American Quartet
The American Quartet was a four-member vocal group that recorded for various companies in the United States between 1899 and 1925. The membership varied over the years, but the most famous line-up — comprising John Bieling (first tenor), Billy Murray (second tenor), Steve Porter (baritone), and William F. Hooley (bass) — recorded for the Victor Talking Machine Company from 1909 to 1913. The same group of singers also recorded for Edison Records as the Premier Quartet (or Quartette), and for that and other labels as the Premier American Quartet. From 1912 to 1914 the quartet also recorded with countertenor Will Oakland as the Heidelberg Quintet. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Founded 1909, Died Ceased 1922
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1900 - 1926
Roles Represented in DAHR: Vocal group
Notes: Listed on some disc labels as American Quartette.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 251-275 of 364 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | B-25528 | 10-in. | 8/22/1921 | Strut Miss Lizzie | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-25745 | 10-in. | 11/4/1921 | Mandy 'n' me | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-25921 | 10-in. | 12/23/1921 | Down in midnight town | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-25922 | 10-in. | 12/23/1921 | I'll be glad to get back to my home town | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-26189 | 10-in. | 3/31/1922 | Little red school house | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-26449 | 10-in. | 5/3/1922 | High brown blues | American Quartet ; Billy Murray | Male vocal quartet and soloist, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-26450 | 10-in. | 5/3/1922 | Some sunny day | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-26852 | 10-in. | 8/31/1922 | Martha (Just a plain old-fashioned name) | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-26853 | 10-in. | 8/31/1922 | Childhood days | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-26897 | 10-in. | 9/28/1922 | Nellie Kelly, I love you | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-27356 | 10-in. | 12/28/1922 | Carolina in the morning | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-27357 | 10-in. | 12/28/1922 | Toot, Toot, Tootsie (goo' bye) | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-28529 | 10-in. | 9/4/1923 | Last night on the back porch (I loved her best of all) | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-28679 | 10-in. | 10/22/1923 | No no Nora | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-28813 | 10-in. | 10/30/1923 | Kiwanis | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-28814 | 10-in. | 10/30/1923 | What do you do Sunday, Mary? | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-28816 | 10-in. | 10/30/1923 | Old MacDonald had a farm | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-29245 | 10-in. | 1/2/1924 | The green grass grew all around | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-29441 | 10-in. | 2/6/1924 | Mickey Donohue | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-29881 | 10-in. | 4/15/1924 | Monkey doodle | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-29882 | 10-in. | 4/15/1924 | Polly put the kettle on | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | B-32646 | 10-in. | 5/20/1925 | Alabamy bound | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | BVE-33773 | 10-in. | 11/10/1925 | Tomorrow mornin' | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | BVE-33774 | 10-in. | 11/10/1925 | That certain party | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group | |
| Victor | BVE-36856 | 10-in. | 10/22/1926 | Bring back those minstrel days | American Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | Vocal group |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "American Quartet," accessed April 24, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106552.
American Quartet. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106552.
"American Quartet." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 April 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: American Quartet - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n92054722
Wikidata: Premier Quartet - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4744774
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/153748628
MusicBrainz: Premier Quartet - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b122bc15-258b-4a7e-bb47-ac6db4d10072
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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