My email conversation with
Craig Phillips continues. He’s the fellow, you may remember, who was a doctoral
candidate at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The focus of his
dissertation is The Revelers, the male quartet my father sang with in the 1920’s. (See my July 19th, 2015
post.) The actual title of his dissertation is: The Vocal Arrangements of Ed Smalle and Frank J.
Black: Seven Performance Editions of Songs for Male Quartet Made Popular By The
Revelers.
Craig has just received his
doctorate this Spring. Congratulations,
Dr. Phillips! He also writes, “I'm happy to report that this Fall I am joining
the music faculty of the University of Oregon as assistant professor of voice
and vocal pedagogy. It's a big move for my family (swapping coasts!) but a
great gig.”
In the two years since he
first contacted me, Craig has been able to locate a number of other Revelers’
descendants, and has found marvelous materials that he has generously shared
with me.
Here is a rare gem, a live performance
photo of The Revelers (circa 1930) performing in NBC Studio H, showing their
orientation to the microphone, where the piano was situated, the audience in
front and the orchestra all around. And of course they're all wearing tuxedos!
This photo is from the
collection of Craig Arnold, who is the grandson of Lewis James, one of the
Revelers.
No comments:
Post a Comment