The Edison Collection – Vaughn De Leath – Dancing The Devil Away (1920 – 1929)

Vaughn De Leath CDs Vaughn De Leath, although forgotten today, was a household name in the 1920s. Born in Mt. Pulaski, IL, in 1884, she joined the showbiz world in 1921, singing over the WJZ radio station in Chicago. Her success in the pioneering days of Radio broadcast was probably down to her ability to accompany herself on banjo, ukulele, guitar and piano and also to her enduring strength, being able to entertain for hours in the days when there was an excess of air time. By 1923 she was the first woman executive to run a radio station, WJZ and a small network of low power stations. In 1925 she went back to full time performing. She had begun her recording career in 1920 and throughout the decade she recorded for just about every record label. In 1928 not only was she the featured guest of Voice of Firestone Radio Hour’s first programme but she also appeared on experimental television broadcasts. By this time she had become known as “The First Lady of Radio” and although she successfully sued another singer who had used this moniker, she recorded her last side for Crown records in 1931 and then disappeared into obscurity, dying 12 years later in Buffalo, New York. The extraordinary breadth of her repertoire and flexible style can be heard by the on this CD.