My interest in music that was popular in previous generations began
long before I ever had a player piano of my own.  I began collecting
sheet music and 78 rpm records as a high school kid.  If you immerse
yourself in such things you can't help but notice that, before there
were things like radio and talkie (sound) movies, the popular music
industry was a great deal more creative than it has since become.

Sheet music was profusely and artistically illustrated.  Songs which
are difficult to sing were popular, such as "Josephine" and "There's
a Little Bit of Bad in Every Good Little Girl".  These are as
challenging to the vocalist as many operatic scores, while remaining
something that most voice instructors would be pleased to hear their
students accomplish.  And all at the same time, they're really snappy
songs that give the hearer good reason to crack a smile.

Instrumentally, I like the ones featuring 'marimba' style, or
otherwise a lot of action, such as four hands.  When I come across
a batch of rolls for sale and start to paw through them, I'm looking
for early titles I've never heard of with comedic lines and lots of
holes in the paper.

Songs which feature unrequited or other troubles with love I find
particularly entertaining -- titles like "It's Not The First Time
You Left Me (But It's The Last Time You'll Come Back!)" and "Wait'll
You See (After Leaving Me!)".  Period pieces such as "The Village
Blacksmith Owns the Village Now" are as pertinent now, if not more so,
as they were when they were new.

By now, what is generally offered as vocal performances have little
musical art to them.  It's more like chanting into the microphone in
many cases.  While you can get rolls of pieces performed by Madonna
and Bruce Springsteen, they're not very entertaining compared to the
earlier stuff.

To answer the other questions, I have been active musically since the
very earliest times of my life; our mother gave us all the basics at
an early age.  I never learned any more about plunking keyboard than
was necessary to pick out the melody so I could sing the song.  I'm
more accomplished at woodwinds and also play lyre, xylophone and bowed
psaltery.  Every singing group is always short of high male voices,
so they all want me, and I have sung on a number of stages, sometimes
for money.

I have also done a number of solo performances locally to recorded
player piano music.  I see myself as the "First of the Latter Day
Crooners," looking for my "Susan Boyle Moment!"  There's a big audience
out there who'll be pleased to hear stuff that's new to them and makes
them smile, while bringing recollections of simpler, if not better
times.

Lee Rothrock