This 1997 release from the Past Perfect label in England features 20 of the Spots' earliest tracks, to mid-1938, including the 4 which made up their very first session - cut for RCA in 1935. If your familiarity with the Ink Spots is confined to their hits from 1939 forward - Bill Kenny's well-known high tenor and Hoppy Jones' equally famous "talking bass" - this package will seem rather strange. These cuts are more in the "jive" tradition of Leo Watson and the Spirits of Rhythm than in the "smooth" style normally associated with the Ink Spots. Nonetheless, this package is recommended listening for fans of vocal group harmony, as it displays the beginnings of one of the best known vocal groups in American music.
A couple of the Ink Spots' later "Soundies" are featured on the Rare Vocal Groups video, which is also reviewed on this Web site.
An in-depth Ink Spots discography and other Ink Spots information can be found at Jack Hanna's The Ink Spots (Original Group) Web site.
I had asked here "Can someone please explain the phrase 'coosh foot it' which appears several times in these recordings?"
My pal Dave "the Swinger" Stockhoff gave me the answer - "Cushion Foot" - a dance step of the 1930s era, akin to the "soft shoe," as enunciated in the song Cushion Foot by the Five Jinks on the Bluebird label from 20 Feb 1937. I subsequently found a reference that is a decade older - a song called the Cushion Foot Stomp originally recorded by Clarence Williams' Washboard Band, with vocal by Virginia Liston, for the Vocalion/Brunswick labels on 8 March 1927, and also recorded by the Dixie Washboard Band for the Columbia label two days later - 10 March 1927.
Track listing:
1. Keep Away From My Doorstep (Decca - 18 Jun 1936)
2. Alabama Barbecue (Decca - 5 Feb 1937)
3. 'Taint Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do (Decca - 12 May 1936)
4. That Cat Is High (Decca - 25 Mar 1938)
5. Swing, Gate, Swing (RCA - 4 Jan 1935)
6. Slap That Bass (Decca - 9 Apr 1937)
7. Christopher Columbus (Decca - 18 Jun 1936)
8. Yes Suh! (Decca - 18 Jun 1936)
9. Your Feet's Too Big (RCA - 4 Jan 1935)
10. When The Sun Goes Down (Decca - 19 May 1938)
11. Swingin' On The Strings (RCA - 4 Jan 1935)
12. Stompin' At The Savoy (Decca - 18 Jun 1936)
13. With Plenty Of Money And You (Decca - 5 Feb 1937)
14. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Decca - 9 Apr 1937)
15. Don't Let Old Age Creep Up On You (Decca - 5 Feb 1937)
16. Don't 'Low No Swingin' In Here (RCA - 4 Jan 1935)
17. Oh! Red (Decca - 25 Mar 1938)
18. Old Joe's Hittin' The Jug (Decca - 18 Jun 1936)
19. Whoa Babe! (Decca - 9 Apr 1937)
20. Swing High, Swing Low (Decca - 9 Apr 1937)
