Benjamin Robertson Harney
Benjamin Robertson "Ben" Harney (March 6, 1872 – March 2, 1938) was an American songwriter, entertainer, and pioneer of ragtime music. His 1895 composition "You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down" is regarded as among the earliest, if not the earliest, ragtime composition. Though now probably more associated with Scott Joplin, in 1924 the New York Times wrote that Ben Harney "probably did more to popularize ragtime than any other person." Time Magazine termed him "Ragtime's Father" in 1938. |
Birth and Death Data: Born 1871, Died 1938
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1898 - 1928
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist
= 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 | 523 | 7-in. | 10/8/1898 | Mister Johnson turn me loose | John Terrell | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 0145 | 7-in. | Before June 1899 | You’ve been a good old wagon | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]799 | 7-in. | 5/14/1901 | Mr. Johnson turn me loose | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | lyricist, composer | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]799 | 10-in. | 5/14/1901 | Mr. Johnson turn me loose | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | lyricist, composer | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]2061 | 7-in. | 3/6/1903 | You've been a good old wagon, but you've done broke down | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]2061 | 10-in. | 3/6/1903 | You've been a good old wagon, but you've done broke down | Len Spencer | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3355 | 10-in. | 5/14/1901 | Mr. Johnson turn me loose | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-70 | 10-in. | 6/10/1903 | Cakewalk in the sky | Kendle's First Regiment Band | Band | composer | |
| Victor | A-70 | 7-in. | 6/10/1903 | Cakewalk in the sky | Kendle's First Regiment Band | Band | composer | |
| Victor | B-2461 | 10-in. | 4/10/1905 | Cakewalk in the sky | Victor Dance Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
| Victor | C-2461 | 12-in. | 4/10/1905 | Cakewalk in the sky | Victor Dance Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
| Victor | E-4243 | 8-in. | 2/6/1907 | The cakewalk in the sky | Victor Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
| Victor | B-6882 | 10-in. | 3/16/1909 | The cakewalk in the sky | Victor Dance Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
| Victor | C-6882 | 12-in. | 3/16/1909 | The cakewalk in the sky | Victor Dance Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
| Columbia | W147650 | 10-in. | 12/15/1928 | Mister Johnson, turn me loose | Magee String Band | String band | composer | |
| OKeh | W81678 | 10-in. | 10/5/1927 | Mister Johnson, turn me aloose | South Georgia Highballers | Instrumental trio, with male vocal solo and talk | composer, lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Harney, Benjamin Robertson," accessed October 3, 2022, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100446.
Harney, Benjamin Robertson. (2022). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100446.
"Harney, Benjamin Robertson." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022. Web. 3 October 2022.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Harney, Benjamin Robertson, 1872-1938 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2001121461
Wikidata: Ben Harney - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4885795
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/26417968
MusicBrainz: Ben Harney - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d9c85c75-2937-4514-8cd2-22bd6bfafdd6
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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