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 401-425 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 652 | 7-in. | ca. 1902 | In front of the old cabin door | Spencer Trio | Male vocal trio; with piccolo solo (take 7) | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 652 | 10-in. | ca. 1902 | In front of the old cabin door | Spencer Trio | Male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 653 | 7-in. | ca. 1902 | The mocking bird medley | Spencer Trio | Male vocal trio, with whistling | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 653 | 10-in. | ca. 1902 | The mocking bird medley | Spencer Trio | Male vocal trio, with whistling | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 663 | 7-in. | ca. 1902-Oct. 1905 | Musical moke | Artists vary | Talk, with xylophone, piccolo, fife, and drums | speaker | |
Columbia | 663 | 10-in. | ca. 1902 | Musical moke | Artists vary | Talk with xylophone, piccolo, fife, and drums | speaker | |
Columbia | 664 | 10-in. | ca. 1902 | Twenty-third psalm | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Columbia | 664 | 7-in. | ca. 1902 | The Twenty-Third Psalm | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Columbia | 743 | 10-in. | ca. 1902 | A trip to the circus | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 743 | 7-in. | ca. 1902 | A trip to the circus | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 746 | 10-in. | ca. 1902 | The passing of the circus parade | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker | |
Columbia | 746 | 7-in. | ca. 1902-Oct. 1905 | The passing of the circus parade | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker | |
Columbia | 798 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | I've a longing in my heart for you, Louise | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 798 | 7-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | I've a longing in my heart for you, Louise | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 799 | 10-in. | between January and September 1902 | My heart loves you, too | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal duet and orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 799 | 7-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | My heart loves you, too | Artists vary | Minstrels, with orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 800 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | Mandy Lee | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 800 | 7-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | Mandy Lee | Artists vary | Minstrels, with orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 801 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | My wild Irish rose | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 801 | 7-in. | between January and September 1902 | My wild Irish rose | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal duet and orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 802 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | Tell me | Artists vary | Minstrels, with orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 802 | 7-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | Tell me | Artists vary | Minstrels, with orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 803 | 10-in. | between January and September 1902 | When the autumn leaves are falling | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal duet and orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 803 | 7-in. | ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 | When the autumn leaves are falling | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra | performer | |
Columbia | 804 | 10-in. | between January and September 1902 | The old folks at home | Artists vary | Minstrels, with male vocal duet and orchestra | performer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 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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