I found a site the has them in pdf. I just love this shit.

https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard-Magazine.htm

 

Nice find Capitan !

 

I discovered The Great Wallace Shows in the 1900 Billboard.
Billboard was all for billposters and the advertising industry
They even advertised brushes for gluing posters to walls.
One story talked about William Evory Franklin, a well to do Agent {self proclaimed highest paid circus agent EVER,}
who managed The Great Wallace Shows.



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From the December 1905 edition...

The Whistling Woman - Mrs. Alice J. Shaw

"“Whistling seemed to come [back] to me like an inspiration, or a sudden gift,”
she later told a newspaper reporter.
“I thought perhaps I could turn it to account for my children’s sake.
… So I put myself under a good singing master and learnt whistling,
just as a women with a voice would learn singing.
I practiced scales—oh, so diligently!—
and they strengthened my volume of sound,
and increased my compass.
I can give a sharp long whistle now of such power that it can be heard two streets away.”
(Later she demonstrated her carrying power by
“bringing a hansom from the very end of the street.”


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Promoter Otto Floto {The Floto Shows} and Boxer James J. Jeffries in 1909.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


The famous actress, singer, and postcard girl Miss Edna May has her own website!
https://www.ednamay.net/ednamay.html

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.cwmdigitacollections.co...d_60-1_sheriffs_sale_of_a_stranded_circus.mp3

1909 - 78 rpm Oxford Disc Record No. 3759 of "Sheriff's Sale of a Stranded Circus" a vaudeville act performed by Len Spencer and Gilbert Girard and produced by Columbia for Sears, Roebuck and Company.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Last edited: Dec 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM

Here you can see graphic design without a computer, interesting advertising, and get a small glimpse into that time.

 

I need a time machine!


1940
Top Music Machine Hit

"BEER BARREL POLKA"
here it is as recorded by The Andrews Sisters in 1939.

Who's not dying for a cold one?!!

 

Last edited: Dec 15, 2025 at 12:04 PM

THANK YOU! I love this!!

 

I never get tired of listening to these ladies singing. There's no tighter harmonies than when they were together. One of the most talented singing groups that in my opinion are up there with the Everly Brothers, Bee Gees and Beach Boys. When I was a little tyke I heard this and was amazed.

 

Talent cost index from the week my Mom was born - top 4

 

"Mairzy Doats" is a novelty song written and composed in 1943 by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston.
Number 1 sheet music in 1944.
Number 1 recording 1944 Pop - MAIRZY DOATS sung by the Merry Macs.

 

Last edited: Dec 15, 2025 at 3:22 PM

Whenever I hear that old music in movies, I'm glad I wasn't born in those decades, because it always sounds awful to me. It was probably due to those off-key violins and clarinets and poor sound engineering.

For me, music started with the Beatles in 1963. Those old records sounded pretty decent. Back then in Germany, the radio played Schlager music, which was also pretty dreadful, before the English started broadcasting modern music. Then the Americans brought Elvis and rock and roll to Germany. The Beatles, beat music, and the Rolling Stones represented rebellion.

 

Thanks for your head up @capitan crunch

I love old stuff like this

 

I must beg to differ concerning poor sound engineering in the 40's and late 30's. The people recording these bands were consummate professionals at the top of their craft and using the best hardware available at the time. Everything was necessarily recorded to mono direct to acetate and in the case of bluegrass or country bands only one microphone was utilized, generally a figure 8 ribbon so that the players could all fit in the capture, the singer or singers closest and the instruments placed further away until a lead in which they would step closer so as to be louder. In the case of larger bands several microphones might be utilized and there weren't any spot mics in the picture until years later. Balancing the sound of a room full of musicians was a great skill. Of course after Les Paul created multitracking to tape things began to be on the whole "better sounding", and as inventor/engineers such as Bill Putman who built his recording business on the back of his modular 610 recording strip, the first multi band equilizer and iconic 1176 and LA2A compressors things started ramping up until the heyday of the 70's. Now of course 99.99% of recorded material is captured digitally with high headroom and as quiet as it gets.

 

Thank you @Lois Lane for the detailed description and explanation, I send you my greetings with this 2 videos!

Benny Goodman Orchestra - Sing, Sing, Sing (Hollywood Hotel) 1937

Benny Goodman Orchestra - Sing, Sing, Sing (Remastered)

 

... and now we wait on Gearspace threads about the recording techniques and the used equipment ... )

 

And the Roches, Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, Staves, Supremes, Queen, Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Poco, CSN&Y, Bangles and so on and on ...

 

Great I love this type of stuff, memories and memorabilia of an era lost and forgotten to most in todays lifestyle. Thanks for this thread and all the comments posted, hopefully it will expand.

 

From Billboard of 19 December 1925

Tastes have changed!!!

Popular Chicago House Music Artists Daisy and Violet Hilton

 

Last edited: Dec 17, 2025 at 6:56 PM

@capitan crunch .. I had to look up who Fibber McGee and Molly were as these two were unknown to me, the comedy team who were better paid than Bob Hope. I thought they were just meh, wordy and grating...but they had huge following I guess during WW2. Lux Theater was always amazing and Edgar Bergan was no dummy

 

Dig deep my friends.

Yea there is so much stuff here, it could rain all winter and I wouldn't care. Today's testosterone-free cry babies sing in falsetto, but the real men are still using their posting brushes to glue bills to billboards across the world!!

 

Last edited: Dec 16, 2025 at 7:53 AM

Billboard - September 6, 1969 - $1.00