by Ada Jones, Billy Murray, and the Premier Quartet
Max Hoffmann, while writing the score for yet another in a string of successful "Rogers Brothers" musicals for Broadway, wrote this song in 1907 for "The Rogers Brothers in Panama" (for more info about that production, see the
"Internet Broadway DataBase"). The song was apparently a big enough hit for Edison to release three versions of it: one 2-minute duet with Jones and Murray (which can be heard on-line
at the UCSB Special Collection), an instrumental medley version with Albert Bentzler playing bells
(also on-line at UCSB), and this 4-minute version of the Jones and Murray duet. This recording was one of a
series which was offered as an incentive for people to have their cylinder machines converted to 4-minute operation, and was not for sale to the general public. Compared to the 2-minute version, this 4-minute waxing includes an additional verse, some of the
chorouses are sung by the Premier Quartet (with Murray singing lead), and the song's tempo is generally slower. Everything else is similar including the soft-shoe dance near the end. All of the performers on this record
are at the peak of their powers here. The condition of the record was quite good despite having been played enough to produce some "blasting" on the louder notes. Noise reduction was limited to rumble removal and needle tics.
