Colin O'More (January 20, 1890 – September 21, 1956) was a popular concert singer, music educator, and pioneer executive in broadcasting. "Till the Clouds Roll By," a duet with Anna Wheaton, was one of the first singles to hit #1 on the American music charts.

Early life

O'More was born James Harrod Hornberger on January 20, 1890 in

Heber Springs, Arkansas Heber Springs is a city in and the county seat of Cleburne County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 6,969 as of the 2020 Census. Geography Heber Springs is located near the center of Cleburne County. Arkansas Highway 5 bypasses the ...

. He was the second of five children who survived infancy of William Jefferson (1860-1926) and Elva (Spinks) Hornberger (1871-1910). He began his musical career while a student at the College of Music of Cincinnati. He also studied abroad with

Jean de Reszke Jean de Reszke (born Jan Mieczysław Reszke; 14 January 18503 April 1925) was a Polish dramatic tenor and opera star. Reszke came from a wealthy Polish family with classical and operatic musical traditions. His mother gave him his first singing ...

, Edmond Clément, Lucien Fugère, Sir Henry Wood, and others.

Career

By 1910, he was known by just his given birthname. As James Harrod he made several recordings on the Columbia label including "Till the Clouds Roll By", a duet with Anna Wheaton from the musical '' Oh, Boy!''. The song spent six weeks at #1 on the American music charts in 1917. Beginning in 1918, he started recording under the name Colin O'More on the

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

label. He also worked as a vocal coach for many years in New York City. O'More served in various executive capacities at

CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

and was a pioneering executive in television at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. Starting around 1943, he became a professor of music at

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

, where he taught for the remainder of his life.

Personal

O'More married Madeleine E. Mitten in New Jersey in 1916. After that marriage ended he married Catherine Louise Steinbock, to whom he was married until his death. There was no issue of either marriage.

Death

O'More died on September 21, 1956, in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

References

External links

James Harrod at DiscogsColin O'More at Discogs
1890 births 1956 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers People from Heber Springs, Arkansas {{US-musician-stub