Interracial Jazz Recording (#38): Annette Henshaw and James P. Johnson

Annette Henshaw came from a vaudeville family and rose to the top of the pop-jazz heap in the late 1920's-to 30's. She recorded about 250 sides and sold millions of records. Later in life, she spoke of how nervous she was performing and recording, but she knew how to sell a tune and was dubbed "The Personality Girl." Some of her renditions can be too cutesy, but she does a nice job here on "I'm a Dreamer," by the successful songwriting team of Ray Henderson, Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown. 

Annette Henshaw

 

James P. Johnson

It's an unusual instrumentation. Manny Klein seems the likely trumpet player and two pianos-James P. Johnson on "lead" and Clarence Williams on 'backup.'

Annette Hanshaw acc by The Three Blue Streaks: Annette Hanshaw (vcl) acc by prob Manny Klein (tp) James P. Johnson,Clarence Williams (p), New York, December 4, 1929.

• I’m a dreamer - Aren’t we all ?- Har 1066-H, Phontastic (Swd)NOST7608;
• If I had a talking picture of you- Har 1066-H

All entries are from my book “As Long as They Can Blow. Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935.”