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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 776-800 of 812 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4026] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Auction sale of a bird and animal store Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Comic monologue and imitations speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4027] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Auction sale of a musical instrument store Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Comic monologue and imitations speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4028] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Bouncer of the "Blazing Rag” Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with piano and imitations speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4029[a]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Mother goose rhymes Alfred Holt ; Len Spencer Monologue, with imitations speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4029[b]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Mother Hubbard Len Spencer Monologue speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4030] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 A trip to the circus Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Comic monologue and imitations speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4031] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Down on Calamity Farm Al S. Holt ; Len Spencer Comic monologue, with imitations speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4048[a]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Old black Joe Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4049] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Uncle Tom's cabin Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer Monologue, with banjo speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4050] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 The banjo evangelist Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer Monologue, with banjo speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4051] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 You've been a good old wagon, but you've done broke down Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4052[a]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Con Clancy and the whistling newsboy Parke Hunter ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with banjo speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4055[b]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Huskin' bee Leeds Orchestra ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene with orchestra speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4056] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Banjo 'Lize Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with banjo speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4058[b]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Darkie tickle Leeds Orchestra ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with orchestra speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4060[a]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Con Clancy's prize waltz contest Len Spencer Comic scene, with piano speaker, composer, author  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4060[b]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Clancy's Irish prize waltz contest Leeds Orchestra ; Len Spencer Comic scene, with orchestra author, speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4061[a]] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 The lion tamer Len Spencer Monologue, with piano speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4065] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Levee revels Len Spencer Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4075] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Dese bones shall rise again Len Spencer Male vocal solo vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4077] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 My heart is yours and yours alone Albert Campbell ; Spencer Minstrels Minstrels and male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4082] 10-in. between late 1903 and 1904 Circus galop Leeds Orchestra ; Len Spencer Orchestra, with talk speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4330[a]] 10-in. before Sept. 1905 Mr. and Mrs. Murphy Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene and female-male vocal duet, with piano vocalist, baritone vocal, author  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4330[b]] 10-in. before Sept. 1905 Mr. and Mrs. Murphy Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene and female-male vocal duet, with orchestra author, speaker  
Leeds & Catlin [L & C cat 4563] 10-in. before Sept. 1905 The hand of fate Ada Jones ; Len Spencer Descriptive scene, with orchestra speaker  
(Results 776-800 of 812 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spencer, Len," accessed May 9, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.

Spencer, Len. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 9, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106197.

"Spencer, Len." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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