1922
Al Jolson reclaims #1 with “April Showers”; Whiteman stays massive with fifteen entries. Fanny Brice arrives with “My Man,” a torch ballad about a woman who loves a man who treats her badly — one of the great torch songs, and Brice makes it devastating, funny, and heartbreaking all at once. Marion Harris covers “I’m Just Wild About Harry” from Shuffle Along, the first major all-Black Broadway hit — Sissle and Blake’s show opened doors that won’t close. Ethel Waters follows with two more Black Swan entries, including a defiant “There’ll Be Some Changes Made.” James P. Johnson’s “Carolina Shout” charts deep at #119 but is the Rosetta Stone of stride piano — Fats Waller learned to play from studying this recording, and the whole jazz-piano tradition flows through it. Bert Williams, the first Black recording star, charts for the last time and dies in March at 47. Radio is spreading fast — KDKA in Pittsburgh started broadcasting in late 1920, and by now the medium is multiplying — though for now records and radio still coexist peacefully.
Al Jolson — “April Showers” (#1) — Archive.org
Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra — “Three O’Clock in the Morning” (#2) — Archive.org
Fanny Brice — “My Man” (#11) — Archive.org
Marion Harris — “I’m Just Wild About Harry” (#36) — Archive.org
Isham Jones & His Orchestra — “On the Alamo” (#7) — Archive.org
Ethel Waters — “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” (#52) — Archive.org
Vincent Lopez & His Orchestra — “Nola” (#21) — Archive.org
Bert Williams — “Not Lately” (#50) — Archive.org
James P. Johnson — “Carolina Shout” (#119) — Archive.org
Henry Burr — “My Buddy” (#10) — Archive.org