Alfred Bryan

Alfred Bryan (September 15, 1871 – April 1, 1958) was a Canadian lyricist.

Bryan was born in Brantford, Ontario. He worked as an arranger in New York and wrote lyrics for many Broadway shows in the late 1910s and early 1920s. In the 1920s he moved to Hollywood to write lyrics for screen musicals.

Bryan worked with several composers during his career. Among his collaborators were Henriette Blanke-Belcher, Fred Fischer, Al Sherman, Larry Stock and Joe McCarthy. Perhaps his most successful song was "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" (1915), with music by Al Piantadosi. The song sold 650,000 copies during the first three months and became one of 1915's top-selling songs in the United States. Although Bryan himself was not a committed pacifist, he described the American public's anti-war sentiments in his lyrics.

He died in Gladstone, New Jersey, aged 86.

Birth and Death Data: Born September 15, 1871 (Brantford), Died April 1, 1958 (Gladstone)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1902 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, songwriter, composer

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

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 513 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor E-4039 8-in. 11/14/1906 Cheer up, Mary Byron G. Harlan Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor E-4146 8-in. 1/14/1907 Bonnie Jean Haydn Quartet Male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-4146 10-in. 12/19/1906 Bonnie Jean Haydn Quartet Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-4463 10-in. 5/7/1907 Deutschland Harry Tally Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor E-4463 8-in. 5/7/1907 Deutschland Harry Tally Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-4466 10-in. 5/7/1907 A friend of mine told a friend of mine Harry Tally Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor E-4466 8-in. 5/7/1907 A friend of mine told a friend of mine Harry Tally Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6164 10-in. 4/30/1908 Are you sincere? Elise Stevenson Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6312 10-in. 7/17/1908 Music makes me sentimental Ed Morton Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6348 10-in. 8/13/1908 Cheer up, cherries will soon be ripe Byron G. Harlan Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6383 10-in. 9/2/1908 Rainbow Haydn Quartet ; Billy Murray Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6464 10-in. 9/25/1908 Grandma Byron G. Harlan Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6570 10-in. 10/29/1908 When I marry you Byron G. Harlan Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6712 10-in. 1/11/1909 Summer-time reminds me of you Arthur C. Clough Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6745 10-in. 1/22/1909 In those good old country days Harry Tally Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6747 10-in. 1/22/1909 Good luck, Mary Harry Tally Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6759 10-in. 1/29/1909 Love me like I liked to be loved Clarice Vance Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6931 10-in. 3/26/1909 Good luck, Mary Haydn Quartet ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal quartet and male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-6983 10-in. 4/13/1909 Summer reminds me of you Walter Van Brunt Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-8079 10-in. 6/28/1909 Dublin daisies Peerless Quartet Male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-8096 10-in. 7/7/1909 Don't be an old maid, Molly Haydn Quartet Male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-8173 10-in. 8/24/1909 I'm going to do what I please Ada Jones Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-8222 10-in. 9/10/1909 When I marry you Haydn Quartet ; Ada Jones ; Billy Murray Female-male vocal duet and male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-8298 10-in. 10/14/1909 Can't you see Harry Macdonough ; Elizabeth Wheeler Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-8311 10-in. 10/22/1909 When I marry you Haydn Quartet ; Harry Macdonough ; Elizabeth Wheeler Female-male vocal duet and male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
(Results 26-50 of 513 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bryan, Alfred," accessed April 23, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105828.

Bryan, Alfred. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 23, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105828.

"Bryan, Alfred." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 23 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105828

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

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.