Lyons and Yosco were an American comedy duo, consisting of Italian American musicians George Lyons and Bob Yosco. They were defined by the Ottawa Evening Journal "the finest pair of Italian street musicians playing in the Vaudeville ranks."[1] They toured the United States from 1909 into 1923, doing a musical and comedy act.[2][3][4] The News Journal described their performance, saying they were "the best vocalists and instrumentalists of the street variety on the stage, proved intensely interesting, while their droll comedy kept the audience laughing much of the time."[5]
They were also successful composers of popular music, including ragtime. One of their best known works was the million-selling ragtime piece, "Spaghetti Rag" which was notably popular during the ragtime revival in the 1950s. Their compositions were recorded by performers for Victor Records and Columbia Records.[6][7]
George Lyons
George Lyons was the stage name for Dominick George Martoccio (b. 26 June 1889, New York City– d. 31 January 1958, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida).[8][9][10] In his life he was a Vaudeville performer, a composer, and a movie actor. He was described by the Los Angeles Herald as "a premier harpist, playing most every kind of music, including ragtime, on his instrument."[11] Prior to his partnership with Bob Yosco, he worked in 1908 and 1909 with Eddie Parks, a singer and dancer, and when they parted he seems to have kept the basic act to use with Yosco.[12][13] He starred in a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short movie, George Lyons, The Singing Harpist in 1929, performing four songs.[14] He also acted in the MGM movies Hylton and His Band (1937) and In the Spotlight (1935).[8]
Robert Joseph Yosco was a Vaudeville performer, a comedian, composer, singer and actor, and played mandolin, violin and cello. He is considered one of the first ragtime mandolin players in America.[15] The Los Angeles Herald called his cello and mandolin playing "of high order", but was less impressed with his singing.[11] The Harrisburg Telegraph had a different opinion, saying they "took their audience by storm with their vocal duets. They were applauded several times for encores. They could sing in a real way and that is half of any act."[16]
Lawrence Yosco
Robert's brother Lawrence Yosco was also involved in music, founding the Lawrence Yosco Manufacturing Company of New York, making banjos and mandolins.[17] He also toured the country as a guitar and banjo soloist.[18]
Works
Cover of sheet music "Spaghetti Rag" (1910)
According to David A. Jasen, in his book Ragtime gems: original sheet music for 25 ragtime classics, sheet music for ragtime songs sometimes sold a million copies (the standard of today's Platinum Record for recorded music).[19] It tended not to happen as quickly as with music sales today, taking as long as 20 years for the hit "Maple Leaf Rag", but it did happen.[19]
"Spaghetti Rag" (1910) was part of a list of million-selling songs that included Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" and Charles L. Johnson's "Dill Pickles Rag".[19] A different version was published in 1950, with words added by Dick Rogers.[20] Although it was long a staple of their vaudeville act, they never recorded it.[21] The earliest record was made by banjoist Vess L. Ossman (1 July 1912), and probably the most known version was performed by Robert Maxwell (1950), arranged for harp, tenor banjo and tuba.[21]
↑ "Majestic Big Time Vaudeville". San Antonio Evening News. San Antonio, Texas. 28 April 1922. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Lyons and Yosco in "Music and Songs"
↑ "Lyons at Majestic". The Houston Post. Houston, Texas. 25 January 1924. Retrieved 25 September 2016. George Lyons who formerly circulated the big time circuits with Bob Yosco...
↑ "Amusements, The Garrick". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. 5 October 1912. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
↑ "Bob Yosco (composer)". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
↑ "George Lyons (composer)". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
↑ "Deaths, George Lyons, 61, Vaudevillian". Ashbury Park Press. Ashbury Park, New Jersey. 2 February 1958. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — George Lyons, harpist and Vaudevillian...died here Friday.
↑ "Domenico Martoccio in the U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1956". ancestry.com. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Ancestry.com. U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1956 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Martoccio Domenico age 49 male married born 26 June 1889 New York City, NY (Known as George Lyons) 115 Halstead St, East Orange, New Jersey
1 2 Olympius, Shirley (5 July 1910). "The Theaters". Los Angeles Herald. Los Angeles. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
↑ "Chapin Clever in Lincoln Act". Trenton Evening News. Trenton, New Jersey. 17 November 1908. Retrieved 25 September 2016. George Lyons, a harpist, and Eddie Parks, a singer, scored well in a versatile act which introduced vocal and instrumental music with some dancing and comedy dialogue.
↑ "Vaudeville". The New York Times. New York, New York. 9 May 1909. Retrieved 25 September 2016. ...Lyons and Parks, the harpist and the dancer...
↑ "YOSCO BANJOS ARE NEW TYPE". Presto, The American Musical Trade Weekly. No.1752. Chicago, Illinois: Presto Publishing Company. 19 February 1920. p.23. Retrieved 25 September 2016. YOSCO BANJOS ARE NEW TYPE The L. Yosco Manufacturing Company, Inc., 204 West Thirty-fourth street, New York, is making a double-rim banjo, so constructed as to increase the resonance and carrying power and also the quality of the tone...L. Yosco has traveled all over the country with the big musical shows as a great banjoist and guitar soloist, playing eighteen strings...
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