Brud's Musical Picks in 1912

Being the swinging fella that he was Brud purchased a Victrola around 1912.  He had quite a collection of waltz's and foxtrot's to keep the Moran's and their friends singing and dancing.  I came across an old envelope dated October 1912 that he used to jot down a few new musical titles, perhaps he was hoping to add them to his record collection.

The only title that was familiar to me was "Oh You Beautiful Doll" which was published in 1911.  It's actually a very unique piece of music in that it's one of the first songs that uses a 12 bar opening.  Words by Seymour Brown and music by Nat D. Ayer.   

"Over the Waves" is a waltz written by Juventino Rosas and published in 1888.  I was not familiar with the title but once I began listening to the melody it became clear I'd heard it many times before, particularly in connection with trapeze artists!  The name Irving Berlin usually makes me think of "White Christmas" and "Easter Parade", just to name a few of his works.  I'm not familiar at all with his "Everybody's Doing It" but it must have been a popular song since it's on Brud's list.   I even found a version of it from the White Star Line which you may remember was responsible for the R.M.S. Titanic! I couldn't find a song called "That Limber Rag" but I did find "That Peculiar Rag" from 1912 written by Mike Bernard.   And that's todays musical picks by C.H. "Brud" Moran!

Dance Card circa 1890's

Fannie Moran

This dance card was found among the papers of Fannie Moran Ezzell.   I seriously doubt her dance card was empty for the evening even though this one has not been filled.


On this particular occasion there were four Waltz's, fourteen Quadrille's, two Polka's and two Schottische's.    The Quadrille is a dance performed by four couples and is the precursor to Square Dancing.  The Schottische is a Bohemian partnered dance that was popular during the Victorian Era.  I would assume most everyone knows what the Waltz and Polka are!