Hear the Star of the Broadway Musical “Vanderbilt Cup” Sing!
No greater evidence of the success of the Vanderbilt Cup Race emerged than when popular culture embraced it. In January 1906, the first two races inspired a Broadway musical titled, aptly enough, “The Vanderbilt Cup,” starring 17-year old sensation Elsie Janis.
Before the 1906 competition, race participants had box seats to watch Janis perform on stage: (from left to right) George Robertson, Ralph Mongini, Al Poole, Walter Christie, Louis Wagner, unidentified, Louis Vivet and Joe Tracy. The show featured appearances by track racer Barney Oldfield who developed special effects to simulate the race on stage using a treadmill.
Mark Dill has found this 1907 recording of Elsie Janis singing "Fo' de Law'd's Sake Play a Waltz".
Comments
Howard—I have the original sheet music of “Somewhere in the World” from The Venderbilt Cup as sung by Elsie Janis. There’s a nie B&W portrait of her on the front cover but, alas, no car illustrations at.
Cheers,
Dave Brownell
Hi David:
Thanks for the comment. My collection includes about eight original music sheets from the “The Vanderbilt Cup” musical.
Howard