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Berl Olswanger at Pepper Records
Berl Olswanger (“Salty Shaker”) piano
Wayne Hefner With The Peptones vocals
Townsel Sisters vocals
Lazenby Twins vocals
Norma Brock With The Keynoters vocals
Harris Williams jew’s harp
Jack Hale Orchestra
Berl Olswanger Orchestra
Berl Olswanger returns for a second installment of timeless archival recordings on Big Round Records, with BERL OLSWANGER AT PEPPER RECORDS, a collection of tunes recorded during the late-50’s golden era of the Memphis record business. Olswanger hit the state-of-the-art studios at Pepper Records to record 10 songs by William “Pat” Best, Floyd Huddleston, Olswanger himself, and more.
Olswanger’s appeal went beyond his technical chops. The pianist seamlessly commanded his own orchestra while collaborating with others, blending genres into a cosmopolitan sound that rightfully earned him the nickname “Mr. Music of Memphis.”
When Berl joined Pepper Records in the 1950s as its music director, the partners included songwriter Floyd Huddleston, who went on to write for Hollywood, and John Pepper, the former co-owner of WDIA, the first radio station in the United States programmed by and for African Americans. Pepper Records put a substantial financial investment in securing its future. The studio was remodeled to accommodate elaborate recording equipment, including stereophonic recording facilities, and Olswanger and the partners actively searched for new entertainers, with frequent auditions. Pepper Records became the recording home not just for Olswanger and his orchestra, but for several nascent rock-and-roll artists.
Throughout this time period, Berl Olswanger also had his own television show in Memphis at WMCT. He continued to compose and became a successful entrepreneur who opened stores that combined music studio, piano store, and music school where his unique chord method system was taught. Berl published his Berl Olswanger Piano Course in 1956, and distributed it nationally through Music Dealers Service.
Twenty-five years later, when Berl Olswanger died, he left behind an unforgettable legacy as “Mr. Music of Memphis.”
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"For Berl Olswanger, the song may be over, but his melody will always linger on in the lives of those of us he touched."
Track Listing & Credits
| # | Title | Composer | Performer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Kitten on the Keys | Edward Elzear “Zez” Confrey And Sam Coslow | Berl Olswanger (“Salty Shaker”), ragtime piano; Berl Olswanger Orchestra | 2:11 |
| 02 | Wrapped Up in a Dream | William “Pat” Best | Wayne Hefner, vocals; Berl Olswanger Orchestra and the Peptones | 2:47 |
| 03 | Big Mistreatin' Bittersweet'n Blues | Berl Olswanger | Townsel Sisters, vocals; Berl Olswanger Orchestra | 2:38 |
| 04 | Wondering | Jean and Jane Lazenby | Lazenby Twins, vocals; Berl Olswanger Orchestra | 2:42 |
| 05 | Juice Harp Rag | Berl Olswanger | Berl Olswanger (“Salty Shaker”), ragtime piano; Berl Olswanger Orchestra; Harris Williams, jew’s harp | 2:07 |
| 06 | Ooh La La, I Fooled You | Jean and Jane Lazenby | Lazenby Twins, vocals; Berl Olswanger Orchestra | 2:22 |
| 07 | I'm Gonna Build a Mountain | Floyd Huddleston and Al Rinker | Norma Brock with the Keynoters, vocals; The Jack Hale Orchestra | 2:16 |
| 08 | Talk to Me Baby | Floyd Huddleston | Townsel Sisters, vocals; The Berl Olswanger Orchestra | 1:47 |
| 09 | Evergood | Berl Olswanger | Norma Brock with the Keynoters, vocals; The Jack Hale Orchestra | 2:17 |
| 10 | Papa Don't Roll Them Bones | Berl Olswanger | Wayne Hefner, vocals; The Berl Olswanger Orchestra; The Peptones | 2:31 |
Original 45s released 1958, by Pepper Records
Recorded in Memphis, Tennessee
Tracks 3, 5, 9, and 10 © 1958 Berl Olswanger, ASCAP, copyright © renewed 1986 Anna Olswanger, ASCAP
Digitization for Big Round Records Paul Adams/Adams Media Preservation
Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
VP, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
Addtl. Mastering Shaun Michaud
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner
Artist Information
Berl Olswanger
Berl Olswanger, dubbed "Mr. Music of Memphis" by the local press, grew up in Memphis in the 1920s and 1930s where he heard music that would later influence him as a composer. He quickly developed an affinity for the piano and began playing professionally at the age of 12. After a stint on WMC radio in his twenties, he joined the tour of the George Olsen Orchestra, which led him across the country from New York to Hollywood as he accompanied legendary acts like Bing Crosby and Jack Benny.
