Valaida Snow: selected recordings, 1935-1946, and gallery

_____________________________________

Valaida Snow biography:

______________________

_______________________________

Valaida Snow: selected recordings, 1935-1946

1935

I Can’t Dance I’ve Got Ants in My Pants (Clarence Williams, Charlie Gains)

Valaida Snow with Billy Mason and his Orchestra — issued in 1935 on the 78 rpm single (UK) Parlophone F 118, as the B-side of “I Wish I Were Twins”

I Wish I Were Twins (m. Joseph Meyer, w. Frank Loesser, Edgar De Lange) — 1934 recordings include those by Henry Allen and his Orchestra, Fats Waller and His Rhythm, Ted Wilson and his Orchestra, Emil Coleman and His Orchestra, Henry “Red” Allen and his Orchestra, and Ella Logan with Adrian Rollini and his Ramblers

Valaida Snow with Billy Mason and his Orchestra — issued in 1935 on the 78 rpm single (UK) Parlophone F 118, b/w “I Can’t Dance I’ve Got Ants in My Pants”

High Hat, Trumpet and Rhythm (Valaida Snow)

This song, which became Snow’s theme song, has been used in the title of one of two compilations of recordings issued by World Records, Valaida: High Hat, Trumpet and Rhythm (World EMI SH 309), and as the title of a biography, subtitled The Life and Music of Valaida Snow, by Mark Miller, 2007.

Singin’ in the Rain (m. Nacio Herb Brown, w. Arthur Freed) – recorded 26 April 1935

1936

Until the Real Thing Comes Along

From Wikipedia:

According to one version of the original sheet music, the songwriting credits read: “Words and Music by Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin and L.E. Freeman.” Another version has, immediately below the title, the words: “with Piano Accordion”. According to this version, the songwriting credits read: Words and Music by Mann Holiner, Alberta Nichols, Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin and L.E. Freeman. Otherwise, graphically, the two versions are identical. ASCAP lists all five as co-writers.

I Want a Lot of Love (Valaida Snow) — recorded by Valaida Snow and The Six Swingers. Snow’s vocals are full of scat and verbal patter. Among the latter, here’s a sample from the last minute:

I don’t care how hard you hit me, just so long as you don’t quit me.

If you didn’t even have no hair, I’d say, “Sic ‘im on me, I don’t care.”

Turn the hose on me, boys, I’m burnin’ up again.

1937

The Mood That I’m In (Abner Silver & Al Sherman)

Valaida Snow with Derek Neville and his Orchestra, recorded in London on 7 July 1937 — Valaida Snow (voc, tp); Derek Neville (as, bar, ldr); Johnny Claes (tp); Reggie Dare (ts); Gun Finley (p); Norman Brown (g); Louis Barreiro (b) and Ken Stewart (d)

Creator of the slide show in the video below, Crownpropeller’s Blog, indicates that the photographs used were “taken by Hans Spreng when Valaida Snow was playing at the Sihlporte, Zürich, in summer 1937,” and that the band seems to be the “almost the same” as the personnel credited on the recording.

1939

Caravan (Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington, w. Irving Mills)

(Below) In a scene from the 1939 French film Pièges (aka Personal Column, Snares), Snow performs a song which seems to be titled “Sweetheart,” accompanied by piano, but which various sites refer to as “My Sweetheart.” I’ve been unable to identify the songwriter(s) or the song, the lyric of which opens with the words:

Sweetheart,
There’s heaven in your eyes
You’re an angel in disguise from up above
Sweetheart,
It’s you I idolized
I know that you were sent to me for love

Sweetheart,
When you’re not around
I act just like a clown ’cause I’m so blue
Sweetheart,
You’re life itself I’ve found…

1940

You’re Driving Me Crazy (What Did I Do?) (Walter Donaldson) — First recorded by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians on 11 November 1930. Sometime in the next 8 weeks or so it was added to the 1930 musical Smiles, a Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. production which premiered on 18 November 1930. The opening night numbers featured 17 Vincent Youmans compositions with lyrics by either Clifford Grey and Harold Adamson, or Ring Lardner. The show closed on 10 January 1931 after 63 performances. According to secondhandsongs.com, “You’re Driving Me Crazy” was performed in the show by Adele Astaire & Eddie Foy, Jr.

The most popular early recordings were those by Guy Lombardo, Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees, and Nick Lucas with Victor Young & his Orchestra. The song was also covered early by The New York Twelve (Harry Reser) with vocal by Frank Luther, Ben Selvin and his Orchestra (8 December 1930), and by Lee Morse and her Bluegrass Boys (26 November 1930). Among the “Bluegrass Boys” for this session were Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Eddie Lang.

__________________