An hour of interwar Halloween music
Spooky season listening from Centuries of Sound.
Through his delightful Centuries of Sound project, JM Errington is producing an hour-long mix of music for every year since 1853 — the dawn of music recording itself. Interspersed with these “annual” mixes are some thematic ones. His latest, “Halloween Between the Wars,” is an hour of spooky interwar music and radio/film horror excerpts:
https://centuriesofsound.com/2022/10/24/halloween-between-the-wars-original-recordings-1927-1938/
The track-list for this is full of hot jazz, broad comedy, and spooktacular greats that are a refreshing break from “The Monster Mash”: think Raymond Scott, the Washboard Rhythm Kings, Skip James, and Artie Shaw.
If you’re hungry for more, check out last year’s Halloween mix: “Hallowe’en Dance: Original Recordings 1902–1926,” featuring 1920 spoken word from Aleister Crowley, the Edison Concert Band playing the “Skeleton Dance,” Billy Murray’s “I’m Afraid to Come Home in the Dark,” and a 1910 brown wax home recording of comic ghost stories:
As great as the thematic programs are, you really need to check out the annual ones. Errington just…
