Robert Carr (12 April 1881 – 20 November 1948) was an English baritone singer and prolific recording artist. Born in London, he studied at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jaz ...

under Bantock Pierrepoint. He recorded under his own name and as variously Richard Condor, William Duncan, Harry Durrant, Robert Durrant, Ernest Gray, Bobby Gray, Robert Oswald, and perhaps some others. His recording repertoire was varied ranging from popular songs of the day, sentimental songs, hymns and sacred songs, British patriotic songs (particularly during the First World War) as well as Classical music, most notably a complete recording of

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''Faust'' in 1929 under Sir

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...

under the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

label. He also took part in recordings of several

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which '' H.M.S. ...

operettas as well as

Edward German Sir Edward German (17 February 1862 – 11 November 1936) was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of En ...

's '' Merrie England'' under the direction of Joe Batten. Shortly after the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

'' disaster in 1912 he recorded two songs (on both sides of the same record), "Stand by your Post" and "Be British" in memory of the victims. The proceeds from the record's sales went towards helping the victims' families. This was one of the earliest examples of producing recordings to raise funds for charitable causes and it is one that has been continued in subsequent years, most notably with

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine ...

in the 1980s and

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part of ...

's record

Feed the World "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a Charity record, charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid (band), Band Aid, a supergroup (music), supergr ...

to raise money for victims of the Ethiopia Famine in 1984. This was the continuation of a tradition that had its origins with Robert Carr's Titanic record. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

(where he served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

) he recorded a number of songs as part of the recruiting effort and to bolster morale, most notably "We Must All Fall In" and "Laddie in Khaki", composed by

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

. In addition to being a recording, concert and opera singer, Robert Carr was also a leading figure with concert parties which provided light entertainment at British holiday resorts in the years before the Second World War. He owned one such party called the Georgians. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Robert Carr worked for

ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

, an organisation which provided entertainment for British servicemen serving in the war. After the war, he also taught singing at his old music college, the

. He died in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England on 20 November 1948. The detective novelist Antony Carr was his son and Australian newsreader Susannah Carr his granddaughter.

Recordings

Recordings include: * ''

: Faust'' Harold Williams (baritone), Robert Carr (baritone), Robert Easton (bass),

Muriel Brunskill Muriel Lucy Brunskill (18 December 1899 – 18 February 1980) was an English contralto of the mid-twentieth century. Her career included concert, operatic and recital performance from the early 1920s until the 1950s. She worked with many of th ...

(contralto) Clarence Raybould (conductor) Dutton Laboratories * ''So Near The Kingdom (Sacred)'' Robert Carr - Ethel Toms Contralto, Baritone Duet - Orch. Acc.

Gennett Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and Ho ...

9080-B * ''Beautiful Birds, Sing On'' J. Howe / Robert Carr Baritone—Orch. Acc. Gennett 9082-A * ''What Will You Do With Jesus'' Ethel Toms & Robert Carr Contralto, Baritone Duet with Orch. Acc. Gennett 9092-A * ''Hold Thou My Hand'' Robert Carr Baritone with Orch. Acc. Gennett 9092-B * ''The Rosary'' Nevin / Robert Carr Baritone with Orch. Acc. Gennett 4669-A * ''Hiding In Thee'' Robert Carr Baritone Gennett 4674-B * ''The songs my Mother sang'' Winner 2404 * ''All aboard for the bye-bye land'' Winner 2315 * ''Turn On, Old Time'' Cameron, Wilfrid Virgo & Robert Carr, Trio Winner 2349 * ''I am the King of Spain'' Wilfrid Virgo & Robert Carr, Duet * ''Come sing to me'' Winner 2111 * ''Stand by your Post'' ''Be British'' Winner 2144 (the "Titanic" record) * ''We were Sweethearts'' Winner 2247

References

External links

Discography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Robert 1881 births 1948 deaths English operatic baritones Gennett Records artists 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers