Edwin J. McEnelly's Orchestra<br /><br />"Spanish Shawl" <br /><br />Victor 19851<br /><br />November 2, 1925<br /><br />Edwin J. McEnelly was born on July 21, 1879, in Spencer, Massachusetts. <br /><br />His full name was Edward James McEnelly.<br /><br />This violinist and band leader was most successful in the 1920s when he was in his 40s.<br /><br />He first organized musicians in Milford, Massachusetts in 1902. McEnelly’s "Singing" Orchestra was popular in New England. By 1917, the band was heard often in Springfield, Massachusetts. <br /><br />In the Roaring '20s, McEnelly’s Orchestra broadcast regularly over radio station WBZ.<br /><br />In 1925, a young Frankie Carle joined the band as pianist, along with Waino Kauppi, a Finnish immigrant and former child prodigy on the cornet. Carle would enjoy great fame in the 1940s.<br /><br />Between 1925 and 1929, McEnelly’s Orchestra recorded 21 titles for Victor. <br /><br />The Great Depression ended McEnelly’s recording career.<br /><br />He died in Southborough, Massachusetts, on August 31, 1958, at the age of 79. <br /><br />Edwin J. McEnelly & His Orchestra "Spanish Shawl" Victor 19851 (1925) Elmer Schoebel tune<br />
