THE
CO-OPTIMISTS (1922) (4th Programme)
Composer: Melville
Gideon
Lyricist: Davy Burnaby; Laddie Cliff; Archibald De Bear
Opened: Mid-1922, Palace Theatre, London
Performances: Unknown
The Blackest Man I Know (M/L: Clarke):
1. 78/HMV B1801 (Gilbert
Childs)
(Too Much) Coal-Black Mammy (M: St.
Helier; L: Laddie Cliff):
1. 78/HMV B1289 (George
Baker (as Walter Jefferies) with orchestra conducted by George
W. Byng)
2. 78/Path 020820 (Majestic Dance Orchestra) [also 78/Perfect
14046]
3. 78/Muse 272 (Velvetone Dance Orchestra) [also 78/Cameo 272]
4. 78/Gennett 4945 A (Ernest Hare with orchestral
accompaniment)
5. 78/Federal 5208 (Nathan Glantz and His Orchestra)
6. 78/Winner 3625 (Southern Rag-A-Jazz Band)
7. 78/Columbia A 3697 (Eddie Elkins’ Orchestra)
8 . 78/Victor 18939 (Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra)
9. 78/Columbia A 3854 (Al Jolson with orchestral accompaniment)
[reissued on Al Jolson, Vol. 2: The Salesman Of Song 1911-1923,
CD/Pearl Flapper PASTCD 9796]
10. 78/Okeh 4677 (Aileen Stanley with orchestra)
11. Hail Variety, CD/Lismor LCOM 5249 (Jack Hylton &
Orchestra)
12. The Essential Collection, CD/Avid/West End Records AVC 947
(Freddy Gardner)
13. The Banjo’s Back In Town, CD/Rex REXX 329 (Big Ben Banjo
Band)
14. HMV Sessions, Vol. 2: 1930-1934, CD/Dutton/Vocalion CDEA
6010 (Al Bowlly with Ray Noble and His Orchestra)
15. Stephane’s Tune: Original Recordings, Vol. 1 1938-1942,
CD/Naxos Jazz 8120570 (Stephane Grappelli)
16. The Black And White Minstrel Show, CD/Hallmark 709962 (The
George Mitchell Minstrels)
Ghost Of A Chance (L: Clifford Grey;
Laddie Cliff):
1. 78/HMV B1441 (Melville
Gideon, piano and voice) [reissued on The Co-Optimists, World
SHB 25]
If Winter Comes (L: Clifford Grey):
1. 78/Zonophone 2231
(Melville Gideon with orchestra accompaniment)
2. 78/Zonophone 2246 (Melville Gideon, piano and voice)
[reissued on The Co-Optimists, World SHB 25]
3. 78/Gramophone B 1386 (Queen’s Dance Orchestra directed by
Jack Hylton)
Meandering (aka “Meanderin’”):
1. 78/Zonophone 2246
(Melville Gideon)
This And That (“A
Little Bit Of This And A Little Bit Of That”) (M/L: St.
John Brougham):
1. 78/HMV B1444 (Davy
Burnaby, Betty Chester, Laddie Cliff, Stanley Holloway, Elsa
Macfarlane, and Phyllis Monkman)
Ula Lula Lu:
1. 78/Zonophone 2283
(Melville Gideon)
Unrecorded Material:
1, 2, 3, 4 (M/L: St. John
Brougham)
Bow-Wow!
Finale
A Good Time Coming (L: Edward Knoblock)
Homeward Bound
I Blame It All On You (M: Ivy St. Helier)
The Junior Turf
The Man In Press Clothes
The Meaning Of Love To Me (L: Arthur Anderson)
Operatic Racing
Pets (L: Ian Ayscough)
Road-Ships (M/L: W. Helmore)
Sighing (M: H.B. Hedley)
Sit By The Fire WithYou (M: Ivy St. Helier)
The Spanish Lover (L: Leopold Spero)
What Do We Care