic period that put most of the other record companies OUT OF BUSINESS. Lady Day and Teddy Wilson probably saved the record industry. Billie Holiday’s 1930s swing sides out sold everyone. You can’t touch this.
   Alas, 25 year old John Hammond forever changed the record business.
   SO, when you advertise yourself as a Billie Holiday discography, you should be more precise.
   See Brian Rust’s two volume set for a good example. On the web you can also show the original labels with the matrix numbers viewable.
   See the run-out groove area for extra info about the exact take, pressing stamper, and studio location —sometimes even the engineer(s). However, you have to learn how to read those extra letters and numbers. 90% of what we know for sure about ALL phonograph recordings come from the “meta data” on the run-out groove.
   After the Columbia swing sides, Lady waxed Strange Fruit and God Bless the Child.
   She was just getting started.

   —Bix Lives!

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   • Dear Don, This was nor a comment, but an article. I also think you weren’t fair to me. In my first page in “Home” I inform:
     “P.S. I am not a musician, nor do I have any musical training, so my comments do not have any technical pretension. They are just an expression of my personal feelings. This site is the result of years of research and has absolutely no commercial purpose. I appreciate any corrections and your comments are always welcome. And, as you will surely notice, English is not my native language. Hope you like it”.
     You start saying “Where are the MATRIX numbers, session dates, personnel, take info, catalogue numbers?” Well, the only thing that were not included were the Matrix numbers, as I did not consider it of interest to the non-technical reader. This website is 20 years old and to this day no one has asked me for this information, but I have them all in my spreasheets and could do it.
     Your comment will be preserved here. Thanks.

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2. I made made typos. No way to edit. Ugh.

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