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P. G. Wodehouse

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( WOOD-howss; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the Oldest Member, with stories about golf; and Mr Mulliner, with tall tales on subjects ranging from bibulous bishops to megalomaniac movie moguls.

Born in Guildford, the third son of a British magistrate based in Hong Kong, Wodehouse spent happy teenage years at Dulwich College, to which he remained devoted all his life. After leaving school he was employed by a bank but disliked the work and turned to writing in his spare time. His early novels were mostly school stories, but he later switched to comic fiction. Most of Wodehouse's fiction is set in his native United Kingdom, although he spent much of his life in the US and used New York and Hollywood as settings for some of his novels and short stories. He wrote a series of Broadway musical comedies during and after the First World War, together with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern, that played an important part in the development of the American musical. He began the 1930s writing for MGM in Hollywood. In a 1931 interview, his naive revelations of incompetence and extravagance in the studios caused a furore. In the same decade, his literary career reached a new peak.

In 1934 Wodehouse moved to France for tax reasons; in 1940 he was taken prisoner at Le Touquet by the invading Germans and interned for nearly a year. After his release he made six broadcasts from German radio in Berlin to the US, which had not yet entered the war. The talks were comic and apolitical, but his broadcasting over enemy radio prompted anger and strident controversy in Britain, and a threat of prosecution. Wodehouse never returned to England. From 1947 until his death he lived in the US, taking dual British-American citizenship in 1955. He died in 1975, at the age of 93, in Southampton, New York, one month after he was awarded a knighthood of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).

Wodehouse was a prolific writer throughout his life, publishing more than ninety books, forty plays, two hundred short stories and other writings between 1902 and 1974. He worked extensively on his books, sometimes having two or more in preparation simultaneously. He would take up to two years to build a plot and write a scenario of about thirty thousand words. After the scenario was complete he would write the story. Early in his career Wodehouse would produce a novel in about three months, but he slowed in old age to around six months. He used a mixture of Edwardian slang, quotations from and allusions to numerous poets, and several literary techniques to produce a prose style that has been compared to comic poetry and musical comedy. Some critics of Wodehouse have considered his work flippant, but among his fans are former British prime ministers and many of his fellow writers.

Birth and Death Data: Born October 15, 1881 (Guildford), Died 1975 (Village of Southampton)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1905 - 1938

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 53 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 47091 10-in. 10/19/1916 Throw me a rose Reed Miller Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 47417 10-in. 3/13/1917 'Till the clouds roll by James Harrod ; Anna Wheaton Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 47438 10-in. 3/22/1917 Rolled into one Anna Wheaton Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 77160 10-in. 6/16/1917 Have a heart Peerless Quartet ; Billy B. Van Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 77161 10-in. 6/16/1917 Napoleon Peerless Quartet ; Billy B. Van Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 77513 10-in. 11/15/1917 The bungalow in Quogue Sam B. Hardy Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 77561 10-in. 12/10/1917 The bungalow in Quogue Collins and Harlan Male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia W145575 10-in. 1/28/1928 Oh gee! Oh joy! Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Lewis James Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Columbia W145576 10-in. 1/28/1928 Say so! Ben Selvin and his Orchestra ; Lewis James Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Columbia 145720 10-in. 3/3/1928 Oh gee! Oh joy! Pelham Heath Inn Orchestra ; Lou Raderman Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
OKeh W400049 10-in. 1/25/1928 Say so! OKeh Melodians Jazz/dance quintet, with male vocal solo lyricist  
OKeh W400050 10-in. 1/25/1928 Oh, gee! —Oh, joy! OKeh Melodians Jazz/dance quintet, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Brunswick E26237-E26239 10-in. 1/23/1928 Say so! Harry Archer Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take E26239) lyricist  
Brunswick E26240-E26242 10-in. 1/23/1928 Oh gee! Oh joy! Harry Archer Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take E26242) lyricist  
Edison 5324 10-in. 1/26/1917 I'm so busy Rachael Grant ; Billy Murray Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 5325 10-in. 1/26/1917 You said something Rachael Grant ; Billy Murray Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 5346 10-in. 2/6/1917 Napoleon Billy Murray Male vocal solo and vocal ensemble, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 5466 10-in. 3/22/1917 Nesting time Rachael Grant Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 5467 10-in. 3/22/1917 An old fashioned wife Gladys Rice Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 5478 10-in. 3/28/1917 You never knew about me George Wilton Ballard ; Bettina Bergere Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 5810 10-in. 9/25/1917 The siren's song Helen Clark ; Gladys Rice Vocal duet (soprano and contralto) and mixed vocal trio, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 5836 10-in. 10/5/1917 Just a voice to call me, dear Gladys Rice Soprano vocal solo and mixed vocal ensemble, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 5842 10-in. 10/11/1917 The bungalow in Quogue Rachael Grant ; Billy Murray Vocal duet (soprano and tenor), with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 6041 10-in. Feb. 1918 When the ships come home Helen Clark Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 6417 10-in. between 10/10/1918 and 10/23/1918 Some day waiting will end Leola Lucey Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
(Results 26-50 of 53 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wodehouse, P. G.," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102253.

Wodehouse, P. G.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102253.

"Wodehouse, P. G.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102253

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