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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 676-700 of 812 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5486] 9-in. Before June 1903 Passing of the circus parade Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with vocal effects speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5487] 9-in. Before June 1903 The fairy boat Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5488] 7-in. Before June 1903 The wedding of the frog and the mouse Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5488] 9-in. Before June 1903 The wedding of the frog and the mouse Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5489] 9-in. Before June 1903 Auction sale of household goods Len Spencer Monologue, with banjo speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5490] 7-in. Before June 1903 Making the fiddle talk Len Spencer Monologue, with piccolo speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5491] 7-in. Before June 1903 Petro and the polar bear Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Ox cat 5491] 7-in. ca. 1904-1905 Petro and the polar bear Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5491] 9-in. Before June 1903 Petro and the polar bear Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5492-A] 10-in. Before May 1909 [Si] Perkins' barn dance Ada Jones Descriptive scene author, performer  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5492-B] 10-in. Before May 1909 Sweet Peggy Magee Ada Jones Descriptive scene author, performer  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5492] 7-in. Before June 1903 Piccolo player's reward Len Spencer Monologue, with piccolo speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5492] 9-in. Before June 1903 Piccolo player's reward Len Spencer Monologue, with piccolo speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5538-A] 10-in. Before Sept. 1909 Zeb Green's airship Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with orchestra author, performer  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5538-B] 10-in. Before Sept. 1909 How Kathleen proposed Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with orchestra author, performer  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5549-A] 10-in. Before Oct. 1909 A race for a wife Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with orchestra author, performer  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5549-B] 10-in. Before Oct. 1909 Bowery Sam and his kitty Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with orchestra author, performer  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5584-A] 10-in. Before Dec. 1909 The queen of the ranch Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with orchestra author, performer  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5584-B] 10-in. Before Dec. 1909 A ragtime tragedy Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with orchestra author, performer  
Zonophone [Zo cat 5636-B] 10-in. Before June 1910 Old dog Sport Gilbert Girard Comic monologue, with imitations author  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5658] 7-in. Before Dec. 1903 The colored major Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with piano speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5658] 9-in. Before Dec. 1903 The colored major Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with piano speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5663] 7-in. Before Dec. 1903 Dat minstrel man of mine Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with piano vocalist, baritone vocal  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5663] 9-in. Before Dec. 1903 Dat minstrel man of mine Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with piano speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5682] 7-in. Before Dec. 1903 Hot times on the levee Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with piano speaker  
(Results 676-700 of 812 records)

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

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197

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