The Troubadours - Broken-Hearted Waltz

Since recently I got the request to post more regularly 1920s-30s dance band tunes in waltz tempo, I selected this one, which is particularly refined. This appears to be pseudonym for one of Nat Shilkret's bands. Nathaniel Shilkret (1889-1982) was an American composer, conductor, clarinetist, pianist, business executive (A&R man), and music director (Victor, RKO and MGM). He was a child prodigy, touring the country; from his late teens to mid-twenties he was a clarinetist in the best New York music organizations. He joined the Victor Company around 1915, and soon was made manager of the department. In 1926 he became "director of light music." He made many thousands of recordings, possibly more than anyone in recording history. His son Arthur estimated the sales of these records was of the order of 50 million copies. He was the conductor of choice for many of Victor's innovative recordings. He conducted the first record made by the "electric method," as well as the first commercial Victor LP as early as 1931. He composed and arranged thousands of (classical and popular) pieces, and wrote several film scores. As for this lovely record, it was made in 1931. Vocal by Lew Conrad. Born from a French father and a British mother who were both vocalists, Conrad became a violinist, who played a year with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra before joining Leo Reisman's band. He also recorded sessions with Shilkret and Selvin. Around 1929 he began appearing in NBC programs. He was offered an exclusive contract with the network in September 1930. In 1933 his band was featured in an installment of the Warner Bros/Vitaphone series of musical shorts 'Rambling Round Radio Row. After 1933, however, mentions of Conrad in radio archives become scarce until 1937 and 1938. Conrad was best known on radio as a star vocalist on NBC in the early 1930s when he was for a brief while considered to be a promising new crooner.