Lyons and Yosco were an American

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' ...

, 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 Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

ranks." They toured the United States from 1909 into 1923, doing a musical and comedy act. 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." They were also successful composers of popular music, including

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

. 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 The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

George Lyons

George Lyons was the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

for Dominick George Martoccia (b. 26 June 1889,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– d. 31 January 1958, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida). In his life he was a Vaudeville performer, a composer, and a movie actor. He was described by the ''

Los Angeles Herald The ''Los Angeles Herald'' or the ''Evening Herald'' was a newspaper published in Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1873 by Charles A. Storke, the newspaper was acquired by William Randolph Hearst in 1931. It ...

'' as "a premier

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing ...

, playing most every kind of music, including ragtime, on his instrument." 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. He starred in a

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

short movie, ''George Lyons, The Singing Harpist'' in 1929, performing four songs. He also acted in the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

movies ''Hylton and His Band'' (1937) and ''In the Spotlight'' (1935).

Bob Yosco

Robert Joseph Yosco (b. 11 February 1874,

Castelmezzano Castelmezzano ( Castelmezzano dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Albano di Lucania, Anzi, Laurenzana, Pietrapertosa, Trivigno. It is one ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

– d. 19 September 1942,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York) was born Rocco Giuseppe Iosco. He was a Vaudeville performer, comedian, composer, singer and actor, and played mandolin, violin and cello. He is considered one of the first ragtime mandolin players in America. The ''Los Angeles Herald'' called his cello and mandolin playing "of high order", but was less impressed with his singing. 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."

Lawrence Yosco

Robert's cousin, Lawrence Yosco was also involved in music, founding the ''Lawrence Yosco Manufacturing Company'' of New York, making banjos and mandolins. He also toured the country as a guitar and banjo soloist.

Works

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 Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

for recorded music). It tended not to happen as quickly as with music sales today, taking as long as 20 years for the hit "

Maple Leaf Rag The "Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered on September 18, 1899) is an early ragtime musical piece composed for piano by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, becoming the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers. It ...

", but it did happen. "Spaghetti Rag" (1910) was part of a list of million-selling songs that included

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...

's "

" and Charles L. Johnson's "Dill Pickles Rag". A different version was published in 1950, with words added by

Dick Rogers Richard Rogers (1912–1970) was a singer, comedian, songwriter and pianist, who wrote the lyrics for "Harlem Nocturne". He was a member of the Ray Noble orchestra and the Will Osborne band. Rogers was associated with Will Osborne, a "star c ...

. Although it was long a staple of their vaudeville act, they never recorded it. The earliest record was made by banjoist

Vess L. Ossman Sylvester Louis "Vess" Ossman (August 21, 1868 – December 7, 1923) was a leading five-string banjoist and popular recording artist of the early 20th century. Biography Sylvester Louis Ossman was born in Hudson, New York, and made his first ...

(1 July 1912), and probably the most known version was performed by

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

(1950), arranged for harp, tenor banjo and tuba. "Spaghetti Rag" became popular in the swing and

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

music scenes, being covered by artists such as

Jack Fina Jack Fina (August 13, 1913 – May 14, 1970) was a bandleader, songwriter, and pianist. Fina was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and educated at the New York College of Music and was a student of August Fraemcke and Elsa Nicilini. He started out p ...

(January 1950),

Ray Anthony Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini; January 20, 1922) is an American retired bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. He is the last living member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Bentleyv ...

(March 1950),

Frankie Carle Frankie Carle (born Francis Nunzio Carlone, March 25, 1903 – March 7, 2001) was an American pianist and bandleader. As a very popular bandleader in the 1940s and 1950s, Carle was nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keyboard" for his piano skills. " Su ...

(March 1950),

Beatrice Kay Beatrice Kay (April 21, 1907– November 8, 1986) was an American singer, vaudevillian, music hall performer, and stage and film actress. Background Born in New York City as Hannah Beatrice Kuper, Kay performed as Honey Kuper and Honey Day for ...

(April 1950),

Jan August Jan August (born Jan Augustoff; September 24, 1904 – January 9, 1976) was an American pianist and xylophonist. He had a hit with his version of " Misirlou" in 1947 with Carl Frederick Tandberg. August was born in New York City. He was self-tau ...

(July 1950),

Russ Morgan Russell Morgan (April 29, 1904 – August 7, 1969) was an American big band leader and arranger during the 1930s and 1940s. He was best known for being one of the composers of the song " You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", with Larry Stock an ...

