Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Song Is You", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Long Ago (and Far Away)". He collaborated with many of the leading librettists and lyricists of his era, including George Grossmith Jr., Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg. A native New Yorker, Kern created dozens of Broadway musicals and Hollywood films in a career that lasted for more than four decades. His musical innovations, such as 4/4 dance rhythms and the employment of syncopation and jazz progressions, built on, rather than rejected, earlier musical theatre tradition. He and his collaborators also employed his melodies to further the action or develop characterization to a greater extent than in the other musicals of his day, creating the model for later musicals. Although dozens of Kern's musicals and musical films were hits, only Show Boat is now regularly revived. Songs from his other shows, however, are still frequently performed and adapted. Many of Kern's songs have been adapted by jazz musicians to become standard tunes. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 27, 1885 (Manhattan), Died November 11, 1945 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1905 - 1960
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, piano
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 501-525 of 603 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brunswick | E26767-E26768 | 10-in. | 3/1/1928 | Can’t help lovin’ dat man | Zelma O'Neal | Female vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
Brunswick | E26879-E26881 | 10-in. | 3/8/1928 | OI’ Man River | Al Jolson ; William Wirges Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | XE27235-XE27237 | 12-in. | 3/31/1928 | Ol’ Man River | Ben Bernie ; Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra ; Bob Schafer | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take XE27237) | composer | |
Brunswick | E30712-E30713 | 10-in. | 8/27/1929 | They didn‘t believe me | Five Pennies ; Red Nichols | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) | composer | |
Brunswick | E31146-E31147 | 10-in. | October 1929 | ‘Twas not so long ago | Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal; without vocal (take G) | composer | |
Brunswick | E31245-E31246 | 10-in. | Oct. 1929 | Why was I born? | Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal; without vocal (take G) | composer | |
Brunswick | E31247-E31248 | 10-in. | Oct. 1929 | Here am I | Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal; without vocal (take G) | composer | |
Brunswick | C2304 | 10-in. | 9/6/1928 | Ol’ Man River | Sammy Stewart Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | C4721 | 10-in. | 11/13/1929 | Don’t ever leave me! | Lee Sims | Piano solo | composer | |
Brunswick | C4722 | 10-in. | 11/13/1929 | Why was I born? | Lee Sims | Piano solo | composer | |
Brunswick | C4766 | 10-in. | 11/30/1929 | Old Man River | Orchestra (unidentified; Brunswick Records) | Orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | TC4865 | 10-in. | 11/18/1929 | Here am I | Marguerite Carlyle | Female vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | C1670-C1671 | 10-in. | 1/24/1928 | Can’t help lovin’ dat man | Bessie Brown | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | LTR262 | 10-in. | 12/10/1929 | Why was I born | Carmel Myers | Female vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
Brunswick | LTR315 | 12-in. | 7/13/1930 | Look for the silver lining | First National Orchestra and Singers | Radio transcription disc : Orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 813W-815W | 10-in. | 5/15/1925 | Why do I love you? | The Ambassadors [Brunswick Records] ; Louis Katzman | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | [Br (U.K.) cat 187-a] | 10-in. | July 1928 | Ol' Man River | Fred Elizalde | Piano solo | composer | |
Brunswick | [Br (U.K.) cat 193-a] | 10-in. | approximately July 1928 | Can’t help lovin’ dat man | Archie Parkhouse | Organ solo | composer | |
Brunswick | [Br (U.K.) cat 195-a] | 10-in. | 10/5/1928 | Why do I love you? | Melville Gideon | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | [Br (U.K.) cat 195-b] | 10-in. | 10/5/1928 | Make believe | Melville Gideon | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 573 | 10-in. | May 1928 | Can’t help loving dat man | Fred Elizalde | Piano solo | composer | |
Brunswick | B20107 | 10-in. | 10/21/1936 | The way you look tonight | Billie Holiday ; Teddy Wilson Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | B20570 | 10-in. | 1/25/1937 | Why was I born? | Billie Holiday ; Teddy Wilson Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | B21985 | 10-in. | 11/01/1937 | Can't help lovin' dat man | Billie Holiday ; Teddy Wilson Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | [Br (U.K.) cat 104-b] | 10-in. | approximately June 1927 | When I discover my man | Helen Morgan | Female vocal solo, with piano | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kern, Jerome," accessed May 3, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102963.
Kern, Jerome. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 3, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102963.
"Kern, Jerome." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Jerome Kern
Discogs: Jerome Kern
Allmusic: Jerome Kern
Grove: Jerome Kern
IMSLP: Jerome Kern
RILM: Jerome Kern
RISM: Jerome Kern
IMDb: Jerome Kern
Britannica: Jerome Kern
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Kern, Jerome, 1885-1945 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80149466
Wikidata: Jerome Kern - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q313270
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/196726
MusicBrainz: Jerome Kern - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8fb64b2e-db8b-4579-ad08-f324ef1bf494
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