Remember Always - Margaret Schneider

It is another important date

on the Shady Dell calendar.

Today we remember and

honor Margaret Schneider,

precious child of the Dell.

Blessed with longevity,

Margaret earned the

nickname The Oldest

Living Dell Rat as she

approached and then

passed the century mark.

Margaret died three years ago

at the age of 105. Last month

as we celebrated Margaret's

108th birthday, I posted three

old songs that Margaret might

have known during her years

as a young adult. Today, as

we remember Margaret on

the date of her death, I'll
play three more songs I

think she would enjoy.

 JOHNNY MATHIS 

It's hard for many of us to believe that easy listening balladeer Johnny Mathis

will be 85 later this year. Time marches on. Johnny built a career on singing

romantic pop standards. In 1958 Johnny had a top 20 hit with "A Certain

Smile," the title song from the 1958 dramatic film that stars

Rossano Brazzi and Joan Fontaine.

As Johnny sings the song and we remember

Margaret, seen here on the right at age 16,

let's enjoy this video montage containing

portraits of the past - reminders of how

women and girls presented themselves

in the first half of the 20th century

when Margaret was young.

"A Certain Smile" - Johnny Mathis
(July 1958, highest chart pos.
#14 Hot 100/#15 Cash Box,
from July 1958 film
A Certain Smile)

 THE BOSWELL SISTERS 

In last month's birthday tribute I introduced The Boswell Sisters,

a popular jazz vocal harmony trio of the 1920s and 30s.

The Boswells are back today to perform another

song that reminds me of Margaret.

"The blues" is derived from the blue devils. If you are beset by a fit

of the blue devils you are despondent, depressed and feeling hopeless.

That, I believe, is the correct interpretation of the word Devil in the

song "Shout, Sister, Shout!," the B side of a Boswell Sisters single

released in 1931. The singing sibs remind us how to beat the Devil

and put the blues on the run, and it's a lesson Margaret Schneider

also taught: Don't dwell on your problems, betrayals and losses.

Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy. Rise up. Celebrate life.

Keep your spirit way up high,

Look up to the sky

Stand up and shout "Hallelujah

If that old Devil should grab your hand

Here's one thing that he can't stand

Shout sister, shout sister, shout!

"Shout, Sister, Shout!" - The Boswell Sisters

(1931, B side of "Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On")

 THE BOSWELL PROJECT 

To end this tribute to Margaret on another happy note, I present The Boswell Project,

a vocal trio from Adelaide, Australia. Inspired by the music and style of the original

Boswell Sisters, this fine group features vocalists Louise Messenger, Kylie Ferreira

and Valeska Laity. In the following video The Boswell Project covers "I'm Gonna

Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter," a standard first popularized in 1935

by Fats Waller and a top 3 hit the following year for The Boswell Sisters.

"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"

 - Boswell Sisters cover by The Boswell Project,

Aug. 2017 (Boswell Sisters version

reached #3 in 1936)

I hope you enjoyed this musical tribute to

Margaret Schneider... and I can't help

hoping that she did, too.

Yours was a long life and a life well lived, Margaret.

We love you, miss you

and will remember you always.

Honoring Margaret on Her 108th Birthday

"A rose by
any other
name..."

This is an

important

date on the

Shady Dell

calendar.

Our dear friend

Margaret Schneider,

who for years

inspired us as

"The Oldest Living

Dell Rat"... was

born April 18, 1912,

108 years ago today.

Margaret's father built the

Shady Dell and the family

became its first occupants

when Margaret (right)

was one year old.

To celebrate Margaret's

birthday this year,

I posted three songs

that remind me of her,

three musical relics of

the past that I think she

would enjoy and might

even have known in

her early years.

THE GALE SISTERS

When I worked in TV, we shot news footage

on "mag film" (magnetic sound-on-film) as

opposed to optical sound-on-film. By 1931,

when Margaret Schneider was age nineteen,

(she's eighteen in the picture at right) optical

sound-on-film had been adopted by the movie

industry for use in its talkies. The Movietone,

one of the methods of optical sound recording,

was used commercially in theaters from the

mid 20s through the 30s. You are about to

watch an early Movietone film clip.

These four performing sisters were billed as The Dancing Gale Quadruplets,

but they were actually two sets of twins. In 1931, the vaudeville act appeared

in George White's Scandals, the long-running string of Broadway revues

produced by White. Of the four Gale Sisters, only Jane Gale (real name

Helen Gilmartin) is possibly still alive, given the fact that death dates

are provided for the other three but none for her. Jane/Helen was born

in 1911, the year before Margaret was born. If it's true, if she's still

living, she will celebrate her 109th birthday this July. Now please

watch and listen as The Gale Sisters perform "The Dance."

The Gale Sisters aka The Dancing Gale Quadruplets

(1930 Fox Movietone outtake of "The Dance"

from George White's Scandals of 1931)

MARTHA TILTON, LEO DIAMOND,

JIMMIE DODD & VINCE BARNETT

Similar to the Scopitones of the 50s and 60s, Soundies were three minute
musical films produced in the 1940s and played in public places on
coin-operated movie jukeboxes called Panorams.

This being an election year, and with the threat of the coronavirus wreaking
havoc across America, I present the 1941 short What The Country Needs.
Big band era singer Martha Tilton aka "The Liltin' Miss Tilton" performs
the song accompanied  by harmonica player Leo Diamond. At the 1:50
mark, be sure to catch Jimmie Dodd, the good-natured fellow who, the
following decade, became famous as leader of The Mouseketeers on
The Mickey Mouse Club. In this Soundie, Jimmy appears as a singing
paper boy. Next comes a vocal part by Vince Barnett before Martha
finishes the piece. Dear Margaret, this is for you.

"What The Country Needs" (Soundie)

Martha Tilton, Leo Diamond, Jimmie Dodd
and Vince Barnett (scene from 1941 short
What The Country Needs)

THE BOSWELL SISTERS

To wind up Margaret's tribute, here are The Boswell Sisters, a jazz
vocal trio that was one of the most popular acts of the 1920s and 30s.
The Boswell Sisters were among the earliest stars of radio. They released
many records and appeared in films. In 1998 the Boswells were inducted
into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Raised in New Orleans, Martha, Connee
and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell received formal classical music training on
piano, cello and violin respectively. In addition, The Boswell girls
were exposed to African-American blues singers, and their
soulful singing style reflects that early influence.

In 1932, at the height of The Great Depression, The Boswell
Sisters went to Washington, D.C., put on their happy faces
and sang the optimistic song "Put That Sun Back In The Sky"
for legislators and for the benefit of the American people.
The song is especially relevant today as America faces one
of its greatest challenges ever in dealing with COVID-19.

"Put That Sun Back In The Sky"
- The Boswell Sisters (perf. for legislators
in Washington, D.C. on May 7, 1932

As you saw in that film clip, the middle sister, Connee Boswell, sang from a wheechair.

Unbeknownst to most fans, Connee had been confined to a wheelchair from the age
of three after suffering a near-fatal bout of polio. Her disease-weakened wrist
forced her to change the spelling of her name from "Connie" to "Connee"
because, when signing autographs, the repeated dotting of the "i" caused
her severe pain and cramping. When The Boswell Sisters broke up in
1936, Connee continued to perform as a solo artist and went on to
become recognized as one of the greatest jazz female vocalists
of the 20th century, a major influence on Ella Fitzgerald.

Connee Boswell is an inspiration. Through tough times she kept on smiling.
Her determination to overcome adversity, to survive and thrive, reminds
me of someone I knew and greatly admired - Margaret Schneider.

Happy 108th birthday, dear Margaret.

We love you and miss you!