Alexander, George | |
---|---|
Birth name | Clifford Alexander Wiley |
Born | July 9, 1867 Baltimore, Maryland |
Died | March 2, 1913 New York |
Genres | popular |
Occupation(s) | singer |
Years active | 1903 – 1913 |
Labels | Columbia, Zonophone, Victor |
George Alexander (July 9, 1867 – March 2, 1913) was a baritone and pioneer recording artist who made several best-selling records for Columbia Records in the first decade of the 20th century.
George Alexander was born in Baltimore on July 9, 1867, [1] his birth name was Clifford Alexander Wiley. [2] His initial recording activity was for Zonophone Records in 1902, and he subsequently recorded for Columbia Talking Machine Co. in 1903, where he produced the majority of his output. [1] He also recorded a few sides for Victor Records in 1903. [1] The same year, he made cylinder records for Edison under the pseudonym Arthur Clifford. [3] He died on March 2, 1913, in New York [1] at the age of 45. [2]
He died of heart disease and Bright's disease in New York City on 2 March 1913 and is buried in New Jersey Cemetery in North Bergen New Jersey. [4]
He has been noted for his "robust sonority and precise diction." [5] Joel Whitburn, in his chart reconstructions, estimates that Alexander had three records that would have made the Billboard charts had they existed: Mighty Lak' a Rose (Columbia disc 1585, cylinder 32295) at #3 in December 1903; America (Columbia disc 3099, cylinder 32637) at #7 in May 1905, and Dearie (Columbia disc 3378, cylinder 32928) at #10 in July 1906. [2]
Marion Try Slaughter, better known by his stage name Vernon Dalhart, was an American country music singer and songwriter. His recording of the classic ballad "Wreck of the Old 97" was the first country song reputed to have sold one million copies, although sales figures for pre-World War Two recordings are difficult to verify.
The Peerless Quartet was an American vocal group that recorded in the early years of the twentieth century. They formed to record for Columbia Records, where they were credited as the Columbia Quartet or Columbia Male Quartet. From about 1907, when they began to record for record labels other than Columbia, they were more widely known as the Peerless Quartet.
"Heartaches" is a song written by composer Al Hoffman and singer John Klenner and originally published in 1931. A fast-tempo instrumental version of the song by Ted Weems and his Orchestra became a major hit in 1947, topping the Billboard Best Selling Singles chart. Later versions by band leader Harry James and doo-wop group the Marcels were also chart successes. "Heartaches" received renewed attention in the 2010s after several 1930s recordings of the song, including a version by Sid Phillips & his Melodians with Al Bowlly, were sampled in the Caretaker's album Everywhere at the End of Time.
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John W. Myers, who was usually credited as J. W. Myers, was an American baritone singer, who recorded widely in the United States between the early 1890s and early 1917. His recordings, including "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1893), "The Sidewalks of New York" (1895), "Just Tell Them That You Saw Me" (1895), "When You Were Sweet Sixteen" (1901), "On a Sunday Afternoon" (1902), "Way Down In Old Indiana" (1902), and "In the Good Old Summer Time" (1902), were among the most popular of the period.
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