"The Yale Blues" was a 1927 composition by British composer Vivian
Ellis, and it became widely popular, with a number of American bands
recording it -- it's a very catchy tune.  The sheet music came complete
with steps for a dance, and the name "Yale Blues" became a generic term
for any music that you could dance those steps to.

The "Dance Notes" in the December 1927 edition of Gramophone
magazine tells us that "The Yale Blues [is] almost an ideal slow dance
for the Englishman.  The tango failed because it cannot appeal when
played badly, as it was in most cases, nor can its alluring lilt be
felt when one is dancing with stiff knees, as is our wont.  The Yale
Blues, however, is based on the tango, but is American in spirit,
having a Blues-like rhythm which does not need that different spirit
from the playing of the fox-trot, as does the tango."

The way this composition's popularity spread makes it one of the rare
instances where Aeolian first issued an arranged roll in Britain  --
Duo-Art 0316, ostensibly played by Norman Wren but really a very plain
metronomic arrangement, and the same thing in 88-note as Meloto 31378
-- and later an American Duo-Art version played by Constance Mering
(0507, May 1928).  It's wonderful how Mering dresses it up like a real
blues, miles removed from the more upbeat and jolly original, giving
a depth utterly missing from the earlier roll.  I liked the Mering roll
so much that I put it in my recut list.

There were a number of dance styles that had periods of popularity in
Europe: German rolls seemed to favour the "Shimmy", and French ones the
"Java".  There's a complete history of dance styles in most roll
cabinets, although this aspect of the rolls is thoroughly lost to most
owners!

Julian Dyer