Resource id #75
Image Source: Wikipedia

Harry B. Smith

Harry Bache Smith (December 28, 1860 – January 1, 1936) was a writer, lyricist and composer. The most prolific of all American stage writers, he is said to have written over 300 librettos and more than 6000 lyrics. Some of his best-known works were librettos for the composers Victor Herbert and Reginald De Koven. He also wrote the book or lyrics for several versions of the Ziegfeld Follies.

Smith was born in Buffalo, New York to Josiah Bailey Smith (born 1837) and Elizabeth Bach (born 1838). According to his autobiography First Nights and First Editions (Boston: Little, Brown, 1931), Smith's actual name at birth was Henry Bach Smith. He married twice. His first wife was Lena Reed (born August 21, 1868), whom he married on October 12, 1887 in Chicago, Illinois. They had a son named Sydney Reed Smith (born July 15, 1892). Smith's second wife was the actress Irene Bentley (c. 1870 – June 3, 1940). They married on November 23, 1906 in Boston, Massachusetts, after she had been divorced on June 12, 1906 by her first husband James Thomas Sothoron, Jr. (1867–1913). Bentley retired from the stage in 1910 and died at Allenhurst, New Jersey. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NY. While on a brief holiday in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on New Year's Day in 1936, Smith died of a heart attack in his room at the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel.

Smith worked on many of the famous musical theatre productions of his time. His younger brother Robert Bache Smith (June 4, 1875 – November 6, 1951) was also a successful lyricist.

Harry Smith's archive is largely held at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 28, 1860 (Buffalo), Died January 1, 1936 (Atlantic City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1894 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, arranger, songwriter, author

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

Recordings (Results 176-200 of 278 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 3652 10-in. between January and June 1907 Kiss, kiss, kiss (If you want to learn to kiss) Ada Jones ; Billy Murray Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 4007 10-in. ca. Jan.-Mar. 1909 Won't you be my playmate? Metropolitan Trio Mixed vocal trio, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 4684 10-in. ca. June-July 1910 Constantly Bert Williams Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 4878 10-in. ca. 9/1/1910 Gypsy love song Horace S. Ensign ; Mormon Tabernacle Choir Baritone vocal solo and mixed vocal chorus, with organ lyricist  
Columbia 4904 10-in. approximately 1910 Armorer's song William McDonald Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 19747 10-in. 2/6/1912 Awakened love Charles Harrison ; Beulah Gaylord Young Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 39015 10-in. 9/15/1913 If we were on our honeymoon Edna Brown ; James F. Harrison Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 39038 10-in. 10/10/1913 Come on over here Charles Harrison ; Agnes Kimball Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 39256 10-in. 2/19/1914 You're here and I'm here Charles Harrison ; Agnes Kimball Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 39423 10-in. 5/28/1914 Your're here and I'm here Ed Morton Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 39559 10-in. 9/11/1914 Same sort of girl Inez Barbour ; John Barnes Wells Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 39981 10-in. 3/24/1915 We'll take care of you all Billy Burton Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 45854 10-in. 7/13/1915 Where's the girl for me Frederick J. Wheeler Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 46442 10-in. 2/21/1916 When Cupid calls Grace Kerns ; Reed Miller ; Andrea Sarto Mixed vocal trio, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 47096 10-in. 4/17/1917 Armourer's song Wilfred Glenn Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 47364 10-in. 2/10/1917 I wonder why Nannette Flack Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 47437 10-in. 3/22/1917 I wonder why Anna Wheaton Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 78390 10-in. 4/14/1919 The armourer's song Malcolm McEachern Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 79981 10-in. 9/9/1921 I wonder if you still care for me Broadway Quartette Male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 80161 10-in. 1/24/1922 The sheik Everett M. Clark ; Charles Hart ; Elliott Shaw Male vocal trio, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 80222 10-in. 3/1/1922 Gypsy love song Shannon Four Male vocal quartet, with male vocal solo and orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 80265 10-in. 3/27/1922 Gypsy love song Wilfred Glenn Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 80470 10-in. 7/25/1922 Always do as people say you should Alice Nielsen Soprano vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 80528 10-in. 8/15/1922 So I bid you beware Alice Nielsen Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 80610 10-in. 10/13/1922 Brown October ale Oscar Seagle ; Shannon Four Baritone vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and orchestra lyricist  
(Results 176-200 of 278 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Smith, Harry B.," accessed April 18, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103588.

Smith, Harry B.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 18, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103588.

"Smith, Harry B.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 18 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103588

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.