The Original Indiana Five were not from Indiana. Their name was an apparent attempt to sound like other bands of the day that had names like the Original Memphis Five and the Original New Orleans Jazz Band. The band played mainly in New York City and were broadcast on the radio. They were active from sometime in the late Teens or early 1920s to 1929. They also recorded under the name of John Sylvester and his Orchestra. The group got back together in 1948 and played in New York until sometime in the early 1950s.

Thanks to Scott and Mark of Vintage Music Company and James Gallup, for their help with the recordings on this page. If you are looking for great jazz on 78's, visit the Vintage Music Company's homepage (www.vintagemusicco.com)
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Title Recording Date Recording Location Company
All Over Nothing At All
(James Rule)		 1923 Long Island City, New York La Belle 1511
(Benny Davis and the Indiana Syncopators)
Back O'Town Blues
(Bowen / Berbedeaux)		 1-2-1924 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
Bebe
(Silver)		 5-1-1923 Long Island City, New York Olympic
1444-B
Beside A Babbling Brook
(Walter Donaldson)		 5-1-1923 Long Island City, New York Olympic
1444-A
Brown Pepper
(Harry Barris)		 11-1-1926 New York, New York National Music Lovers
1186
Brown Sugar
(Harry Barris)		 11-1-1926 New York, New York Emerson
Can You Picture That?
(E. Dolan)		 10-1-1926 New York, New York Emerson 3069
Clementine
(From New Orleans)
(Harry Warren / Harry Creamer)		 9-28-1927 New York, New York Harmony
510-H
Coffee Pot Blues
(Original Indiana Five)		 1-2-1927 New York, New York Regal
8248
Banner
1931-B
Cow Bell Blues 10-1-1926 New York, New York National Music Lovers 1191
Croonin' A Tune 7-14-1925 New York, New York Gennett
Cuckoo
(Reitz)		 6-19-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3093-A
Deep Henderson
(Fred Rose)		 5-18-1926 New York, New York Harmony
Delilah
(Rose / Fisher)		 12-24-1926 New York, New York Harmony
Everybody Stomp
(Elmer Schoebel / Billy Meyers)		 10-13-1925 New York, New York Harmony
Everybody Stomp
(Elmer Schoebel / Billy Meyers)		 11-6-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3181
Everybody's Doin' The Charleston Now
(White / Cecil Mack / James P. Johnson)		 10-27-1925 New York, New York Harmony
Everybody's Doin' The Charleston Now
(White / Cecil Mack / James P. Johnson)		 11-6-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3182-A
Everything Is Hotsy-Totsy Now
(Jimmy McHugh / Dorothy Fields / Irving Mills)		 5-1-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3060
Fallen Arches
(Ponce / Van Loan)		 12-5-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3230-B
Florida Low Down
(Coots / Trent / Fats Waller)		 4-9-1926 New York, New York Harmony
Gettin' The Blues
(E. Dolan)		 10-1-1926 New York, New York Bell 445-B
Hangin' Around
(Gardener / Hamm / Harris)		 4-9-1926 New York, New York Harmony
Hard-To-Get Gertie
(Jack Yellen / Milton Ager)		 3-1-1926 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
36428 B
Perfect
14609 B
Hard-To-Get Gertie
(Jack Yellen / Milton Ager)		 3-30-1926 New York, New York Cameo 924
Hard-To-Get Gertie
(Jack Yellen / Milton Ager)		 4-7-1926 New York, New York OKeh 40599
Heebie Jeebies
(Boyd Atkins / Jones)		 10-1-1926 New York, New York Bell 456-B
I'd Leave Ten Men Like Yours To Love One Man Like Mine
(Bloom / Farrar)		 5-18-1926 New York, New York Harmony
