1925
The most important technology shift since the cylinder: electrical recording arrives in spring 1925, Columbia and Victor both switching over within months. The microphone captures frequencies the acoustic horn never could — bass, sibilance, room tone — and suddenly you can hear drums, you can hear a singer breathe. Crooning becomes possible because the mic captures soft singing, and Gene Austin’s smooth, casual #1 with “Yes Sir! That’s My Baby” points directly at the Bing Crosby era that’s coming. Vernon Dalhart’s “The Prisoner’s Song” sells millions and becomes the first country mega-hit, proving the rural Southern market is not a niche but an enormous one. Bessie Smith records “St. Louis Blues” with Louis Armstrong on cornet in January — an electrically recorded session that stands as one of the greatest recordings in American history. Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra (Armstrong still in the band through late 1925) is inventing big-band jazz at the Roseland Ballroom. Paul Robeson and Marian Anderson both make their first chart appearances at the very bottom — two of the century’s great voices just beginning. Prohibition is five years old; The Great Gatsby is published; the Jazz Age is at full bloom.
Gene Austin — “Yes Sir! That’s My Baby” (#1) — Archive.org
Ben Bernie & His Orchestra — “Sweet Georgia Brown” (#4) — Archive.org
Eddie Cantor — “If You Knew Susie” (#5) — Archive.org
Vernon Dalhart — “The Prisoner’s Song” (#3) — Archive.org
Bessie Smith — “The St. Louis Blues” (#25) — Archive.org
Marion Harris — “Tea for Two” (#9) — Archive.org
Isham Jones Conducting Ray Miller’s Orchestra — “I’ll See You in My Dreams” (#2) — Archive.org
Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra — “Sugar Foot Stomp” (#90) — Archive.org
Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians — “Collegiate” (#26) — Archive.org
Cliff Edwards — “Paddlin’ Madelin’ Home” (#24) — Archive.org