Charles William Harrison (September 11, 1878 – February 2, 1965) in 1918

Charles William Harrison (September 11, 1878 – February 2, 1965) was an American

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 i ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

singer. He recorded under the pseudonyms: Hugh Donovan, Billy Burton, Charles Hilton, and Norman Terrell.

Biography

He was born on September 11, 1878, in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. Harrison studied singing in New York City with noted voice teacher

Frederick Bristol Frederick E. Bristol (4 November 1839 in Brookfield, Connecticut – 1932 in N.Y. City, New York) was a celebrated American voice teacher who operated private studios in Boston and New York City during the second half of the 19th century and early ...

and organist

Leo Koffler Leo Koffler (1879—1931) (full name Leon Bernhard Koffler, also known as Oskar Koffler) was a screenwriter, actor and singer. Living and working in Berlin in the beginning of the 20th century, he was one of the pioneers of cinema. Life Koff ...

. He began recording for the

Columbia Phonograph Company Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the ...

, his first disc being the "Cujus animam" aria from

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

, recorded on January 31, 1911, and issued on Columbia 12-inch disc A5275. He recorded an extensive operatic and concert song repertoire in English for Columbia, Victor, Edison (on both cylinder and disc), Emerson and other companies, but gradually shifted to making recordings of popular hits of the day: "Last Night Was the End of the World" (1913), " Peg O’ My Heart" (1913), " Ireland Must Be Heaven, for My Mother Came from There" (1916), and "

I’m Always Chasing Rainbows "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" is a popular Vaudeville song. The music is credited to Harry Carroll, but the melody is adapted from '' Fantaisie-Impromptu'' by Frédéric Chopin. The lyrics were written by Joseph McCarthy, and the song was pub ...

" (1918). At the same time as his solo performances, he performed as a member of several

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...

s recording for Columbia. Among the quartets, he sang with was the Columbia Stellar Quartet and the American Singers, the latter during the early electric era. Also on a few occasions, he sang with

the Revelers The Revelers were an American quintet (four close harmony singers and a pianist) popular in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Revelers' recordings of "Dinah", " Old Man River", " Valencia", " Baby Face", " Blue Room", " The Birth of the Blue ...

, most notably on their recordings of "Honolulu Moon" and "Yankee Girl." His distinct and riveting tenor caused Victor Records to advertise him as "a voice in a million." His career slowed with the advent of electrical recording, and his later solo records were almost entirely for Edison. Charles Harrison was married to Beulah Gaylord Young, another pioneer recording artist. They performed together as members of the Eveready Mixed Quartet on ''

The Eveready Hour ''The Eveready Hour'' was the first commercially sponsored variety program in the history of broadcasting. It premiered December 4, 1923 (or, according to other sources, November 4, 1923, or February 12, 1924), on WEAF Radio in New York City. ...

''. Beginning in 1930, Harrison performed on the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stage in the plays ''This One Man,'' ''Precedent,'' ''The Sellout'' and ''One More Honeymoon.'' He lived in

Summit, New Jersey Summit is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. At the 2010 United Stat ...

, and later moved to nearby

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 24 ...

, where he spent his final years, and even recorded an LP in 1954 at the age of 75 entitled "Charles Harrison Sings Again." Charles Harrison recorded mostly under his own name, but he also used Billy Burton and other pseudonyms when recording for smaller labels. He died on February 2, 1965, in

New Providence, New Jersey New Providence is a borough on the northwestern edge of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Passaic River, which forms the county boundary with Morris County bordering Chatham Township. As of the 2020 United ...

External links

*
Songwriters Hall of Fame: Charles Harrison

Charles Harrison recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. ;Streaming audio
Charles Harrison
on

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 foun ...

Charles Harrison
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

Charles Harrison
at the

National Jukebox The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library i ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Charles 1878 births 1965 deaths American male actors American tenors Pioneer recording artists