Harry B. Smith
Harry Bache Smith (December 28, 1860 – January 1, 1936) was a writer, lyricist and composer. The most prolific of all American stage writers, he is said to have written over 300 librettos and more than 6000 lyrics. Some of his best-known works were librettos for the composers Victor Herbert and Reginald De Koven. He also wrote the book or lyrics for several versions of the Ziegfeld Follies. Smith was born in Buffalo, New York to Josiah Bailey Smith (born 1837) and Elizabeth Bach (born 1838). According to his autobiography First Nights and First Editions (Boston: Little, Brown, 1931), Smith's actual name at birth was Henry Bach Smith. He married twice. His first wife was Lena Reed (born August 21, 1868), whom he married on October 12, 1887 in Chicago, Illinois. They had a son named Sydney Reed Smith (born July 15, 1892). Smith's second wife was the actress Irene Bentley (c. 1870 – June 3, 1940). They married on November 23, 1906 in Boston, Massachusetts, after she had been divorced on June 12, 1906 by her first husband James Thomas Sothoron, Jr. (1867–1913). Bentley retired from the stage in 1910 and died at Allenhurst, New Jersey. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NY. While on a brief holiday in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on New Year's Day in 1936, Smith died of a heart attack in his room at the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel. Smith worked on many of the famous musical theatre productions of his time. His younger brother Robert Bache Smith (June 4, 1875 – November 6, 1951) was also a successful lyricist. Harry Smith's archive is largely held at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. |
Birth and Death Data: Born December 28, 1860 (Buffalo), Died January 1, 1936 (Atlantic City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1894 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, arranger, songwriter, author
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 278 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Berliner | 355[a] | 7-in. | 2/2/1896 | Miller’s song | Janet Whitcombe | Female vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 511 | 7-in. | 10/17/1896 | Armorer's song | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 536 | 7-in. | 11/12/1896 | If I were really a king | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 552 | 7-in. | Before 1895 | Oh, promise me | Artists vary | Female vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 953 | 7-in. | 4/17/1896 | Star light, star bright | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 1000 | 7-in. | Before June 1896 | My Angeline | Frank Daniels | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 1858 | 7-in. | 6/11/1898 | I love thee, I adore thee | Albert Campbell | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 1872 | 7-in. | Before Dec. 1898 | Brown October ale | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 1909 | 7-in. | 10/20/1898 | Gypsy love song | Eugene Cowles | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 3020 | 7-in. | 5/3/1898 | Don José of Seville | Jesse Bartlett Davis ; W. H. MacDonald | Female-male vocal duet | lyricist | |
Berliner | 3179 | 7-in. | Late 1898 | Opening chorus of school girls, Act 1 | Chorus from "The fortune teller" | Vocal chorus | lyricist | |
Berliner | 3180 | 7-in. | Late 1898 | Always do as people say you should | Chorus from "The fortune teller" ; Alice Neilson | Female vocal solo, with vocal chorus | lyricist | |
Berliner | 3181 | 7-in. | Late 1898 | Finale, 2nd Act | Chorus from "The fortune teller" ; Trumpet and drums from "The fortune teller" | Vocal chorus, with trumpet and drums | lyricist | |
Berliner | 4266 | 7-in. | 5/7/1898 | Dreaming, dreaming | Henry Clay Barnabee | Male vocal solo, with female-male vocal duet | lyricist | |
Berliner | 4267 | 7-in. | 5/7/1898 | Dreaming, dreaming | Helena Frederick | Female vocal solo, with male vocal duet | lyricist | |
Berliner | 4268 | 7-in. | 5/7/1898 | Dreaming, dreaming | George B. Frothingham | Male vocal solo, with female-male vocal duet | lyricist | |
Berliner | 0425 | 7-in. | 8/8/1899 | The naughty little clock | S. H. Dudley | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 0759 | 7-in. | 11/25/1899 | Say you love me, Sue | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 0760 | 7-in. | 11/22/1899 | Love is a tyrant | Albert Campbell | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 0791 | 7-in. | 12/8/1899 | Love is a tyrant | Florence Hayward | Female vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 0795 | 7-in. | Nov. 1899-Jan. 1900 | Love is a tyrant | Harry Macdonough | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 0985 | 7-in. | 2/19/1900 | Cupid and I | Florence Hayward | Female vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 01039 | 7-in. | 2/28/1900 | The queen of Bohemia | Harry Macdonough | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 01254 | 7-in. | Apr. 1900 | The turnkey's song | George Broderick | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Berliner | 01257 | 7-in. | Apr. 1900 | Gypsy love song | George Broderick | Male vocal solo | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Smith, Harry B.," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103588.
Smith, Harry B.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103588.
"Smith, Harry B.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Harry B. Smith
Discogs: Harry B. Smith
Allmusic: Harry B. Smith
Grove: Harry B. Smith
IMSLP: Harry B. Smith
RISM: Harry B. Smith
IMDb: Harry B. Smith
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Smith, Harry B. (Harry Bache), 1860-1936 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82051119
Wikidata: Harry B. Smith - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5667065
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/42023885
MusicBrainz: Harry B. Smith - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0e23e321-6877-4a04-ba63-dd449f8cd89b
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