Rating:
Genre:
Jazz
Release Date: 07/27/2001
As with any "chart"-oriented compilation,
Living Era's
Chart-Toppers of the Twenties focuses upon numbers of units sold rather than, say, the most artistically important or innovative recordings from the time period in question. This sampling perfectly reflects the bigoted nature of U.S. culture during the early 20th century by presenting 25 recordings made by white people for a clientele that was assumed to also be white. Even
Wendell Hall's
"It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'" seems to stop short of tapping into blackface
minstrelsy, sticking instead with a straightforward standard of white rural entertainment. All of this being said,
Chart-Toppers of the Twenties is a marvelous sampler of vintage popular music, beginning with
Ben Selvin's lovely 1919 recording of
"Dardanella," which occupied, according to the liners, a number one spot for 13 weeks, selling more than five million copies -- an extremely popular record in its day. Amidst the expected appearances by
Paul Whiteman,
Gene Austin, and
Al Jolson there are delicious moments of great social import as
Sophie Tucker,
Vernon Dalhart,
Eddie Cantor,
Billy Jones,
Ted Lewis, and
Isham Jones each contribute to the overall charm of this interesting retrospective.
~arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide
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