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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 451-475 of 812 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 1109C 10-in. approximately 1903 An evening with the minstrels Minstrels [Columbia Records group] Minstrels : Comic dialogue speaker  
Columbia 1109E 10-in. approximately 1903 An evening with the minstrels Minstrels [Columbia Records group] Minstrels : Comic dialogue speaker  
Columbia 1109G 10-in. approximately 1903 An evening with the minstrels Minstrels [Columbia Records group] Minstrels : Comic dialogue speaker  
Columbia 1528 7-in. ca. 1903-Oct. 1905 Reuben Haskin's ride on a Cyclone auto Len Spencer Comic monologue, with sound effects speaker, author  
Columbia 1528 10-in. approximately 1903 Reuben Haskin's ride on a cyclone auto Len Spencer Comic monologue, with sound effects speaker, author  
Columbia 1548 7-in. ca. 1903-Oct. 1905 In Cheyenne Joe's cowboy tavern Columbia Orchestra Descriptive scene, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1548 10-in. ca. 1903 In Cheyenne Joe's cowboy tavern Columbia Orchestra Descriptive scene, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1549 10-in. approximately 1903 In old Alabama Columbia Orchestra Orchestra, with male vocal quartet and speaker speaker  
Columbia 1550 7-in. ca. 1904-Oct. 1905 Cumming's Indian Congress at Coney Island Columbia Orchestra Descriptive scene, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1550 10-in. ca. 1903 Cumming's Indian Congress at Coney Island Columbia Orchestra Descriptive scene, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1551 7-in. ca. 1903 Levee scene Columbia Orchestra Descriptive scene, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1551 10-in. ca. 1903 Levee scene Columbia Orchestra Descriptive scene, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1561 7-in. ca. 1903-Oct. 1905 The banjo evangelist Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, baritone vocal, composer  
Columbia 1561 10-in. ca. 1903 The banjo evangelist Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, baritone vocal, composer  
Columbia 1563 7-in. ca. 1903 Departure of a Hamburg-American liner Columbia Orchestra Descriptive scene, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1563 10-in. ca. 1903 Departure of a Hamburg-American liner Columbia Orchestra Descriptive scene, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1604 7-in. ca. 1903 The stuttering monologist Len Spencer Comic monologue, with violin speaker, author  
Columbia 1604 10-in. ca. 1903 The stuttering monologist Len Spencer Comic monologue, with violin speaker, author  
Columbia 1605 7-in. ca. 1903 Marty Maloney's wake Len Spencer Comic monologue, with violin and clog effects speaker, author  
Columbia 1605 10-in. ca. 1903 Marty Maloney's wake Len Spencer Comic monologue, with violin and clog effects speaker, author  
Columbia 1606 7-in. ca. 1903 Con Clancey's christening Len Spencer Comic monologue, with violin speaker, author  
Columbia 1606 10-in. ca. 1903 Con Clancey's christening Len Spencer Comic monologue, with violin speaker, author  
Columbia 1675 10-in. ca. 1903 Clancy's prize waltz contest Len Spencer Comic monologue, with orchestra speaker, composer  
Columbia 1690 10-in. ca. 1903-1908 Little boy come blow your horn Squashtown Amateur Minstrels Mixed vocal ensemble, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1697 10-in. approximately 1903 Rehearsing the Squashtown Orchestra Len Spencer Comic monologue, with orchestra speaker, author  
(Results 451-475 of 812 records)

Citation

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

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

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

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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