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 51-75 of 738 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-41191 | 10-in. | 12/21/1927 | Go home and tell your mother that I love you | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-41192 | 10-in. | 12/21/1927 | Poor Lizzie | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-41193 | 10-in. | 12/21/1927 | It's in the bag | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-41514 | 10-in. | 1/4/1928 | Henry's made a lady out of Lizzie | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-43399 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | He ain't never been to college | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-43500 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | She's the sweetheart of six other guys | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-43501 | 10-in. | 3/26/1928 | Good-bye Broadway, hello Montreal | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-45800 | 10-in. | 6/19/1928 | Must you wear a moustache? | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-45801 | 10-in. | 6/19/1928 | Giggling Gertie | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-46603 | 10-in. | 7/24/1928 | I love to dunk a hunk of sponge-cake | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-46604 | 10-in. | 7/24/1928 | Mr. Hoover—Mr. Smith | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-46605 | 10-in. | 7/24/1928 | Sing, sister, sing | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-46661 | 10-in. | 8/3/1928 | Etiquette blues | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-48106 | 10-in. | 10/31/1928 | Where did you get that name? | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | CVE-48107 | 12-in. | 10/31/1928 | Twisting the dials | The Happiness Boys | Descriptive scene, with piano and recordings | speaker, author | |
Victor | CVE-48149 | 12-in. | 11/12/1928 | Twisting the dials | The Happiness Boys | Descriptive scene, with traps and recordings | author, speaker | |
Victor | BVE-53418 | 10-in. | 5/16/1929 | She has a little dimple on her chin | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-53419 | 10-in. | 5/16/1929 | Misery farm | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-53420 | 10-in. | 5/16/1929 | Who cares anyhow | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-56149 | 10-in. | 9/25/1929 | Billy and Ernie, thank you for your information, part 1 | The Happiness Boys | Comic monologue, with piano | speaker, author | |
Victor | BVE-56150 | 10-in. | 9/25/1929 | Billy and Ernie, thank you for your information, part 2 | The Happiness Boys | Comic monologue, with piano | author, speaker | |
Victor | BVE-56759 | 10-in. | 10/8/1929 | Sergeant Flagg and Sergeant Quirt | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-56760 | 10-in. | 10/8/1929 | I can't sleep in the movies any more | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-62350 | 10-in. | 7/16/1930 | Happiness Boys going abroad | The Happiness Boys | Comic scene, with traps | speaker, author | |
Victor | BVE-62351 | 10-in. | 7/16/1930 | Happiness Boys in London | The Happiness Boys | Comic scene, with traps | speaker, author |
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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