# A Site for Sore Ears: 1910s–20s Pop Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367 "2003-10-24T18:37:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/41 "2003-10-29T19:19:26Z")
I wonder if it was Martin who didn’t pony up for the site? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/42 "2003-10-29T19:29:22Z")
He needs to be e-mailed . . . I _need_ my Al Bowlly and Russ Columbo fix! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/43 "2003-10-29T21:25:39Z")
And if you still haven’t had enough surface noise, we have WFMU’s [Antique Phonograph Music Program](http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/AP) and [Thomas Edison’s Attic](http://wfmu.org/playlists/te) programs with archives for pleasant internet listening. While I have you all here, how do the 20s Style Death Drummers get their cymbals to decay so rapidly? Do they grab it right after striking it? I’m a sucker for that momentary smash noise. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/44 "2003-10-30T03:13:31Z")
Mostly mp3s or wavs, or something I can download! Argh! (I’m finding a ton of streaming stuff, but then you have “buffering”…blah!) ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/45 "2003-10-30T03:22:36Z")
Are the recordings you’re listening to pre-electronic? If they are, it may be because playing the recording technique of the time (playing into a horn) forced drummers to stay a distance from the horn, so that the stylus didn’t jump. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/46 "2003-10-30T07:14:43Z")
The rapid decay of cymbals in twenties recordings was done by the drummer grabbing the edge of the cymbal shortly after striking it. It was not a side effect of acoustic recording - most acoustic records had so little high end that cymbals couldn’t be recorded adequately, so drummers wouldn’t use them in recordings. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/47 "2003-10-30T14:42:22Z")
Hmmpph. The [Martin’s 78 Turntable](http://dns2go.deerfield.com//errors.htm?id=256&userid=219613) site is still down . . . The _minute_ it comes back up, I am taping and taping and taping . . . ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/48 "2003-10-30T14:59:16Z")
Wow, bookmarking like a madman. You guys rock. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/49 "2003-10-30T16:19:01Z")
This seems to be the perfect place to ask about my mystery song. My Grandparents had a 78[sub]rpm[/sub] that I was not allowed ro listen to. Of course, I remember some of it to this day, but I’ve never met anyone who has heard of it. The name is _The Man that Comes Around_ It goes “There’s a man that comes to our house every single day. Papa comes home and the man goes away. Papa does the work and Mama gets the pay, and the man comes around when Papa goes away.” Who wrote it? Who sang it? ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/50 "2003-10-30T17:13:01Z")
This seems to be the perfect place to ask about my mystery song. My Grandparents had a 78[sub]rpm[/sub] that I was not allowed ro listen to. Of course, I remember some of it to this day, but I’ve never met anyone who has heard of it. The name is _The Man that Comes Around_ It goes “There’s a man that comes to our house every single day. Papa comes home and the man goes away. Papa does the work and Mama gets the pay, and the man comes around when Papa goes away.” Who wrote it? Who sang it? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerous\_Nan\_McGrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecd19e/32.png) [@Dangerous\_Nan\_McGrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerous_Nan_McGrew)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/51 "2003-10-30T23:53:03Z")
[Here](http://www.neteze.com/easyed/sweetviolets.html) is an mp3 of “The Man That Comes Around” as sung by the Sweet Violet Boys in 1937 (that’s what the page says, but I don’t think the date is right). As with most songs of that time, it was recorded by a number of different artists, but from what I can figure out, it was made most popular by Tommy Tucker. The song was written by Bud Green, John Lair, and Tommy Tucker sometime in the late 30s. [Bud Green](http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_home_page.asp?exhibitId=88) wrote quite a few popular songs in the 20s and 30s, such as “That’s My Weakness Now” and “I Love My Baby (My Baby Loves Me)”. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/52 "2003-10-31T01:12:15Z")
