Over the past twenty years, the documentation on the early history of Greek music in North America has increased past all expectations. In just this short period of time public documents dating from the 1890s onward have seen deposits in archives, historical societies, and museums around the nation.
Included in that diverse body of material are musical instruments, oral histories of musicians and their families, photographs, songbooks, music boxes, pianorolls, business documents inclusive of all matter of record catalogs, sheet music, songbooks, advertising and other such papers, as well as the deposit of literally hundreds of original commercial records. Taken in total across over a dozen archives, historical societies and museums this scattered documentation only awaits systematic appraisal.
To be sure, not every single document or even class of document have as yet been collected but nonetheless vast areas, events and individuals once lost to modern Greek history are now better understood. Given that only a dozen or so researchers are gathering, depositing and/or searching through this assorted material means that we are a long way from a full chronological history.
Consequently, at this stage of our collective recalling of Greek music in North America, we can begin to piece together the available documentation and by so doing not only come to a finer grained understanding of Greek-American history, but also be in a position to ask better questions of this ever growing body of documentation. As a case in point, what is now available on the career of Loukianos Cavadias can serve to illustrate how one talented musician fared in the prospects offered in North America. As many older Greek-Americans still recall, Cavadias was an extremely popular orchestra leader and composer who had an extremely successful career. Aside from the recollections of Greek-Americans, the re-release of a number of Cavadias’ compositions on compact disks dedicated to the history of Greek and Greek-American music speak to the issue of his initial and enduring popularity.
Having said that, I make no claims for providing a complete career biography of Cavadias. That is not the point. Before a full and cumulative history of Greek music in North America can ever be written we must first examine, as best we can, the careers of as many individual musicians, promoters and significant others in the wider community. This case study of Cavadias’ extremely successful but curiously short career, in terms of available documents, is meant as an effort towards that broader goal.
The commercial success of Cavadias’ overall career make it all the more curious that I was not able to locate any personal or professional life details. Still, it is possible to deduce the broad outline of Cavadias’ musical efforts as documented by oral history testimony and musical documents such as pianorolls, sheet music and commercial recordings. Now something of an antiquated musical format piano-rolls were once top-selling items. In this regard Cavadias is known to have composed and recorded a number of songs on the pianoroll format. Perhaps most notable among these compositions was The Ahepa Grand March found on the Alector piano roll number 332. For those even only vaguely familiar with Greek-American history can recognize how important and potential successful issuing an Ahepa March would be in terms of total sales and the notoriety for the composer/performer its issuance promised. Not to be forgotten, Cavadias also released Bournovalio a smynes manes on pianoroll (QRS-F 8861) to great acclaim.
From 1926 to 1935, in terms of commercial recordings, Cavadias saw the release of thirty known individual songs. While this is far from a number of records a truly popular musician of this time period might claim several individual Cavadias compositions were incredibly popular. And here is the rub. Not all of those hit-records were of Greek traditional or popular music. Loukianos Cavadias was a professional musician as such he played what the audience or studio directors demanded.
Let us offer what we can in terms of a historical survey of Cavadias’ commercial records. One further layer. of complexity, as if we needed one, is that Cavadias recorded for several different companies and under a variety of names. Record company documents reveal Cavadias was the orchestra leader and/or choir director for (at least) three distinct named groups of musicians. While Cavadias is always listed as composer or arranger no other musicians are mentioned by name on any of the record labels or in the available company documentation. This suggests that Cavadias did not record with a regular cast if musicians and that even the performers, one hears on the strictly instrumental pieces, may not have been ethnically Greek at all but simply the record company’s studio musicians.
Beginning in 1926, Cavadias recorded under the title of Cavadias Popular Orchestra for both the Victor Talking Machine Company and Columbia Records. On April 8, 1926, Cavadias recorded four songs in New York City Azapiko Syrto and Me Xehases a kalamatiano (Victor 68756 A/B) and then Zeibekiko Haves and Karsilama Tekirdagh (Victor 68799 A/B). Then sometime in May 1926, Cavadias’ Popular Orchestra recorded Amygdale and Tatavliano (Columbia 56031-F A/B). Tatavliano, an instrumental, became a smash dance hit. Many senior generation Greek-Americans recall dancing to this extremely popular instrumental. It is perhaps no surprise to note then that all of Cavadias’ record hits were dance instrumentals.
