Carl Fenton: It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’
Carl Fenton's Orchestra about the time this recording was made, from mainspringpress.com.
Carl Fenton’s Orchestra
It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’
Recorded in 1924
Here’s a good example of a genre we might call hick jazz, a style designed to appeal to the large rural market. Its characteristics are cornball jokes, squawky sound effects, and a surprising amount of real jazz behind the silliness.
“Carl Fenton” at this time was Gus Haenschen, who picked the name more or less at random to replace his own unsalably German name. His records apparently earned “Carl Fenton” some name recognition; in 1927, Rudy Greenberg took over the band and bought the name “Carl Fenton,” later legally changing his name to Carl Fenton. Both Carl Fentons died in 1980. You can read the story on the Mainspring Press site, and if you like it you might consider ordering the book.
This record is as corny as an Iowa silo, but there’s enough musical interest in the arrangement and solos to keep you entertained even if you don’t go for rural humor. Listen especially for the hot cornet chorus.
From 1:54 to 2:36 seconds, there’s a passage that sounds a bit like “Bugle Call Rag”, incluiding the trumpet chorus that is might be played by Paul Mares or even Freddie Keppard.
It was recorded on January 25 of 1924 and issued on Brunswick 2568.