Cohen on the Telephone

Last updated
Recording of "Cohen at the Telephone" by George Thompson (1916)

"Cohen on the Telephone", also known as "Cohen at the Telephone", is a comedy monologue. The monologue was released on cylinder records, 78 rpm records, and early sound film.

Contents

History of recordings

The first recording of the monologue was made in London by Joe Hayman for Regal Records in 1913, and was subsequently issued in the U.S. by Columbia Records. [1] [2] Hayman's version of the monologue reached over 2 million sales in the United States. [3] The success of the record led to cover versions recorded by performers such as Monroe Silver in 1914, and Barney Bernard whose version was recorded in March 1916 for Victor Records [4] In 1927, Victor issued an electrical recording of that monologue by Julius Tannen. [5] [6] and George Thompson whose version on Edison Records was released in 1916.

A sound-on-film recording was made in 1923 with Monroe Silver by Lee de Forest in the Phonofilm process, and with George Sidney (1876–1945) in September 1929 by Universal Pictures. [7] [8]

Hayman recorded a similar routine entitled "Cohen Buys a Wireless Set" in 1923 on Columbia Records.

Synopsis of sketch

The monologue is Mr. Cohen's attempt to contact his landlord using a telephone of the period. The humor is derived from that of the Cohen's "stereotypical" tendency to make puns, and perhaps the difficulty in being understood on the then primitive telephone with his thick Yiddish accent:

"Hello, I'm Cohen...I'M COHEN...No- I ain't Goin...I'm stopping here....Hello! This is your tenant Cohen...YOUR TENANT COHEN....No, NOT Lieutenant Cohen..."

The purpose of the call was to ask the landlord to send a repairman down to his location after a windstorm had caused property damage. In frustration, he hangs up at the end of the record and decides to arrange for the repairs himself.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phonograph cylinder</span> Medium for recording and reproducing sound

Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their heyday, these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engraved on the outside surface, which can be reproduced when they are played on a mechanical cylinder phonograph. In the 1910s, the competing disc record system triumphed in the marketplace to become the dominant commercial audio medium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Talking Machine Company</span> Former American record and phonograph manufacturer

The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became the RCA Victor Division of the Radio Corporation of America until late 1968, when it was renamed RCA Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edison Records</span> Early record label

Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important and successful company in the early recording industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Bears' Picnic</span> Popular childrens song

"The Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody written in 1907 by American composer John Walter Bratton, and lyrics added in 1932 by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy. It remains popular in Ireland and the United Kingdom as a children's song, having been recorded by numerous artists over the decades. Kennedy lived at Staplegrove Elm and is buried in Staplegrove Church, in Taunton, Somerset, England. Local folklore has it that the small wooded area between the church and Staplegrove Scout Hut was the inspiration for his lyrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Collins (singer)</span> Musical artist

Arthur Francis Collins was an American baritone who was one of the pioneer recording artists, regarded in his day as "King of the Ragtime Singers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byron G. Harlan</span> American singer

Byron George Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peerless Quartet</span> American vocal group

The Peerless Quartet was an American vocal group that recorded in the early years of the twentieth century. They formed to record for Columbia Records, where they were credited as the Columbia Quartet or Columbia Male Quartet. From about 1907, when they began to record for record labels other than Columbia, they were more widely known as the Peerless Quartet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ada Jones</span> Musical artist

Ada Jane Jones was an English-American popular singer who made her first recordings in 1893 on Edison cylinders. She is among the earliest female singers to be recorded.

"Hesitation Blues" is a popular song adapted from a traditional tune. One version was published by Billy Smythe, Scott Middleton, and Art Gillham. Another was published by W.C. Handy as "Hesitating Blues". Because the tune is traditional, many artists have taken credit as writer, frequently adapting the lyrics of one of the two published versions. Adaptations of the lyrics vary widely, though typically the refrain is recognizably consistent. The song is a jug band standard and is also played as blues and sometimes as Western swing. It is cataloged as Roud Folk Song Index No. 11765. Composer William Grant Still arranged a version of the song in 1916 while working with Handy.

The Cylinder Audio Archive is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid-1920s. The Archive began in November 2003 as the successor of the earlier Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Pilot Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cal Stewart</span> American comedian

Cal Stewart was an American comedian and humorist who pioneered in vaudeville and early sound recordings. He is best remembered for his comic monologues in which he played "Uncle Josh Weathersby", a resident of a mythical New England farming town called "Pumpkin Center" or "Punkin Center".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan W. Quinn</span> American recording artist

Daniel William Quinn was one of the first American singers to become popular in the new medium of recorded music. Quinn was a very successful recording artist whose career spanned from 1892 to 1918. Quinn recorded many of his hits in the legendary Tin Pan Alley of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe Silver</span> Musical artist

Monroe Silver was an American actor and singer who was also a comedian and monologist using a Jewish dialect-accent in his performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Macdonough</span> Canadian singer

John Scantlebury Macdonald was a Canadian-born singer of Irish and Scottish descent, and recording executive. Under the pseudonym Harry Macdonough, he was one of the most prolific and popular tenors during the formative years of the recording industry. Based upon the ledgers of the four major record companies of the early twentieth century, which are accessible online through the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR), some of his most popular recordings included “Shine On, Harvest Moon”, “Down By The Old Mill Stream”, “They Didn’t Believe Me”, “Tell Me, Pretty Maiden”, and “Where The River Shannon Flows”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black and White Rag</span> Ragtime instrumental music

The "Black and White Rag" is a 1908 ragtime composition by George Botsford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Campbell (singer)</span> American popular music singer

Albert Charles Campbell was an American popular music singer who recorded between the late 1890s and the 1920s. He was best known for his many duo recordings with Henry Burr, and as a member of the Peerless Quartet and other vocal groups, but also recorded successfully as a solo singer both under his own name and under various pseudonyms including Frank Howard.

"Cool Water" is a song written in 1936 by Bob Nolan. It is about a parched man and his mule traveling a wasteland tormented by mirages. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as No. 3 on the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at a speed of 78 revolutions per minute. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with access to the production catalogs of those same companies. DAHR is part of the American Discography Project (ADP), and is funded and operated in partnership by the University of California, Santa Barbara, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Packard Humanities Institute.

George Wilton Ballard was an American tenor and pioneer recording artist who was prolific between 1912 and 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Hayman</span>

Joe Hayman was an American vaudeville comedian who also worked in British music halls, on radio and in films.

References

  1. "FAU Judaica Sound Archives – 78-rpm List (Jewish Music)". Faujsa.fau.edu. 1913-07-05. Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  2. Maslon, Laurence; Kantor, Michael (2008). Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America (1st ed.). Twelve. ISBN   978-0446505314 . Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). Barrie and Jenkins. p.  10. ISBN   9780214204807.
  4. "Cohen at the telephone / George Thompson. Edison Blue Amberol: 2815 [1916]| Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project". Cylinders.library.ucsb.edu. 2005-11-16. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  5. "FAU Judaica Sound Archives – 78-rpm List (Jewish Music)". Faujsa.fau.edu. 1927-08-11. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  6. "Victor Discography: Matrix B-17337. Cohen at the telephone / Barney Bernard". Victor.library.ucsb.edu. 1916-03-17. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  7. SilentEra entry
  8. IMDB entry

Bibliography