William A. Huntley

William A. Penno (1843–1929), known by his stage name William A. Huntley, was a composer, music teacher, and vocal and instrumental performer in minstrel and vaudeville traditions. Playing his 5-string banjo before crowds that came to number in the low thousands, he sang in a high tenor and played his banjo bare fingered, picking the strings in a style today named "classic banjo." His published compositions include banjo instrumentals and parlor music. Huntley spent his working life performing and teaching in the off season. He performed throughout the United States and toured Europe as a part of several different minstrel groups. A highlight of his performing career was to play before the Prince and Princess of Wales, about 1880 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. He moved away from minstrel shows by the 1880s, and "took pride" that he could perform without blackface stage makeup. He focused on building respectability for the banjo, through teaching, composition, and performance recitals. He was featured in the S. S. Stewart Company's catalog (showing that art-banjo promoter Stewart recognized his talent) and began to play the company's banjeaurine. In 1888 he performed before a crowd of 2,000 people in his hometown, Providence, Rhode Island.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 2, 1843 (Providence), Died March 26, 1929 (Providence)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1898 - 1928

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Berliner 3006 7-in. 6/27/1898 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Roger Harding Male vocal duet composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]1329 7-in. 3/17/1902 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]1329 10-in. 3/17/1902 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix C-]1329 12-in. 6/10/1902 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet composer  
Victor C-108 [Old series] 12-in. 2/9/1903 or 5/26/1903 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet, with piano composer  
Victor B-1171 10-in. 3/29/1904 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet, with piano composer  
Victor A-1171 7-in. 11/16/1904 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet, with piano composer  
Victor B-4056 10-in. 11/22/1906 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-12936 10-in. 2/20/1913 By and by you will forget me Elsie Baker ; Frederick J. Wheeler Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-17715 10-in. 5/22/1916 Some day I'll wander back again Clarence Whitehill Baritone vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and orchestra composer  
Victor B-17716 10-in. 5/22/1916 Take me back to home and mother Clarence Whitehill Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-35675 10-in. 6/10/1926 Bye and bye you will forget me Kelly Harrell Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar composer  
Columbia 39176 10-in. 1/8/1914 Someday I'll wander back again Harry McClaskey Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 37498 12-in. 1/19/1916 Some day I'll wander back again Columbia Stellar Quartette ; Margaret Keyes Female vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra composer  
Columbia W147223 10-in. 10/17/1928 Bye and bye you will forget me Robert Hoke ; Vernal Vest Male vocal duet, with banjo and ukulele composer  
Edison 3265 10-in. Aug.-Sept. 1914 Bye and bye you will forget me Helen Clark Soprano vocal solo and vocal ensemble, with orchestra composer  
Edison 7006 10-in. 11/3/1919 Bye and bye you will forget me Helen Davis Female vocal solo, with female-male vocal duet and orchestra composer  
Edison 8435 10-in. 4/27/1922 Some day I'll wander back again Carolina Lazzari ; Lyric Male Quartet Female vocal solo, with male vocal quartet composer  
Edison 9088 10-in. 10/2/1914 Bye and bye you will forget me Anna Case Soprano vocal solo and vocal ensemble, with orchestra composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Huntley, William A.," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100211.

Huntley, William A.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100211.

"Huntley, William A.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100211

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