"I'm Comin' Virginia"

by the Missouri Jazz Band

Actually this is Willard Robison and his orchestra, released under a psuedonym, and recorded for Regal in July of 1927. Donald Heywood (wrote several Broadway musicals - see this entry at "IMDB.com") and Will Marion Cook (wrote "Darktown Is Out Tonight" and "Red Red Rose") penned this and it quickly became a jazz standard performed by such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden. The record I sampled this from had been played to death, and it is no mystery as to why - the medium-tempo arrangement is bouncy, the vocals and keyboard work by Robison is a standout, and it's generally a great record. Because the grooves were badly mangled, the only decent sample came from a magnetic cartridge that held a steel needle, and even at that the first 40 seconds were so badly ruined that no noise reduction software could save it. I began the sample after the intro, about 40 seconds in, and left off the unlistenable part at the beginning. When I find a better copy, which could happen, I'll post it. In the meantime, though, here is the better part of it.
<-- Home  | Click here to hear it | Next -->