I'd Rather Be Alone
(Just Thinking Of You)
(Jack Yellen / Milton Ager)		 1-13-1926 New York, New York Harmony
I'd Rather Be Alone
(Just Thinking Of You)
(Jack Yellen / Milton Ager)		 1-14-1926 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
36377
Perfect 14558
I'm Coming, Virginia
(Marion Cook / Donald Heywood)		 9-28-1927 New York, New York Harmony
I'm Goin' Out If Lizzie Comes In
(Buddy De Sylva / Lew Brown / Ray Henderson)		 9-21-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3148-B
Silvertone
4002-B
I'm Gonna Hang Around My Sugar
(Jack Palmer / Spencer Williams)		 10-8-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3166
I'm Gonna Hang Around My Sugar
(Jack Palmer / Spencer Williams)		 10-13-1925 New York, New York Harmony
Indiana Shuffle
(Original Indiana Five)		 1-2-1927 New York, New York Oriole
819
Banner
1931-A
Indiana Stomp
(Original Indiana Five)		 7-14-1925 New York, New York Champion
15008-B
Indiana Stomp
(Original Indiana Five)		 9-2-1925 New York, New York Okeh 40456
Jackass Blues
(Art Kassel / Mel Stitzel)		 10-1-1926 New York, New York Bell 445-A
Jubilee Blues
(Abrahams)		 1-2-1924 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
Lo-Nah
(Stept / Green)		 1-14-1926 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
Perfect 14560
Lady Lou
(Berwick)		 4-1926 New York, New York Grey Gull
Louisville Lou
(Milton Ager / Jack Yellen)		 4-1-1923 Long Island City, New York Olympic
(Original Indiana Syncopators)
Low-Down Sawed-Off Blues
(Henderson / Mace)		 3-1-1927 New York, New York Bell 547-B
Mean, Mean Mama
(Young / Squires)		 9-7-1923 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
021070 A
Melancholy Lou
(Ray Hibbler)		 10-8-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3166
Memphis Blues
(W.C. Handy)		 1-15-1927 New York, New York Emerson
Memphis Blues
(W.C. Handy)		 4-1-1927 New York, New York Cameo
Moten Stomp
(Bennie Moten)		 2-17-1928 New York, New York Banner
7084
Regal
8592-B
My Baby Knows How
(Davis / Akst / Richman)		 10-1-1926 New York, New York Bell 456-A
My Melancholy Baby
(Norman / Burnett)		 7-19-1927 New York, New York Banner
My Own Blues
(Berwick)		 4-30-1926 New York, New York Grey Gull 1332
(Original Dixie Rag Pickers)
No Man's Mama
(Yellen-Pollack)		 11-6-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3183
Nobody's Sweetheart
(Gus Kahn / Ernie Erdman / Billy Meyers) 		2-28-1928 New York, New York Cameo
Oh! Boy, What A Girl 8-13-1925 New York, New York Gennett
Oh! Boy, What A Girl
(Wright / Bessinger)		 9-2-1925 New York, New York Okeh 40456
One Sweet Letter From You
(Warren / Brown / Clare)		 5-26-1927 New York, New York Harmony
Pensacola
(Rose)		 12-5-1925 New York, New York Gennett
Pensacola
(Rose)		 1-13-1926 New York, New York Cameo 924
Pensacola
(Rose)		1-13-1926 New York, New York Harmony
Pensacola
(Rose)		4-7-1926 New York, New York OKeh 40599
Play It, Red
(Harry Barris)		 New York, New York Harmony
Pretty Puppy
(Conrad / Bernie)		 8-19-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3153-A
Rarin' To Go
(Indiana Five)		 7-19-1927 New York, New York Banner
Red-Hot Henry Brown
(Fred Rose)		 7-14-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3112
Champion
15008-A
Running After You
(Bibo / Johnson)		 1-13-1926 New York, New York Harmony
Say, Arabella
(Kahn / Fiorito)		 6-19-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3083
Seminola
(Warren / King)		 5-1-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3060
