Music recorded in January 1915

This article can be read in about 6 minutes.
Sponsored Links

Music recorded in January 1915

January 1915 was a month of simultaneous changes: war, institutional reform, disaster, communication technology, and nature conservation. On January 12, the United States House of Representatives rejected a proposal to enshrine women's suffrage in the Constitution, demonstrating that progress in social reform was still not easy. On January 13, the Avezzano earthquake struck central Italy, causing extensive damage in the Marsica region. On January 18, the Japanese government presented the Twenty-One Demands to the Republic of China, deepening tensions in East Asian diplomacy. The Battle of Dogger Bank on January 24 shook the course of the North Sea campaign in World War I, and the following day, the official transcontinental telephone call across America took place, marking a new stage in long-distance communication. Furthermore, Rocky Mountain National Park was established on January 26th, and the United States Coast Guard was launched on January 28th. It was a month in which wartime tensions and peacetime institutional developments ran parallel.

Confirmed recordings this month: 0

Summary of information regarding the January 1915 recording.

In the recording industry in January 1915, popular songs with a strong wartime theme, new dance music, religious music and educational recordings, and opera excerpts were all simultaneously on the market. Based on the available records for that month, the activities of Victor Talking Machine Co., Columbia Graphophone Co., and Thomas A. Edison, Inc. are relatively clear. In particular, Edison, despite having just suffered a factory fire in December 1914, was able to simultaneously implement recovery plans and supply new recordings in January 1915, as confirmed by primary sources.

Victor

The December 1914 issue of "The Talking Machine World" features a section on new releases for January 1915, confirming that Victor Talking Machine Co. simultaneously released popular songs, dance music, educational recordings, and red seal records. The new releases included wartime songs like "Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers," recordings on the women's suffrage movement such as "Mr. Dooley's Address to the Suffragists" and "Fall in Line (Suffrage March)," and even collections of patriotic songs from France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria. In addition, new foxtrot and one-step records were also listed, indicating that Victor Talking Machine Co. was aware of both current events and the demand for dance music in January 1915.

Columbia

Similarly, the December 1914 issue of "The Talking Machine World," in its January 1915 new releases section, confirms that Columbia Graphophone Co. was promoting Hawaiian music, religious music, opera, dance music, and popular songs all together. In addition to "Aloha Oe," Shakespearean songs, religious quartets, and opera excerpts, there were also one-step versions of "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary," fox trot versions of "Do the Funny Fox Trot" and "I Want to Go Back to Michigan." Furthermore, "Nineteen-Fifteen San Francisco" was treated as a theme that was mindful of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, suggesting that Columbia Graphophone Co. was trying to capture entertainment, current events, and the dance market across the board in January 1915.

Edison

Even after the West Orange factory fire on December 9, 1914, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. had already outlined concrete plans for restoration and resumption of sales by January 1915. The January 1915 issue of "Edison Phonograph Monthly" explained that although the damage was extensive, many of the machines inside the concrete building were repairable and reconstruction would proceed quickly. Furthermore, a notice in the magazine announced on January 7 that orders for the B-80 model would resume and shipments were expected to begin the week of January 18. On January 9, it was stated that although the release of Blue Amberol Records in February was slightly delayed due to the temporary suspension of production caused by the fire, the company planned to proceed with the production of 25 new titles and additional production of 100 best-selling numbers. Even though it was the month immediately following the fire, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. was trying to rebuild its disk machines, cylinders, and replenish its existing best-selling products all at once.

The Blue Amberol Records catalog released for that month included titles such as "By the Setting of the Sun," "Meadowbrook Fox Trot," "I'm Goin' Back to Louisiana," and "I Want to Go Back to Michigan." Here again, popular songs, dance music, religious music, and instrumental music were mixed together, confirming that Thomas A. Edison, Inc. was trying to meet a wide range of demand for home entertainment in January 1915, rather than focusing on any particular genre. At least according to the available records, January 1915 was both a "month of recovery from the fire" and a "month in which new releases were maintained."

December 1914
1915 TOP
February 1915
Sponsored Links