Duke was one of two "rising stars" from the Midwest in 1925, along with the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks, while broadcasting from WDAF in St. Louis, Missouri. The Nighthawks became a real favorite once they moved to New York. For a
while it looked like Duke would make his mark in the Big Apple as well, but history has not favored Duke Yellman: his work is entirely obscure today. This side, which is just him on a solo piano recorded for Edison Labs on May 31
of 1927, is nicely done even though he gradually ratchets the tempo up as he goes. This recording would be one of the last acoustic sides that Edison would make. The advertising department was defensively chanting "no distortion" which
there wouldn't be because it was acoustically recorded. The tune was written in 1924 by Bernard Barnes, a composer from Seattle who also played the organ behind silent films at the Liberty, Coliseum, and Strand theaters. The disc from
which this sample was taken was beautifully preserved and only needed rumble removed.
