VICTOR 78 RPM Record 17222 Nat M. Wills “No News” or “What Killed the Dog”/”The

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VICTOR 78 RPM Record 17222 Nat M. Wills “No News” or “What Killed the Dog”/”The Three Trees” Tom McNaughton  E Visible Condition, beautiful record. If you have never listened to “What Killed the Dog” this is the vaudevillian comedic recording for you. I won’t spoil it by telling you what happened.

Nat M. Wills was one of the most prominent in a long line of a now-extinct breed of performer known as “tramp comedians”. A leading star of vaudeville and musical comedy from the turn of the century until his untimely death in 1917, Wills was also among the first and biggest stars of what we now call comedy albums. The biggest surprise on these tracks for folks who’ve long read about Wills, or seen photos of his silly, toothless visage, is his characterization.

One might reasonably expect this kind of character to sound something like America’s most famous modern iteration of the tramp tradition, Red Skelton’s Freddie the Freeloader, an ignorant naïf with little on his mind but the next stolen piece of pie. Tramps of Wills’ own time such as Bill “Old Hoss” Hooey and Bert Williams tended to affect a slow-witted mein that implied that their penury was the result of a deficiency of grey matter. Instead, Wills’ tramp has the air of a gentleman. The contrast between his costume and his manner of speaking must have been especially preposterous to audiences in live performance. Alan Dale, writing in the New York American in 1904, comments on this quirk: “In these days when comedians do dialect and dialect does them, the ‘unique and inimitable’ Mr. Wills is not ungrateful. He tells funny stories in English, as it is spoken, and he has a fund of lively spirits at his command…”

 The flipside of this record is also a comedic recording. Tom McNaughton was also a character in:  The Spring Maid  

Liberty Theatre, (12/26/1910 - 6/10/1911)

New Amsterdam Theatre, (1/20/1913 - 2/01/1913)

First Preview:                Total Previews:   

Opening Date:      Dec 26, 1910                   

Closing Date:       Feb 01, 1913        Total Performances:       208

Category: Musical, Operetta, Original, Broadway

Description: An operetta in two acts

Setting: Three days during the festival season at Carlsbad Springs

The Spring Maid

[Musical, Operetta, Original] Performer: Tom McNaughton [Roland]

Dec 26, 1910 - Feb 01, 1913

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E++, Visibly nearly new with no visible signs of wear or damage.

E+, Looks and plays like new with only few signs of handling and play.

E Still very shiny, near new looking, with slight visible signs of wear and a few nearly inaudible scuffs and scratches

E- Still shiny but without the luster of a new record, few scuffs that have little or no effect on play, some light scratches.

E- - Mostly shiny but with even less of the luster of an E- record, more scuffs than E-that have little or no effect on play, light scratches with some light noise.

VG+,  Slightly above average condition 78 in which scuffs and general use has dulled the finish somewhat. Wear is moderate but playing is generally free from distortion. Surface noise not overly pronounced.

VG, An average condition 78 - moderate wear throughout, but still very playable and enjoyable. Surface somewhat dull with noise and scratches audible but not intrusive.

VG-, Quite playable still, but with some distortion and may have some graying in loud passages. Music remains loud in most passages. Surface noise and scratches well below music level.

VG- - Quite playable still, but with distortion and most have some graying in loud passages. Music remains loud in most passages. Surface noise and scratches noticeable and may be loud at times.

G+  Quite worn and scratched, but music level is still higher than surface noise. Grey may be throughout but still serviceable. Music begins to sound muffled.

G Not so good. Wear and scratch damage extensive. Listening can become uncomfortable as music and surface noise probably blending. Lowest level music can be understood.

G-, Music barely audible over surface noise & listening is uncomfortable. Record is borderline unplayable.

See Description, A wildcard grade that can be used when standard grading does not apply or when a record (or item) has special attributes (or defects) that can affect how the item is assigned a grade.