Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 Selection: Edgar Fairchild & Ralph Rainger, 1927 AMPICO Recording

Original cast members seen in video: Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, The Brox Sisters, The Ingenues All-Girl Orchestra, Albertina Rasch Dancers. Ralph Rainger & Edgar Fairchild
AMPICO Reproducing Piano Roll, released January 1927; Parts 1 and 2 (Courtesy Lee Lanier Studio) Medley from “Ziegfeld Follies of 1927” (Irving Berlin)
Shaking the Blues Away
Ooh, Maybe It’s You
The Jungle Jingle
Rainbow of Girls
Shaking the Blues Away (reprise)
It All Belongs to Me
Tickle the Ivories
Ooh Maybe It’s You
It’s Up to The Band
It All Belongs to Me (reprise)
The Two-Piano Team of Edgar Fairchild (1898-1975) and Ralph Rainger (1901-1942).
While Ohman & Arden may have sold the most records and had the largest audience, there were other two-piano teams co-existing on the Great White Way, comprised of Edgar Fairchild (born Milton Suskind), Ralph Rainger (born Ralph Reichenthal), Adam Carroll and Robert Lindholm. These kinds of pianists thrived in the era when shows boasted many toe-tapping, melodic songs. Most of these pianists grew up, as George Gershwin did, in the era of the player piano. In fact, Phil Ohman and Victor Arden (born Lewis J. Fuiks) met when they were both making piano rolls. The music was percussive, metronomic and most of all, tuneful.
After the stock market crash of 1929, producers cut down on frills, forcing many of the pianists to seek other forms of employment. Ralph Rainger became one of the leading composers of original film songs and Edgar Fairchild became a prolific conductor on radio as well as motion pictures. The novelty of two pianos on the Broadway stage became a quaint memory by the end of the 1930s. Fortunately, some of these teams preserved their electrifying performances on recordings. In some cases their recordings represent the original casts of famous shows.
A native New Yorker, Edgar Fairchild made a living as a theatre pianist from an early age. In 1922 he appeared onstage as part of the Original Piano Trio, playing “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in “George White’s Scandals of 1922.” At the same time he was recording rolls for the American Piano Company (AMPICO) and writing music for shows, such as “Florida Girl” (1925) and “The New Yorkers” (1927), not the Cole Porter musical of the same title.
In 1926 Ralph Rainger (another native New Yorker), who also made piano rolls, teamed with Edgar Fairchild for the show “Queen High,” where they were prominently featured. The show was a resounding hit and they performed on stage for more than 367 performances. It was during the run of the show that they recorded a danceable medley for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York City. A few months later AMPICO released a piano roll of the same repertoire. But with tempo variations, which led to several more stunning roll recordings of the duo. In 1927 the team was again featured on Broadway in the tuneful and long-running “Ziegfeld Follies of 1927,” starring Eddie Cantor and showcasing the songs of Irving Berlin. In 1928 the team recorded for Brunswick Records and appeared “with their Brunswick Orchestra” in a short-lived musical called “Cross Your Heart.” The same year, Rainger teamed with another roll recording artist Adam Carroll in the show “Angela,” which closed in a short time. Fortunately, Rainger and Carroll were chosen for the highly successful “The Little Show,” for which Rainger also composed music. Starring Clifton Webb, Fred Allen and Libby Holman, the Ralph Rainger song “Moanin’ Low” (lyrics by Howard Dietz) became one of the hits of the very popular show. From this point on, it was clear that Rainger was on the road to success as a composer of popular songs. Within a few years he was writing hit after hit for the films of Bing Crosby, Mae West, Maurice Chevalier, Shirley Ross and Marlene Dietrich.
In 1929 Edgar Fairchild teamed with pianist Robert Lindholm and toured England. It was in London where Fairchild and Lindholm recorded a 2-part medley of songs from “Follow Thru,” an American hit show of 1928. Before Fairchild devoted all his time to conducting and composing he and Lindholm performed at two pianos in the 1934 flop “Calling All Stars.” The fad for two-piano teams was fading. Fortunately Fairchild was able to regain his stature on Broadway teaming with Adam Carroll in two hit shows by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, “On Your Toes” (1936) and “Babes in Arms” (1937). They recorded some of their featured show songs for the modest recording division of Liberty Music Shop, a favorite store for discriminating lovers of Broadway shows. Fairchild eventually moved to Hollywood where he became a film composer and conductor, best remembered as musical director for Deanna Durbin at Universal Studios. He died in 1976 at age 71. In addition to his many credits, Ralph Rainger and lyricist Leo Robin won the Academy Award for Best Song “Thanks for the Memory” (1938), but his life was taken in a plane crash in 1942. He was 41.

[@jazzage1920s]

Peter, you’ve outdone yourself on this one! Many thanks

[@benzo4029]

Wonderful vintage stage chorus lines beautifully edited to fit your Ampico medley piano roll. Zeigfeld had the Ingenues all wear white organdy gowns. They all sat on bentwood chairs in a line across the stage, each holding a banjo. They played and introduced the song,"Shaking the Blue Away'' that was sung by Ruth Etting. Should be mentioned that Joseph Urban did the stage framing and sets. It's my understanding that no film survives of this great 1927 Ziegfeld Follies. So this tasteful and artistic mashup is the next best thing! Thankyou for putting that long forgotten 1927 Follies "back on the map" with this stunning and delightful Ampico video! It's a joy to hear all the songs in the show. ❤Love it. I believe this show was playing at the New Amsterdam theatre during the Lindberg flight and celebration. The next show Ziegfeld did there (again with hit star Eddie Cantor) was Whoopee! That 1928 megahit show introduced the enduring song, "Making Whoopee!" A '20s song Classic.

[@edcachianes]

Thrilling!

[@paulsomerville4005]

This was a joy to watch!

[@kathyraygoza3299]

Mr. Mintun, tday started as an awful day that improved somewhat as the day passed. Found this around 9:00 and instantly felt better. Thank you very much.

[@chrisdennehy9425]

Great print!

[@StevenSmith-nq5xe]

If only one could step SHERLOCK JR.-style into any of your KZbin videos. Thank you for the next best thing to time travel.