This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.
And today some releases of one of the coolest of record labels, Roy Milton's Miltone label, that was in operation from 1946 to '48. I'll try to tell the complicated story of this label and of course I'll play the great music that was recorded on there. So let's just start with that and play the first issue. The label by then bore the name, simply of Roy Milton's Record Company and the artist is the record boss himself - Roy Milton. Here's both sides of the the Rainey Day Confession Blues.
1-10 - Roy Milton - Rainy Day Confession Blues
18 - John Criner & his Orchestra - Sugar Mama Blues
John Criner and his band and the Sugar Mama Blues and that was released as the flip ofthe Wee Baby Brother Blues where this combo backed up singer Effie Smith in a slow blues.
This one was numbered 18, the previous one I played 1-10 and there's a 1-11 in between that has, like 1-10, Roy Milton on it with his band the Solid Senders. After this number 18 comes 101/102, that is the two sides of one record, and then numbering from 103 through 105, then 201 non-continuously to 246, an issue number 700, then 1001 through 1183, that are six releases, numbers in 3100 and 5200 series - the numbering of this label was a chaotic mishmash that must have driven record traders both as discographists insane.
The labels on a lot of the releases though are great. Most releases have a label designed by New York cartoonist William 'Alex' Alexander - extremely cool monochrome red-and-white cartoon style drawings and they massively pump up the value of shellac records of the Miltone label, that I feature today here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. Unfortunately this is radio so I can't show these labels to you other than telling you to go my web site where I put on a link or two to sites showing these great labels (well here they are: http://koti.mbnet.fi/flidi/milton/ and http://www.opalnations.com/files/Miltone_Records_Roy_Milton_Blues_Rhythm_235_Dec.08_Jan.09.pdf). Just google for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and go to the episodes page to find this show's information. Anyhow, Milton traded his label in ads as Miltone, the Cartoon label.
The label of the next one for instance features a short chubby man in blocked design suit looking frantically at a red traffic light with a stop sign popping out of the side, like these old traffic lights had, while he's being kissed on his bald head by a tall and slender young and sexy woman in a short dress and high heels. The record is Roy Milton himself again with his Solid Senders. Here is Miltone number 102, as said the flip of 101 - the Red Light.
102 - Roy Milton & His Solid Senders - Red Light
103 - Camille Howard & The Solid Senders - Mr Fine
Mr. Fine - again with a wonderful cartoon on the label showing a cool cat smartly dressed in suit, bow and tie and a cartoonesque drawing of Camille Howard, that actually looks like her. Camille was the pianist of Roy Milton's Solid Senders but this issue was credited to her.
Now most of the first issues of Miltone all were for Roy Milton and his band. And also where other musicians were credited it's still the Solid Senders who back them up. Like in the next blues. The label shows a cartoon of a man speaking to a woman standing in the palm of his hand and announces Jimmy Grissom as teenage vocalist. Here is Do As I Say.
202 - Jimmy Grissom & The Original Solid Senders - Do As I Say
218 - Effie Smith with Jimmie Grissom & The Blenders - Answer to RM Blues
(jingle)
219 - Gene Morris & His Quintet - G-ing With Gene
224 - Jimmie Grissom & The Blenders - Big Fine Baby
Great music and great cartoons that came on the label so let me just describe them while I tell you what you've been listening to. Remember, when you want to see these cartoons just go to the page of today's show on my website, there's a link on there.
Well you just heard Jimmie Grissom & The Blenders with the Big Fine Baby on Miltone 224 and on the label you see 'em both - the singer and his big fine baby. Well she looks pretty dominant, not only for her size, and a face like 'tell me anything' while the man gestures in excuses and apologies - pretty much like in the song.
Before that you got Miltone 219 and the label shows a huge, huge saxophone and a man putting all effort in playing it, with drawings of saxophonists in the background. California's newest sax sensation - it says and that sensation is Gene Morris and the instrumental is titled G-ing with Gene.
Then before the jingle you got Effie Smith backed up by Jimmy Grissom and his band the Blenders with the Answer To R.M. Blues - Roy Milton's hit on the Jukebox label from a year ago. On the label you see a slender beautiful woman watching with contempt a man beggin on his knees, hat on the floor, hands folded together. This drawing is one of the few that's actually signed by the cartoonist William Alexander. And this man easily combines two typical cartoon styles of drawing people - the winner woman realistic, though with way-too-long legs like barbie dolls have, the losing man with a cartoon type round nose, extremely big eyes and lips that greatly exaggerate the properties of a black man, a neck that's hardly more than a thumb thick.
Next an instrumental titled Mr. Jackson vs. Mr. Floyd and they are the battling saxophonists on this one, depicted on the label as two saxophones with boxing gloves ready to fight each other. Listen to Peppy Prince and his Modern Squires.
