Chester Gaylord (February 24, 1899 – July 1, 1984) was a vocalist and among the most active of recording artists in the United States during the late 1920s through the early 1930s. He was known as ''The Whispering Serenader'' on radio and on his phonograph records.
He began his career as a singer and announcer for radio station WTAG in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
, Massachusetts in the early 1920s. Chester Gaylord's first recordings (in 1920) were saxophone solos for
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
, whom he had met. In 1923, he signed with Columbia records and made a number of vocal records for them. His popularity spread rapidly leading
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916.
History
1916–1929
Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...
(the second largest record company in the United States in the 1920s) to offer him an exclusive contract. He became one of the labels most prolific vocalists during the late 1920s. After the
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
bought out the Brunswick Record company in April 1930 a reorganization occurred and Chester Gaylord's contact was one of numerous artists whose contract was not renewed. Chester Gaylord continued to be popular on radio throughout the early 1930s until the introduction of
swing music
Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...
, in 1935, a type of music that was unsuitable to his style of singing. From 1929 to 1931, he was a featured vocalist on NBC radio on the Top Notchers Coca-Cola Radio Program with
Leonard Joy and his All String Orchestra.
[The Telegraph – August 23, 1930 Page 10]
Threesome Orchestra Plans Broadcast
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Gaylord moved to WBZ in Boston in the late 40s, and completed his broadcasting career there. He retired sometime in the mid-1960s. During his retirement years he lived in Sterling, Massachusetts. He regularly played 1920s and 1930s songs on piano at The Old Timer, an Irish Pub in neighboring Clinton, Massachusetts. According to Gaylord's obituary, he was still performing right up until a few weeks before his death.
Works
Pianist
* Thinking of Me Thinking of You (1928)
* My Window of Dreams (1928)
* Here's the Party Now in Person (1928)
* You're in Love and I'm in Love (1928)
* My Inspiration is You (1928)
* Me and the Man in the Moon (1928)
* Glad Rag Roll (1929)
* Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
(1929)
Vocalist
* My Troubles are Over (1929)
* Mean to Me (1929)
See also
* Jack Smith "the whispering baritone"
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaylord, Chester
1899 births
1984 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century American male singers