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 526-550 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 3759 | 10-in. | ca. 1907-Feb. 1908 | Sheriff's sale of a stranded circus | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with animal imitations | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 3778 | 10-in. | ca. 1907-Feb. 1908 | Old dog Sport | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with animal imitations | speaker | |
Columbia | 3977 | 10-in. | ca. 1908 | The widow Dooley | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 3984 | 10-in. | ca. Jan. 1908-Mar. 1909 | A picture of long ago | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Descriptive dialogue and female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal, composer | |
Columbia | 19366 | 10-in. | 5/15/1911 | The 23rd Psalm | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Columbia | 19367 | 10-in. | 5/15/1911 | The Lord's Prayer | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Columbia | 19368 | 10-in. | 5/15/1911 | The 23rd Psalm | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Columbia | 30040 | 12-in. | ca. 1906 | The musical Yankee | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 30055 | 12-in. | ca. 1906-Feb. 1907 | Rudolph and Rosie at the roller rink | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic dialogue, with orchestra | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 30997 | 12-in. | ca. 1912 | How Salvator won | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Edison | 3364 | 10-in. | Oct. 1914 | Christmas symphony : Uncle Fritz and the children's orchestra | Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | speaker | |
Edison | 4148 | 10-in. | 9/27/1915 | Scene at a dog fight | Gilbert Girard ; Steve Porter | Monologue, with vocal effects | author | |
Edison | 4186 | 10-in. | 10/12/1915 | Daybreak at Calamity Farm | Gilbert Girard and Company | Descriptive scene | author | |
Edison | 10647 | 10-in. | 10/21/1925 | The hand of fate | Al Bernard | Male vocal solo, with instrumental quartet | author | |
Zonophone | 288 | 9-in. | Before 1904 | The newsboy's Christmas | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | 289 | 7-in. | Jan. 1904 | The newsboy's Christmas | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | 890 | 7-in. | ca. Oct. 1903 | The wedding of the frog and the mouse | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | 1559 | 9-in. | Before Feb. 1904 | Ebony emperors of melody | Male vocal quartet (unidentified; Zonophone Records) ; Len Spencer | Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Zonophone | 1561 | 7-in. | Before Feb. 1904 | Ebony emperors of melody | Male vocal quartet (unidentified; Zonophone Records) ; Len Spencer | Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Zonophone | 1566 | 9-in. | Before Feb. 1904 | Prize waltz contest | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker | |
Zonophone | 1572 | 7-in. | Before Feb. 1904 | Levee scene | Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | speaker | |
Zonophone | 1575 | 9-in. | Before Feb. 1904 | Having fun with the orchestra | Len Spencer | Monologue, with orchestra | performer | |
Zonophone | 1812 | 7-in. | Before Apr. 1904 | Piccolo player's reward | Len Spencer | Monologue, with piccolo | speaker | |
Zonophone | 1814 | 9-in. | Before Apr. 1904 | Auction sale of musical instruments | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with banjo | speaker | |
Zonophone | 1815 | 7-in. | Before Apr. 1904 | Auction sale of musical instruments | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with banjo | speaker |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed May 6, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 6, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 6 May 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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