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151-448: The song and its sequels tell a story typical of American folklore , reminiscent of Paul Bunyan or John Henry . Big Bad John was also the title of a 1990 television movie starring Dean. The song is about a mysterious and quiet miner who earns the nickname Big John because of his height, weight, and muscular physique – "He stood six foot six and weighed 245". He apparently hails from New Orleans , where, with "a crashin' blow from

302-659: A $ 500,000 investment which subsequently earned the company some $ 32 million in profits. In October 1958, Columbia, in time for the Christmas season, put out a series of "Greatest Hits" packages by such artists as Johnny Mathis, Doris Day, Guy Mitchell, Johnnie Ray, Jo Stafford , Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Frankie Laine and the Four Lads ; months later, it put out another Mathis compilation as well as that of Marty Robbins . Only Mathis' compilations charted, since there were only 25 positions on Billboard ' s album charts at

453-587: A brilliant blue laminated product with matching label. Royal Blue issues, made from late 1932 through 1935, are particularly popular with collectors for their rarity and musical interest. The Columbia plant in Oakland, California, did Columbia's pressings for sale west of the Rockies and continued using the Royal Blue material for these until about mid-1936. As southern gospel developed, Columbia had astutely sought to record

604-414: A catalog of blues and jazz artists, including Bessie Smith in their 14000-D Race series. Columbia also had a successful "Hillbilly" series (15000-D) with Dan Hornsby among others. By 1927, the "Sweet Jazz" bandleader Guy Lombardo also joined Columbia and recorded forty five 78 rpm's by 1931. In 1928, Paul Whiteman , the nation's most popular orchestra leader, left Victor to record for Columbia. During

755-489: A combination of sound and body movements. The African musical focus on rhythmic singing and dancing was brought to the New World, where it became part of a distinct folk culture that helped Africans "retain continuity with their past through music." Along with retaining many African elements, there was also a continuation of instruments. Enslaved Africans would either take with them African instruments or reconstructed them once in

906-463: A distribution deal with Philips Records to market Columbia recordings outside North America. EMI continued to distribute Okeh and later Epic label recordings until 1968. EMI also continued to distribute Columbia recordings in Australia and New Zealand. American Columbia was not happy with EMI's reluctance to introduce long playing records. Columbia became the most successful non-rock record company in

1057-450: A feature of camp meetings held among devout Christians across the South. Most slaves were typically animists or were a part of some other form of African Religion. To destroy any remnants of African culture or make more people disciples, slaves would be encouraged and taken to church. They became attracted to the grace and freedom that was preached within the church, which was very different from

1208-410: A flooded earth being restored. There are many "hero stories" immortalising the adventures of heroes with supernatural powers, who right wrongs and defeat evils. Animal tales are common, some explaining how features of certain animals occurred, some using animal characters for narration, and others using animals symbolically. There are also myths where supernatural beings appear in the form of animals, with

1359-674: A hard task, like carrying a heavy load, singing would provide a rhythm that allowed them to coordinate their movements. When picking crops, music was not necessary, but when there was silence it would be uncomfortable for the overseers. Even though there was a presence of melancholy in songs, Southern slave owners would interpret that their slaves were happy and content, possibly because of their singing. Even if slave owners attempted to forbid things like drums or remnants of African culture, they did not seem to mind them learning European instruments and music. In some cases, black string players would be invited to play to entertain white audiences. Between

1510-465: A high executive with RCA Victor from 1932 thru 1938, was asked to comment on ARC. "The chief value was that the record industry had come back tremendously, especially in the case of two other record companies; and the American Record Company, with all its facilities, had not, so far as I could learn, increased its business in any degree at all in the previous six years." On December 17, 1938,

1661-414: A huge right hand", he allegedly killed a man in a fight over a Cajun Queen. One day, a support timber cracks at the mine where John works. The situation looks hopeless until John "grabbed a saggin' timber, gave out with a groan / and like a giant oak tree just stood there alone", then "gave a mighty shove", opening a passage and allowing the 20 other miners to escape. Just as men are about to re-enter with

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1812-773: A limited general popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. The revival brought forward musical styles that had, in earlier times, contributed to the development of country & western, jazz, and rock and roll music. Slavery was introduced to the Thirteen Colonies beginning in the early 17th century in Virginia . The ancestors of today's African-American population were brought from hundreds of tribes across West Africa and brought with them certain traits of West African music. This included call and response vocals, complex rhythmic music, syncopated beats, shifting accents, incorporation of hums and moans, which are sounds with no distinct meaning, and

1963-554: A molded brown wax record, to use up old stock. Columbia introduced black wax records in 1903. According to one source, they continued to mold brown waxes until 1904 with the highest number being 32601, "Heinie", which is a duet by Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan . The molded brown waxes may have been sold to Sears for distribution (possibly under Sears' Oxford trademark for Columbia products). Columbia began selling disc records , invented and patented by Victor Talking Machine Company's Emile Berliner , and phonographs in addition to

2114-595: A pirate turned gentleman, turned the settlers into foragers and successful traders with the Native Americans, who taught the English how to plant corn and other crops. Smith led expeditions to explore the regions surrounding Jamestown, and it was during one of these that the chief of the Powhatan Native Americans captured Smith. According to an account Smith published in 1624, he was going to be put to death until

2265-844: A press release, "The American Record Co. tag is discarded". Columbia Records was actually reborn on May 22, 1939, as "Columbia Recording Corporation, Inc.", a Delaware corporation. The NYDOS shows a later incorporation date of April 4, 1947. This corporation changed its name to Columbia Records, Inc. on October 11, 1954, and reverted to Columbia Recording Corporation on January 2, 1962. The Columbia trademark remained under Columbia Records, Inc. of Delaware, filed back in 1929. Brothers Ike and Leon Levy owned stakes in CBS. In February 1939, NYC Studios moved from ARC headquarters at 1776 Broadway, to 799 7th Avenue, 6th&7th flrs, New York City ("Studio A"). Corporate offices, studio and Pressing Plant would also continue at 1473 Barnum Avenue, Bridgeport, CT. John Hammond

2416-646: A rock at Plymouth. The first written reference to the Pilgrims landing on a rock is found 121 years after they landed. The Rock, or one traditionally identified as it, has long been memorialized on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The holiday of Thanksgiving is said to have begun with the Pilgrims in 1621. They had come to America to escape religious persecution, but then nearly starved to death. Some friendly Native Americans, including Squanto , helped

2567-457: A sailing ship. Such tasks, which usually required a coordinated group effort in either a pulling or pushing action, included weighing anchor and setting sail. "Poor Paddy Works on the Railway" is a popular Irish and American folk song. Historically, it was often sung as a sea chanty. The song portrays an Irish worker working on a railroad. There are numerous titles of the song including, "Pat Works on

2718-443: A sequel called " My Big John ". This song is told from the point of view of the "Cajun Queen" that drove John away – her search for him, then discovering about his death. Its 1962 sequel " The Cajun Queen " (written and performed by Dean), describes the arrival of "Queenie", Big John's Cajun Queen, who rescues John from the mine and marries him. Eventually, they have "110 grandchildren". This song's events are more exaggerated than

