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 701-725 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zonophone | [Zo cat C 5682] | 9-in. | Before Dec. 1903 | Hot times on the levee | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with piano | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5709] | 7-in. | Before Dec. 1903 | On emancipation day | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with piano | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat C 5709] | 9-in. | Before Dec. 1903 | On emancipation day | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo, with piano | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5715] | 7-in. | Before Dec. 1903 | The banjo evangelist | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Monologue, with banjo | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat C 5715] | 9-in. | Before Dec. 1903 | The banjo evangelist | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Monologue, with banjo | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5739] | 7-in. | Before 1904 | Carolina Jim | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Ox cat 5739] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | Carolina Jim | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat C 5739] | 9-in. | Before 1904 | Carolina Jim | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5740] | 7-in. | Before 1904 | Independence bell | Len Spencer | Monologue, with chime | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat C 5740] | 9-in. | Before 1904 | Independence bell | Len Spencer | Monologue, with chime | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5741] | 7-in. | Before 1904 | Leap for life | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat C 5741] | 9-in. | Before 1904 | Leap for life | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5742] | 7-in. | Before 1904 | Ole laughin' | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Ox cat 5742] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | Ole laughin' | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat C 5742] | 9-in. | Before 1904 | Ole laughin' | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Ox cat 5743] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | The newsboy's Christmas | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5758] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | A yaller dog's love for a nigger | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat C 5758] | 9-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | A yaller dog's love for a nigger | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5775] | 7-in. | Before Feb. 1904 | Having fun with the orchestra | Len Spencer | Monologue, with orchestra | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Ox cat 5775] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | Having fun with the orchestra | Len Spencer | Monologue, with orchestra | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Ox cat 5780] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | Ebony emperors of melody | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat P 5781] | 7-in. | Before Feb. 1904 | Prize waltz contest | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Ox cat 5781] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | Prize waltz contest | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Ox cat 5804] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | Auction sale of musical instruments | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with banjo | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Ox cat 5830] | 7-in. | ca. 1904-1905 | Levee scene | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker |
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
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