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Solo Recordings

“Everything I Have Is Yours” (1934)

“Everything I Have Is Yours.” Lyrics by Harold Adamson, music by Burton Lane. Composed for the 1933 film Dancing Lady. Recorded in January 1934 by Maurice Elwin. Imperial 2951 mx. 6546-2.

Maurice Elwin – “Everything I Have Is Yours” (1934)

Harold Adamson and Burton Lane wrote many songs for films in the 1930s, beginning with Dancing Lady (1933). In it, Joan Crawford plays a performer torn between two men: a wealthy suitor (Franchot Tone) who offers marriage, money, and an escape from show business, and a dynamic stage director (Clark Gable) who represents an ambitious career. Early in the love triangle, Tone and Crawford are dancing at a party when the bandleader, actor and singer Art Jarrett, introduces the song “Everything I Have Is Yours.”

The song is a lavish declaration of devotion and self-sacrifice, and Maurice Elwin’s 1934 recording takes it at its word: he holds nothing back, singing with real passion and conviction. Among his solo records, this one stands out as every bit as exciting as his dance-band vocals. The studio band also deserves credit. Its members are anonymous, but they were probably musicians closely associated with Jay Wilbur, musical director at Crystalate, Imperial’s parent company.

The record was made early in 1934, the last of Elwin’s very busy recording years. He continued to record in 1935 and 1936, but his output was greatly diminished. Late in his career his voice also seems to have changed, suddenly sounding artificially mellifluous and a little throaty. Friends I have played these late records for have suspected he was imitating Bing Crosby. I suspect instead that the change reflects his struggle to compensate for the “pernicious catarrh” that eventually ended his singing career.

American artists who recorded “Everything I Have Is Yours” in 1933 include George Olsen and His Orchestra (v. Joe Morrison), Ruth Etting, Jerry Freeman and His Orchestra (v. Frank Sylvano), Ted Weems and His Orchestra (v. Elmo Tanner), Joe Venuti and His Orchestra (v. Howard Phillips), Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees (v. Rudy Vallee), The Freddy Martin Orchestra (v. Elmer Feldkamp), Irene Taylor, Dick Himber and His Essex House Orchestra (v. Joey Nash), Cliff Perrine and His Orchestra (v. Flo Jordan), and Gene Austin.

Besides Elwin, British artists who recorded the song in 1934 include Al Bowlly, Harry Roy and His Orchestra (v. Ivor Moreton), Scott Wood and His Orchestra (as The Silver Screen Orchestra; v. Sam Browne; in a Dancing Lady medley), Harry Leader and His Band (as Joe Taub and His Melodians; v. Sam Browne), The New Grosvenor House Band (dir. Syd Lipton; v. Les Allen), Billy Merrin and His Commanders (v. Billy Merrin), Roy Fox and His Band (v. Denny Dennis), and Eddie Wood and His Band.

Ronnie Munro

“The Riff Song” (1927)

“The Riff Song.” Words by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, and Frank Mandel, with music by Sigmund Romberg. Recorded in London in February 1927 by Ronnie Munro and His Dance Orchestra, with vocals by Maurice Elwin. Ariel 4251 (from Parlophone E-5762) mx. E-1206-1.

Personnel: Ronnie Munro-p dir. Jack Jackson-Max Goldberg-Frank Wilson-Lloyd Shakespeare-t / Lew Davis-tb / Charlie Swinnerton-Ben Davis-?Nat Star-cl-as / Buddy Featherstonhaugh-cl-ts / vn / Barry Mills or Carrol Gibbons-2nd p / Len Shevill-bj-g / bb-sb / Max Bacon-d-vib / Wag Abbey-Rudy Starita-d-x / Maurice Elwin-v

Ronnie Munro (v. Maurice Elwin) – “The Riff Song” (1927)

From 1921 to 1926, Moroccan Berber insurgents known as Riffians (named for the mountainous Rif region) rebelled against the colonizing forces of Spain. The Riffians proved to be formidable and skilled opponents, in spite of the asymmetry of the warfare (with the Spanish using aircraft and even chemical weapons). It was only with the intervention in 1924 of France (which had its own protectorate in Morocco), aided by American mercenary aviators, that the Berbers began to falter. In 1926 they were forced to surrender.

Meanwhile, in America (which was trying to remain neutral), Hungarian-born composer Sigmund Romberg and his team of lyricists (Harbach, Hammerstein, and Mandel) seem to have gauged that popular revulsion at the involvement of the American mercenaries in what was perceived as an unfair conflict, as well as a growing vogue for all things Saharan, would create an enthusiastic audience for an operetta sympathizing with the Riffians. The Desert Song had a convoluted plot involving a masked white savior character named Pierre, who, while posing as a Berber and leading the Riffians against the French, is actually himself French and even the son of the French general opposing the Berbers. As the rebel leader “the Red Shadow,” Pierre leads a double life comparable to those of the Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro (a more recent parallel would be Superman/Clark Kent). Early in the drama, he sings “The Riff Song,” in which he boasts of the valor and prowess of “the Riffs” (i.e., the Riffians) and the Red Shadow.