2869-458: A set of CDs devoted to Columbia's Broadway albums. Over the years, Columbia joined Decca and RCA Victor in specializing in albums devoted to Broadway musicals with members of the original casts. In the 1950s, Columbia also began releasing LPs drawn from the soundtracks of popular films. Many album covers put together by Columbia and the other major labels were put together using one piece of cardboard (folded in half) and two paper "slicks", one for

3020-675: A silver dollar across the Rappahannock River at Ferry Farm . Another tale claims that as a young child, Washington chopped down his father's cherry tree. His angry father confronted the young Washington, who proclaimed "I cannot tell a lie" and admitted to the transgression, thus illuminating his honesty. Parson Mason Locke Weems mentions the first citation of this legend in his 1806 book, The Life of George Washington: With Curious Anecdotes, Equally Honorable to Himself and Exemplary to His Young Countrymen . This anecdote cannot be independently verified. Samuel Clemens , also known as Mark Twain,

3171-521: A skilled modernist composer himself, Columbia cemented contracts with jazz composer/musicians Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus , while Macero became a significant figure in Miles Davis career from an explorer of the art of modal jazz from Davis' sextets 1958 album Milestones to innovator and avatar of the marriage of jazz with rock and electronic sounds—commonly known as jazz fusion . In 1954, Columbia embraced small-group modern jazz by signing of

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3322-498: A stylus (the legs) on a record (the eye); however, the "eye" also subtly refers to CBS's main business in television , and that division's iconic Eye logo. Columbia continued to use the "notes and mike" logo on record labels and even used a promo label showing both logos until the "notes and mike" was phased out (along with the 78 in the US) in 1958. In Canada, Columbia 78s were pressed with the "Walking Eye" logo in 1958. The original Walking Eye

3473-462: A symbol of women's contributions to American history. Other Revolutionary War heroes who became figures of American folklore include: Benedict Arnold , Benjamin Franklin , Nathan Hale , John Hancock , John Paul Jones and Francis Marion . The tall tale is a fundamental element of American folk literature. The tall tale's origins are seen in the bragging contests that often occurred when men of

3624-413: A time when the economy was bad enough that many of them would not have had the opportunity to enter a studio and play real jazz (a handful of these in this special series were issued in the US). Hammond's work for Columbia was interrupted by his service during World War II , and he had less involvement with the music scene during the bebop era, but when he returned to work as a talent scout for Columbia in

3775-523: A voice for their longing for freedom and to experience it. Around the 1840s, slaves knew that in the northern states, slavery was illegal, and some northerners wanted the complete abolishment of slavery. So when they sang about heaven, it was also about possibly escaping north. In the early 19th century the Underground Railroad was developed, containing a network of secret routes and safe houses, and it greatly impacted slaves' religious music. When there

3926-630: Is a short story by the American author Washington Irving , first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor and falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains . He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world, having missed the American Revolution . Inspired by a conversation on nostalgia with his American expatriate brother-in-law, Irving wrote

4077-471: Is also known to have spread the story while lecturing, personalizing it by adding "I have a higher and greater standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie but I won't." Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was an attorney, planter and politician who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. Patrick Henry is best known for the speech he made in

4228-607: Is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. Native American cultures are rich in myths and legends that explain natural phenomena and the relationship between humans and the spirit world. According to Barre Toelken , feathers, beadwork, dance steps and music, the events in a story, the shape of a dwelling, or items of traditional food can be viewed as icons of cultural meaning. Native American cultures are numerous and diverse. Though some neighboring cultures hold similar beliefs, others can be quite different from one another. The most common myths are

4379-480: Is distinguished primarily by age; many myths exaggerate the exploits of their heroes, but in tall tales, the exaggeration looms large, to the extent of becoming the whole of the story. Other historical figures include Titanic survivor Molly Brown , Gunslinging Outlaw Billy The Kid , Wild West showman Buffalo Bill Cody , and sharpshooter Annie Oakley . Other folkloric creatures include the Chupacabra , Jackalope ,

4530-425: Is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. From 1961 to 1991, its recordings were released outside North America under the name CBS Records to avoid confusion with EMI 's Columbia Graphophone Company . Columbia is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels: Epic Records , and former longtime rivals, RCA Records and Arista Records as

4681-574: The American frontier gathered. A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, relayed as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events; others are completely fictional tales set in a familiar setting, such as the American Old West, or the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. They are usually humorous or good-natured. The line between myth and tall tale

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4832-514: The Eastman School of Music in the 1930s.) Miller quickly signed up Mercury's biggest artist at the time, Frankie Laine , and discovered several of the decade's biggest recording stars including Tony Bennett , Mahalia Jackson , Jimmy Boyd , Guy Mitchell (whose stage surname was taken from Miller's first name), Johnnie Ray , The Four Lads , Rosemary Clooney , Kay Lande , Ray Conniff , Jerry Vale and Johnny Mathis . He also oversaw many of

4983-729: The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral , the California Gold Rush , the Battle of the Little Bighorn , the Battle of Gettysburg , the Attack on Pearl Harbor , and the September 11th attacks . Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment , a subsidiary of Sony Music Group , the American division of multinational conglomerate Sony . Columbia

5134-650: The Metropolitan Opera in New York to make a highly touted series of Grand Opera Records. These stars included Marcella Sembrich , Lillian Nordica , Antonio Scotti , and Edouard de Reszke , but the technical standard of Columbia's Grand Opera series was not considered to be as high as the results achieved with opera singers during the pre–World War I period by Victor, Edison, England's His Master's Voice (The Gramophone Company Ltd.) or Italy's Fonotipia Records . After an abortive attempt in 1904 to manufacture discs with

5285-647: The Nain Rouge of Detroit, Michigan , the Hide-behind, Wendigo of Minnesota and Chessie , a legendary sea monster said to live in Chesapeake Bay . Santa Claus , also known as Saint Nicholas , Father Christmas , or simply "Santa", is a figure with legendary, mythical, historical and folkloric origins. The modern figure of Santa Claus was derived from the Dutch figure, Sinterklaas, which may, in turn, have its origins in

5436-694: The Susan Constant , the Discovery , and the Godspeed sailed through Chesapeake Bay and thirty miles up the James River settlers built Jamestown, Virginia , England's first permanent colony. Too late in the season to plant crops, many were not accustomed to manual labor. Within a few months, some settlers died of famine and disease. Only thirty-eight made it through their first year in the New World. Captain John Smith ,

5587-1001: The Vietnam War Memorial , and the Grand Canyon . Other cultural icons include Rosie the Riveter , the United States Constitution , the Colt Single Action Army , Smokey Bear , the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress , and apple pie . Historical events that form a part of American folklore include: the Boston Massacre , the Boston Tea Party , Paul Revere's Ride , the Battle of the Alamo , the Salem witch trials ,

