~ Phonography (ήχο γραφής) ~ What is it?
Thomas Edison & the phonograph
Pathé Records & early phonography
R. E. Thompson copper phonograph horn
photo by Styrous®
Showing posts with label Pathé Records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pathé Records. Show all posts
February 13, 2019
phonography articles/mentions
~ Phonography (ήχο γραφής) ~ What is it?
Thomas Edison & the phonograph
Pathé Records & early phonography
R. E. Thompson copper phonograph horn
photo by Styrous®
February 14, 2018
September 1, 2016
78 RPMs 4: Pathé Records & early phonography
photos by Styrous®
I was rummaging around my record collection last week and decided to investigate my 78's for a change. Some of the gems I uncovered were produced by Pathé records. I wrote about one of them before (link below) and I'll be writing about more of these records in future articles.
Pathé record sleeve
photo by Styrous®
The Pathé record business was founded in 1894 by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé, then owners of a successful bistro in Paris. Pathé employed several unusual technologies as preventive
measures against patent infringement. At first they sold single-sided
discs with a recording in wax on top of a cement base. In October 1906 they started producing discs in the more usual manner with shellac.
Even with this less eccentric material, the early Pathé discs were unlike any others. The sound was recorded vertically in the groove, rather than side-to-side, and the groove was wider than in other companies' records, requiring a special ball-shaped .005-inch-radius (0.13 mm) stylus for playing. The discs rotated at 90 rpm, rather than the usual 75 to 80 rpm.
Originally, the groove started on the inside, near the center of the disc, and spiraled out to the edge. In 1916, Pathé changed over to the customary rim-start format, a more nearly normal 80 rpm speed, and paper labels instead of the stamped-in, paint-filled text previously used. Pathé discs were commonly produced in 10 inch (25 cm), 10 1⁄2 inch (27 cm), and 11 1⁄2 inch (29 cm) sizes. 6 1⁄2 (17 cm), 8 inch (21 cm), and 14 inch (35 cm) discs were also made, as were very large 20 inch (50 cm) discs that played at 120 rpm. Due to their fragility, unwieldiness, and much higher price, the largest sizes were a commercial failure and were not produced for long.
Even with this less eccentric material, the early Pathé discs were unlike any others. The sound was recorded vertically in the groove, rather than side-to-side, and the groove was wider than in other companies' records, requiring a special ball-shaped .005-inch-radius (0.13 mm) stylus for playing. The discs rotated at 90 rpm, rather than the usual 75 to 80 rpm.
Originally, the groove started on the inside, near the center of the disc, and spiraled out to the edge. In 1916, Pathé changed over to the customary rim-start format, a more nearly normal 80 rpm speed, and paper labels instead of the stamped-in, paint-filled text previously used. Pathé discs were commonly produced in 10 inch (25 cm), 10 1⁄2 inch (27 cm), and 11 1⁄2 inch (29 cm) sizes. 6 1⁄2 (17 cm), 8 inch (21 cm), and 14 inch (35 cm) discs were also made, as were very large 20 inch (50 cm) discs that played at 120 rpm. Due to their fragility, unwieldiness, and much higher price, the largest sizes were a commercial failure and were not produced for long.
Pathé record sleeve detail
photo by Styrous®
In France, Pathé became the largest and most successful distributor of
cylinder records and phonographs. These, however, failed to make
significant headway in foreign markets such as the United Kingdom and the United States where other brands were already in widespread use.
Although Pathé cylinder records were never popular outside France,
their disc records sold successfully in many foreign countries such as
the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Russia.
Pathé was the first company to make master recordings in a different
medium than the final commercial product. In the Pathé recording
studios, masters were cut on rapidly spinning wax cylinders that
measured about 13 inches long and 4 ½ inches in diameter.
Beginning in 1913, special "Paradis" cylinders about 8 inches in
diameter and 8 ½ inches long were used. The large, fast-spinning
cylinders allowed for a greater level of audio fidelity. The various
types of commercial Pathé cylinders and discs were then dubbed (or
"pantographed") from these masters. This dubbing process enabled copies
of the same master recording to be made available on multiple formats.
