Waif's Home

This is a ten-inch 78 rpm shellac disc pressed by the OKeh Phonograph Corporation, shown resting atop its original paper sleeve, which bears the OKeh logo rendered in decorative script above the phrase "The Record of Quality," along with a printed graphic of period instruments—a violin, drum, and other orchestral implements—and a block of promotional text beginning "THE HIGH ideal of perfection in recording..." The sleeve is stamped with the maker's mark "OKeh" throughout its design.

The record label itself is maroon with gold lettering, centered around the OKeh logo and the text "Viva-tonal Recording, OKeh Process." The label identifies the recording as catalog number 8379-A, titled "Big Fat Ma and Skinny Pa" (Jones), performed by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, with vocal chorus by Louis Armstrong. It notes the record was "Recorded in Chicago" and classifies the piece as a "Fox Trot." Additional printed text includes "For Best Results Use OKeh Needles" and "General Phonograph Corporation, New York." A matrix number appears at the outer edge of the label, reading 8879 or similar factory stamping consistent with OKeh's numbering system of the period.

This disc was recorded on June 23, 1926, in Chicago, during the historic Hot Five sessions that helped define early jazz. The reverse side of the disc carries "Sweet Little Papa," also performed by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five. The Hot Five lineup for these sessions typically included Louis Armstrong on cornet and vocals, Kid Ory on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Lil Hardin Armstrong on piano, and Johnny St. Cyr on banjo.