5738-656: The Westminster Choir conducted by Leonard Bernstein (recorded on December 31, 1956, on 1 ⁄ 2 -inch tape, using an Ampex 300-3 machine). Bernstein combined the Nativity and Resurrection sections, and ended the performance with the death of Christ. As with RCA Victor, most of the early stereo recordings were of classical artists, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter , Dimitri Mitropoulos , and Leonard Bernstein , and

5889-835: The creation myths , which tell a story to explain how the earth was formed and where humans and other beings came from. Others may include explanations about the Sun, Moon, constellations, specific animals, seasons, and weather. This is one of the ways that many tribes have kept, and continue to keep, their cultures alive; these stories are told as a way of preserving and transmitting the nation, tribe, or band's particular beliefs, history, customs, spirituality, and traditional way of life. According to Barre Toelken, "Stories not only entertain but also embody Native behavioral and ethical values." Although individual tribes have their own sacred beliefs and myths, many stories have much in common. Myths about floods are almost universal amongst Plains tribes, stories of

6040-566: The folklore that has evolved in the present-day United States mostly since the European colonization of the Americas . It also contains folklore that dates back to the Pre-Columbian era. Folklore consists of legends , music, oral history , proverbs , jokes , popular beliefs , fairy tales , stories, tall tales , and customs that are the traditions of a culture , subculture , or group. It

6191-544: The swing music era, Hammond had already been of great help to Columbia in 1932–33. Through his involvement in the UK music paper Melody Maker , Hammond had arranged for the struggling US Columbia label to provide recordings for the UK Columbia label, mostly using the specially created Columbia W-265000 matrix series. Hammond recorded Fletcher Henderson , Benny Carter , Joe Venuti , Roger Wolfe Kahn and other jazz performers during

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6342-724: The "Magic Notes" logo—a pair of sixteenth notes (semiquavers) in a circle—both in the United States and overseas (where this particular logo would never substantially change). In 1908, Columbia ceased the recording and manufacturing of wax cylinder records after arranging to issue celluloid cylinder records made by the Indestructible Record Company of Albany, New York , as "Columbia Indestructible Records". In July 1912, Columbia decided to concentrate exclusively on disc records and ended production of cylinder phonographs, although Indestructible cylinders continued to be sold under

6493-539: The 10th anniversary of the introduction of the LP, in 1958 Columbia initiated the "Adventures in Sound" series that showcased music from around the world. As far as the catalog numbering system went, there was no correlation between mono and stereo versions for the first few years. Columbia started a new CS 8000 series for pop stereo releases, and figuring the stereo releases as some sort of specialty niche records, didn't bother to link

6644-472: The 1930s and 1940s, the Library of Congress worked through the offices of traditional music collectors Robert Winslow Gordon, Alan Lomax and others to capture as much North American field material as possible. Lomax was the first prominent scholar to study distinctly American folk music such as that of cowboys and southern blacks. His first major published work was in 1911, Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads, and

6795-487: The 1931 Brunswick lease agreement, so they discontinued Vocalion in June 1940, and fired up Okeh. By July, it was releasing new Hillbilly platters by Gene Autry and Bob Wills, and re-issuing past Vocalion discs, using the same catalogue numbers with a leading zero added. When a January 1941 audit found that not more than 150,000 Brunswick records had sold during the period from December 1, 1939, through December 31, 1940, control of

6946-504: The 1950s after it lured producer and bandleader Mitch Miller away from the Mercury label in 1950. Despite its many successes, Columbia remained largely uninvolved in the teenage rock'n'roll market until the mid-1960s, despite a handful of crossover hits, largely because of Miller's frequently expressed loathing of rock'n'roll. (Miller was a classically trained oboist who had been a friend of Columbia executive Goddard Lieberson since their days at

7097-436: The 1950s, his career proved to be of incalculable historical and cultural importance – the list of superstar artists he would discover and sign to Columbia over the course of his career included Charlie Christian , Count Basie , Teddy Wilson , Pete Seeger , Bob Dylan , Leonard Cohen , Aretha Franklin , Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Ray Vaughan , and in the early 1960s Hammond would also exert an enormous cultural effect on

7248-438: The 1956 Newport Jazz Festival , which proved a boost to a bandleader whose career had stalled. Under new head producer George Avakian , Columbia became the most vital label to the general public's appreciation and understanding (with help from Avakian's prolific and perceptive play-by-play liner notes) of jazz, releasing a series of LP's by Louis Armstrong , but also signing to long-term contracts Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis ,

7399-465: The 1982 Israeli television show "Red River Valley" dedicated to Manor's translations of famous country songs. Performed by Israeli singer and radio personality Dory Ben Ze'ev , it became a hit in Israel. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Columbia Records was considering dropping Dean before the release of this million-selling single, as he had not had a hit in years. Dean wrote

7550-403: The 20th-century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century but is often applied to music that is older than that. The earliest American scholars were with The American Folklore Society (AFS), which emerged in the late 1800s. Their studies expanded to include Native American music but still treated folk music as a historical item preserved in isolated societies. In North America, during

7701-571: The ARC, including the Columbia label in the U.S., was acquired by William S. Paley of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. for US$ 700,000, ten times the price ARC paid in 1934, which would later spark lawsuits by disgruntled shareholders. (Columbia Records had originally co-founded CBS in 1927 along with New York talent agent Arthur Judson , but soon cashed out of the partnership leaving only

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7852-476: The American South. During the first half of the 19th century, some of the songs African Americans sang also began to appear in use for shipboard tasks, i.e. as shanties. Shanty repertoire borrowed from the contemporary popular music enjoyed by sailors, including minstrel music, popular marches, and land-based folk songs, which were adapted to suit musical forms matching the various labor tasks required to operate

8003-463: The Columbia Records name because EMI operated a separate record label by that name, Columbia Graphophone Company , outside North America. This was the result of legal maneuvers which led to the creation of EMI in the early 1930s. While this happened, starting in late 1961, both the mono and the stereo labels of domestic Columbia releases started carrying a small "CBS" at the top of the label. This

8154-550: The Columbia label for a few more years. Columbia was split into two companies, one to make records and one to make players. Columbia Phonograph relocated to Bridgeport, Connecticut , and Edward Easton went with it. Eventually it was renamed the Dictaphone Corporation . In late 1922, Columbia entered receivership. The company was bought by its UK subsidiary, the Columbia Graphophone Company , in 1925 and

8305-534: The Columbia name. During the 1940s, Frank Sinatra recorded for Columbia and helped to substantially boost the company's revenue. Sinatra recorded over 200 songs for Columbia which include his most popular songs from his early years. Other popular artists on Columbia at this time included Benny Goodman (signed from RCA Victor in 1939), Count Basie , Jimmie Lunceford (both signed from Decca), Eddy Duchin , Ray Noble (both moved to Columbia from Brunswick), Kate Smith , Mildred Bailey , and Will Bradley . In 1947,

8456-547: The Dave Brubeck Quartet, which resulted in the release of the on-location, best-selling jazz album (up to this time), Jazz Goes to College . Contemporaneously with Columbia's first release of modern jazz by a small group, which was also the Brubeck Quartet's debut on the label, was a Time magazine cover story on the phenomenon of Brubeck's success on college campuses. The humble Dave Brubeck demurred, saying that

8607-634: The Dog performed a parody called "Big Bad Dog". An Icelandic language version was written and performed by Guðmundur Jónsson, named "Jón tröll" (Jón ogre) . The song was used in a television advertisement for British supermarket chain Sainsbury's for their car insurance featuring a character named "Little Bill". It was also adapted for a series of UK television advertisements starting in 1987 to promote Domestos as "Big Bad Dom". Political candidates have run advertisements that make use of "Big Bad John", retaining

8758-556: The Gramophone Company (HMV) was now a wholly owned subsidiary of Victor, and Columbia in America was a subsidiary of UK Columbia, Victor now technically owned its largest rival in the US. To avoid antitrust legislation, EMI had to sell off its US Columbia operation, which continued to release pressings of matrices made in the UK. In December, 1931, the U.S. Columbia Phonograph Company, Inc.