Hey, **Dangerous Nan** , I am a _major_ Helen Kane fan! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerous\_Nan\_McGrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecd19e/32.png) [@Dangerous\_Nan\_McGrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerous_Nan_McGrew)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/53 "2003-10-31T04:22:11Z")
I thought you would be, **Eve**. Ever considered writing a book about her? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/54 "2003-10-31T13:56:17Z")
Actually, I was contacted by someone who wants to do a book on her, but I don’t know if she’s a real writer, or just an enthused fan who doesn’t know what she’s getting into. I did do a magazine article on Helen Kane, titled _All About Boop_ (about how Helen’s career was co-opted by Betty Boop). ---
**Author:** ![Dangerous\_Nan\_McGrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecd19e/32.png) [@Dangerous\_Nan\_McGrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerous_Nan_McGrew)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/55 "2003-10-31T23:30:16Z")
Someone should, although I think you’d do the best job of it. There’s so little information available about her, and so few people know who she is compared to goddamned Betty Boop. I think there’d be quite a market for it, too, considering all the Betty Boop fans would probably buy it. Oh, have you seen Cindy Ball’s Helen Kane [show](http://www.donttellmama.com/ball.shtml)? I’d love to, but I’m nowhere near New York. What magazine was the article in? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/56 "2003-11-01T00:31:37Z")
I found the article [here](http://hillbillykitten.tripod.com/article.html). Never got permission from me to reprint it, but what the hell. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/57 "2003-11-01T01:38:59Z")
[The link I posted](http://martins78turntable.dns2go.com/tunes.html) seems to work again. I have no idea what the traffic limit is, though; I just found it on Google after this thread inspired me to do some searching. And this is a bit of a hijack into film territory, but since **Una** mentioned [archive.org](http://archive.org), anyone who hasn’t already experienced [The Prelinger Archive](http://www.archive.org/movies/prelinger.php) should – it contains ephemeral films (educational, industrial, scientific, amateur, etc.) produced from the '20s to the '80s. ---
**Author:** ![glenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@glenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glenster)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/58 "2003-11-01T12:23:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by picunurse \* > \*\*This seems to be the perfect place to ask about my mystery song. My Grandparents had a 78[sub]rpm[/sub] that I was not allowed ro listen to. Of course, I remember some of it to this day, but I’ve never met anyone who has heard of it. > The name is _The Man that Comes Around_ It goes “There’s a man that comes to our house every single day. Papa comes home and the man goes away. Papa does the work and Mama gets the pay, and the man comes around when Papa goes away.” > Who wrote it? Who sang it? \*\* Hi - I have it by Will Osborne & His Music… I’ll put it up on my site shortly… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/59 "2003-11-01T23:38:15Z")
For those of you who live in the Pittsburgh area, every Saturday night, WDUQ, from 6 pm to 9 pm has a Big Band Dance Party. Then from 9 to midnight, there’s “Rhythem Sweet and Hot”, a program featuring music from pre-WWII. ---
**Author:** ![glenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@glenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glenster)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367/60 "2003-11-02T06:00:04Z")
Sorry this took so long! Here is “The Man Who Comes Around” and “Would’st Could I Kiss Thy Hand, Oh Babe” recorded by Will Osborne & His Slide Music on Varsity 8143 from early 1940. I haven’t bothered to put these on my website (The Hot-Dance & Vintage Jazz Pages) because they’re a bit later than what I usually have… The Man Who Comes Around: [http://www.2multiples.com/hotdance/recordings/manwhocomesaround.mp3](http://www.2multiples.com/hotdance/recordings/manwhocomesaround.mp3) Would’st Could I Kiss Thy Hand, Oh Babe: [http://www.2multiples.com/hotdance/recordings/wouldst.mp3](http://www.2multiples.com/hotdance/recordings/wouldst.mp3) Please right-click on the links above and choose “Save file to disk” to copy the files to your hard drive. 🙂 Glen [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-site-for-sore-ears-1910s-20s-pop-songs/209367.md?page=4)