The Foursome - 1926-37 Singles

Back in April I posted some Gershwin songs as performed in 1939 by the Foursome vocal group, both on their own and accompanying Shirley Ross. That delightful act mated clever vocal arrangements to harmonizing on the ocarina, the sweet-potato shaped wind instrument with a distinctive sound. They helped popularize the instrument in the 1930s.

Today, a return to the Foursome via eight additional songs, ranging from their first record, from 1926, through to the bulk of their solo discs, made for Decca in 1937, and including the first recording of their most famous number, the Gershwins' "Bidin' My Time."

I am indebted to Jordan Young's biography of the group on Allmusic for much of the following information. The original group included Marshall Smith, Dwight Snyder, Harry Isaacs and Kearney Walton, all from the Pacific Northwest. By 1926, they had recorded a single with bandleader Paul Ash, "There Ain't No Maybe in My Baby's Eyes," a big hit song that year. Ash's version is bouncy in the style of the time, and the Foursome acquit themselves well, although their style was not yet distinctive.

By 1930, the group had appeared in a few films then on Broadway in Ripples, an Oscar Levant-Irving Caesar musical that went nowhere. By this time, the group consisted of Marshall Smith, Dwight Snyder, Del Porter and Raymond Johnson, the members for most of the ensemble's history.

Not sure, but this may include at least three of the Foursome - still from Girl Crazy

Ripples may have flopped, but the quartet had much better luck with their next opportunity - Girl Crazy from the mighty Gershwins. Introducing "Bidin' My Time" helped make their career. This set includes their first recording, made for Brunswick in 1930, which presumably is close to what was heard at the Alvin Theater as the opening number in the show. (Confidentially, their 1939 remake is better.)

By 1937, the group had secured a Decca recording contract, and devoted its solo first session to a dynamic specialty by Del Porter and Ray Johnson, "Sweet Potato Swing," which was backed by the 1923 chestnut "Nobody's Sweetheart," which is handled much better than the song deserved. By this time, the group had mastered playing their ocarinas. Jordan Young quotes Ray Johnson: "We worked like hell to get them in tune. You'll never hear that sound again - nobody would be fool enough to do it."

The Foursome

The final four songs in this set come from a November 1937 recording date, where the Foursome was joined by a Perry Botkin ensemble, with Botkin the stylish guitarist and Spike Jones as the drummer. 

Again the group reached back to the rhythm numbers of the 1920s for "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" and "Sweet Georgia Brown," both well suited to their style, and both most impressive. They added "Chinatown, My Chinatown," a 1906 number which is badly dated today but was a jazz favorite for many years, and "Blue (and Broken-Hearted)," which was popular in 1922 and for some time thereafter. The Foursome do both beautifully.

Perry Botkin

The groups' final records under their own name were included in the previous post. They also kept busy accompanying some of Decca's biggest artists, including Bing Crosby and Dick Powell. As I mentioned in the earlier article, later on, Del Porter started a band called the Feather Merchants, which eventually turned into Spike Jones and the City Slickers. The Allmusic article adds that Porter, Johnson and Snyder also were in a group called the Sweet Potato Tooters, and that the first two appeared on Capitol as members of the Starlighters. (The version of that group that I am familiar with had different personnel, however.)

Most of these recordings come from Internet Archive needle drops, which I've cleaned up in ambient stereo, but which still have some residual noise at times. Great performances, though!