File this under: The Warehouse always has another surprise waiting.
I’ve been poking around again (dangerous, I know), and it turns out that Duke Ellington’s “Choo Choo”—famous as the very first tune he recorded at his very first session—wasn’t actually the first recording of the song itself. Someone else beat Duke to the station.
Who? Van and Schenck, of all people. The hugely popular comedic vaudeville team of Gus Van and Joe Schenck recorded the song in August of 1924 for Columbia Records, a full three months before Duke’s inaugural session in November! It’s a little detour in the timeline, but a delightful one.
The Appeal of the Duo
And you know what? I’ve always liked Van and Schenck. I can see their appeal even from more than 100 years later! Their timing, their patter, that easy vaudeville charm - it still plays.
I’ve even seen their 1930 talkie “They Learned About Women” from MGM and enjoyed it as pure entertainment, not just as a historical artifact.
(Disclaimer: Don’t go by me, though - how could I not enjoy a movie from 1930 starring a popular vaudeville duo known as "The Pennant-Winning Battery of Songland" as baseball stars?)
A Tender Edge
I’ll admit it - I get a little retro-sad knowing that Joe Schenck died later in 1930 at just 39. It adds a tender edge to these surviving performances, like catching a last glimmer of something bright.
Up until Joe's passing, they were huge in their moment - Broadway, vaudeville, records, radio - and then the cultural memory sort of… misfiled them. There’s a whole conversation to be had about why some acts stay in the bloodstream and others fade.
They've Still Got Fun!
But for a little extra fun, let’s hear the boys sing one of their best-known numbers - Ain’t We Got Fun from 1921:
And to answer the question: You sure do, guys!
Does hearing the Vaudeville "Choo Choo" change how you listen to Duke's debut, or does his version still feel like the "real" beginning?
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