Rudy Germain was one of the last artists to join Vocalstyle, recording for them for only a couple of years before they closed in January 1927.

According to the Social Security Death Index, his full name was Rudolph Warren Germain, and his mother's maiden name was Myers. The WWI draft finds him a student at Fostoria High School in Seneca, Ohio, described as having grey eyes and brown hair. The 1920 census lists him as a recruit under training at the US Naval Base in Great Lakes, Illinois. However, he also appears at the family home in Seneca, Ohio and listed as a 'sailor'.

The first instance of his musical activities appears in a newspaper's radio listings for 28th November 1924 - WMH Cincinnati featured 'Rudy Germain, pianist', and again on 10th December.

January 1925 appears to have been Rudy's debut for Vocalstyle, with 8 titles crediting him as the pianist (including 'Tea For Two' and 'Me And The Boy Friend'. He remained a regular artist until Vocalstyle ceased operations in January 1927, his last performances being released in November 1926 ("Me Too" and "Petrushka").

Following the closure of Vocalstyle, he continued his radio performances, being a featured artist on station WLW's May 1927 listings. That year also saw the publishing of his first known composition, 'Red Head Blues' (written with Ralph Lillard, a prominent jazz percussionist in Indiana. It became a hit and was recorded by Red Nichols and His Five Pennies, featuring famous trombonist Miff Mole.

Despite this success, Germain appears to have published very little else - copyrighting just two others titles, with the rather unpromising titles of 'Congo' (1931) and 'Never Swap Your Horses While You're Crossing The Stream' (1940). Perhaps this was due to the fact that he had a steady 'day job' with the Cleveland Model And Supply Company as a draftsman, designing kitset model aircraft. He's listed as such in the 1930 Census, and is mentioned (together with the above photo) in a book documenting the history of the company ('Aviation's Great Recruiter - Cleveland's Ed Packard', by H. L. Schreiner). This profession suggests he may have been useful to the Vocalstyle company as a roll editor, as well as performer.

The 1930 Census also is the first documentation listing his wife, Rebecca, a year younger than him. They are listed as having married in 1921, and living in Cleveland, Ohio as 'roomers' in the house of an unrelated couple. No children are listed, although as they were still relatively young they may have been born post-1930. In 1940, he's back to listing himself as single, and working as a civil engineer for the county.

The final mention of Rudy Germain in official records is his death on 5th April 1986 in Vista, San Diego, California at the age of 84. His performances for Vocalstyle reveal musical ideas and harmonies that were ahead of their time - in particular his roll of 'Don't Bring Lulu', which was described by one collector as 'a fine hand-played performance with a particularly hot jazz coda which just about tears up the paper.'  Another added 'Not only is there a heart-stopping coda, but there's an interlude that is its equal, except a bit longer!". High praise indeed.