A small point that may have future significance is that Tetos Demetriades, the renowned Greek baritone and music company executive can be heard on Tatavliano. Demetriades, who does not receive any credit on the record’s label, can be heard clapping and shouting encouragements to the musicians. Not only did I find this particular record in many family collections but I have repeatedly heard how this song took Greek-America by storm. This community memory is supported by the action s of the Columbia Record executives. During October and December 1927, Cavadias as leader of the Horodia L. Cavadia, recorded 12 songs that is 6 records. Beginning in October Cavadias and company recorded six songs: Tournene a rebetiko (Columbia 56092-F); Sti Nioti Mas (Columbia 56092-F); Gaiti To Theli E Manna Sou, a Syrto (Columbia 56089-F); Dournerakia a Hasapiko serviko, then Xymeronai (Columbia 56084-F) and finally Anamiseis (Columbia 56084-F).
In December 1927, the Horodia L. Cavadia recorded E Prosfigopoula, as a Syrto for Columbia records, appearing on one of the new deluxe 12 inch disks (Columbia 56089-F). At this same session the Cavadia group recorded the Ahepa March (Columbia 56086-F) which surprisingly enough is but one of three songs I have ever managed to locate with Ahepa as its theme. That this nationwide organization did not spur the extremely dynamic and hypersensitive Greek record industry into producing more songs for it’s literally thousands of individual members is more than especially curious. At this same session, we find Cavadias also recorded Ta Tragoudia Mou (Columbia 566110-F); Xemyalistra (Columbia 56092-F); Stin Erimi Rematia (Columbia 56085-F) and Gil-Gil-Gil (Columbia 56085-F). All that company documents provide beyond the titles and the catalog numbers is that under Cavadias’ direction is a chorus accompanied by a mandolin orchestra.
Then in October 1928, again at Columbia Records’ New York City studios Cavadias expanded his performance repertoire. Aside from syrta and/or haspika Cavadias recorded polkas, mazurkas and even a waltz to some considerable success. First came the obviously popular Marenka Polka which saw three different releases (c.f. Columbia 7043-F; Columbia 12094-F and Columbia 3810-F). Next the two instrumentals Glikia Anamnisis a mazurka (Columbia 7043-F) and Kleo Thrino a waltz (Columbia 7048-F). Then, another multiple release Cavadias’ rendition of To Tango Tou Thanatou (Columbia 7048-F; Columbia 12094-F and Columbia 38010-F).
Four more songs were recorded at this session: To Len E Kukoi Sta Vouna a syrto (Colombia 56136-F); Er Yiaman another syrto (Columbia 56130-F), the standard Hasapiko Laterna Tis Polis Columbia 56130-F) and finally Maikokos yet another Hasapiko (Columbia 56136-F). All four were released as deluxe 12 inch records. Then, after this incredible run of top-selling songs, Loukianos Cavadias was destined to only release one more instrumental for a major record label Hasapiko Kavadia recorded on June 26, 1935 (Orthophonic S-322).
Loukianos Cavadias is not a lost figure of Greek-American musical history, just one whose full biography and career details are not now fully available. This musicians’ level of popularity and enduring fame can be judged by the most recent inclusion of his Hasapiko Kavvadia on the recent compact disc re-release: Greek Rhapsody – Instrumental Music from Greece 1905-1956 (May 2, 2013).
But we must recognize the nature of this increase in Greek musical documentation. We are in a moment of generational change. That generation of individuals who were the children of the 1880 to 1920 wave of mass migration is all but gone. Due to the new preservation movement underway in Greek-America and this clear passage from one generation and it’s time to another – historic materials of all sorts are being gathered with the express intention of saving them for the future. Much could be lost as this transformation takes place. It is our duty to see that as much of our artistic collective past is preserved as possible.
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