[Dixielandjazz] FW: WylieAvenueBlues/HalfwayHouse-question

[Bill Haesler]

Dear Bob,
You are talking about one of my favourite records:
"Wylie Avenue Blues" by Albert Brunies and his Halfway House Orch.
You may not know it, but this record was only issued on 78 in Australia and had
to wait for LP before most people could hear it.
I still have a copy of the rare 78. 
I hope. Just looked. It seems to have been misfiled. 

Herewith my contribution:
Columbia 14310-D. Martha Copeland & Her Smokey City Trio. "Wylie Avenue Blues"
(Grainger and Davis).
Andrew Mead, as; Ralph Jones, vn; Porter Grainger, p.
Recorded: NYC. 6 Dec 1927. Released 10 May 1928.

Columbia 01437 (Australian). Albert Brunies and his Halfway House Orchestra.
"Wylie Avenue Blues" (Brunies, Mistier & Diaz).
Albert Brunies, c; Sidney Arodin, cl; Joe Loyacano, as; Glyn Lea 'Red' Long, p;
Angelo Palmisano, bj; Chink Martin, sb; Emmett Rogers, d. [I hope Steve Barboni
is reading this.  8>)  ]
Recorded: New Orleans, 27 April 1928.
The label says - With Vocal Chorus - but there is none on the issued take -3.

I have both records and it is (so far as I am concerned) the same song. Not
really a 'blues' at all, with a "I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone" (Shelton
Brooks) construction.

No biogs exist of Martha Copeland, a vaudeville singer, who recorded for Okeh,
Victor and Columbia 1923-1928, which I have. 
Porter Grainger, although present on a quite a few 1920s blues records, is also
somewhat of a mystery. Howard Rye thinks he was more involved with show business
rather than the jazz/blues scene. 
Davis could be any one of several composers or music publishers.
As the Copeland record was not issued until a month AFTER the Halfway House Orch
version was recorded it would seem that they took it from the sheet music.
Regarding the composer credits:
Albert Brunies we know all about. As band leader he would have added his name
for royalty reasons. 
Horace Diaz, a 1930s pianist (Woody Herman, Irving Aaronson, Eddie Duchin,
Charlie Barnet) recorded with John Hyman's (Johnny Wiggs) Bayou Stompers in New
Orleans in March 1927, and was co-composer (with Hyman) for "Alligator Blues"
(no relation to the Fats Waller tune).
Aha! A common link to New Orleans.
Mistier is not in my files.

However.
The verse to the lyrics on Copeland's "Wylie Avenue Blues" identifies the street
she misses as in "...Pittsburgh, that's the town I rave about".
So there you have it!
Kind regards,
Bill.
PS: The backing to Martha Copeland's "Wylie Avenue Blues" is an unrelated
"Everybody Does It Now", a reference to dancing.