8909-814: The House of Burgesses on March 23, 1775, in Saint John's Church in Richmond, Virginia. With the House undecided on whether to mobilize for military action against the encroaching British military force, Henry argued in favor of mobilization. Forty-two years later, Henry's first biographer, William Wirt, working from oral histories, tried to reconstruct what Henry said. According to Wirt, Henry ended his speech with words that have since become immortalized: "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" The crowd, by Wirt's account, jumped up and shouted "To Arms! To Arms!". For 160 years Wirt's account

9060-492: The LP record was officially demonstrated, Columbia offered to share the new speed with rival RCA Victor, who initially rejected it and soon introduced their new competitive 45 RPM record. When it became clear that the LP was the preferred format for classical recordings, RCA Victor announced that the company would begin releasing its own LPs in January 1950. This was quickly followed by the other major American labels. Decca Records in

9211-662: The Mountain ", " Skewball ", " Big Bad John ", " Stagger Lee ", " Camptown Races " and " The Battle Hymn of the Republic ". Work songs sung by sailors between the 18th and 20th centuries are known as sea shanties. The shanty was a distinct type of work song, developed especially in American-style merchant vessels that had come to prominence in decades prior to the American Civil War. These songs were typically performed while adjusting

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9362-482: The New World. The first slaves in the United States sang work songs and field hollers. However, slave music was used for a variety of reasons. Music was included in religious ceremonies and celebrations, used to coordinate work, and to conceal hidden messages, like when they were commenting on slave owners. African American slave songs can be divided into three groups: religious, work, and recreational songs. Protestant hymns written mostly by New England preachers became

9513-627: The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy , who also recorded an abridged Messiah for Columbia. Some sessions were made with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble drawn from leading New York musicians, which had first made recordings with Sir Thomas Beecham in 1949 in Columbia's New York City studios. George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra recorded mostly for Epic. When Epic dropped classical music,

9664-421: The Pilgrims survive through the first winter. The perseverance of the Pilgrims is celebrated during the annual Thanksgiving festival. George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799), the country's first president, is the most preeminent of American historical and folkloric figures, as he holds the place of " Pater Patriae ". Apocryphal stories about Washington's childhood include a claim that he skipped

9815-400: The Railway" and "Paddy on the Railway". "Paddy Works on the Erie" is another version of the song. "Paddy on the Railway" is attested as a chanty in the earliest known published work to use the word "chanty", G. E. Clark's Seven Years of a Sailor's Life (1867). Clark recounted experiences fishing on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, in a vessel out of Provincetown, Mass. c. 1865–66. At one point,

9966-424: The Shaker worship services. In Shaker society, a spiritual "gift" could also be a musical revelation, and they considered it important to record musical inspirations as they occurred. " Simple Gifts " was composed by Elder Joseph Brackett and originated in the Alfred Shaker community in Maine in 1848. Aaron Copland 's iconic 1944 ballet score Appalachian Spring , uses the now famous Shaker tune "Simple Gifts" as

10117-426: The U.K. was the first to release LPs in Europe, beginning in 1949. EMI would not fully adopt the LP format until 1955. An "original cast recording" of Rodgers & Hammerstein 's South Pacific with Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin was recorded in 1949. Both conventional metal masters and tape were used in the sessions in New York City. For some reason, the taped version was not used until Sony released it as part of

10268-420: The U.S. Columbia material was issued in Australia and New Zealand on the CBS Coronet label. In the same year, former Columbia A&R manager Goddard Lieberson was promoted to President of the entire CBS recording division, which included Columbia and Epic, as well as the company's various international divisions and licensees. Under his leadership the corporation's music division soon overtook RCA Victor as

10419-424: The United States and played its first music. Beginning in the 17th century, immigrants from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Germany and France began arriving in large numbers, bringing with them new styles and instruments. African slaves brought musical traditions, and each subsequent wave of immigrants contributes to a melting pot. Folk music includes both traditional music and the genre that evolved from it during

10570-426: The United States was left without history—or heroes on which to base a shared sense of their social selves. Washington Irving was instrumental in popularizing Columbus. His version of Columbus' life, published in 1829, was more a romance than a biography. The book was very popular, and contributed to an image of the discoverer as a solitary individual who challenged the unknown sea, as triumphant Americans contemplated

10721-502: The Worm' sold 2.5 million copies. In 1929, Ben Selvin became house bandleader and A. & R. director. Other favorites in the Viva-tonal era included Ruth Etting , Paul Whiteman, Fletcher Henderson , Ipana Troubadours (a Sam Lanin group), and Ted Lewis . Columbia used acoustic recording for "budget label" pop product well into 1929 on the labels Harmony, Velvet Tone (both general purpose labels), and Diva (sold exclusively at W.T. Grant stores). When Edison Records folded, Columbia

10872-504: The Year , while Dean's performance earned him a nomination for Best Male Solo Vocal Performance , and Dean won Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording . Dean's LP Big Bad John and Other Fabulous Songs and Tales , where the song first appeared, reached number 23 in the pop charts. It was the B-side of "I Won't Go Huntin' with You Jake", but it ended up becoming much more popular than

11023-644: The aegis of the Mull Singing Convention of the Air sponsored on radio (and later television) by southern gospel broadcaster J. Bazzel Mull (1914–2006). In 1935, Herbert M. Greenspon, an 18-year-old shipping clerk, led a committee to organize the first trade union shop at the main manufacturing factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Elected as president of the Congress of Industrial Unions (CIO) local, Greenspon negotiated

11174-620: The artists associated with the emerging genre; for example, Columbia was the only company to record Charles Davis Tillman . Most fortuitously for Columbia in its Depression Era financial woes, in 1936 the company entered into an exclusive recording contract with the Chuck Wagon Gang , a hugely successful relationship which continued into the 1970s. A signature group of southern gospel, the Chuck Wagon Gang became Columbia's bestsellers with at least 37 million records, many of them through

