OKeh Historical Survey: OKeh "Remote" Recordings and Field Trips

Discography of OKeh Records, 1918-1934, compiled by Ross Laird and Brian Rust.

In mid-1923 OKeh began what was to become a very extensive series of field recordings. Many cities and rural towns were visited by OKeh’s recording engineers using portable equipment. The principal reason for these field trips was to obtain various types of repertoire not available in the New York area where the U.S. record industry had historically always been centered. The types of material recorded included bands and dance orchestras from regional cities, rural blues and folk, jazz, string bands, and ethnic material of all kinds (especially Spanish language vocals).

The following is a complete list of OKeh “remote” recordings (those taken outside New York) which includes the matrix numbers allocated to those masters recorded in each location. After the American Odeon Corp. was disbanded in 1922 the 8000 matrix series which had been used for the recordings made for release on Odeon was designated as a series to be used for recordings made outside the main New York studios. After mid-1923 this series was mainly used for recordings made on the many field trips. The 8000 series continued to 9982 in 1926. No exact dates are known for many of the earlier recordings. Those recordings made on the same field trip in different locations are grouped together.

Table 1a:

“Remote” Recordings, 8000 Matrix Series, 1923-1924

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A report on the above field trip appeared in The Talking Machine World of May, 1924 headed: “First OKeh Recordings by Southern Orchestra”:

R. S. Peer, director of record production of the General Phonograph Corp., New York, manufacturer of OKeh records, returned recently from a trip to several trade centers, including Chicago, New Orleans and Atlanta. He states that the OKeh jobbers in these cities spoke optimistically of general conditions, commenting on the stability of OKeh sales throughout the year. Mr. Peer stated that arrangements were recently made whereby John A. De Droit and His Orchestra, of New Orleans, La., would record exclusively for the OKeh library. The first record by this popular Southern organization is now ready for distribution and features two well-known hits, “The Swing” and “New Orleans Blues.” The De Droit Orchestra is very popular throughout the South, and during recent years has appeared at Grunewald’s Hotel, New Orleans, and Kolb’s Restaurants. Their records were made during a visit to New Orleans by an OKeh recording expedition, headed by Charles L. Hibbard and P. Decker. At the same time recordings were made by five other well-known orchestras, together with a series of negro recordings, all of which will be announced in the near future.

Table 1b:

“Remote” Recordings, 8000 Matrix Series, 1924-1925

[Recordings made on the same field trip are grouped together.]

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A further article in The Talking Machine World of July, 1925 refers to recordings taken during the above expedition:

The first recording of a “Cajan” folk song for OKeh records has been made by the Hart Piano House, Southern jobbers for the OKeh line.

The “Cajans,” or Arcadians, have a type of music all their own. They are the descendants of the French colonists banished from Grand Pre by the British after the cession to England of some of the French holdings off the Canadian shore, near Newfoundland. These people have lived along the Louisiana bayous, weaving and spinning and raising the peculiarly tinted cotton made famous in the cloths they weave, and the dialect they speak and the songs they sing in the fields and over the cradles are heard only in the bayou country. As portraits of bayou life they are real poetry, connoisseurs say, telling stories of the strange water creatures that inhabit the bayous, and the uneventful life of the fisherfolk.

The initial record is “Gue gue Solingail,” or “Song of the Crocodile.” It is sung for OKeh by Dr. James F. Roach, a New Orleans non-professional, who is gaining a widespread reputation for amateur and radio appearances. The success of the first recording will mean, it is believed, further experiment along the same line and the introduction of typical Cajan music and dialect lyrics to many music lovers, via the talking machine.

Table 1c:

“Remote” Recordings, 8000-9000 Matrix Series, 1925

[Recordings made on the same field trip are grouped together.]