The process sometimes resulted in uneven results on the final commercial
record, causing a pronounced rumble or other audio artifacts. (This
rumble was generally undetectable on acoustic wind-up phonographs of the
period, but are noticeable on electric and more modern equipment.)
Pathé record sleeve
photo by Styrous®
The vertically-cut Pathé discs normally required a special Pathé phonograph equipped with a sapphire ball stylus. The advantage of the sapphire ball stylus was its permanence. There was no need to change a needle after every record side. The Pathé record cover proudly proclaims, "No needles to change".
Pathé cylinder phonograph (1898)
Since most records and phonographs used a different playback method, various attachments were marketed that allowed one to equip a Pathé phonograph to play standard, laterally-cut records. Attachments were also sold to equip a standard phonograph to play Pathé records.
In 1920 Pathé introduced a line of "needle-cut" records, at first only for the USA market. The needle-cut records were laterally-cut discs designed to be compatible with standard phonographs, and they were labelled Pathé Actuelle. In the following year, these "needle-cut" records were introduced in the United Kingdom and within a few more years they were selling more than the vertical Pathés, even on the continent. Attempts to market the Pathé vertical-cut discs abroad were abandoned in 1925, though they continued to sell in France until 1932.
There is a promotional recording with great snippets of music released by Pathé, circa 1917, on YouTube (link below) which declares, "With care, I will live to speak to your grandchildren when they are as old as you are."
In mid-1922 Pathé introduced a lower priced label called Perfect. This label became one of the most popular and successful "dime store" labels of the 1920s, and survived beyond the end of the US Pathé label (discontinued in 1930) right up to 1938.
In January 1927, Pathé began recording using the new electronic microphone technology, as opposed to the strictly acoustical-mechanical method of recording they used until then.
A subsidiary of the Pathé Records conglomerate was Pathé Records China (Chinese: 百代唱片; pinyin: Bǎidài Chàngpiān; Cantonese Yale: Baakdoih Cheungpín). It was the first major record company in Shanghai, China and later Hong Kong.
A recording from the movie, Children of Trouble Times (1935) 中华人民共和国国歌的原始版本，取自电影《风云儿女》(1935), featured March of the Volunteers, now the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, released by the Shanghai branch of Pathé in 1935 (link below). In it, they sing of building the Great Wall.
In December 1928, the French and British Pathé phonograph assets were sold to the British Columbia Graphophone Company. In July 1929, the assets of the American Pathé record company were merged into the newly formed American Record Corporation. The Pathé and Pathé-Marconi labels and catallogue still survive, first as imprints of EMI and now currently EMI's successor Parlophone Records. The film division of Pathé Frères still survives in France.
In 1929, after Charles Pathé sold out his interest in the businesses he retired to Monaco where he died in 1957.
Charles Pathé
photographer unknown
Emile Pathé
Circa 1919
photographer unknown
Viewfinder link:
March of the Volunteers on YouTube
Styrous® ~ Thursday, September 1, 2016
March 27, 2014
78 RPMs 2: Hue Lee ~ Rose, Rose, I Love You
photo by Styrous®
Rose, Rose, I Love You is a song that is dear to me because when I was in Junior High I was seriously in love with a girl named Rose. I was 15 (how serious can a 15 year-old be?). Although the song is about a romance in China, it was our song; however, the theme of the song proved all too prophetic. Our "love affair" ended when I went off to High School and her folks moved back to the Philippines taking her with them, of course.
Rose was a Chinese popular song, Méigui méigui wǒ ài nǐ (玫瑰玫瑰我愛你), first recorded by Yao Lee (姚莉) in 1940. The song is also known under the titles Shanghai Rose and China Rose. Yao Lee's Mandarin version was also released in the US and UK in the early 1950s by Columbia Records, catalog numbers 39420 and 2837 respectively. Yao Lee was credited as "Miss Hue Lee" in this release. Other early releases have also credited her as "Yiu Lei." The original Chinese lyrics were by Wu Cun (Ng Chuen; 吳村 Wú Cūn) and the music was credited to Lin Mei (林枚), a pen name for popular song composer Chen Gexin (陳歌辛).
