Tuesday Tidbit: The Love That Wasn’t

Yesterday, we flipped over the Brunswick and Victor records to find Duke’s hidden gems and Cornell Smelser’s all‑star accordion. Today, we finish the job by flipping over that Cornell and His Orchestra record on Okeh.

The “Ghost” Vocal: Collegiate Love (1930)

If you look at the original Okeh label for Collegiate Love, it explicitly promises a “vocal refrain.” But when you drop the needle? Nothing. Not a peep. It’s a pure instrumental!

Adrian Rollini with his ginormous bass sax!

Whether session singer Artie Dunn stepped out for a smoke or the label printer was just having a bad day, we end up the winners - because it leaves more room to enjoy that incredible lineup: Jack Teagarden, Jimmy Dorsey and Adrian Rollini, all weaving through a snappy, campus‑fresh arrangement. And when Rollini opens the record with that big, swaggering bass sax, we know we’re in for a treat!

The Comparison: Ted Weems & His Orchestra

To hear what that “missing” vocal might have sounded like, we turn to the high‑society sparkle of Ted Weems. His Victor version from 1930 captures the collegiate spirit in full Technicolor - light, bright, and very vocal‑forward, telling us exactly what this kind of love is supposed to be.

I love peppy collegiate songs from the 1920s and ’30s, but this one somehow slipped past me back when I was on my college‑song kick. If you’re in the mood for more rah‑rah charm, be sure to check out the Warehouse archives.

Which version fills you with the most collegiate love - the ghost‑vocal Okeh side or the polished Victor vocal? Personally, I just love that we get both.

"A Pretty Co-Ed Has Gone to My Head" (1941)

We dip into 1941 with one more college song before Halloween takes over!

Here's Tony Pastor and his Orchestra on Bluebird with Johnny McAfee singing "A Pretty Co-Ed Has Gone to My Head":

That's a lot of fun! The co-ed in question seems less fickle than "Betty Co-Ed" and her ilk!

It's interesting that Tony Pastor has alto saxist Johnny McAfee sing the vocal, as Tony himself usually did the vocals on novelty songs as he had done with Artie Shaw's band earlier. But Johnny, who was more likely to sing ballads, handles the song quite well!

For another version, we get a rare-for-1941 non-band record!

Here's radio star Barry Wood of "Your Hit Parade" (and the Wood Nymph)s on Victor:

I like the arrangement and the "Wood Nymphs" on this record, but the material doesn't really fit Barry Wood himself, who was more of  ballad singer.

Barry was a Yale man, though, and got to sip a soda with Dorothy Lamour!

I had a lot of fun digging up these college songs and hope you enjoyed them!