Saturday, October 15, 2011

Ghost Music - PUB 072


PUB 072
Do You Ever Think of Me
Media: QRS Word Roll 1336
Year: 1920
Details: Sherman Clay & Co.

So it's been a busy past few months, but with excitement we celebrated the one year anniversary of our first post this past Thursday October 13, 2011! Over 100 posts after our first post I bring you another five posts to celebrate the event! First up is this nearly century old player piano roll with the song "Do You Ever Think of Me." It's a foxtrot with words by Harry D. Kerr and John Cooper with music by Earl Burtnett. You can check out the lyrics and even download for free what the song would sound like on the piano at the link above.

So, for those of you still in confusion, this song isn't ordinary sheet music. It's a roll  to be used in a player piano, those old pianos in the height of popularity during the 1920's that would play by themselves. Using the small punches in the paper the piano would be able to 'read' the music and play the tune without a need for a human player. At one point during the early 1920's half of the pianos being made in the country were player pianos. After the fall of the Roaring Twenties with the stockmarket crash the popularity of the player piano fell into deep decline. 

For those interested this is word roll 1336, and despite the song having lyrics, obviously the piano only played the music itself. Back when it was originally made the song itself cost $1.25, approximately $14.50 in today's economy. 

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