Notes
Intersection of Union Avenue and Diana Street with Pepper Records directly behind the gas station
Manuscript of "Juice Harp Rag" by Berl Olswanger, released as a "45" by Pepper Records in October, 1958
The following is a newspaper article on Pepper Records as printed in the June 4, 1958 edition of the Memphis Press-Scimitar.
NEW DISK FIRM PLANS STUDIO
PEPPER, HUDDLESTON FORM PARTNERSHIP
Memphis’ booming record business has a major new entry in Pepper Records Corporation, which is building a studio at 62 Diana, just off Union and around the corner from WDIA.
Partners in the new company are John R. Pepper, former co-owner of WDIA and a man of many business interests, and Floyd Huddleston, Mississippi song writer. Berl Olswanger will be associated with them in music direction and supervision.
The new company is putting a substantial financial investment in its future—it is not just a copyrighted label hoping to hit it rich with a fly-by-night gamble. The building is being remodeled to accommodate elaborate recording equipment, including stereophonic recording facilities for which there is no immediate need.
“We already have made arrangements for national distribution with about 30 distributors,” Huddleston said.
The firm already has under contract Wingy Manone and the Norman Paris Trio and has already recorded the Norman Paris group, with vocals by the Honeydreamers, in an album of college songs called Coed. This album was cut in New York City.
Huddleston said Manone will come to Memphis to record soon after the new studios are finished, which will be about July 15.
Weldon Jetton of WDIA is a sound engineer in charge of designing the studio. It will have one of the few real echo chambers outside of New York, Chicago and Hollywood.
“We will be a balanced operation—will not specialize in one type of music like rock ’n’ roll,” Huddleston said. “We intend to do a lot of albums. We also intend to develop our own talent. Memphis affords tremendous opportunities for an undertaking like this, because of its huge untapped resources and potential for development.”
Huddleston and Pepper are particularly excited about a girl trio, the Townsel Sisters, three youngsters from Lake Village, Arkansas, with whom Huddleston has been working for a couple of years. Grand Ole Opry is interested in them, but Huddleston wants to keep them under wraps until they can be properly launched by the new record company. Another for whom they have hopes is Bobby Roberts, a Tiptonville, Tennessee, singer whom they will record.
They also intend to bring out some of the wealth of Negro talent in the Memphis area.
Huddleston, from Greenville, Mississippi, was the man responsible for “Swanee River Rock,” the record which had a big success in this section, but which did not make much headway nationally because of lack of distribution. He has written music for many movies, including Duchess of Idaho, with Esther Williams and Van Johnson, the song “The Trouble with Harry” from the Alfred Hitchcock picture, “Ready, Willing and Able” for Doris Day, and “Idle Gossip” for Sarah Vaughan.
He and publisher Hodding Carter are working on a musical show, getting together weekends.
Huddleston has moved to Memphis, and is staying in the guest house at the Cooper Robinson home, 401 Goodlett.
“Memphis is ideally suited for a recording company such as this,” Huddleston said. “With planes, New York and California are only a few hours away. New York is coming down here now to look for talent. The songs I write down here—they think they’re fresh when I take them up there, because I’m not influenced by what everybody else is doing in New York.”
Huddleston, Pepper and Olswanger plan an active search for new entertainers, with frequent auditions. The new company’s offices are presently at 2074 Union, next to WDIA.
— Robert Johnson