11325-552: The basis of its finale. Folk dances of British origin include the square dance, descended from the quadrille, combined with the American innovation of a caller instructing the dancers. The religious communal society known as the Shakers emigrated from England during the 18th century and developed their own folk dance style. Other locations and landmarks that have become part of American folklore include: Independence Hall , Monument Valley , Ellis Island , Hoover Dam , Pearl Harbor ,

11476-493: The bear, elk, eagle, owl, and snake frequently referred to. The founding of the United States is often surrounded by national myths , legends, and tall tales. Many stories have developed since the founding long ago to become a part of America's folklore and cultural awareness, and non-Native American folklore especially includes any narrative which has contributed to the shaping of American culture and belief systems. These narratives have varying levels of historical accuracy ;

11627-404: The beginnings of "Big Bad John" on a flight from New York to Nashville because he realized he needed a fourth song for his recording session. Roy Acuff later helped him polish it. The inspiration for the character of Big John was an actor, John Minto, whom Dean had met in a summer stock play, Destry Rides Again , who was 6'5" (195.6 cm). Dean would call him "Big John" and grew to like

11778-537: The blues-R&B label, and the exclusive outlet for Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys , a phenomenal mid-1930s Western Swing band, which drew 10,000+ customers nightly to dance. Columbia was added in mid-1932, relegated to slower sellers such as the Hawaiian music of Andy Iona , the Irving Mills stable of artists and songs, and the still unknown Benny Goodman . It tried a marketing ploy, the Columbia "Royal Blue Record",

11929-407: The bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man—Big John", was deemed too controversial, so in the version that was most often heard on the radio, one could hear "At the bottom of this mine lies a big, big man—Big John" instead. (However, a verse earlier in the song, "Through the smoke and the dust of this man-made hell..." remains intact in both versions, with no apparent controversy.) The refrain

12080-540: The bottom to the back and "pasted over" by the back slick. Conversely, for a mono album, they moved the slick up so the mono information showed at the bottom, and the stereo information was pasted over. Soon, other record companies had adopted the paste-over method. In 1951, Columbia US began issuing records in the 45 rpm format RCA Victor had introduced two years earlier. The same year, Ted Wallerstein retired as Columbia Records chairman; and Columbia US also severed its decades-long distribution arrangement with EMI and signed

12231-596: The case). The blue Columbia label was retained for its classical music Columbia Masterworks Records series until it was later changed to a green label before switching to a gray label in the late 1950s, and then to the bronze that is familiar to owners of Columbia/CBS classical and Broadway albums. Columbia Phonograph Company of Canada did not survive the Great Depression , so CBS made a distribution deal with Sparton Records in 1939 to release Columbia records in Canada under

12382-612: The catalog were in the 10 inch format starting with ML 2001 for the light classics, CL 6001 for popular songs and JL 8001 for children's records. The Library of Congress in Washington DC now holds the Columbia Records Paperwork Archive which shows the Label order for ML 4001 being written on March 1, 1948. One can infer that Columbia was pressing the first LPs for distribution to their dealers for at least 3 months prior to

12533-483: The chief's daughter, Pocahontas , saved him. From this, the legend of Pocahontas sprang forth, becoming part of American folklore, children's books, and movies. Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, and an important symbol in American history. There are no contemporary references to the Pilgrims' landing on

12684-447: The collaborative effort, but Wallerstein credits engineer William Savory with the technical prowess that brought the long-playing disc to the public. By the early 1940s, Columbia had been experimenting with higher fidelity recordings, as well as longer masters, which paved the way for the successful release of the LPs in 1948. One such record that helped set a new standard for music listeners

12835-518: The company was renamed Columbia Records Inc. and founded its Mexican record company, Discos Columbia de Mexico. 1948 saw the first classical LP Nathan Milstein's recording of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto . Columbia's new 33 rpm format quickly spelled the death of the classical 78 rpm record and for the first time in nearly fifty years, gave Columbia a commanding lead over RCA Victor Red Seal . Columbia's president Edward Wallerstein

12986-557: The cover of Time magazine were all Columbia artists. (In the early 1960s Columbia jazz artist Thelonious Monk would be afforded the same honor.) Columbia changed distributors in Australia and New Zealand in 1956 when the Australian Record Company picked up distribution of U.S. Columbia product to replace the Capitol Records product which ARC lost when EMI bought Capitol. As EMI owned the Columbia trademark at that time,

13137-495: The crew is getting up the anchor in a storm, by means of a pump-style windlass. One of the chanties the men sing while performing this task is mentioned by title, "Paddy on the Railway." The Shakers are a religious sect founded in 18th-century England upon the teachings of Ann Lee . Shakers today are most known for their cultural contributions, especially style of music and furniture. The Shakers composed thousands of songs, and also created many dances; both were an important part of

13288-491: The cylinder system in 1901, preceded only by their "Toy Graphophone" of 1899, which used small, vertically cut records. For a decade, Columbia competed with both the Edison Phonograph Company cylinders and Victor Talking Machine Company disc records as one of the top three names in American sound recording. In 1903, to add prestige to its early catalog of artists, Columbia contracted several prominent singers from

13439-558: The dangers and promise of their own wilderness frontier . As a consequence of his vision and audacity, there was now a land free from kings, a vast continent for new beginnings. In the years following the Revolution the poetic device " Columbia " was used as a symbol of both Columbus and America. King's College of New York changed its name in 1792 to Columbia, and the new capital in Washington was subtitled District of Columbia . In May 1607,

13590-492: The delight of many, this did not happen, and Art went on to many more successful years supervising all aspects of Columbia's Hillbilly/Country artists and sessions. On August 30, 1939, Columbia replaced its $ .75 Brunswick record for a $ .50 Columbia label. Brunswick was gradually phased out, the final issue being Brunswick 8520, in April 1940. Wallerstein and Paley knew in advance that their course of action would lead to violation of

13741-433: The early numbers with the "ledge" variation (i.e., no deep groove), had the small "CBS". This text would be used on the Columbia labels until June 1962. Columbia's Mexican unit, Discos Columbia, was renamed Discos CBS. With the formation of CBS Records International, CBS started establishing its own distribution in the early 1960s, beginning in Australia. In 1960 CBS took over its distributor in Australia and New Zealand,

13892-846: The early singles by the label's top female recording star of the decade, Doris Day . In 1953, Columbia formed a new subsidiary label Epic Records . 1954 saw Columbia end its distribution arrangement with Sparton Records and form Columbia Records of Canada. To enhance its country music stable, which already included Marty Robbins , Ray Price and Carl Smith , Columbia bid $ 15,000 for Elvis Presley 's contract from Sun Records in 1955. Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker , turned down their offer and signed Presley with RCA Victor. However, Columbia did sign two Sun artists in 1958: Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins . With 1954, Columbia U.S. decisively broke with its past when it introduced its new, modernist -style "Walking Eye" logo, designed by Columbia's art director S. Neil Fujita . This logo actually depicts

14043-532: The emerging rock music scene thanks to his championing of reissue LPs of the music of blues artists Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith . By 1937–38, the record business in America was finally recovering from the near-death blow of the Great Depression, at least for RCA Victor and Decca, but privately, there were doubts about the survival of ARC. In a 1941 court case brought by unhappy shareholders of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. ("CBS"), Edward Wallerstein,

