John Scantlebury Macdonald (May 30, 1871 – September 26, 1931) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-born singer of Irish and Scottish descent, and

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

executive. Under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Harry Macdonough, he was one of the most prolific and popular

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

s during the formative years of the recording industry. Based upon the ledgers of the four major record companies of the early twentieth century (Edison, Victor, Columbia and Brunswick), which are accessible online through the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR), some of his most popular recordings included “

Shine On, Harvest Moon "Shine On, Harvest Moon" is a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the Z ...

” (with Elise Stevenson), “

Down By The Old Mill Stream "Down by the Old Mill Stream" is a song written by Tell Taylor. It was one of the most popular songs of the early 20th century. The publisher, Forster Music Publisher, Inc., sold 4 million copies. Background The song was written in 1908 while T ...

”, “ They Didn’t Believe Me” (with Olive Kline), “Tell Me, Pretty Maiden” (with Grace Spencer), and “Where The River Shannon Flows”.

Music career

Macdonald was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. His earliest recorded performances were for the Michigan Electric Company in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, which made

phonograph cylinder Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engra ...

s for penny arcades. He caught the attention of

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important player in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by Edison's found ...

with a

demo recording A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

he made in October 1898, and began recording for Edison in

the Haydn Quartet 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 n ...

. From 1899 until his retirement in 1920, he recorded hundreds of songs both as a soloist and in ensembles. One of Macdonald's lesser-known performances is for performing "

Tessie "Tessie" is both the longtime anthem of the Boston Red Sox and a 2004 song by the punk rock group Dropkick Murphys. The original "Tessie" was from the 1902 Broadway musical ''The Silver Slipper''. The newer song, written in 2004, recounts how th ...

", then billed as "Tessie (You Are the Only Only Only)" from the Broadway musical ''The Silver Slipper'' in 1903, becoming a rallying cry for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

until 1918 and starting again in 2004 during the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

. During the 1900s, Macdonald took a job with the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

, becoming assistant manager and later manager of its New York City studio. As studio manager he oversaw the studio schedule, as well as negotiating contracts with artists and music publishers. In October 1913, he recorded a duet with the American singer

Marguerite Dunlap Marguerite Dunlap (July 20, 1887 – January 7, 1959) was an American contralto opera singer. She is mainly remembered for her recordings for Victor Records from 1904–1928. She recorded a wide range of music from operas to Broadway musicals to ...

of "When It's Apple Blossom Time in Normandy". Macdonald rose rapidly at Victor, becoming its national sales manager in 1920 and manager of

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire ( colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumental ...

in 1923. He moved to Columbia Records in 1925 and oversaw the technical development of its studios until his death.

References

External links

*
Harry Macdonough recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonough, Harry 1871 births 1931 deaths Canadian music industry executives Canadian pop singers Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian tenors Pioneer recording artists