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 476-500 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 1730 | 10-in. | ca. 1903-Feb. 1904 | Reuben Haskins' trip 'round the world in his airship "Luna" | Len Spencer | Monologue, with flute | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 1731 | 10-in. | ca. 1903-Feb. 1904 | Auction sale of a musical instruments store | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with instrumental ensemble | speaker | |
Columbia | 1783 | 10-in. | Jan.-Mar. 1904 | Flogging scene | Len Spencer | Recitation, with orchestra | speaker | |
Columbia | 1825 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-July 1904 | Con Clancey and the whistling newsboy | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 1826 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-July 1904 | Hickory Bill | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Dialogue, with banjo | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 1869 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Nov. 1904 | Pompernickel's silver wedding | Len Spencer | Comic monologue, with orchestra | speaker | |
Columbia | 1870 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Nov. 1904 | Our national airs | Len Spencer | Recitation, with orchestra | speaker | |
Columbia | 1905 | 10-in. | ca. 1904 | The night before Christmas | Len Spencer | Recitation, with chimes and sleigh bell effect | speaker | |
Columbia | 1908 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Nov. 1904 | The transformation scene | Len Spencer | Monologue, with orchestra | speaker | |
Columbia | 3020 | 7-in. | ca. 1904 | Reuben Haskins' trip through the New York subway | Harry Spencer ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue | speaker | |
Columbia | 3049 | 10-in. | ca. 1904-Jan. 1905 | Down the pike at the St. Louis Exposition | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3050 | 10-in. | between 1904 and January 1905 | The hand of fate | Ada Jones ; Harry Spencer ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3056 | 10-in. | between 1904 and February 1905 | Oh! What a night! | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3078 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Apr. 1905 | Krausmeyer and his dog Schneider | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3106 | 10-in. | between January and April 1905 | The professor and the musical tramp | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3107 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Apr. 1905 | The musical congress of nations | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with orchestra | speaker | |
Columbia | 3108 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Apr. 1905 | Mr. and Mrs. Murphy | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with female-male vocal duet and orchestra | author, performer | |
Columbia | 3111 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Apr. 1905 | Parson Pinkney discourses on Adam and Eve | Columbia Quintette | Male vocal quintet, unaccompanied | composer | |
Columbia | 3148 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-May 1905 | Pals | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3173 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-May 1905 | The hobo band | Prince's Military Band ; Len Spencer | Band, with recitation | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 3190 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-June 1905 | Ev'ry little bit helps | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3198 | 10-in. | between January and June 1905 | Roosevelt's inaugural parade | Prince's Military Band ; Len Spencer | Monologue, with band | author, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3206 | 10-in. | between January and September 1905 | Heinie | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 3276 | 10-in. | ca. Jan.-Nov. 1905 | The courtship of Barney and Eileen | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal, composer | |
Columbia | 3314 | 10-in. | ca. 1905-Jan. 1906 | The golden wedding | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal |
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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