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 101-125 of 738 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 81103 | 10-in. | 7/3/1923 | Cut yourself a piece of cake | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81242 | 10-in. | 9/27/1923 | Walk, Jenny, walk! | Billy Jones ; The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81243 | 10-in. | 9/27/1923 | Last night on the back porch | Billy Jones ; The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81280 | 10-in. | 10/13/1923 | Ko-ko-mo | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81358 | 10-in. | 11/15/1923 | Mamma loves Papa | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81375 | 10-in. | 11/30/1923 | You better keep babying baby | Georgians ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81376 | 10-in. | 11/30/1923 | I've got a cross-eyed papa | Georgians ; Frank Guarente ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81379 | 10-in. | 12/4/1923 | More | The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81380 | 10-in. | 12/4/1923 | She wouldn't do (What I asked her to) | The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81448 | 10-in. | 1/2/1924 | So I took the fifty thousand dollars | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81449 | 10-in. | 1/2/1924 | Me no speak-a good English | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81494 | 10-in. | 1/18/1924 | Whose Izzy is he | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81501 | 10-in. | 1/25/1924 | Since Ma is playing mah jong | Billy Jones ; The Original Memphis Five | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81521 | 10-in. | 2/1/1924 | Why did I kiss that girl? | Columbia Orchestra ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81522 | 10-in. | 2/1/1924 | Who is the meanest girl in town? Josephine | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81562 | 10-in. | 2/14/1924 | It ain't gonna rain no mo' | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81563 | 10-in. | 2/14/1924 | So this is Venice! | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81636 | 10-in. | 3/8/1924 | The little wooden whistle wouldn't whistle | Columbia Novelty Orchestra ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81637 | 10-in. | 3/8/1924 | What does the pussy-cat mean when she says 'me-ow'? | Columbia Novelty Orchestra ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81753 | 10-in. | 5/2/1924 | I'm gonna bring a watermelon | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81754 | 10-in. | 5/2/1924 | Hinky dinky parlay voo | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81765 | 10-in. | 5/7/1924 | Oh, baby! | Columbia Novelty Orchestra ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81809 | 10-in. | 6/5/1924 | Oh! Eva | Ferera's Novelty Trio ; Billy Jones | Instrumental trio, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81810 | 10-in. | 6/5/1924 | If I stay away too long from Carolina | Ferera's Novelty Trio ; Billy Jones | Instrumental trio, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 81814 | 10-in. | 6/9/1924 | It looks like rain | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Jones, Billy," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109631.
Jones, Billy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109631.
"Jones, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 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
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.