Georges Sellers (1907-1987, real name Germain Blanc) was a french multi-instrumentalist musician, composer, arranger and bandleader.
Of Marseilles origin, he played and orchestrated several operettas of the interwar years, and he led and played the accordion in his band “le Jazz Marseillais”. He is noted for working with Vincent Scotto on his operettas from Marseilles. He was the conductor of the scores for the films of Marcel Pagnol. In occupied France, Georges Sellers led the big operetta hits at the Théâtre des Variétés, then in the 1950’s with his orchestra in various venues in Paris and Strasbourg.
Georges Sellers has recorded a lot of music, in particular for the HMV/Gramophone record label in the 1930’s. Here we are presenting an extract from a piece from the operetta “Marseille, mes amours” composed by Sellers in 1938. This track is performed by Marcel Véran (vocal) and the band “Le Jazz Marseillais”. Another version of this piece, with other performers, can be found on the compilation “Vive les opérettes marseillaises, 110 refrains populaires de Vincent Scotto et Georges Sellers (1930-1945)”.
Musically, it is a sung tango played by a small dance orchestra. Of particular interest is the presence of the accordion, which plays the role of a bridge between the traditional bandoneon of the tango and the popular french accordion, which Georges Sellers himself played expertly. Was he the accordion player on this side? We shall probably never know…
Technically, the track was cut laterally and electrically at the speed of 78 rpm. The groove wear is average. Crackles, surface noise and distorsion are pronounced without being over the top.
Our audio restoration allows for a better listening experience on contemporary loudspeakers and headphones.
Thank you to Lionel Blanc, the grandson of Georges Sellers, for this wonderful discovery!
To learn more about this talented musician of yesteryear, click on the link below. It is full of details and anecdotes…