227 - Peppy Prince's Modern Squires - Mr. Jackson Vs. Mr. Floyd
232 - Jesse Thomas - D Double Due Love You
Now the cartoon on this label doesn't look at all like Jesse Thomas - a cartoon black man with all properties of his face exaggerated - lips that are bigger than the size of his neck and out of his mouth comes not only music notes but also a lot of water. A four-string acoustical guitar with no hole completes the picture. Jesse Thomas is announced as the Blues Troubadour and the title of this rhythmical blues gem on the flip of Miltone 232 was D Double Due Love You.
We'll get one more of him with the Zetter Blues on Miltone 233.
233 - Jesse Thomas - Zetter Blues
243 - Little Miss Cornshucks - Cornshucks Blues
Little Miss Cornshucks with the Cornshucks blues om Miltone 243 and though she does a decent blues on here, I think on record the magic's not there that Ahmet Ertegun, later boss of Atlantic records, felt when he saw her back in '43 and for her, he made the decision to go into recording business.
Now he'd lost her out of sight when he started his label in 1947 and in the meanwhile miss Cornshucks - born Mildred Cummings - was recording at the West Coast. Reportedly her blues have inspired several later generation blueswomen including Ruth Brown and LaVern Baker, but on Miltone she mainly crooned a few standards like He's Funny That Way and Why Was I Born that in my opinion don't contribute to the status she got after her rediscovery that wasn't before the turn of the century. I may be wrong - but these ballads just don't stick with me. Well judge for yourself with Little Miss Cornshucks' Why Was I Born on Miltone 246.
246 - Little Miss Cornshucks - Why Was I Born
700 - Lawrence (Batty) Battiste - You Gonna Get It In The End
A romantic couple hugging under the moonlight and an old man with a stick pointing at them from what seems no more than a shack. Lawrence 'Batty' Battiste was that You Gonna Get It In The End and I'm afraid obscurer than that you won't get 'em today. The flip of this Miltone 700 was Jimmy Grissom and the Blenders and I think they will have done the intrumental part on this one too.
Well let me tell a bit on the history of the Miltone label. It was just after Roy Milton's big hit on Art Rupe's Jukebox label, the R.M. Blues, and that had put Milton on the map of West Coast R&B.
Now together with Ben Waller - Roy Milton's booking agent and Forrest 'War' Perkins, owner of a record shop and a pressing plant, Milton set up Roy Milton's record company, later named Miltone, initially as a vehicle to promote Milton's own recordings. They immediately started a subsidiary named Cleartone, that had only two releases for Gene Morris.
Now by mid-'47 Art Rupe's Jukebox label had folded and he had signed Milton again, for his new label, Specialty, but the releases of Miltone also went on. Probably - but it's not sure - Milton had stopped being involved in the label that bore his name and he'd given his share back to Perkins. To make confusion complete, earlier recordings of Milton were rereleased on Miltone, while Miltone recordings also went on Specialty, and later on DeLuxe, that Perkins started a cooperation with in mid-'48.
By that time, Milton had pressed charges against Perkins for unpaid royalties and tried to stop Perkins releasing his material. The answer of Perkins was as unexpected as you could think of - he grabbed some of the masters of Milton and made way to the Phillipines where he set up a pressing plant in Manila. The other masters were partly sold to Gotham records and others went into the DeLuxe catalog, that later was bought by King records of Cincinatti.
Next Miltone number 1082 and I think by then the cooperation with the cartoonist was over as well as I've never seen cartoon labels for these higher catalog numbers. Here is Annie Laurie with Paul Gayten and his trio with Since I Fell For You.
1082 - Annie Laurie with Paul Gayten & His Trio - Since I Fell For You
3154 - Roy Brown & His Mighty-Mighty Men - Long About Midnight
Roy Brown and his mighty-mighty men - a name he took from his greatest hit Good Rocking Tonight. Well this was one of his greatest blues I think - Long about midnight and that ends this little anthology on the Miltone label. The label brought us a lot of great Rhythm & Blues but in their higher catalog numbers more and more oddities slip in that make me have the idea that Milton no longer was involved. How about a hawaiian release of the King Nawahi Trio or a hillbilly record on Miltone 5201 - proudly announced as the Western series but as far as I could find this is the only one of this - well - series of one.
I coulnd't by far play all the records on the discography of this little label but there's a CD box out there that brings, again, a nice selection. It's titled, simply, Roy Milton's Miltone Records Story, released in 2008 on Future Noise. I did not just play from that, well, you heard there were some shellac cuts on here too. I hope you liked what I played and well, why don't you let me know and send me an e-mail. The address is rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com.
As said, you can find a link to these great cartoons label shots on my web site. Do a google search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and my site will show up first. Of course you'll find today's playlist there and what's on next week, as well as all information that I told you today. As for now, time's up so have a great and rocking day. See you next time, here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!