Silas F. Leachman
Silas Field Leachman (20 August 1859 – 28 April 1936) was an American pioneer recording artist, possibly the first person to make recordings in Chicago and known for making hundreds of thousands of phonograph cylinder recordings in the 1890s. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and worked on the railroad before marrying and moving to Chicago in the 1880s. He began recording for the North American Phonograph Company's Chicago branch around 1892, then recorded prolifically for the Chicago Talking Machine Company in the later 1890s. He later recorded for Columbia and, after 1901, Victor. According to a report first published in the Chicago Tribune in 1895, he recorded in a wide range of styles, often under assumed names, and by that time claimed to have personally produced almost 250,000 cylinders. The report sets out in detail Leachman's work, at the very start of the recording industry:
A baritone, he became best known for "coon songs" - stereotypical portrayals of African American life - although little regard was paid to the quality of the performances themselves. His popular recordings included "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow Wow" (1892), "Dem Golden Slippers" (1894), "I Guess I'll Have To Telegraph My Baby" (1899), and "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" (1902). He continued to record in the early years of the new century, but by 1920 worked as a deputy sheriff. He eventually became Inspector of Personnel for the Chicago Police. He died in Chicago in 1936 at the age of 76. |
Birth and Death Data: Born August 20, 1859, Died April 28, 1936
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1901 - 1904
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, author
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 142 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]799 | 10-in. | 5/14/1901 | Mr. Johnson turn me loose | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]800 | 7-in. | 5/14/1901 | Mr. Johnson, don't get gay | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]800 | 10-in. | 5/14/1901 | Mr. Johnson, don't get gay | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]801 | 7-in. | 5/14/1901 | Whoa dar mule | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]801 | 10-in. | 5/14/1901 | Whoa dar mule | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]802 | 7-in. | 5/15/1901 | Coon, coon, coon | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]802 | 10-in. | 5/15/1901 | Coon, coon, coon | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]803 | 7-in. | 5/15/1901 | Hear dem bells | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo, with chimes | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]803 | 10-in. | 5/15/1901 | Don't you hear dem bells? | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo, with chimes | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix C-]803 | 12-in. | 7/2/1902 | Hear dem bells | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo, with chimes | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]804 | 7-in. | 5/15/1901 | Turkey in de straw | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]804 | 10-in. | 5/15/1901 | Turkey in the straw | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix C-]804 | 12-in. | 6/30/1902 | Turkey in de straw | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]805 | 7-in. | 5/15/1901 | Whistling Mike | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]806 | 7-in. | 5/15/1901 | Lam, lam, lam | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]806 | 10-in. | 5/15/1901 | Lam, lam, lam | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix C-]806 | 12-in. | 6/30/1902 | Lam, lam, lam | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1121 | 7-in. | 12/3/1901 | Good morning, Carrie | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1121 | 10-in. | 12/3/1901 | Good morning Carrie | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1122 | 7-in. | 12/3/1901 | Don't forget to write me every day | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1122 | 10-in. | 12/3/1901 | Don't forget to write me every day | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix C-]1122 | 12-in. | 7/1/1902 | Don't forget to write me every day | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1123 | 7-in. | 12/3/1901 | My lady Hottentot | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1123 | 10-in. | 12/3/1901 | My lady Hottentot | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix C-]1123 | 12-in. | 7/3/1902 | My lady Hottentot | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Leachman, Silas F.," accessed May 21, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100967.
Leachman, Silas F.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 21, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100967.
"Leachman, Silas F.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Silas Leachman
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Leachman, Silas F., 1859-1936 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2005034063
Wikidata: Silas Leachman - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7514181
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/53556136
MusicBrainz: Silas Leachman - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b2b4b78b-0711-4ab9-9aac-778c36e4b420
ISNI: 0000 0000 3613 3906 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000036133906
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