One of the most prolific recording organists on the Wurlitzer organ:

Jesse Crawford - on Depression era Victor, recorded at the Paramount Theatre, New York
in the famous 1929 Cole Porter hit from  the musical Wake Up and Dream

Jesse Crawford – Cryin' For The Carolines / What Is This Thing Called Love?


Label: Victor – 22320
Format: 
Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Released: Apr 1930
Genre: Pop
Style: 
A  Cryin' For The Carolines
Written-By – Warren*, Young*, Lewis*
B  What Is This Thing Called Love?
Written-By – Cole Porter
Record Company – Victor Talking Machine Co.
Pressed By – Victor Pressing Plant, Camden


Wurlitzer organ solos

A side (mx. BVE-56808, take 2) recorded Paramount Theatre, New York, NY, February 11, 1930.
B side (mx. BVE-56809, take 4) recorded Paramount Theatre, New York, NY, February 11, 1930.

Orig Issue Victor Scroll 10" 78 rpm record

Condition: 
Better than EXCELLENT PRISTINE plays very quiet

A SUPERB COPY


Jesse Crawford (December 2, 1895 û May 28, 1962), was a US pianist and organist. He was well-known in the 1920s as a theater organist for silent films and very popular gramophone record recording artist.

 Early years
Crawford's father died when he was one year old and his impoverished mother placed the baby in an orphanage asylum near Woodland, California. He taught himself music at the orphanage, and by the age of nine he was playing a cornet in the orphanage band. At age 14 he left the orphanage to play piano in a small dance band, and then took a job playing piano in a ten-cent-admission silent film house.

His early theatre organ experience was at Washington's Spokane Gem Theater in 1911 and at the Klemmer theatre (on a seven-rank Estey organ). He next played briefly at theatres in Billings, Montana, Spokane, Washington and Seattle. When he met Oliver Wallace, Crawford learned about the then-new types of theatre organ sounds. CrawfordÆs next jobs were playing at the Strand in San Francisco and the Mission Theatre in Los Angeles.

1920s: silent movie organist
In the 1920s, he became well-known, and was dubbed the of "Poet of the Organ" for his style of playing ballads. In 1921, the Balaban and Katz theatre chain hired Crawford to Chicago to play its 29-rank Wurlitzer in the Chicago Theatre. Next, Crawford was hired as the organist at Grauman's Million Dollar Theatre in Los Angeles, playing a large Wurlitzer theatre organ.

From 1926 to 1933, he performed at New York City's Paramount Theater, with his wife Helen (also an organist) playing a twin organ console.

After some recordings for the small local Autograph Records label, Crawford made a series of records for the Victor Records label which proved very popular with record buyers. He had hits such as "Rose Marie" , "Valencia" and "Russian Lullaby". Other popular songs included "At Dawning" and "Roses Of Picardy".