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The Asheville sessions were reported in fascinating detail in the local Citizen newspaper, with the first article being published on August 26, 1925:

There was a lot of respiration and perspiration connected with the making of phonograph records, that is, the putting of the music on the rapidly whirling master disk, of brownish wax. This was demonstrated in the recording laboratory of the George Vanderbilt Hotel yesterday when the OKeh record company began making a series of “hill country records.” The laboratory is on the roof, a tightly enclosed room, which has been pronounced by officials of the recording company to be as nearly perfect as any used by them in New York or elsewhere.

In order to get perfect reproduction everything has to be “just so.” At a signal from the producing engineer the disk begins whirling and players begin playing and everybody begins perspiring. But the perspiration doesn’t show up in the finished product. The recording device is like an ordinary phonograph mechanism in appearance. A thick wax disk rests on a circular bed that revolves when the motor is turned on. A needle or stylus bears down on the wax disk when the motor is turning. Five minutes and a new record is made. The wax disk is shipped, most carefully packed, to the factory where the commercial recordings are made.

Yesterday Henry Whitter, famous OKeh entertainer from Fries, Virginia, made several records for... the OKeh Company. Among the ones made… were: “Wild Bill Jones” and “Little Mohee.” The instruments used were the harmonica and the guitar. He was assisted by Kelly Harrell of Field Dale, Virginia, who sings to Whitter’s accompaniment. Harrell formerly made records with the Victor Company, but is now singing for OKeh. Test records were made by Smith and Allgood, of Winston-Salem, banjo entertainers. Their playing of “American and Spanish Fandago” was said to be unusually fine by the reproducing engineer.

Later in the week a number of test records will be made by the Carolina Club Orchestra of the Foor and Robinson Hotels, now playing daily at the Vanderbilt. William Truesdale, the young director of this orchestra, is putting the finishing touches on preparations for recording some of the numbers that have been so popular with dancers in the Vanderbilt ballroom.

Among the officials of the OKeh Company stopping at the George Vanderbilt and participating in the recording of these records are: R.S. Peer, director of record production; Charles L. Hibbard, recording engineer; G.S. Jeffers, general sales representative; and P. C. Brockman of Atlanta, the Southeastern distributor of OKeh records. This is said by officials of the company to be the first time phonograph records have ever been made in the Carolinas. It is customary to have the artist come to New York and the records are made there. However, the company has found the atmosphere of Asheville to be the best in the country for the reproduction of the human voice and instrument music as well in the summer season and it is expected that the present tests being made will be so satisfactory that the company will make the majority of its Southern records in this city.

Today a number of singers and players from the mountain country will be tried out before the reproducing device. The first test is said to be one of the severest experiences the singer or player ever has to undergo and more difficult than an appearance before a large audience.

Table 1d:

“Remote” Recordings, 9000 Matrix Series, 1925-1926

[Recordings made on the same field trip are grouped together.]

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Table 1e:

“Remote” Recordings, 9000 & 140000 Matrix Series, 1926-1927

[Recordings made on the same field trip are grouped together.]

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Following the above sessions the separate matrix series OKeh had used for location recordings since they began in 1923 was discontinued. See below for the new system which was adopted from March, 1927.

From this point OKeh recordings were all numbered into the same matrix series as used for the New York recordings. As part of the general re-alignment of recording practices with the new Columbia parent-label the same procedure as used by Columbia was adopted whereby blocks of numbers in the main matrix series were allocated to recordings made in all locations. Until December, 1927 all OKeh masters were numbered into an 80000 matrix series. In January, 1928 this was changed to a six digit 400000 matrix series for 10” recordings and a 500000 matrix series for 12” recordings (to match up with the six figure Columbia 140000/150000 matrix series).

Table 1f:

“Remote” Recordings, 80000 & 140000 Matrix Series, 1927-1931

[Recordings made on the same field trip are grouped together.]

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Columbia made very few recordings outside New York after 1931, and none that were allocated master numbers in the OKeh matrix series.

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Discography of OKeh Records, 1918-1934 . Compiled by Ross Laird and Brian Rust. Reprinted by permission.