Happy October! It’s Throwback Thursday and today we’re listening to the earliest spooky tunes ever recorded.

Title: The Skeleton Rag
Composer: Unknown
Singer/Band: American Quartet
Date: circa 1912

The Skeleton Rag circa 1912 is the earliest known recorded spooky song. Not much is known about the song, but Wikipedia has a whole page dedicated to American Quartet, a widely known vocal group that made music from 1899-1925.

 

Title: At the Devil’s Ball
Composer: Irving Berlin
Singer/Band: Maurice Burkhart
Date: circa 1912/1913

According to Wikipedia, At the Devil’s Ball was first composed by Irving Berlin, with the earliest copyright  registered on November 14, 1912. It was recorded a few times by different groups throughout 1912, but Maurice Burkhart’s 1913 version is best known.

Title: That Syncopated Boogie-Boo
Composer: American Quartet
Singer/Band: American Quartet
Date: circa 1913

Boogie woogie is a popular type of blues music from early teens and 1920s. Wikipedia reports that the first use of the word “Boogie” in a recording title appears to be a “blue cylinder” recording made by Edison of the “American Quartet” performing “That Syncopated Boogie Boo” in 1913.

Anything created before 1923 is considered a Public Domain work and free to use or reproduce. That said, the owners of these YouTube Channels control the content they posted, so these videos could be removed at anytime. Please email me at Halloweenkristy@gmail.com to report broken links.