B. A. Rolfe & His Palais d'Or Orchestra - Hiding In The Corner Of Your Smile

Benjamin Albert Rolfe (1879-1956) was an American musician who went on to be a bandleader, recording artist, radio personality and film producer. At a young age he played the piccolo and cornet in his father's band, touring the U.S. East Coast as well as Europe. In the early part of the 20th century, he worked in vaudeville. In 1915, B.A. Rolfe turned his talents to the film business, establishing his own production company. His film company's last production was the 1919 15-part mystery serial, The Master Mystery. After leaving the film business, B.A. Rolfe quickly reestablished himself in the music business and by 1926 had assembled his own New York City dance orchestra to perform at a Broadway cabaret called the Palais D'Or. By 1928 he was performing on radio and recording. In 1935-36, Rolfe was the leader of The Goodrich Silvertown Orchestra. His radio broadcasts ran until the late 30's. This great record was made in 1928. The vocal is by The Rollickers. It should be noted this was by far the poorest copy I ever had to restore (it took many hours and dozens of different takes). Inexplicable distortion of disastrous extent, massive rumble and crackle (needle damage?) made this disc almost impossible to listen to, let alone to clean it up for publication. I had no other solution than extremely filtering sound, substantially limiting frequency and depth range. Yet, I trust you will nonetheless enjoy this exceptionally great side by a sadly underrated orchestra and bandleader. Moreover, this song is seldom heard and was recorded only a couple of times, which makes this issue even more valuable.