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 576-600 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zonophone | 6297 | 10-in. | Before Aug. 1906 | Bashful Henry and his lovin' Lucy | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene and vocal duet, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Zonophone | 6298 | 10-in. | Before Aug. 1906 | Fritz and Louisa | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 6303 | 10-in. | Before July 1906 | Peaches and cream | Ada Jones | Comic scene and vocal duet, with orchestra | author | |
Zonophone | 6305 | 10-in. | Before July 1906 | Coming home from Coney Island | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 6308 | 10-in. | Before July 1906 | Jokesmiths | Steve Porter | Comic dialogue | author | |
Zonophone | 6309 | 10-in. | Before Oct. 1906 | The morning after Flanagan's night off | Steve Porter | Comic dialogue | author | |
Zonophone | 6804 | 10-in. | Before Nov. 1906 | Jim Jackson's last farewell | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 6988 | 10-in. | Before Jan. 1907 | Jim Jackson and his jealous Julia | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 6991 | 10-in. | Before Dec. 1906 | Down on the farm | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 6993 | 10-in. | Before Dec. 1906 | Good-a bye, John | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 7487 | 10-in. | Before Apr. 1907 | Meet me down at the corner | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene | speaker, author | |
Zonophone | 7488 | 10-in. | Before May 1907 | Giving Matt the mitten | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 7491 | 12-in. | Before June 1907 | Rudolph and Rosie at the roller skating rink | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 7643 | 10-in. | ca. 1907 | Illinois Sewing Machine Co. | Len Spencer | Promotional talk | speaker | |
Zonophone | 7674 | 10-in. | Before Aug. 1907 | Blondy | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 7676 | 10-in. | Before June 1907 | Henry | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 7678 | 10-in. | Before June 1907 | Becky and Izzy | Ada Jones | Comic scene | author | |
Zonophone | 7901 | 10-in. | ca. 1908 | Becky and Izzy | Ada Jones | Comic scene | author | |
Zonophone | 7905 | 10-in. | Before Sept. 1907 | Chimmy and Maggie in Nickel Land | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 8217 | 10-in. | Before Jan. 1908 | Broncho Bob (And his little Cheyenne) | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 8220 | 10-in. | Before Oct. 1907 | Herman and Minnie | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 8221 | 10-in. | Before Feb. 1908 | You've got to love me a lot | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene and female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 8223 | 10-in. | Before Dec. 1907 | Mariutch at Coney Island | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer | |
Zonophone | 8225 | 10-in. | Before Apr. 1908 | Vagabonds | Gilbert Girard | Comic monologue, with imitations | author | |
Zonophone | 8569 | 10-in. | Before June 1908 | Santiago Flynn | Ada Jones ; Len Spencer | Comic scene, with orchestra | author, performer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed May 8, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.
"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 8 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
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