Time to shift the spotlight back to the fairer sex. Today’s artist is someone who overcame adversity to make it in the music industry of the early 20th century. Aileen Stanley, whose given name was the decidedly unjazzy Maude Elsie Aileen Muggeridge, was raised by a single, widowed mother. Maude was quick to discover Vaudeville, and while her brother performed with her at first, she soon broke out when he left their act. Her stint led her to (where else?) New York City, where her prowess on the revue stage led her to a recording career. After the onset of the Great Depression, she moved to England, where her parents had hailed from. After her recording career had gone by the wayside, she worked as a vocal teacher. She would pass away in 1982 in Los Angeles, aged 89.
The song is a lamentation that the singer lacks love in her life. She doesn’t lack for proper housing, pets, furniture and incense. The furniture referred to in the song, the Morris chair was one of the earliest forms of the recliner. Winding the clock back to the 1920s, this was the apex of luxury. The singer also laments that time seems to be passing her by. She even mentions that her friends and acquaintances will vouch for her being nice, and worthy of lasting love. The song’s core message and timing are quite interesting-this seemed to be at a time when the economy could do no wrong, and the acquisition of goods was very much en vogue. This song doesn’t condemn the lifestyle of acquisition, yet still not so subtly implies there is more to happiness than simply “having it all”. A message that needed to be heard then, and can still be taken to heart now.
Music Through the Mists of Time 