(January 1952),

Johnny Maddox John Sheppard Maddox Jr. (August 4, 1927 – November 27, 2018) was an American ragtime pianist, historian, and collector of music memorabilia. Life and career Maddox was born in 1927 in Gallatin, Tennessee. His interest in the ragtime era was f ...

(1955),

Joe "Fingers" Carr Lou Busch ( Louis Ferdinand Bush; July 18, 1910 – September 19, 1979) was an American record producer, musician and songwriter, best known for performing, as a pianist under the pseudonym Joe "Fingers" Carr. Biography Busch (né Bush) was bo ...

(1956),

Big Tiny Little Dudley "Big Tiny" Little, Jr. (August 31, 1930 – March 3, 2010)
Thedeadrockstarsclub.com, accessed March 2010 was an ...

(1957),

Claude Thornhill Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You". Early years Thornhill was the son of J. Chester Thornhill ...

(March 1959) and

Jo Ann Castle Jo Ann Castle (born September 3, 1939) is an American honky-tonk pianist, best remembered for appearing on ''The Lawrence Welk Show''. She adopted her stage name from the name of an accordion manufacturer, another instrument she played proficie ...

(1960). It is also cited as an influence on

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy and humorous, often Music and politics, political songs that ...

's "

The Vatican Rag "The Vatican Rag" is a ragtime parody song by American satirist Tom Lehrer. The song purports to be a response to the Second Vatican Council, a meeting that proposed reforms to the Catholic Church. First performed in 1965, it is controversial for ...

". Lyons and Yosco also composed popular songs like: *"I'm Coming Back to Dixie and You", lyrics by Frank Mullane, performed by

The Peerless Quartet 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, w ...

(16 June 1914) and

Frank Crumit Frank Crumit (September 26, 1889 – September 7, 1943) was an American singer, composer, radio entertainer, and vaudeville star. He shared his radio programs with his wife, Julia Sanderson, and the two were sometimes called "the ideal coupl ...

(14 April 1920). *"Rose of Italy", lyrics by Edgar Selden, performed by

Walter Van Brunt Walter Van Brunt (22 April 1892 – 11 April 1971) was an American tenor known initially for his recordings on Thomas Alva Edison's Blue Amberol Records and later for his role in a scandal involving a stage name and case of adultery. Biograph ...

(1915) *"I Miss You", lyrics by George Lyons and Bob Yosco, performed by Edwin Dale also known as

Tandy Mackenzie Tandy may refer to: Companies * Tandy Corporation (1919–2000), a leather supply company which became the RadioShack Corporation in 2000 ** Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company, name used from 1919 to 1956 ** TRS-80 Color Computer, rebranded as Tandy C ...

(December 1922)

Published music

George Lyons and Bob Yosco

* Tony Rag, The Cowboy Whop (1910) * Spaghetti Rag (1910) * Mardi Gras Rag (1914) * I'm Coming Back To Dixie and You (1914) * Rose of Italy (1914) * Don't Worry, Dearie (1917) * Macaroni Joe (1917) * The Road for You and Me (1917) * Santa Rosa Rose (1918) * The Liberty Boys are Coming (1918) (manuscript) * Sweet Anna Marie (1919) * The Toast of the USA (1919) * Come Along and Hum Along With Me (1920) * Italy (1921) * Main Street (c. 1921) * It Must Be Someone Like You (c. 1921) * There's Only One Pal, After All (c. 1921) * I Miss You (1922) * Sometime in Junetime (1923)

Bob Yosco

* What's the Use of Trying to Forget the One You Love (1910) * The Old Love is the Best Love After All (1913) * I'm a Happy Gondoliero (1929)

Footnotes

External links

Original sheet music for "Spaghetti Rag" at the University of Colorado Boulder Music LibraryBob Yosco recordingsGeorge Lyons recordingsBio of Iosco family in Vintage Guitar magazineBook "Ragtime Gems" talks about million selling songsRagtime, an Encyclopedia talks about big ragtime hitsSheet music at Library of CongressSheet music at Library of CongressRecording "I'm Coming Back to Dixie and You", recording at Library of Congress
* ttp://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/ref/collection/social/id/1962 Photo of George Lyons with his harp in the University of Washington Digital Collection. {{Authority control, additional=Q55859956,Q55859963 American ragtime mandolinists American harpists American vaudeville performers American comedy duos American musical duos Ragtime composers American ragtime musicians People from Castelmezzano Italian emigrants to the United States American performance artists Musicians from New York City Jazz musicians from New York (state) American male jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American jazz composers