Just like
the Holy Grail, the "Lost" Ark of the Convenant and the Dead Sea Scrolls,
Annette Collectors
have for years theorized about the "lost" Questionnaire that
Annette filled
out in the early 30's. It was thought to be lost for years.
Whoever had
it made no mention and only fleeting remarks about its
very existence
were ever covered in any references about Annette's work.
Back in the
early 30's both Radio Star Magazine and Radioland Magazine
used to run
polls of the favorite radio stars.
Well Radioland
magazine decided to run a questionnaire of the stars
and it was
thought that each star would fill out the questionnaires
by one of
their agents and submit it to Radioland magazine.
Well, Annette
being the trouper that she was, decided to fill it
out herself
and send it to the lucky fan that was to get it.
However,
no mention was ever made who that fan was.
It was thought
lost in some drawer forever.
Well now it
has finally surfaced! At auction recently this long lost personal
memento of
Annette has been found. It is with great pleasure that I can
tell all
Annette fans that Preston Meeks now has this long lost item.
If you are interested in finding out more about this long lost treasure, please email Preston at:
If you have
items to trade or anything that may pique his interest about
Annette he
may tell you more about it!
More Details!
Here are some more details about the 1930's survey just sent to me by Preston.
Her favorite
flower: Violet
Her favorite
Screen Star: Helen Hayes
Now for a
bit of mystery: her favorite poem is "Cynara". This is a rather
obscure poem
by the late
Ernest Dowson (1867-1900) Words are as follows:
Cynara by Ernest Dowson (1867-1900)
Last night,
ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
There
fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
Upon
my soul between the kisses and the wine;
And
I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea,
I was desolate and bowed my head:
I
have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
All
night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
Night-long
within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
Surely
the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;
But
I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
When
I awoke and found the dawn was gray;
I
have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I have forgot
much, Cynara! gone with the wind,
Flung
roses, roses riotously with the throng,
Dancing,
to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind;
But
I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea,
all the time, because the dance was long;
I
have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I
cried for madder music and for stronger wine,
But
when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,
Then
falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine;
And
I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea
hungry for the lips of my desire:
I
have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
Soon To Come: More Details
Anyone able
to guess what her favorite car is? I will post this and give
more
details in
the weeks to come. Also Preston soon will be sending me a personal
letter from
John Hammond who knew Annette from the time that
she had the
"Melody Shop".
This letter
was sent to Frank Hanshaw
upon Annette's
death. There are other tantalizing bits of
memorabilia
that Preston just recently obtained from Frank Hanshaw
which I will
post on the web site as I receive them.
Other News:
Two of the
most tantalizing bits of memorabilia that
Annette collectors
love to theorize about are her first and
last recordings.
I have both in my possession and will be
analyzing
them in the months to come.
Annette's First Recordings
Annette's
first recording was a two part medley that she recorded
at the Pathé
Actuelle studios in New York City. It consisted
of the following
songs:
Part One
1.
What can I say dear?
2
Bye, Bye Blackbird
3.
The Day I Met You
At
the end of Part One of the medley Annette is heard talking to
the
record producer,
"What's
that Jack? Oh I know, but I'm not doing it well, you know,
I'm
all a quivering, Mr. Bulena", she says.
Part Two
1.
Don't Want Nobody But You
2.
I Wonder What's become of Joe
3.
Five Foot Two
This
recording was made on July 28, 1926 and she accompanied
herself on
piano. This was an interesting time for Annette
and for the
Pathé Frères Phonograph company.
It was in
1923 that the Pathé Frères Phonograph company
reorganized
in America. This pioneering French cylinder
manufacturer
had studios in Paris, London, Milan
and Moscow
and had amassed an extensive catalog of
cylinder
masters and by means of a mechanical
device called
a "pantograph" was able to copy its
masters in
either cylinder or disc. It remained in wide use
until the
advent of the electrical recordings in the fall of 1926.
It was in
1923 the Pathé Frères Phonograph Company
reorganized
in the United States as the Pathé Phonograph
and Radio
Corporation, with Russel Hunting as the manager.
New studios
were opened at 150 East 53rd Street
With the reoganization
it started its new label the
"Pathé
Actuelle" series.
It used its
own masters for the most part, but also used masters from the following
companies:
1. Combo
Company of Canada (Apex label)
2.
Marsh Laboratories (Autograph label)
3. Plaza
Music Company (Banner label)
Then the big
change began in 1926 with the advent of the
electrical
recording process. They started with the E-2000 series
Annette made
these two E-2000 series in July 28, 1926. They would
have been
one of the first electrical recordings made by the
French firm.
At this time these masters were made by the
Compo Company
of Canada. It was not until 1927 that they
were able
to release their own masters.
For more
information on the Pathé Record Company please
refer to
the excellent book by Allan Sutton
"Directory
of American Disc Record Brands and Manufacturers , 1891-1943"
Annette's Last Recordings
Annette made
her last "official" recording in 1936. It was a "private"
These songs were
recorded at the Edwin Strong Studios in Manhatten and
1. Blue
Evening
Annette's
Only Columbia Recordings
Annette
sang only 4 songs "officially" for the major Columbia
They were:
1. Lover
Come Back to Me (March 15, 1929)
3. That's
You, Baby (April 5, 1929)
Not even twenty
days after these recordings were made she was "back"
recording
with the Five H's. They were also known as Frankie Hanshaw and his Young Scarsdalians. (personal correspondence from Frank Hanshaw III dated July 25, 2002)
It included her brother Frank Hanshaw Jr. (Frank Hanshaws III's father) as leader.
Also included
were Sal Pace on Alto Saxophone and clarinet. Lastly Emile Palucci
played piano, while Frank Jr. played trumpet. According to Frank Hanshaw III, his father, Frank Jr. and Emile remained friends for over 60 years and Emile was the editor for Variety Magazine his whole life.
Also represented were Tom Rockwell and Cork O'Keefe.
(personal correspondence from Frank Hanshaw III dated July 25,2002)
included
a medley of songs.
2.
You're Heavenly Thing
3.
What's the Reason I'm Not Pleasing You
label.
Although she sang for all of its major subsidiares for years
she only
recorded four official sides for Columbia.
2.
You Wouldn't Fool Me, Would You? (March 15, 1929)
4.
Big City Blues (April 5, 1929)
to the minor
leagues as it were to the "Harmony" label to continue
recording
for the dime store labels. She never recorded again for the
official
Columbia label. These recordings were pretty powerful stuff and
could have
been the start of something big, really big. But Moe Synder
wouldn't
have that happening. But Annette was a star despite the efforts
of Ruth's
husband. These recordings included Phil Napoleon, Benny Goodman
Ben Selvin,
and Rube Bloom, some of the best and brightest musicians
of the day.