The Unwound Third > Jam Session

Historical Curiousity

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Stuart:
When I was checking the track list for "The Other AAFM," I stumbled across Emry Arthur recording as Elroy Anderson on "Reuben Oh Reuben" and "She Lied To Me. " --Both issued on Paramount 3295 and Broadway 8216. I quick search didn't turn up anything. Did he use this pseudonym for any other songs he recorded? 

Lignite:
No. The pseudonyms were often assigned by the record company without the artist's knowledge or consent. It was to avoid paying royalties on a performance. In this case Broadway is subsidiary of Paramount Records which I think sold at a cheaper price. The record label often re-released recordings of their Paramount artists under pseudonyms. This was common practice in the 1920s. The same thing happened on the Gennett label and their cheaper subsidiary Champion. Record researchers have been spending years trying to figure out who the actual artists are on many of these and now pretty much have them deciphered.

Stuart:
Hi Lightnin': Thanks for the reply. I'm aware of some of the reasons for the use of pseudonyms and re-releases on budget labels, etc. But this one was puzzling as I simply didn't see any other related info. He recorded other songs for Paramount that were released under his own name--And the initials are a giveaway. The actual reasons for this one-off are probably lost to history, but that doesn't lessen my curiosity.

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