Billy Jones
William Reese Jones (March 15, 1889 – November 23, 1940) was a tenor who recorded during the 1920s and 1930s, finding fame as a radio star on The Happiness Boys radio program. Jones worked in such occupations as mining, banking, and blacksmithing before his 1918 recording debut. He recorded with the Cleartone Four, the Crescent Trio, the Harmonizers Quartet and the Premier Quartet, and he performed under a variety of names (Harry Blake, Billy Clarke, Lester George, Duncan Jones, Reese Jones, John Kelley, Dennis O'Malley, William Rees, Victor Roberts, Billy West, William West, and Carlton Williams). After he met Ernie Hare in 1919, they teamed in 1920 when Brunswick executive Gus Haenschen had them sing an accompaniment on a Brunswick Records recording. They went on to do numerous recordings together for Brunswick, Edison, and other companies. They began on radio October 18, 1921 on WJZ (Newark, New Jersey). Sponsored by the chain of Happiness Candy stores, they were heard on The Happiness Boys program beginning August 22, 1923 on New York's WEAF, moving to NBC from a run from 1926 to 1929. As "The Happiness Boys", they sang popular tunes, mostly light fare and comic songs, and they joked with one another between numbers. By 1928, they were the highest paid singers in radio, earning $1,250 a week. The partnership ended with Hare's death on March 9, 1939. Jones continued to perform, teaming with Hare's 16-year-old daughter, Marilyn Hare, in 1939-40. He died November 23, 1940, in Manhattan, of a heart attack, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. Among Jones' hits was "The grass is always greener in the other fellow's yard" which became the theme song of the "Big Brother Bob Emery " a children's program, first on radio, then on TV in both New York and Boston in the 1940s and 1950s. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 15, 1889 (New York City), Died November 23, 1940 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1916 - 1951
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor vocal, speaker, author, saxophone, tenor saxophone, songwriter, vocalist, lyricist
Notes: Also recorded under the name Victor Roberts.
See Also: Roberts, Victor
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 226-250 of 738 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 146436 | 10-in. | 6/13/1928 | Gotta big date with a little girl | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 146437 | 10-in. | 6/13/1928 | That's my weakness now | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | W146765 | 10-in. | 7/21/1928 | Mr. Hoover and Mr. Smith | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | W146766 | 10-in. | 7/21/1928 | He's our Al | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | W147727 | 10-in. | 12/26/1928 | A gay caballero | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental quartet | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | W147728 | 10-in. | 12/26/1928 | All by yourself in the moonlight | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with fiddle (violin) and piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | W98296 | 12-in. | 8/6/1926 | Studio stunts | Columbia Artists | Vocalists, comic duo, saxophone soloist, and jazz/dance band | songwriter, vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | W98297 | 12-in. | 8/6/1926 | Studio stunts | Columbia Artists | Vocalists, pianist, comic duo, and jazz/dance band | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | W98316 | 12-in. | 2/18/1927 | Studio stunts | Columbia Artists | Vocalists and jazz/dance band | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7284 | Not documented | Feb. 1920 | [Unknown title(s)] | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7285 | 10-in. | Feb. 1920 | Oh how I laugh when I think how I cried about you | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7296 | 10-in. | 2/22/1920 | So long Oolong | Billy Jones ; Rega Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7524 | 10-in. | Aug. 1920 | Chili bean (Eenie-meenie-minie-mo) | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7525 | 10-in. | Aug. 1920 | My little bimbo down on the Bamboo Isle | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7618 | 10-in. | Oct. 1920 | Palesteena | Billy Jones ; Ed Smalle | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7622 | 10-in. | Oct. 1920 | Broadway Rose | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7633 | 10-in. | Oct. 1920 | My home town is a one horse town (But it's big enough for me | Billy Jones ; Ed Smalle | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7634 | 10-in. | Oct. 1920 | All she'd say was "umh hum" | Billy Jones ; Ed Smalle | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7646 | Not documented | Nov. 1920 | [Unknown title(s)] | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7665 | Not documented | Nov. 1920 | [Unknown title(s)] | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7666 | 10-in. | Nov. 1920 | She walks in her husband's sleep | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7677 | 10-in. | Nov. 1920 | Scandal | Billy Jones ; Ed Smalle | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7742 | 10-in. | Feb. 1921 | Over the hill | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7760 | 10-in. | Feb. 1921 | Oh! Boy (I found the baby for me) | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-7817 | 10-in. | Mar. 1921 | Rebecca (Come back from Mecca) | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Jones, Billy," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109631.
Jones, Billy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109631.
"Jones, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Jones, Billy, 1889-1940 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no93019431
Wikidata: Billy Jones - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4912815
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/320148996089759751445
MusicBrainz: Billy Jones - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b575c167-df18-4018-b3fd-cbba2f9a6ef2
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