very early Rolling Stones (no mando)

[Ranald]

No wonder they look so old.

: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbTh7dI4zBE

[journeybear]

Clearly this was before The Glimmer Twins hooked up with the rhythm section of Watts and Wyman. There's no way of telling whether the harmonica here was played by Jagger or Jones.



OK. I did a little poking around, and cobbled together the following from a few sources.

A brief series of travelogues filmed in 1930 featured Bud Jamison and Jimmie Adams as "The Rolling Stones," a pair of singing comic vagabonds touring the country. Both actors had been working often during the silent film era. Jamison had a beautiful singing voice, and loved to sing off-screen. Talking pictures gave producers a chance to use this talent. For the rest of his career he would occasionally sing in films - he made 450 appearances. He is best known today for his prolific output at Columbia Pictures in their short subjects, primarily with the Three Stooges. He appeared in 38 Stooge entries over 10 years, including their debut, Woman Haters (1934). Jamison provided an excellent comic foil for them. Less could be found about Adams, who died young of heart failure in 1933, aged 45.

[Ranald]

Thanks for that, journeybear. Checking out Jamison, I remember him well from the Three Stooges (Curly in court: "Hey, Judgie"). I'm curious as to why the record is on RCA Victor's Canadian label. Was it recorded it Montreal or was it a Canadian printing of an American record?

[journeybear]

Maybe it's because you're in Canada? Though not necessarily you so much, but the channel on which you found this. Check your source.

It was a bit tricky finding info on these guys. It seems there's another band with that name or something that is more popular or has a higher internet presence or something ... But this site had a lot of nuts and bolts info:

Both sides recorded 15 September 1930 in Hollywood, CA.
Pressed By – Victor Pressing Plant, Oakland

This is for the American pressing pictured here. Lots of differences between the labels.



The "O" between the tip of the horn and the dog's head signifies it being pressed in Oakland. Yours doesn't have that, nor any mark there.

[Ranald]

That makes sense. It seemed unlikely to me that California-based musicians would record in Montreal. Travelling musicians might, but it seems that the Stones were doing pretty well at home.

[journeybear]

Keep in mind, these Rolling Stones weren't really travelling musicians; they just played some on screen. Those other Rolling Stones travelled all over, of course, even went around the world a few times I'll bet. But did they ever record anything with the pure, graceful simplicity of this song? Well? I think not!