Various - American Yodeling 1928-1946

First time ever on vinyl. Compilation of early 20th century American 'blue yodeling' European immigrant country music. A component of American minstrel shows from the mid- 1800-s onward, yodeling is intrinsic to singing in Madagascar and Eastern Europe as well as its traditional association with Alpine song. In America, though, the technique was clearly imported and, characteristically, was first integrated into indigenous music by black entertainers. Yodelling records caught on in the first two decades of the 20th century. Several of these (properly cylinders rather than records, as cut for the Edison company) referenced Swiss and German themes and were sung by an early white yodeller, George P Watson, who would later record for Columbia and Victor. His lullaby Sleep, Baby, Sleep is the final track (and the earliest recording, from 1911) on a wide-ranging collection surveying the 'yodelling fever' which gripped American record buyers in the years prior to the Second World War. Issued by the German Trikont label, American Yodeling 1911- 1946 blends successful cormmercial releases with those cut by artists whose yodels were heard by a relative few. The style was associated with Country records, specifically those sung by cowboy characters like Roy Rogers and Sons Of The Pioneers, irrespective of the yodelling cowboy actually being one of the mightiest pop hallucinations of all time according to Nick Tosches, in his illuminating history, Country. The Singing Brakeman, Jimmie Rodgers, was famed above all Country blue yodelers, imitated by black and white musicians alike; his Standin' On The Corner (Blue Yodel No 9) is here, as is the work of a Rodgers clone, Cliff Carlisle (The Yodeling Hobo), who extolled his own unsavoury mien with The Nasty Swing. There may have been something to his declaration, as Carlisle was later covered by Elvis Presley. The soft, precise harmonies of The Delmore Brothers were inspired also by Jimmie Rodgers. A quarter century later, the Everly Brothers would run to the bank with their sound - The Wire. An album s worth of yodeling! I can hear you running for the hills already. Fear not, there s not an alpine caller in sight. The American flatlands is closer to the mark. The loud piercing yodelling sound is a thing of expressive beauty. - Rock'n'Reel The album comes with extensive sleevenotes and 26 gargling falsettos, from the sublime to the ridiculous. The muck from the old 78s makes it sound even more weird and wonderful. - Mojo It shouldn t have worked, but it did, superbly. An entertaining collection. - The Times The historical importance of this disc cannot be over stated. - Country Music Round-Up