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Tracklist
	1.	El Capitan March	Sousa's Band	1897
	2.	The New Bully	J. W. Myers	1896
	3.	She Was Bred in Old Kentucky	George J. Gaskin	1898
	4.	Sally in Our Alley	Haydn Quartet	1899
	5.	The Thunderer	Gilmore's Band	ca. 1899-1900
	6.	At a Georgia Camp Meeting	Dan W. Quinn	1898
	7.	The Mocking Bird	John Yorke AtLee	ca. 1893
	8.	Casey as a Doctor	Russell Hunting	1897
	9.	My Old Kentucky Home	Edison Male Quartet	1898
	10.	In the Gloaming	Roger Harding	1897
	11.	The Night Alarm	Edison Grand Concert Band	1898
	12.	The Whistling Coon	George W. Johnson	1896
	13.	Sweet Marie	Ada Jones	1894
	14.	The Band Played On	Dan W. Quinn	1895
	15.	I Guess I'll Have to Telegraph My Baby	Edward M. Favor	1899
	16.	The Directorate March	U.S. Marine Band	1896
	17.	My Old New Hampshire Home	Jere Mahoney	1898
	18.	Just Break the News to Mother	George J. Gaskin	1899
	19.	Uncle Josh in a Chinese Laundry	Cal Stewart	ca. 1900
	20.	Turkey in the Straw	Billy Golden	1896
	21.	I'd Leave My Happy Home for You	Arthur Collins	1899
	22.	The Girl I Loved in Sunny Tennessee	J. J. Fisher	1899
	23.	Washington Post March	Sousa's Band	1897
	24.	In the Baggage Coach Ahead	Steve Porter	ca. 1899
	25.	O Promise Me	Edward Franklin	ca. 1899-1900
	26.	I'm Old but I'm Awfully Tough	Cal Stewart	1901
	27.	Yankee Doodle (with variations)	Vess Ossman	1897
	28.	Drill Ye Tarriers, Drill	George J. Gaskin	1899
	29.	Crappy Dan	Spencer and Ossman	1897
	30.	The Laughing Song	George W. Johnson	1902

Whistling solos, comic monologues, and "coon songs": these are the popular records of over 100 years ago, routines that remind us that the early talking machine was a novelty entertainment. The records—whether soft, non-durable brown wax cylinders or fragile shellac discs—were disposable curiosities that have accidentally survived the ravages of time to become crude testimonies to history two centuries ago.

An odd kind of popularity

There are no "original" hits by original artists on records of the 1890s. Hit songs were the ones selling the most sheet music or those coming out of Broadway. In the fledgling recording industry, numerous versions of the songs appeared on commercial records. Over time, though, the reputations of certain artists, such as Dan W. Quinn, Len Spencer, George Gaskin, J. W. Myers, and Steve Porter, assured quality. These were the big "stars" of earliest days of recording.

A living testament to history

Many of the artists featured on the 1890s CD were born before the Civil War. In fact, recording phenom George W. Johnson was born a slave on a Virginia plantation. These are the voices of a history that usually seems beyond reach. But listen as Russell Hunting, in "Casey as Doctor," makes a joke about newly-inaugurated President McKinley. Or hear Sousa's Band play their director's "latest" march, "El Capitan." The booklet includes information on each of the artists featured to help bring these pioneers to life.

All the rough edges

The accompanying essay does not attempt a complete cultural history of the decade but, instead, focuses on a few key events that illuminate the songs, the marches, and comedy routines. Additionally, you'll be able to read some of the song lyrics; like many of the contemporary events, not all the songs are pretty. And not all the records have the clear sound of modern CD music. While we have attempted to minimize the noise on these rare records, the fact is that they are worn and noisier than most of the records Archeophone reissues.

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