"Is It Gonna Be Long" by Paul Whiteman
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"Is It Gonna Be Long" by Paul Whiteman
The Paul Whiteman Orchestra recorded the Bill Challis arrangement of "Is It Gonna Be Long ('Till You Belong To Me)" on May 22, 1928. It was one of a large number of songs that Whitemen recorded immediately after being signed to an exclusive recording contract for Columbia Records. Columbia rewarded Whiteman with a special label featuring his now-famous "potato head" caricature. Bix doesn't solo much on this recording, but his energetic lead playing, often used by Bill Challis in his arrangements, makes this a genuinely hot performance by the gargantuan Whiteman orchestra. Min Leibrook's swooping bass saxophone fits in nicely as well. The record player is an Orthophonic Victrola model VE4-4X, or "Granada". The "E" in the model number indicates that the Victrola is fitted with a synchronous A/C motor instead of a wind-up motor. The machine has a full "orthophonic" playback system (for electrically-recorded records) including the special orthophonic sound box with a duralumin diaphragm and a folded exponential horn inside of the cabinet. Although the gigantic Credenza Victrola produced deeper bass, the Granada had the most accurate overall frequency response of all the acoustic Orthophonic Victrolas. The serial number indicates that this machine was probably manufactured in 1926. I shoot my video with a Sony Digital 8 format camera. For audio, I use a Shure SM-57 microphone on a stand placed about 4 feet in front of the Victrola horn. Although I normally use "soft tone" needles, this video was made with a "bright" or "loud" tone needle. The mic is plugged directly into the video camera. The videos are edited with Windows Movie Maker. I use Sound Forge 9 to clean up the audio, but don't worry -- you're hearing the record exactly as the Victrola plays it! For more great music, videos, and trivia from this era, please visit my website, http://www.virtualvictrola.com.
YouTube | March 8, 2008
