For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
]]>Janice Cleary discussed a few of the pieces of sheet music she shared with History Harvest. Mrs. Cleary brought in several pieces with connections to Omaha, NE, but her entire collection contains nearly 50,000 pieces of American popular music. In this clip, she discusses pieces featuring the music and/or imagery of Charles and Effie Tyus, Dan Desdunes, Father Flanagan, and Maceo Pinkard.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
]]>This photograph shows a lively crowd dancing to the music at The Dreamland Ballroom during the late 1940s. The Dreamland Ballroom was a popular music venue located in the heart of North Omaha and hosted many local and nationally-renowned musical acts.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
The cover of this sheet music features a photograph of Sophie Tucker’s Kings of Syncopation framed by an illustration of a man playing piano and a young couple dancing. There is an ad for another Pinkard tune, “I’m a Real Kind Mama, Looking for a Loving Man” in the sheet music and credit for his song, “Just Give Me That Ragtime Please”. The composer's own Maceo Pinkard Music Publishing in Omaha, Nebraska published the song.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
]]>This “1917 Jazz Band Sensation” is an instrumental song composed by Maceo Pinkard of “Sweet Georgia Brown” fame. Janice Cleary, who owns this amazing collection, informed us that Pinkard was a booking agent in Omaha before he moved on to New York. It was dedicated to Sophie Tucker’s (5) Kings of Syncopation who popularized the tune. The song was available for player pianos and for what the publisher refers to as talking machines, better known as record players, which were just becoming popular at the time.
The cover of this sheet music features a photograph of Sophie Tucker’s Kings of Syncopation framed by an illustration of a man playing piano and a young couple dancing. There is an ad for another Pinkard tune, “I’m a Real Kind Mama, Looking for a Loving Man” in the sheet music and credit for his song, “Just Give Me That Ragtime Please”. The composer's own Maceo Pinkard Music Publishing in Omaha, Nebraska published the song.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
The cover of this sheet music features an art deco styled illustration of a young woman in a red dress and a photograph of Miss Nora Kelly who introduced the song. On the second page of the sheet music is an ad for “Oh Mah! Oh Pah! Ain’t She the Sweetest Thing” with lyrics by Gus Kahn and music by Walter Donaldson. Jerome H. Remick and Company of New York and Detroit published the sheet music.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.]]>This is an original version of the legendary song with music written by Maceo Pinkard, lyrics by Kenneth Casey and popularized by Ben Bernie. Janice Cleary who owns this amazing collection, assures us from her research that Pinkard was a booking agent and music publisher in Omaha before he moved on to New York. Over the years the lyrics have been sanitized for modern tastes but this 1925 sheet music contains the original story about a black prostitute named Sweet Georgia Brown. The second verse begins with, “Brown skin Gals you’ll get the blues, Brown skin Pals you’ll surely loose” instead of the non-racialized ‘gals’ and ‘pals’ of more recent versions. The song was billed as a “Charleston Swing Song” complete with a ukulele arrangement for the era’s popular instrument.
The cover of this sheet music features an art deco styled illustration of a young woman in a red dress and a photograph of Miss Nora Kelly who introduced the song. On the second page of the sheet music is an ad for “Oh Mah! Oh Pah! Ain’t She the Sweetest Thing” with lyrics by Gus Kahn and music by Walter Donaldson. Jerome H. Remick and Company of New York and Detroit published the sheet music.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
]]>This photograph shows a lively crowd dancing to the music at The Dreamland Ballroom during the 1940s. The Dreamland Ballroom was a popular music venue located in the heart of North Omaha and hosted many local and nationally-renowned musical acts.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
The inscription on the photograph reads:
To My Good Friend
Jimmy Jewell
Best of Good Wishes
always,
Andy Kirk
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
]]>This is a publicity shot of jazz musician Andy Kirk, who performed at The Dreamland Ballroom with his 12 Clouds of Joy. Andy Kirk and his 12 Clouds of Joy was a musical actsthat played at the Dreamland Ballroom in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The photo was given to Jimmy Jewell, owner of the Dreamland Ballroom.
The inscription on the photograph reads:
To My Good Friend
Jimmy Jewell
Best of Good Wishes
always,
Andy Kirk
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
]]>This is a signed promotional photograph of Evelyn McGee, a vocalist with The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, an all female jazz band. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm played at The Dreamland Ballroom often during the 1940s.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
]]>This is a photograph of Beverly White, who was featured with Andy Kirk and his 12 clouds of joy when they played at The Dreamland Ballroom.
For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.