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.

Monday Side‑Session: Squeezing Out The Flips

For today’s side‑session, we’re flipping over those two versions of Double Check Stomp from Duke Ellington that we heard yesterday - because around here, the B‑side is never just an afterthought.

The Victor Flip: “Jazz Lips” (1930)

We’ll start with the Victor disc. Its flipside is an Ellington original called Jazz Lips.

As far as I can tell, Duke only recorded this one once, and I don’t think anyone else ever took a crack at it. But it’s a fun little number — compact, confident, and unmistakably Ellington.

What’s funny is that Jazz Lips actually sounds more “jungle‑y” than the Jungle Band flipside we’re about to hear. The growls, the textures, the rhythmic snap - it’s like they accidentally put the Jungle Band track on the wrong label!

The Brunswick Flip: “Accordion Joe” (1930)

Things get a bit wilder when we flip over the Brunswick record, credited to The Jungle Band.

You may remember that accordionist Cornell Smelser (recording as Joe Cornell) sat in on Double Check Stomp. On Accordion Joe, he steps right into the spotlight - and he’s joined by the ubiquitous session vocalist Dick Robertson.

It’s honestly a little surreal to hear Smelser and Robertson dropped into a Jungle Band session. It’s like someone shuffled the personnel cards when nobody was looking. The result is a stylistic curveball in the Ellington library - part novelty tune, part hot dance record, part “wait… what band is this again?”

The All‑Star “Joe”: Cornell and His Orchestra

And the plot thickens...

Cornell Smelser also recorded his own version of Accordion Joe - he co-wrote the song, so why not record it as many times as you can? - for Okeh, this time under the name Cornell and His Orchestra.

This take features a vocal by Artie Dunn, and the studio band is stacked with ringers:

• Jack Teagarden
• Jimmy Dorsey
• Adrian Rollini

It’s basically a who’s‑who of 1930 studio royalty backing an accordion novelty. Only in the 78 era could something this odd — and this delightful — exist.

Which Flip Makes You Flip?

So what’s your pick?

Do you go for Duke’s one‑off Jazz Lips, with its sly, jungle‑tinged swagger?

Or does the all‑star accordion madness of Cornell Smelser’s Accordion Joe win the day?

Either way, it's proof once again that Ellington’s universe is full of delightful detours if you’re willing to flip the record!

Note: There's also a Fleischer Studio cartoon from 1930 titled "Accordion Joe" which does feature the song. It's historically interesting as it features an early prototype of Betty Boop as love interest for Bimbo, the star of the cartoon. It's more than a bit racially insensitive, however, so I won't link to it. You can find it if you look for it.