Swede Home Chicago: The Wallin's Svenska Records Story, 1923–27

Abstract

According to the liner notes of this project, Chicago has the highest Swedish population of any city after Stockholm. Chicago is also “home to the first record label founded by a Nordic immigrant to the United States.” Archeophone Records’ compilation Swede Home Chicago: The Wallin's Svenska Records Story, 1923–27 tells the story of former crofter Gustaf Waldemar Wallin, founder of Wallin's Svenska Records, a record company that came into being as a subsidiary of Wallin's Music Shop. This company issued 56 tracks between 1923 and 1927. Swede Home Chicago encompasses the entire catalog and includes two discs, featuring 28 tracks each, and a robust 76-page CD booklet. The booklet includes introductory material, performers’ biographies, track notes, lyrics and translations, endnotes, and production credits, as well as a rich plethora of archival photos relating to the Wallin family, the record company, the performers, and more.Without any prior knowledge of the folklife of Swedish American immigrants, one can still appreciate the thought and care put into this project. The context provided by the CD booklet is absolutely unmatched by that of any other project I have engaged with, and was the highlight of reviewing this project. As a folklorist focusing on music, with an eye trained on accessibility and transparency, this is particularly meaningful. For a multiplicity of reasons, one cannot and should not separate music from its historical context. The music itself cannot provide this context, especially when songs are being sung in a language one does not understand. Luckily, folklorists Jim Leary and Marcus Cederström, along with Archeophone Records’ Richard Martin, have crafted a fulfilling and multifaceted narrative that includes detailed lyric translations and is guaranteed to address any questions or concerns the listener might have.The music itself—56 tracks spread out over two discs—features piano, piano accordion, violin, and vocals covering the entire spectrum of human emotion and artistic preference and encompassing “earthy comic songs,” “pious hymns and patriotic anthems,” “venerable folk tunes [intermingled] with hot jazz,” and more. It is striking that this collection is so musically diverse despite coming from one company; it utilizes almost every possible sonic avenue within the given musical heritage to create a truly dynamic and entertaining catalog. In a further testament to the importance of these recordings at the time they first appeared, it is worth noting that the 28 10-inch shellac discs originally issued by Wallin's Svenska Records were recorded by Homer Rodeheaver and Orlando Marsh, two venerable giants of the recording industry.Swede Home Chicago is a set that anyone who is interested in music and music history should own. Speaking as a “many-sectored” folklorist, I feel there is great potential for this collection. It is both deeply entertaining and richly engaging. This project could be used in Scandinavian, migration, and music studies courses as an educational tool. Given that the CD booklet is crucial to the understanding of the project as a whole, future creators of similar projects might look to Swede Home Chicago for guidance on creating something that is appropriately contextual. However, this project should not be construed as being solely historical in scope and content. This collection has implications for folkloristics as well. I was particularly struck by the last few words on the back cover asserting that Swede Home Chicago “[illuminates] a vibrant bygone musical scene that expands our understanding of America's perpetual musical pluralism.” This concept is a lesson for folklore as a discipline, not just for those of us who focus on American music.Just as these discs run the gamut musically despite coming from a singular cultural background, American music encompasses thousands of traditions that should be recognized as equally important parts of the whole. The parsing out of these threads is endless but worthy work that yields meaningful discoveries about American folklife. I send my thanks to Jim Leary, Marcus Cederström, Richard Martin, Archeophone Records, the Mills Music Library and the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and all other institutions and people involved in this project—a dynamic and powerful step forward in viewing folklife through a musical lens.