Siberia
(Ponce / Van Loan)		 9-21-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3150-A
Sittin' Around
(Kahn / Sanders)		 3-1-1926 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
Perfect 14601
Slow Poke
(Fagin / Gold)		 4-1-1923 Long Island City, New York Olympic
(Original Indiana Syncopators)
So Is Your Old Lady
(Burke / Dubin)		 4-9-1926 New York, New York Harmony 179-H
Some Of These Days
(Shelton Brooks)		 4-1-1927 New York, New York Cameo
Some Of These Days
(Shelton Brooks)		 5-1-1927 New York, New York Banner
Somebody's Making A Fuss Over Somebody
(Howard)		 2-17-1928 New York, New York Banner
Someday, Sweetheart
(Bejamin Spikes / John Spikes / Jellyroll Morton)		 9-28-1927 New York, New York Harmony
Someone Waits For Me
(Chelsey)		 4-1926 New York, New York Grey Gull
Spanish Mama
(Elmer Schoebel / Billy Meyers)		 5-18-1926 New York, New York Harmony
St. Louis Blues
(W.C. Handy)		 1-15-1927 New York, New York Emerson 3119
St. Louis Gal
(J. Russel Robinson)		 11-6-1923 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
Perfect
14200-B
Stavin' Change
(The Meanest Man In New Orleans)
(Al Bernard)		 9-7-1923 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
021070 B
Stockholm Stomp
(Pettis / Goering)		 12-24-1926 New York, New York Harmony
Struttin' Jerry
(H. Ford)		 5-1-1927 New York, New York Banner
Struttin' Jerry
(Harry Ford - Indiana Five)		 5-26-1927 New York, New York Banner
6023-B
Sugar
(Mitchell / Alexander / Pinkard) 		5-1-1927 New York, New York Banner
Sweet Georgia Brown
(Maceo Pinkard / Kenneth Casey / Ben Bernie) 		5-1-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3059-B
(Take ‘Em To The Door)
That's All There Is
(There Ain't No More)
(Rose / Davis / Henderson)		 9-21-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3150-B
The Chant
(Mel Stitzel)		 12-24-1926 New York, New York Harmony
The Crawl
(Original Indiana Five)		 1-2-1927 New York, New York Jewel 5002
The Junk Man's Dream
(Ford)		 1-13-1928 New York, New York Harmony 632-H
The Lighthouse Blues
(Schuster / Schuster / Yellman)		 7-19-1927 New York, New York Banner 6028
There Ain't No Maybe In My Baby's Eyes
(Kahn / Egan / Donaldson)		 11-1-1926 New York, New York Bell 463-B
Thrown Down Blues
(Frank Signorelli)		1-15-1927 New York, New York Emerson 3119
Tin Roof Blues
(New Orleans Rhythm Kings)		 11-6-1923 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
Perfect
14200-A
Too Bad
(Elmer Schoebel / Billy Meyers)		 3-1-1926 New York, New York Pathe Actuelle
Perfect 14601
Two Tired Eyes
(Davis / Richman / Meyer)		 6-19-1925 New York, New York Gennett
3093-B
Two-Time Dan
(Turk / Robinson)		 5-1-1923 Long Island City, New York Olympic
1443-B
What Can A Poor Fellow Do?
(Elmer Schoebel / Billy Meyers)		 1-13-1928 New York, New York Harmony 632-H
When You Walked Out
(Someone Else Walked Right In)
(Irving Berlin)		 5-1-1923 Long Island City, New York Olympic
Where Will I Be?
(Coots / Tortomas / Ford)		 2-17-1928 New York, New York Banner
7057-B
Where Will I Be?
(Coots / Tortomas / Ford)		 2-28-1928 New York, New York Cameo
ArtistInstrument
James Christie Trumpet
Tony Colucci Banjo
Johnny Costello Clarinet
Peter Dale Vocal
Newman Fier Piano, Director
Harry Ford Piano, Director
Vincent Grande Trombone
Tom Morton Drums, Kazoo, Vocal, Director
Tony Pace Vocal
Charles Panelli Trombone
Pete Pelizzi Trombone
Johnny Sylvester Trumpet
Tony Tortomas Trumpet
Nick Vitalo Clarinet, Alto Saxophone