One of the more interesting hits to come out of the Jerome Kern musical "Good Morning Dearie", in 1922, was a rework of Strauss's masterwork "Blue Danube" as a dance number called the "Blue Danube Blues". Pianist Ray Perkins, who
recorded a few sides for Edison Labs before vanishing into relative obscurity, plays the two songs from that musical as a medley (just as Paul Whiteman had done for Victor - a sample of that performance can be found at the
Red Hot Jazz Archive, look for the title "Ka-Lu-A Blue Danube Blues"): the other song, "Ka-Lu-A", was enough of a hit in its own right for Edison to issue two
versions of it: this one, and an arrangement by the Broadway Dance Orchestra. This piano recording, the more interesting of the two, was waxed on February 10, 1922, and is sonically fantastic; the performance on the ivories is great too.
The record was enjoyed by two owners, myself and the original purchaser also, but it cleaned up very nicely with noise reduction applied.
