Ramona

[kevin toner]

My Granddad accompanying my gran at a party in the 1960s!

Ramona - Danny & Jeanie Toner 1960s.mp3

[Ex Libris]

A really lovely and special recording.

 

Thank you very much for sharing it.

 

Jeremy

[michael sam wild]

Very nice , that took me back to similar family parties . What type of concertina was your Grandad playing?

[kevin toner]

Thank you for your kind replies.

 

The type is an English Concertina - 56 key Wheatstone Aeola Tenor-Treble from 1912, 8-fold bellows, with raised nickel plated metal ends, and with hand straps fitted. It was a model no.19 as shown on the attached 1915 Wheatstone pricelist.My link

[michelv]

Here's the original tune:

[michael sam wild]

I think it predates the Litetones.

[kevin toner]

Here is my Grandad improvising 'Ramona' at the same party, with 'the Bells of St Mary's' appended.

Ramona improvisation and Bells of St Mary's.mp3

[michael sam wild]

The Bells has that cinema organ sound! Very nice Was he doing the old Doppler effect party piece of swinging it about? ( the cocertina not an organ I mean )

[michael sam wild]

And here's some more about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramona_(song)

I know Jim Reeves and Louis Armstrong sang it

Edited August 2, 2010 by michael sam wild

[kevin toner]

thanks michael, yes it was his technique to swing the instrument around in huge circlular motions etc. - "Doppler Effect" sums it up in a couple of words - it was a spectacular sound to hear live!

 

My grandparents would have been children when the original song hit the charts. I knew it was one of the main 1920s hits as it was included in a 1920s songbook. I would like to include this song in my own repetoire, when I get a copy of the official sheet music - from 1928 I think. I'll try to update this post with any other renditions if/when they are found (there are quite a lot of home recordings/videos to bring together and possibly upload somewhere).

 

Perhaps others, including myself when I get around to it, can post any more concertina versions or links to such.

[Randy Stein]

That was quite wonderful. I first heard this tune played years ago in a Delores Del Rio film. I found it here on youtube:

The original piece of music was written by Mabel Wayne and English words by I. Wolfe Gilbert. There are also an Italian version arranged by Maria Perrocata and the Spanish version by Juan Velasquez.

 

I played it some years back and tried to recreate what I played from memory. Here is a snippet though it does not do justice to the rendition by your Grandparents.

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Edited August 4, 2010 by Randy Stein

[kevin toner]

Randy, I can't thank you enough for doing that – I like the harmony that you have created, it’s identical to some of the bits that are played by my granddad. Your memory certainly does you a great justice!

[kevin toner]

Michael, funnily the following thread on Valentin Osipov shows a very similar style of playing, similar sound, techniques as I remember and same concertina type - although Valentin's looks like a 48 key, not a 56.