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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 376-400 of 812 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-6858 10-in. 3/4/1909 Sweet Peggy Magee Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, unaccompanied speaker  
Victor B-8088 10-in. 7/2/1909 Mammy Chloe and her Joe Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra author, speaker  
Victor B-8089 10-in. 7/2/1909 How Kathleen proposed Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra author, speaker  
Victor B-8090 10-in. 7/2/1909 Zeb Green's airship Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra author, speaker  
Victor B-8404 10-in. 11/29/1909 Hedwig's air castle Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra speaker  
Victor C-8405 12-in. 11/29/1909 A race for a wife Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra author, speaker  
Columbia 33 7-in. ca. 1901 Dese bones shall rise again Harry Spencer ; Len Spencer Minstrels, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 33 10-in. ca. 1901-1908 Dese bones shall rise again Harry Spencer ; Len Spencer Minstrels, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 398 7-in. approximately 1901 Backyard conversation between two Irish washerwomen Artists vary Comic dialogue speaker  
Columbia 398 10-in. approximately 1901 Backyard conversation between two jealous Irish washerwomen Steve Porter ; Len Spencer Comic dialogue speaker  
Columbia 449 10-in. approximately 1901 Church scene Artists vary Male vocal quartet, with piano vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 641 7-in. ca. 1902 Coon, coon, coon Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 641 10-in. approximately 1902 Coon, coon, coon Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 642 7-in. ca. 1902 Hear dem bells Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 642 10-in. approximately 1902 Hear dem bells Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 643 7-in. ca. 1902 A high old time Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 643 10-in. approximately 1902 A high old time Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 644 7-in. ca. 1902-1904 The laughing song Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra speaker  
Columbia 644 10-in. between 1902 and 1904 The laughing song Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 645 7-in. ca. 1902 The old log cabin in the dell Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 645 10-in. ca. 1902 The old log cabin Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 646 10-in. ca. 1902-1904 Sadie Ray Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 646 7-in. ca. 1902 Sadie Ray Imperial Minstrels Minstrels, with male vocal solo and orchestra performer  
Columbia 648 7-in. ca. 1902 Alpine specialty Spencer Trio Male vocal trio, with yodeling piano vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 648 10-in. ca. 1902 Alpine specialty Spencer Trio Male vocal trio, with yodeling and piano vocalist, baritone vocal  
(Results 376-400 of 812 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed May 1, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.

Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.

"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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