May Singhi Breen

May Singhi Breen (née May W. Singhi ; February 24, 1891, New York City – 19 December 1970, New York City) was an American composer, arranger, and ukulelist, who became known as "The Original Ukulele Lady." Her work in the music publishing business spanned several decades. Breen was the driving force in getting the ukulele accepted as a musical instrument by the American Federation of Musicians. In 2000, she became the first woman inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame.

Birth and Death Data: Born February 24, 1891 (New York City), Died December 19, 1970

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1932

Roles Represented in DAHR: ukulele, composer, lyricist, songwriter, banjo, vocalist, arranger

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

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 70 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor [Trial 1923-12-13-01] Not documented 12/13/1923 One, two, three, four May Singhi Breen Ukulele solo instrumentalist, ukulele  
Victor [Trial 1925-05-12-06] 10-in. 5/12/1925 Ukulele course : Parts 1 and 2 May Singhi Breen Ukulele instruction, with female vocal solo and piano instrumentalist, ukulele  
Victor [Trial 1925-06-30-04] 10-in. 6/30/1925 Bits of bacon May Singhi Breen ; Peter De Rose Piano and banjo duet instrumentalist, banjo  
Victor [Trial 1925-06-30-05] 10-in. 6/30/1925 Silver bell tricks May Singhi Breen ; Peter De Rose Piano and banjo duet instrumentalist, banjo  
Victor [Trial 1925-10-07-04] 10-in. 10/7/1925 Hawaiian kisses May Singhi Breen ; Peter De Rose Instrumental trio (Hawaiian) instrumentalist, ukulele  
Victor [Trial 1926-03-08-02] 10-in. 3/8/1926 Lulu Belle Lenore Ulric Monologue, with ukulele instrumentalist, ukulele  
Columbia 81823 10-in. 6/12/1924 Ukulele blues Roy Smeck Ukulele solo, unaccompanied composer  
Columbia 140341 10-in. 2/11/1925 Christofo Columbo Ben Smith Male vocal solo, with ukulele and piano instrumentalist, ukulele  
Columbia 140342 10-in. 2/11/1925 What a life May Singhi Breen ; Ben Smith Male vocal solo, with ukulele and piano instrumentalist, ukulele  
Columbia 140345 10-in. 2/13/1925 You gave all your kisses to somebody else May Singhi Breen ; Billy Heagney ; Ben Smith Male vocal solo, with ukulele and piano instrumentalist, ukulele  
Columbia W142839 10-in. 10/19/1926 Broken-hearted Sue Art Gillham Male vocal solo, with piano songwriter  
Columbia W143357 10-in. 1/27/1927 No-one but you (Knows how to love) Les Reis Male vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 143494 10-in. 2/17/1927 No-one but you knows how to love Beth Challis ; Eddie Lambert Female vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia W143499 10-in. 2/19/1927 Desert eyes Columbians ; Charles Kaley Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Columbia W144153 10-in. 5/16/1927 I told you I'd never forget you Art Gillham Male vocal solo, with piano songwriter  
Columbia W144794 10-in. 9/24/1927 Marvelous Frank Harris ; The Knickerbockers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Columbia 145230 10-in. 11/23/1927 Marvelous Lou Gold Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Columbia [W]148656 10-in. 6/4/1929 Ua like no a like Frank Ferera's Hawaiian Trio ; Annette Hanshaw Instrumental trio (Hawaiian), with female vocal solo arranger  
OKeh S-72704 10-in. July 1924 Ukulele blues Ernest Hare ; Harry Reser Male vocal solo, with ukulele composer  
Brunswick E3517-E3519 10-in. 7/23/1926 Broken-hearted Sue The Ambassadors Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Brunswick E3942-E3943 10-in. 10/15/1926 No one but you knows how to love The Bostonians Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick E3968-E3969 10-in. 10/20/1926 No one but you knows how to love Peggy English Female vocal solo, with instrumental quintet composer  
Brunswick E4022-E4023 10-in. 10/28/1926 No one but you knows how to love The Bostonians Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick E20213-E20214 10-in. 9/20/1926 No one but you knows how to love Wendell W. Hall Male vocal solo, with violin, cello, and piano composer  
Brunswick E20391-E20392 10-in. 10/13/1926 No one but you knows how to love Wendell W. Hall Male vocal solo, with violin, cello, and piano composer  
(Results 26-50 of 70 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Breen, May Singhi," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107747.

Breen, May Singhi. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107747.

"Breen, May Singhi." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107747

External Sources

Wikipedia: May Singhi Breen

Discogs: May Singhi Breen

IMSLP: May Singhi Breen

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Breen, May Singhi - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n97874187

Wikidata: May Singhi Breen - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q16006716

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/179149106254368491961

MusicBrainz: May Singhi Breen - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b23267dd-7c2c-4e49-a966-3d95ef366ffe

FAST: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/407397

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

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