Rose and I listened to the English version which was recorded by American singer Frankie Laine and the Norman Luboff Choir, with Paul Weston and his orchestra, on 6 April 1951, and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39367. The English-language lyrics were written by the British radio presenter Wilfred Thomas. The English lyrics have little in common with the original Mandarin, but they pay subtle tribute to the titular Mandarin phrase "méigui méigui" (lit. rose petal) by including the English phrase "make way," with its normal English meaning.
English lyrics:
Rose, Rose I love you with an aching heart
What is your future, now we have to part?
Standing on the jetty as the steamer moves away
Flower of Malaya, I cannot stay
Make way, oh, make way for my eastern Rose
Men crowd in dozens everywhere she goes
In her rickshaw on the street or in a cabaret
"Please make way for Rose", you can hear them say
All my life I shall remember
Oriental music and you in my arms
Perfumed flowers in your tresses
Lotus-scented breezes and swaying palms
Rose, Rose I love you with your almond eyes
Fragrant and slender 'neath tropical skies
I must cross the seas again and never see you more
Way back to my home on a distant shore
All my life I shall remember
Oriental music and you in my arms
Perfumed flowers in your tresses
Lotus-scented breezes and swaying palms
Rose, Rose I leave you, my ship is in the bay
Kiss me farewell now, there's nothin' to say
East is east and west is west, our worlds are far apart
I must leave you now but I leave my heart
Rose, Rose I love you with an aching heart
What is your future, now we have to part?
Standing on the jetty as the steamer moves away
Flower of Malaya, I cannot stay
(Rose, Rose I love you, I cannot stay)
Songwriters:
Henry Thomas Wilfred, Christian Langdon, Traditional,
The song reached #3 on the Billboard magazine music charts in 1951. At the same time Columbia released Yao Lee's original Mandarin version in the US and UK under the English title, Rose, Rose, I Love You. The song was covered by Petula Clark with new lyrics under the title May Kway (I mean, REALLY!) which entered the UK charts on May 5, 1951 and peaked at #16. Hong Kong singer Anita Mui sang the Cantonese cover of the song in 1989 and was featured as the theme song of the Jackie Chan film, Miracles. Mui also sings this song in the 1988 film Rouge. Aneka also covered Laine's version in the early 1980s, adding new original English lyrics with an almost but not quite disco tempo. This single was released by Ariola Records but did not chart. The original Mandarin version of this song was also covered by Taiwanese singer Joanna Wang in her 2009 album Joanna & 王若琳.
Dato' Zainal Alam sang it in English, Malay, Chinese & Tamil (it's a pretty interesting rendition). He began his career in broadcasting as an announcer for the British Radio Station in Penang. Soon after the British returned, he was made Station Manager and sent to England to study Broadcasting Management. Zainal Alam then went to USA to take up a Government Management Program. After the 1957 independence, he was given the task of managing the entire northern states. Just as Malaysia was incorporated, he was appointed the Regional Director of Broadcasting. The 'Whites' refer to him as the Bob Hope of Malaysia and the 'Blacks' as the Bing Crosby. He died on 12th December 1991.
~ ~ ~
Rose, Rose I Love You on YouTube:
Anita Mui on YouTube
Aneka on YouTube
Joanna Wang ~
Aneka on YouTube
Joanna Wang ~
I still think with fondness of my lovely Rose from all those many, many years ago.
Styrous® ~ Thursday, March 27, 2014
March 23, 2014
78 RPMs Archive
78 RPMs 4: Pathé Records & early phonography
78 RPMs 6: Roy Acuff & the Smoky Mountain Boys
78 RPMs 7: John Marks ~ Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
78 RPMs 8: Giacomo Puccini ~ Butterfly = Licia Albanese
78 RPMs 9: Paul Whiteman ~ King of Jazz
78 RPMs 10: Artie Shaw ~ Nightmare
78 RPMs 11: Amapola ~ Jimmy Dorsey w/Eberly & O'Connel
78 RPMs 12: Dinah Shore ~ Sleepy Lagoon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)