Mechanical Music Digest  Archives
You Are Not Logged In Login/Get New Account
Please Log In. Accounts are free!
Logged In users are granted additional features including a more current version of the Archives and a simplified process for submitting articles.
Home Archives Calendar Gallery Store Links Info

End-of-Year Fundraising Drive In Progress. Please visit our home page to see this and other announcements: https://www.mmdigest.com     Thank you. --Jody

MMD > Archives > April 2015 > 2015.04.20 > 01Prev  Next


Filmusic "POP" & "Popularoll" Piano Rolls
By Robbie Rhodes

The Filmusic Company, Inc., was formed in 1918 and had a factory
at 1729 Highland Avenue in Hollywood (Los Angeles), Calif.  Ref.
"The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry,"
copyright 1998 by Anthony Slide.

Although the focus was the Filmusic "Picturoll", with music to
accompany silent films, under the brand name "POP" (and, briefly,
"Popularoll") the firm also produced standard player piano rolls
of popular songs of the day.

Early labels had "POP" in the background with an overlaid banner
proclaiming "Popularoll" (in the same fashion as "Picturoll").
On later roll labels the banner is changed to "Roll With Words".
I found images of labels of these Filmusic POP rolls:

Cat no.  / title        / style    / artist

POP 1063 / My Isle of Golden Dreams / Waltz / Vern Elliott
POP 1089 / Dardanella / Fox Trot   / Vern Elliott & Al Short
POP 1236 / Gingham Girl / Fox Trot / Chauncey Haines
POP 1243 / The Japanese Sandman /  / Chauncey Haines

I'll create a web page soon for the label images and other Filmusic
information at http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/MMMedia/Filmusic

I found very little information about the performers:

Vern Elliott was chief recorder and arranger for POP rolls.
( Ref. http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/200905/2009.05.15.02.html )

Chauncey Haines, Jr., (1898-1981) was the organist at the
United Artists Theatre in Los Angeles in the 1930s.
( Ref. http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/758/ )

MMDigest articles about the Filmusic Co. and its products are indexed
at http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/F/filmusic.html  and
http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/P/picturoll.html  -- Robbie

Robbie Rhodes, MMD
Etiwanda, Calif.


(Message sent Tue 21 Apr 2015, 06:17:12 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.)

Key Words in Subject:  Filmusic, Piano, POP, Popularoll, Rolls

Home    Archives    Calendar    Gallery    Store    Links    Info   


Enter text below to search the MMD Website with Google



CONTACT FORM: Click HERE to write to the editor, or to post a message about Mechanical Musical Instruments to the MMD

Unless otherwise noted, all opinions are those of the individual authors and may not represent those of the editors. Compilation copyright 1995-2024 by Jody Kravitz.

Please read our Republication Policy before copying information from or creating links to this web site.

Click HERE to contact the webmaster regarding problems with the website.

Please support publication of the MMD by donating online

Please Support Publication of the MMD with your Generous Donation

Pay via PayPal

No PayPal account required

                                     
Translate This Page