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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 726-750 of 812 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5830] 9-in. Before Apr. 1904 Levee scene Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5839] 7-in. Before Apr. 1904 Reuben Haskins' trip around the world in his airship "Luna" Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with ocarina speaker  
Zonophone [Ox cat 5839] 7-in. ca. 1904-1905 Reuben Haskins' trip around the world in his airship "Luna" Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with ocarina speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5840] 7-in. Before Apr. 1904 Rube Haskin's ride on a cyclone auto Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Ox cat 5840] 7-in. ca. 1904-1905 Rube Haskin's ride on a cyclone auto Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5840] 9-in. Before Apr. 1904 Rube Haskin's ride on a cyclone auto Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5909] 7-in. Before May 1904 The whistling newsboy Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with vocal effects speaker  
Zonophone [Ox cat 5909] 7-in. ca. 1904-1905 The whistling newsboy Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with vocal effects speaker  
Zonophone [Ox cat 5910] 7-in. ca. 1904-1905 Jim Jackson's race track story Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with vocal effects speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5910] 9-in. Before May 1904 Jim Jackson's rollhack story Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with vocal effects speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat P 5910] 7-in. Before May 1904 Jim Jackson's race track story Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with vocal effects speaker  
Zonophone [Zo cat C 5999] 9-in. Before Oct. 1904 Dat minstrel man of mine Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin 6393 10-in. before Sept. 1905 Every little bit helps Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with female-male vocal duet speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 6399 10-in. before Sept. 1905 He's me pal Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin 6971 10-in. Jan.-July 1906 Peaches and cream Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin 7024 10-in. Jan.-July 1906 Travel on Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic dialogue, with orchestra speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 8266 10-in. 1906 The little old log cabin in the lane Vess L. Ossman ; Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin 8484 10-in. 1906 Down the pike at the Saint Louis Exposition Len Spencer Monologue, with orchestra speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 8485 10-in. approximately mid-1906 The musical Yankee Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 8486 10-in. 1906 President Roosevelt's inaugural parade Band (probably Leeds & Catlin house band) ; Len Spencer Band and monologue speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 8870 10-in. approximately early 1907 Meet me down at the corner Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic dialogue, with orchestra speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 8873 10-in. approximately early 1907 Herman and Minnie Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 8874 10-in. approximately early 1907 Becky and Izzy Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Comic dialogue speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 5194 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 The trolley car galop Leeds Orchestra ; Len Spencer Orchestra, with talk speaker  
Leeds & Catlin 5197 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 The Virginia skedaddle Leeds Orchestra ; Len Spencer Orchestra, with talk speaker  
(Results 726-750 of 812 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed April 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.

Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.

"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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