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 626-650 of 812 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zonophone | [Zo cat 906] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | Vilikins and his Dinah | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 907] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | Arkansas traveller | Len Spencer | Comic scene, with violin | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 908] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | The wedding of the frog and the mouse | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1173] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | Old Mother Hubbard and other rhymes | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Recitation, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1174] | 9-in. | 1901-early 1902 | Auction sale in bird and animal store | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1175] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | The bouncer at the Blazing Rag | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1176] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | A trip to the circus | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1177] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | The passing of the circus parade | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1178] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | Daybreak at Calamity Farm | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1179] | 9-in. | Before May 1902 | Dog fight | Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1879] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Twenty-third psalm and Lord's prayer | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1880] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Lincoln's address at Gettysburg | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1881] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Ingersoll at the tomb of Napoleon | Len Spencer | Recitation | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1882] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Auction sale of pawnbroker goods | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1883] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Auction sale of household goods | Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with banjo | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1900] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | The fairy boat | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1901] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | The stuttering monologist | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1902] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Vilikins and his Dinah | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat J 1903] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Arkansas traveler | Len Spencer | Comic scene, with violin | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 1904] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | The wedding of the frog and the mouse | Len Spencer | Monologue | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 2135] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Auction sale in bird and animal store | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 2136] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | The bouncer at the Blazing Rag | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 2137] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | A trip to the circus | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 2138] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | The passing of the circus parade | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker | |
Zonophone | [Zo cat 2139] | 7-in. | Before May 1902 | Dog fight | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer | Descriptive scene, with vocal effects | speaker |
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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