14194-487: The famous reply " Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ", has become a part of popular Christmas folklore in the United States and Canada. The Headless Horseman is a fictional character from the short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by American author Washington Irving. The story, from Irving's collection of short stories, entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, has worked itself into known American folklore/legend through literature and film. " Rip Van Winkle "

14345-436: The first American flag for General George Washington entered into American consciousness about the time of the 1876 centennial celebrations. In the 2008 book The Star-Spangled Banner: The Making of an American Icon , Smithsonian experts point out that accounts of the event appealed to Americans eager for stories about the revolution and its heroes and heroines. Betsy Ross was promoted as a patriotic role model for young girls and

14496-408: The first contract between factory workers and Columbia management. In a career with Columbia that lasted 30 years, Greenspon retired after achieving the position of executive vice president of the company. Columbia also hired talent scout, music writer, producer, and impresario John Hammond in 1937. Alongside his significance as a discoverer, promoter, and producer of jazz, blues, and folk artists during

14647-482: The first, extending the story into the realm of tall tales . Queenie revives Big John by kissing is "cold blue lips, he started breathing," seemingly raising him from the dead. It may be seen as either an immediate sequel to the "My Big John" or a contradictory since John is rescued. In June 1962, the story concludes with the arrival of " Little Bitty Big John ", the flip side to " Steel Men " on Columbia 4-42483, learning about his father's act of heroism. This contradicts

14798-457: The front and one for the back. The front slick bent around the top, bottom, and left sides (the right side is open for the record to be inserted into the cover) and glued the two halves of cardboard together at the top and bottom. The back slick is pasted over the edges of the pasted-on front slick to make it appear that the album cover is one continuous piece. Columbia discovered that printing two front cover slicks, one for mono and one for stereo,

14949-531: The hagiographical tales concerning the Christian Saint Nicholas. " A Visit from St. Nicholas ", also known as "The Night Before Christmas" is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and generally attributed to Clement Clarke Moore. The poem, which has been called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American", is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance,

15100-730: The introduction of the LP on June 21, 1948. The catalog numbering system has had minor changes ever since. Columbia's LPs were particularly well-suited to classical music's longer pieces, so some of the early albums featured such artists as Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra , Bruno Walter and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra , and Sir Thomas Beecham and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra . The success of these recordings persuaded Capitol Records to begin releasing LPs in 1949. Even before

15251-437: The label, record numbering system, and recording process changed. On February 25, 1925, Columbia began recording with the electric recording process licensed from Western Electric . "Viva-tonal" records set a benchmark in tone and clarity unequaled on commercial discs during the 78-rpm era. The first electrical recordings were made by Art Gillham , the "Whispering Pianist". In a secret agreement with Victor, electrical technology

15402-532: The latter half of 1961, Columbia started using pressing plants with newer equipment. The "deep groove" pressings were made on older pressing machines, where the groove was an artifact of the metal stamper being affixed to a round center "block" to assure the resulting record would be centered. Newer machines used parts with a slightly different geometry, that only left a small "ledge" where the deep groove used to be. This changeover did not happen all at once, as different plants replaced machines at different times, leaving

15553-641: The latter two were originally owned by BMG before its 2008 relaunch after Sony's acquisition alongside other BMG labels. The Columbia Phonograph Company was founded on January 15, 1889, by stenographer, lawyer, and New Jersey native Edward D. Easton (1856–1915) and a group of investors. It derived its name from the District of Columbia , where it was headquartered. At first it had a local monopoly on sales and service of Edison phonographs and phonograph cylinders in Washington, D.C. , Maryland , and Delaware . As

15704-488: The latter. The song frequently ranks as one of the best country songs of the 1960s, and of all time. Nikki Sixx , of Mötley Crüe , has stated that "Big Bad John" was one of the songs he heard growing up that influenced him the most, along with " Helter Skelter " by the Beatles . "Big Bad John" was translated into Hebrew by Israeli lyricist Ehud Manor , under the title "John Biryon" (lit. "Strongman John"), as part of

15855-414: The lives they were living. Slaves would learn the same hymns that their masters sang, and when they came together they developed and sang adapted versions of these hymns, they were called Negro spirituals . It was from these roots, of spiritual songs, work songs, and field hollers, that blues, jazz, and gospel developed. Negro spirituals were primarily expressions of religious faith. These songs provided them

16006-499: The loaned trademarks and catalog of master recordings made prior to December 3, 1931, reverted to Warner Bros. Pictures. The Columbia trademark from this point until the late 1950s was two overlapping circles with the Magic Notes in the left circle and a CBS microphone in the right circle. The Royal Blue labels were dropped in favor of a deep red, which caused RCA Victor to claim infringement on its famous Red Seal trademark (RCA lost

16157-499: The low 2000s. Columbia's engineering department developed a process for emulating stereo from a mono source. They called this process "Electronically Rechanneled for Stereo". In the June 16, 1962, issue of Billboard magazine (page 5), Columbia announced it would issue "rechanneled" versions of greatest hits compilations that had been recorded in mono, including albums by Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Percy Faith, Mitch Miller, Marty Robbins, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, and Johnny Mathis. By

16308-457: The mono and stereo numbers for two years. Masterworks classical LPs had an MS 6000 series, while showtunes albums on Masterworks were OS 2000. Finally, in 1960, the pop stereo series jumped from 8300 to 8310 to match Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing Ellington , the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross album issued as CL-1510. From that point, the stereo numbers on pop albums were exactly 6800 higher than

16459-402: The mono; stereo classical albums were the mono number plus 600; and showtunes releases were the mono number MINUS 3600. Only the last two digits in the respective catalog series' matched. Pop stereo LPs got into the high 9000s by 1970, when CBS Records revamped and unified its catalog numbering system across all its labels. Masterworks classical albums were in the 7000s, while showtunes stayed in

16610-584: The music while substituting lyrics that support their particular political bids. In Australia, a parody by John Vincent was released in September 1971 called "The Ballad of John Grey Gorton ", with lyrics that dealt with Gorton's tenure as Prime Minister of Australia . In Texas Senator John Cornyn 's 2008 parody, he presented himself as a maverick politician, seeking a return to the Senate to fight to set things right. "You see I'm from Texas and we do things quick / And

16761-488: The name; Paley acquired the fledgling radio network in 1928.) On January 3, 1939, Wallerstein left RCA Victor to become president of the CBS phonograph subsidiary, a position he would hold for twelve years. CBS kept the ARC name for three months. then on April 4, it amended the New York Department of State record of "Columbia Phonograph Company, Inc.," naming several of its own employees to directorships, and announced in

16912-502: The night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, as well as the tradition that he brings toys to children. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus from the United States to the rest of the English-speaking world and beyond. Is There a Santa Claus? was the title of an editorial appearing in the September 21, 1897, edition of The (New York) Sun. The editorial, which included

