Complete Recorded Works, Volume 2
Guido Deiro

Guido Deiro: Complete Recorded Works, Volume 2

Volume 2 of Guido Deiro's complete recordings includes 25 tracks showcasing Deiro's mastery of both popular and classical material. The package includes a 24-page full-color booklet with extensive notes by free-reed scholar Henry Doktorski, meticulous restorations of the music, and personal photos provided by Guido's son, Count Guido Roberto Deiro. The tracks were recorded between 1911 and 1917 and include the only two accordion duets waxed by Guido and his brother, Pietro. Additionally, Complete Recorded Works, Volume 2 will be of interest to historians of vaudeville and films, as it features new revelations about the marriage of Guido Deiro and Mae West. In his detailed notes, Guido's son recalls his meeting with Mae West in 1959 when she told him the facts of her relationship with Deiro--the mysterious "Mr. D" mentioned in her autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It. These are the things she never told any interviewer, and now the historical record is set straight. List price: $16.49

OVERVIEW

  • Catalogue number: ARCH 5014
  • UPC: 778632901971
  • Original release date: May 12, 2009
  • Running length: 75:15 / 25 tracks
  • Notes & packaging: Includes a 24-page full-color booklet
  • Tracks recorded: 1911-1917
  • Volume 2 of The Complete Guido Deiro
  • In Archeophone’s Pioneers series
Tracks and Sound SamplesProduct DescriptionPackage DealsMore by this Artist
 Sample all tracks 
Tracklist
1. My Sweetheart Guido Deiro 1911
2. Get Busy Guido Deiro 1912
3. Deiro Rag Guido Deiro 1912
4. La BohÍme-Musetta’s Waltz Song Guido Deiro 1912
5. My Florence Guido Deiro 1912
6. Dream of the Rarebit Fiend Guido Deiro 1912
7. Everybody’s Doing It Now Guido Deiro 1912
8. Waiting for the Robert E. Lee Guido Deiro 1912
9. Unrequited Love Guido Deiro ca. 1912
10. Deirina Guido Deiro ca. 1913
11. Stars and Stripes Forever Guido Deiro ca. 1913
12. Song of Naples Guido Deiro ca. 1913
13. Il Pianto Guido Deiro ca. 1913
14. Hungarian Rag Guido Deiro ca. 1913
15. Les Patineurs Guido Deiro ca. 1913
16. I Don’t Care Guido Deiro ca. 1913
17. Mammy Jinny’s Jubilee Guido Deiro and Pietro Deiro 1913
18. I Love Her, Oh, Oh, Oh! Guido Deiro and Pietro Deiro 1913
19. El Seducion Guido Deiro 1915
20. Hop a Jitney with Me / My Little Girl Guido Deiro 1915
21. Oh, Those Days Guido Deiro 1915
22. Put Me to Sleep with an Old-Fashioned Melody Guido Deiro 1915
23. Down in Bom-Bombay Guido Deiro 1915
24. Serenade Guido Deiro 1916
25. Preparedness March Guido Deiro 1917

Volume 2 of Guido Deiro’s Complete Recorded Works continues the story of the man who popularized the piano-accordion and made himself a vaudeville superstar in the meantime. Once again, in collaboration with accordionist and free-reed scholar Henry Doktorski and Deiro’s son, Count Guido Roberto Deiro, Archeophone presents 25 tracks by the Italian-born virtuoso who altered the way the world heard and understood the accordion. The CD includes a 24-page full-color booklet with extensive notes, meticulous restorations of the music, and one-of-a-kind illustrations from Count Deiro’s family collection.

Vaudeville Headliner

Volume 2 starts with Guido’s 1911 Edison cylinder of “My Sweetheart,” and then picks up in earnest with recordings from 1912, when he was an established star on vaudeville. He traveled by private rail car, wore the finest clothes, and spent money freely on fine food, friends, and lovers. His music showed off his bravado as well, with notable eponymously titled selections as “Deiro Rag” and “Deirina.” These compositions, and other standouts such as “My Florence” and “I Don’t Care,” earned Guido his stellar reputation as much as his consummate playing. However, the skill is in abundance as well; Henry Doktorski writes that he believes “Il Pianto” is the fullest display of Guido’s musicianship–because of his skillful nuances, not because of flashiness.

More Pop and Rags

With ragtime’s “second wave” in full swing by 1912, the record labels clearly wanted more popular selections, and Guido obliged. We get Deiro’s read on ragtime hits “Get Busy,” the rapid-fire “Hungarian Rag,” Irving Berlin’s “Everybody’s Doing It Now,” and Gilbert and Muir’s “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee.” Even the more serious works are very popular ones, such as Sousa’s march masterpiece, “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” and “Song of Naples” by DeCurtis. For sheer pop fun, Guido romps through “Down in Bom-Bombay,” “Put Me to Sleep with an Old-Fashioned Melody,” and a medley of “Hop a Jitney with Me” and “My Little Girl.” Finally, “Dream of the Rarebit Fiend” is a cleverly menacing piece based on Winsor McCay’s comic strip of the same name.

Duets with Brother Pietro

Guido’s generosity extended to his younger brother, Pietro, who also dreamed of a vaudeville career. Guido gave his brother a helping hand, setting him up with a piano-accordion, teaching him to play it, and performing with him as a team. Though their partnership was a tense one–the relationship would dissolve with the brothers not speaking for years–they did record two accordion duets in 1913: “Mammy Jinny’s Jubilee” and “I Love Her, Oh, Oh, Oh!” Volume 2 includes both of these recordings as well as a personal essay by Guido Deiro’s son reflecting on the relationship between his father and uncle.

Stormy Marriage to Mae West

Like a modern-day rock star, Guido’s status and high life made him attractive to women, and he took advantage of it. A shotgun marriage to a Seattle pianist ended in scandal, with abandonment charges, a very public arrest, and a large fine being assessed before Guido could get a divorce from one Julia Tatro. Then Guido met a largely-unknown vaudevillian named Mae West. Consumed by their passionate romance and desire to conquer vaudeville with their double bill, their marriage unraveled in bitter acrimony. The essay describes their tempestuous relationship, while Guido’s son provides concrete evidence in a mini-feature about the veracity of heretofore undisclosed details. Find out, for instance, why Deiro’s recorded output slows to a halt in 1916. . . .

The Panama Pacific Exposition

The end of the CD represents Guido at the height of his fame, about the time he played to an audience of 8,000 at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Diego in 1916. Once regarded a poor man’s instrument, the accordion had won respect among critics; its players had earned adulation from fans starting accordion clubs across the country. This was due in large measure to Guido, who was greeted at performances with gifts and elaborate floral arrangments at his shows. His skill and originality peaked as well, as you’ll hear in the final track, “Preparedness March.” Much of Deiro’s success lay ahead, however, as well as many of his best-known compositions.

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