JSngry Posted September 30, 2017 Report Share Posted September 30, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted September 30, 2017 Report Share Posted September 30, 2017 I'm so confused... There is no such thing as an "apidastra" or "asspidastra" or whatever else is being written or said (or "woamn" for that matter) I believe they are referring to an "Aspidistra." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted September 30, 2017 Report Share Posted September 30, 2017 Leo Walker's "Big Band Almanac" lists these girl singers with the Messner band: Gladys Tell Jeanne D'Arcy Mindy Carson Take your pick. She doesn't look linke Mindy Carson, though. And she's also on here: Compare the voice of Jeanne D'Arcy here: Does not sound like her IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted September 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2017 She looks familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted October 1, 2017 Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 (edited) 17 hours ago, JSngry said: She looks familiar. Well, she does look a bit like Raquel Rastenni (Danish band vocalist from the swing era who also worked and recorded in Sweden and later had a pop career in Denmark) but I doubt it was her you were thinking of. FWIW, Johnny Messner looks familiar too: Like an ofay Cab Calloway. Quite a character. And looking at him and the girl singer in that soundie you posted (and others by the band), it really is extremely difficult to define what must have been the "color line" in those times. These two could easily have passed as very lightly-skinned "colored" persons. Edited October 1, 2017 by Big Beat Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinuta Posted October 1, 2017 Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 I've no idea who the singer is but have learned something new about the Aspidistra. They were common fixtures of British homes in the Edwardian period and I remember seeing them in various great aunts and uncles homes when I was little. Time has blurred my memory as I was under the mistaken impression that they were similar to rubber plants. These are pictures of aspidistra and it looks nothing like a rubber plant. This plant is very common in Japan and you can see them all over. To my great surprise we even have one in our living room although the leaves are a bit thicker than the ones in the photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 Those plants look familiar, and so does that lady singing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted October 1, 2017 Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 This is an interesting novel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_the_Aspidistra_Flying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinuta Posted October 1, 2017 Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 Aspidistra, doilies and antimacassars were essential household fixtures for aspiring genteel folk once upon a time. Orwell was no doubt using the aspidistra as a symbol of the bourgeoisie. I agree, it's a very good book. Still have no idea who the singer is though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluenoter Posted October 1, 2017 Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 (edited) I too found it to be an enjoyable novel, and it, along with the rest of George Orwell's works, is available online for free: http://www.george-orwell.org/Keep_the_Aspidistra_Flying/index.html http://www.george-orwell.org/ Edited October 1, 2017 by bluenoter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted October 2, 2017 Report Share Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) 13 hours ago, kinuta said: Still have no idea who the singer is though. As for the list of female vocalists Walker lists with the Messner band and just for an aural comparison, here is Gladys Tell singing: Edited October 2, 2017 by Big Beat Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2017 Having looked at her for a while now, she looks even more familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duaneiac Posted October 4, 2017 Report Share Posted October 4, 2017 I don't know anything about the woman, but every time I look at that still frame used for the online video I keep expecting to see Junior Samples and Grandpa Jones come out to join that quartet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted October 4, 2017 Report Share Posted October 4, 2017 Why is it I only saw the typo in the thread title now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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