17063-454: The now accepted medium of the record business." Despite Wallerstein's stormy tenure, in June 1948, Columbia introduced the Long Playing "microgroove" LP record format (sometimes written "Lp" in early advertisements), which rotated at 33⅓ revolutions per minute , to be the standard for the gramophone record for forty years. CBS research director Dr. Peter Goldmark played a managerial role in

17214-512: The possibility that both deep groove and ledge varieties could be original pressings. The changeover took place starting in late 1961. In 1961, CBS ended its arrangement with Philips Records and formed its own international organization, CBS Records International , in 1962. This subsidiary label released Columbia recordings outside the US and Canada on the CBS label (until 1964 marketed by Philips in Britain). The recordings could not be released under

17365-540: The previous sequel, "The Cajun Queen", since Big John's son has never met his father and the ending suggests he died in the mine and was never rescued or revived. In the US, "Big Bad John" spent five weeks at number 1 on the pop chart , two weeks on the country chart , and nine weeks on the Easy Listening chart. It was also a number 2 hit in the United Kingdom. The song received a Grammy nomination for Record of

17516-443: The recording grooves stamped into both sides of each disc—not just one—in 1908 Columbia commenced successful mass production of what they called their "Double-Faced" discs, the 10-inch variety initially selling for 65 cents each. Columbia also introduced the internal-horn " Grafonola " to compete with the extremely popular " Victrola " introduced by the rival Victor Talking Machine Company in 1906. During this era, Columbia began to use

17667-480: The rigging, raising anchor, and other tasks where men would need to pull in rhythm. These songs usually have a very punctuated rhythm precisely for this reason, along with a call-and-answer format. Well before the 19th century, sea songs were common on rowing vessels. Such songs were also very rhythmic in order to keep the rowers together. They were notably influenced by songs of African Americans, such as those sung whilst manually loading vessels with cotton in ports of

17818-414: The rolling sound of the phrase. Country pianist Floyd Cramer , who was hired to play piano on the song, came up with the idea to use a hammer and a piece of steel instead. This became a distinctive characteristic of the recording. There are several known recordings of the song by Dean. Notably, there are two different versions of the inscription on the marble stand in front of the mine. The original, "At

17969-400: The roster and catalogue was moved to Columbia Masterworks Records . Columbia released its first pop stereo albums in the summer of 1958. All of the first dozen or so were stereo versions of albums already available in mono. It was not until September 1958, that Columbia began simultaneous mono/stereo releases. Mono versions of otherwise stereo recordings were discontinued in 1968. To celebrate

18120-565: The same year, Columbia executive Frank Buckley Walker pioneered some of the first country music or "hillbilly" genre recordings with the Johnson City sessions in Tennessee, including artists such as Clarence Horton Greene and "Fiddlin'" Charlie Bowman . He followed that with a return to Tennessee the next year, as well as recording sessions in other cities of the South. Moran and Mack as The Two Black Crows 1926 recording 'The Early Bird Catches

18271-447: The second Time cover story on a jazz musician (the first featured Louis Armstrong 's picture) had been earned by Duke Ellington , not himself. Within two years Ellington's picture would appear on the cover of Time , following his success at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. Ellington at Newport , recorded on Columbia, was also the bandleader-composer-pianist's best-selling album. Moreover, this exclusive trinity of jazz giants featured on

18422-523: The song "Big Bad Bond" about Alan Bond and the America's Cup Challenge. A French language translation was made in Quebec Canada and named "Gros Jambon" (Big Ham) . It was done as a one-time novelty act by TV show host Réal Giguère but it caught the public's attention and was afterwards recorded by popular demand, selling over 300,000 copies. In an episode of The Jimmy Dean Show , Dean and Rowlf

18573-724: The songs that were performed. The original Thirteen Colonies of the United States were all former British possessions, and Anglo culture became a major foundation for American folk and popular music. Many American folk songs are identical to British songs in arrangements, but with new lyrics, often as parodies of the original material. Anglo-American traditional music also includes a variety of broadside ballads, humorous stories and tall tales, and disaster songs regarding mining, shipwrecks and murder. Folk songs may be classified by subject matter, such as: drinking songs , sporting songs , train songs, work songs , war songs , and ballads . Other American folksongs include: " She'll Be Coming 'Round

18724-556: The southern United States. The work contexts in which African-Americans sang songs comparable to shanties included: boat-rowing on rivers of the southeastern U.S. and Caribbean; the work of stokers or "firemen", who cast wood into the furnaces of steamboats plying great American rivers;and stevedoring on the U.S. eastern seaboard, the Gulf Coast, and the Caribbean—including "cotton-screwing": the loading of ships with cotton in ports of

18875-556: The story while temporarily living in Birmingham , England. It was published in his collection, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. While the story is set in New York 's Catskill Mountains near where Irving later took up residence, he admitted, "When I wrote the story, I had never been on the Catskills." Native Americans were the earliest inhabitants of the land that is today known as

19026-456: The supposed role of Big Oil lobbyists in his campaign. The song was also used in the closing credits of the UK politics show This Week , whenever the show discussed the former Speaker of the House of Commons , John Bercow . It was used to humorous effect due to Bercow's short stature and perceived weak control in Parliament. American folklore American folklore encompasses

19177-493: The time. However, the compilations were so successful that they led to Columbia doing such packages on a widespread basis, usually when an artist's career was in decline. Although Columbia began recording in stereo in 1956, stereo LPs did not begin to be manufactured until 1958. One of Columbia's first stereo releases was an abridged and re-structured performance of Handel 's Messiah by the New York Philharmonic and

19328-408: The tools necessary to save him, the mine fully collapses and John is believed dead. The mine itself is never reopened, but a marble stand is placed in front of it, with the words "At the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man – Big John." (Some versions of the song change the last line to "lies a big, big man" to replace what was considered profane language.) In October 1961, Dottie West recorded

19479-528: The top recording company in the world, boasting a star-studded roster of artists and an unmatched catalogue of popular, jazz, classical and stage and screen soundtrack titles. Lieberson, who had joined Columbia as an A&R manager in 1938, was known for both his personal elegance and his dedication to quality, overseeing the release of many hugely successful albums and singles, as well as championing prestige releases that sold relatively poorly, and even some titles that had limited appeal, such as complete editions of

19630-454: The trademarks and masters of the Brunswick, Vocalion , and Melotone labels to ARC. WB would receive a portion of the sales of its catalogues, while ARC was free to use the labels for new recordings. Brunswick immediately became the premium $ .75 label, Melotone would release new hillbilly and other $ .35 dime-store discounted discs, and Vocalion, while re-releasing prior ARC records, would also be

19781-514: The two modern jazz artists who would in 1959 record albums that remain—more than sixty years later—among the best-selling jazz albums by any label—viz., Time Out by the Brubeck Quartet and, to an even greater extent, Kind of Blue by the Davis Sextet, which, in 2003, appeared as number 12 in Rolling Stone 's list of the "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". With another producer, Teo Macero ,

