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 101-125 of 142 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1892 | 7-in. | 1/12/1903 | Hi-le hi-lo | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1892 | 10-in. | 1/12/1903 | Hi-le hi-lo | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1893 | 7-in. | 1/13/1903 | The little old log cabin in the lane | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1893 | 10-in. | 1/13/1903 | The little old log cabin in the lane | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1894 | 7-in. | 1/14/1903 | When it's all goin' out and nothin' comin' in | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1894 | 10-in. | 1/14/1903 | All goin' out and nothin' comin' in | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1897 | 7-in. | 1/15/1903 | The phrenologist coon | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1897 | 10-in. | 1/15/1903 | The phrenologist coon | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1898 | 7-in. | 1/15/1903 | The gambling man | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1898 | 10-in. | 1/15/1903 | The gambling man | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1899 | 7-in. | 1/16/1903 | The silent man | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1899 | 10-in. | 1/16/1903 | The silent man | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1906 | 7-in. | 1/17/1903 | The jolly students | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1906 | 10-in. | 1/17/1903 | The jolly students | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1907 | 7-in. | 1/17/1903 | 'Tis not always the bullets that kill | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1907 | 10-in. | 1/17/1903 | 'Tis not always the bullets that kill | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1908 | 7-in. | 1/17/1903 | Must you roll dem eyes? | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1908 | 10-in. | 1/17/1903 | Must you roll dem eyes? | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]1909 | 7-in. | 1/17/1903 | Sacred to the memory of our Carter | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]1909 | 10-in. | 1/17/1903 | Sacred to the memory of our Carter | Silas Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3344 | 10-in. | 5/13/1901 | A big fat coon | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3345 | 10-in. | 5/13/1901 | I've got money locked up in the vault | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3346 | 10-in. | 5/13/1901 | I couldn't stand to see my baby lose | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3347 | 10-in. | 5/13/1901 | I wish they'd do it now | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3348 | 10-in. | 5/13/1901 | Just because she made dem goo-goo eyes | Silas F. Leachman | Male vocal solo | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Leachman, Silas F.," accessed April 23, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100967.
Leachman, Silas F.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 23, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100967.
"Leachman, Silas F.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 23 April 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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