Haydn Quartet (vocal ensemble)

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Haydn Quartet
Edison Quartet, 1896.jpg
Founding members of the Edison Quartet, 1896
Background information
Also known asThe Edison Quartet
Hayden Quartet
Genres Vocal group
Years active1896–1914
Labels Victor, Edison
Past members

The Haydn Quartet, later known as the Hayden Quartet, was one of the most popular recording close harmony quartets in the early twentieth century. It was originally formed in 1896 as the Edison Quartet to record for Edison Records; it took its new name when recording for other companies. The name was a homage to Joseph Haydn, the classical composer; the spelling was later revised to Hayden, which reflects the way it was pronounced. [1] The group disbanded in 1914.

Contents

Formation

The Haydn Quartet originally formed under the name "Edison Quartet" in 1896, with a membership of John Bieling (tenor), Jere Mahoney (tenor), Samuel Holland Rous (who performed under the name S. H. Dudley, baritone), [2] and William F. Hooley (bass). Mahoney was soon replaced by John Scantlebury Macdonald, who used the pseudonym Harry Macdonough. [3] They recorded as the Edison Quartet (or Edison Male Quartet), before taking the name Haydn Quartet around 1898 in order to record for companies other than Edison. [4]

In 1901 they signed a contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company, and in 1902 also traveled to the UK to record for the Gramophone Company, which was Victor's affiliate. [5] The group had great success over the next decade as one of the premier recording groups of the time, on a par with the Peerless Quartet. The Haydn Quartet often sang material at a slower tempo and in a statelier fashion than other groups. [1] The ensemble also performed vaudeville and minstrel show songs, one of which, "The Camp Meeting Jubilee", released in 1904 as Victor no. 4003, includes a very early recorded use of the phrase "rockin' and rollin'", albeit used with a spiritual rather than secular connotation. [6] [7]

Recordings credited to the Haydn Quartet began to be phased out in 1908. [5] After that time, Billy Murray frequently sang lead with the group, and S. H. Dudley was often replaced by Reinald Werrenrath. [4] Following the successful collaborations between Murray and the Haydn Quartet, Victor organized a new group, the American Quartet, in 1910, with Murray, Bieling and Hooley from the Haydn Quartet, and baritone Steve Porter. The group's name was spelled Hayden after 1910. The quartet disbanded in 1914. [4] As well as members participating in the American Quartet, Macdonough and Hooley, together with Reinald Werranrath and tenor Lambert Murphy, also formed the Orpheus Quartet, who recorded successfully until 1919. [8]

In his book Pop Memories 1890-1954, music archivist and statistician Joel Whitburn assessed a variety of sources such as Talking Machine World 's lists of top-selling recordings, and Billboard 's sheet music and vaudeville charts, to estimate the most successful recordings of the period. He concluded that the Haydn Quartet had 62 "top ten" hits in all between 1898 and 1914, and in the decade 1900-1909 had more successful recordings than any other group, behind only Macdonough and Murray, who recorded as solo artists in addition to their group performances. [4] Although Whitburn's methods of assessment have been criticized, [9] this confirms that the group were one of the most popular of their era.

Discography

Hit singles

TitleYear
Peak position [4]
She Was Bred In Old Kentucky1898
3
Cornfield Medley1899
4
Because 1900
1
In the Good Old Summer Time [5] 1903
1
In the Sweet Bye and Bye [10]
3
My Old Kentucky Home
2
Bedelia [11] 1904
1
Blue Bell
1
Dear Old Girl
2
I Am Longing For You, Sweetheart, Day By Day
4
Old Folks at Home
4
Sweet Adeline (You're the Flower of My Heart) [5]
1
Toyland
1
Come Along, Little Girl, Come Along1905
8
Dearie
1
Down Where The Silv'ry Mohawk Flows
4
Grandfather's Clock
5
In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree [12]
2
My Little Canoe
2
Silent Night Hallowed Night
2
Tell Me With Your Eyes
3
The Holy City
10
Where The Southern Roses Grow
6
How'd You Like To Spoon With Me? [a] 1906
1
In Dear Old Georgia
3
Just A Little Rocking Chair And You
4
Waltz Me Around Again, Willie
5
When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder
6
Will You Love Me In December As You Do In May? [5]
2
In the Wildwood Where The Blue Bells Grew1907
2
My Wild Irish Rose [b]
2
Stein Song
10
When The Flowers Bloom In The Springtime, Molly Dear
5
Here's To The Girl!1908
5
I'm Happy When The Band Plays Dixie
8
Keep On Smiling
2
Love Me and the World Is Mine [14]
7
Rainbow
7
Sunbonnet Sue [15]
1
Take Me Out to the Ball Game [c]
1
When It's Moonlight on the Prairie
5
Yankee Doodle's Come To Town
8
Brown Eyes, Good-Bye1909
3
Lonesome
3
Meet Me In The Rose-Time, Rosie
6
Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet [5]
1
Sullivan
5
Take Me Up With You, Dearie
4
Take Me Out For A Joy Ride
4
The Hat My Father Wore On St. Patrick's Day
3
Up, Up, Up In My Aeroplane
3
By the Light of the Silvery Moon [c] 1910
1
Down In Sunshine Alley
4
I'll Make A Ring Around Rosie
2
Meet Me Where the Lanterns Glow
5
My Heart Has Learned To Love You, Now Do Not Say Good-bye
7
Tell Mother I'll Be There
6
The Garden Of Roses
9
Mary1911
7
By The Saskatchewan
5
In The Evening By The Moonlight1913
2
Cross the Great Divide [d] 1914
4

Notes

  1. ↑ with Corinne Morgan [13]
  2. ↑ This song could possibly be from 1905 [5]
  3. 1 2 with Billy Murray [5]
  4. ↑ This was the group's last hit song.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Library of Congress: Haydn Quartet. Retrieved 24 May 2013
  2. ↑ "Allan Sutton, Harry Macdonough: Victor's Singing Executive". Archived from the original on 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  3. ↑ Vocal Hall of Fame: The American Quartet Archived 2013-10-17 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 22 May 2013
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. pp.  201–203. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gage Averill, Four Parts, No Waiting : A Social History of American Barbershop Quartet, Oxford University Press, 2003, pp.70-75
  6. ↑ Meloware's Antique Phonograph Record Archive Archived 2004-08-18 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Larry Birnbaum, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll, Scarecrow Press, 2012
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Pop Memories 1890-1954, p.344
  9. ↑ Tim Brooks, A Discographic Deception: Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories, 1890‑1954, review for Antique Phonograph Monthly, 1987. Retrieved 20 May 2013
  10. ↑ Guy A. Marco, Frank Andrews (1993). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound in the United States. Garland Pub. p. 315. ISBN   978-0-8240-4782-5. "In the Sweet By and By" (#16352; 1903)
  11. ↑ David J. Steffen (2014). From Edison to Marconi: The First Thirty Years of Recorded Music. McFarland. p. 39. ISBN   978-0-7864-5156-2.
  12. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p.  528. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
  13. ↑ Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 1. Scarecrow Press. p. 812. ISBN   978-0-8108-8296-6.
  14. ↑ Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. pp. 30–31. ISBN   978-0-7864-2946-2.
  15. ↑ "Sunbonnet Sue". Library of Congress. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Annie Laurie". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on February 6, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Carry me back to ole Virginie". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on February 18, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  18. ↑ My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean by The Haydn Quartet (1901). Retrieved 24 May 2013
  19. ↑ "Glory Song". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on February 2, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  20. ↑ "The jolly blacksmiths With anvil effect". Library of Congress. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
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