Ronnie Munro’s arrangement of the song is similar to the one that American Don Voorhees had used the previous year and includes a few (possibly not very authentic) gestures in the direction of world music that nevertheless serve to summon a feeling of place. Maurice Elwin is given just one brief iteration of the chorus to sing, but it stands out as a particularly impressive vocal performance. Elwin had had his formal education at the Royal Academy of Music, where operatic technique would have been a mainstay of instruction. It is pleasing to hear him applying his training judiciously in the context of operetta.

“The Riff Song” was recorded in America in 1926 by Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra (v. The Revelers) and by Don Voorhees and His Earl Carroll Vanities Orchestra (v. The Shannon Quartet). In 1927, British artists who recorded “The Riff Song” include Alfredo’s Band, the Savoy Orpheans (dir. Carroll Gibbons), Jack Payne and His Hotel Cecil Orchestra (v. orchestra), the Debroy Somers Band (in a Desert Song medley), Harry Bidgood’s Orchestra (on Aco and Coliseum with vocalist John Thorne and on Broadcast with Bobby Sanders), Stan Greening’s New Regenta Orchestra (in a Desert Song medley), and Bert Firman’s Dance Orchestra (as Eugene Brockman’s Dance Orchestra).

Bert and John Firman

“Slow Music” (1928)

“Slow Music” (Lax-Craig). Recorded in B Studio, Hayes, Middlesex on October 17, 1928 by the Rhythmic Eight (under the musical direction of John Firman) with vocalists Maurice Elwin, Arthur Lally, and Johnny Helfer. Zonophone 5233 (and Salabert FZ-950) mx. Yy-14801-2.

Personnel: John Firman dir. Sylvester Ahola-t / Arthur Lally-cl-as-bar-v / Jack Miranda-as-bar / Johnny Helfer-cl-ts-v / ?Bert Read-p / Joe Brannelly-bj / Billy Bell-bb / Rudy Starita-d / Maurice Elwin-Arthur Lally-Johnny Helfer-v

The Rhythmic Eight (v. Maurice Elwin, Arthur Lally, and Johnny Helfer) – “Slow Music” (1928)

“Slow Music” is, paradoxically, an eminently memorable song that has been almost entirely overlooked by artists; indeed, the Rhythmic Eight recording of it may be the only one ever made. Even the songwriters are obscure. “Lax” being a comparatively rare surname, I would venture to guess that one songwriter was the Arnold T. Lax whose hometown newspaper declared him to be a “second [Irving] Berlin,”1 although I do not recognize any of his other known compositions, while “Craig” (presumably misspelled on my Salabert disc as “Graig”) might be the Edward F. Craig who collaborated with Lax on one other song.2

The only recording, then, of “Slow Music,” was made at an unusual Rhythmic Eight session where Maurice Elwin, at that time the band’s go-to singer, was joined in a vocal trio by saxophonist Arthur Lally and reed player Johnny Helfer. The three work well together, though the difference in singing experience is apparent. Elwin’s voice is readily identifiable throughout. In “Slow Music,” I was surprised not to be able to detect the familiar idiosyncrasies of Arthur Lally’s voice (which can be heard speaking and occasionally singing on quite a few British dance band records — perhaps best in the Million-Airs’ “Just a Crazy Song”), but the final song recorded at the October 17, 1928 session, “This Is the Way the Puff-Puff Goes,” features only Helfer and Lally doing distinct vocal parts, and there Lally is definitely recognizable.

The Rhythmic Eight’s “Slow Music” features a mesmerizing arrangement, and the vocal harmony evokes a moody atmosphere. It is funny to note that this, the only known treatment of the song, is not particularly slow — a detail which may be due entirely to the judgment of director John Firman.

The recording serves as a reminder that Elwin was a singer who frequently collaborated in duets, trios, and even quartets (as with the Ramblers). I never seem to have difficulty detecting his voice in a group, but that is not to say that he dominates the overall sound unduly or fails to blend with his collaborators. Rather, I would say that he possessed certain vocal strengths that stand out in almost any context. The Rhythmic Eight themselves definitely stand out as a virtuoso group on this occasion, as always, with Sylvester Ahola’s trumpet performance being particularly noteworthy.

  1. Portland [Maine, USA] Evening Express, “Arnold T. Lax is Second Berlin As Composer of Song,” December 15, 1926, newspapers.com. ↩︎
  2. “’Mid Roses Twining.” ↩︎