19932-407: The veracity of the stories is not a determining factor. Christopher Columbus , as a hero and symbol to the then-immigrants, is an important figure in the body of American myth. His status, not unlike most American icons, is representative not of his own accomplishments, but the self-perception of the society which chose him as a hero. Having effected a separation from England and its cultural icons,

20083-591: The way this place [the Senate] is run is about to make me sick", the advertisement states. Several advertisements were released by Democrats refuting some claims made in the song. In the same year, the Democratic National Committee employed the song in an advertisement that targeted presidential candidate John McCain . The advertisement dubbed McCain "Exxon John", while highlighting $ 2 million in contributions by Exxon-Mobil to McCain's campaign, as well as

20234-454: The week of Christmas and New Years’, owners would give their slaves a holiday. This provided a chance for slave families who had different masters to come together, otherwise, they would not go anywhere. Some slaves would craft items, but masters detested industrious slaves. So most slaves would spend their recreational time doing other things, like dancing and singing. Masters approved of such activities, but they may not have listened carefully to

20385-399: The works of Arnold Schoenberg and Anton von Webern . One of his first major successes was the original Broadway cast album of My Fair Lady , which sold over 5 million copies worldwide in 1957, becoming the most successful LP ever released up to that time. Lieberson also convinced long-serving CBS President William S. Paley to become the sole backer of the original Broadway production,

20536-419: Was a shell corporation set up by Consolidated Films Industries, Inc. ("CFI") to hold the Columbia stock, while its subsidiary, American Record Corporation ("ARC"), operated the label. This assumption grew out of the ease which CFI later exhibited in selling Columbia in 1938. On December 3, 1931, CFI made a deal with Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. ("WB") to lease Brunswick Record Corporation , which included

20687-527: Was acquired by the Grigsby-Grunow Company , the manufacturers of Majestic radios and refrigerators. When Grigsby-Grunow declared bankruptcy in November 1933, Columbia was placed in receivership, and in June 1934, the company was sold to Sacro Enterprises Inc. ("Sacro") for $ 70,000. Sacro was incorporated a few days before the sale in New York. Public documents do not contain any names. Many suspect that it

20838-723: Was also considered to be the first genuine concept album . Since the term "LP" has come to refer to the 12-inch 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm vinyl disk, the first LP is the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor played by Nathan Milstein with Bruno Walter conducting the New York Philharmonic (then called the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York), Columbia ML 4001, found in the Columbia Record Catalog for 1949, published in July 1948. The other "LP's" listed in

20989-642: Was also used to end the Jimmy Dean song " PT-109 ", referring to John F. Kennedy . There were multiple contemporary parodies of "Big Bad John". Cleveland DJ Phil McLean, had a minor hit about a cowardly character, "Small Sad Sam", which was released in December 1961. Country Yossi , an Orthodox Jewish composer and singer, spoofed it as "Big Bad Moish" on one of his children's albums. There were several gay-themed takes, such as Steve Greenberg's "Big Bruce", and Ben Colder 's "Big Sweet John". The Barron Knights performed

21140-408: Was any mention of trains, stations, etc. in spirituals they were directly referencing the Underground Railroad, such as the song " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot ". These songs were designed so that slave owners thought that slaves were only singing about heaven. Work Songs at least had two functions: one to benefit the slaves and another to benefit overseers. When a group of slaves had to work together on

21291-416: Was arguably the most prominent US folk music scholar of his time, notably during the beginnings of the folk music revival in the 1930s and early 1940s. The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States that began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Burl Ives , Woody Guthrie , Lead Belly , and Oscar Brand had enjoyed

21442-465: Was hired by Wallerstein as "Associate Director Popular Recording" (at 7th Ave). Another executive from ARC, Art Satherley , was not expected to transition over as easily. "It is understood that CBS and the Levys are not interested in retaining American Record's hillbilly department, and that Art Satherly, who has been running this section for many years, will take it out of the company with him". Fortunately, to

21593-457: Was inefficient and therefore needlessly costly. Starting in the summer of 1959 with some of the albums released in August, they went to the "paste-over" front slick, which had the stereo information printed on the top and the mono information printed on the bottom. For stereo issues, they moved the front slick down so the stereo information was showing at the top, and the mono information was bent around

21744-483: Was instrumental in steering Paley towards the ARC purchase. He set his talents to his goal of hearing an entire movement of a symphony on one side of an album. Ward Botsford writing for the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Issue of High Fidelity Magazine relates: "He was no inventor—he was simply a man who seized an idea whose time was ripe and begged, ordered, and cajoled a thousand men into bringing into being

21895-658: Was kept secret to avoid hurting sales of acoustic records. Louis Sterling, managing director of the Columbia Graphophone Company, had been the moving force behind bringing Western Electric's recording process, and the British takeover. Originally from New York, Sterling became Chairman of Columbia NY from 1925 until 1931, and oversaw stability and success. In 1926, Columbia acquired Okeh Records and its growing stable of jazz and blues artists, including Louis Armstrong and Clarence Williams . Columbia had already built

22046-412: Was not something that changed at a certain date, but rather, pressing plants were told to use up the stock of old (pre-CBS) labels first, resulting in a mixture of labels for some given releases. Some are known with the CBS text on mono albums, and not on stereo of the same album, and vice versa; diggings brought up pressings with the CBS text on one side and not on the other. Many, but certainly not all, of

22197-457: Was taken at face value. In the 1970s, historians began to question the authenticity of Wirt's reconstruction. Betsy Ross (January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836) is widely credited with making the first American flag. There is, however, no credible historical evidence that the story is true. Research conducted by the National Museum of American History notes that the story of Betsy Ross making

22348-480: Was tall and solid; it was modified in 1961 to the familiar one still used today (pictured on this page), despite the fact that the Walking Eye was used only sporadically during most of the 1990s. Although the big band era had passed, Columbia had Duke Ellington under contract for several years, capturing the historic moment when Ellington's band provoked a post-midnight frenzy (followed by international headlines) at

22499-408: Was the 10" LP reissue of The Voice of Frank Sinatra , originally released on March 4, 1946, as an album of four 78 rpm records, which was the first pop album issued in the new LP format. Sinatra was arguably Columbia's hottest commodity and his artistic vision combined with the direction Columbia were taking the medium of music, both popular and classic, were well suited. The Voice of Frank Sinatra

22650-482: Was the custom of some of the regional phonograph companies, Columbia produced many commercial cylinder recordings of its own, and its catalog of musical records in 1891 was 10 pages. Columbia's ties to Edison were severed in 1894 with the North American Phonograph Company 's breakup. Thereafter, it sold only records and phonographs of its own manufacture. In 1902, Columbia introduced the "XP" record,

22801-596: Was the oldest surviving record label. The repercussions of the stock market Crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression led to the near collapse of the entire recording industry and, in March 1931, J.P Morgan, the major shareholder, steered the Columbia Graphophone Company (along with Odeon records and Parlophone , which it had owned since 1926) into a merger with the Gramophone Company ("His Master's Voice") to form Electric and Musical Industries Ltd ( EMI ). Since

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