Billy Jones
William Reese "Billy" Jones (March 15, 1889 – November 23, 1940) was a tenor who recorded during the 1920s and 1930s, finding fame as a radio star on The Happiness Boys radio program. Jones worked in such occupations as mining, banking, and blacksmithing before his 1918 recording debut. He recorded with the Cleartone Four, the Crescent Trio, the Harmonizers Quartet and the Premier Quartet, and he performed under a variety of names (Harry Blake, Billy Clarke, Lester George, Duncan Jones, Reese Jones, John Kelley, Dennis O'Malley, William Rees, Victor Roberts, Billy West, William West, and Carlton Williams). After he met Ernie Hare in 1919, they teamed in 1920 when Brunswick executive Gus Haenschen had them sing an accompaniment on a Brunswick Records recording. They went on to do numerous recordings together for Brunswick, Edison, and other companies. They began on radio October 18, 1921 on WJZ (Newark, New Jersey). Sponsored by the chain of Happiness Candy stores, they were heard on The Happiness Boys program beginning August 22, 1923 on New York's WEAF, moving to NBC from a run from 1926 to 1929. As "The Happiness Boys", they sang popular tunes, mostly light fare and comic songs, and they joked with one another between numbers. By 1928, they were the highest paid singers in radio, earning $1,250 a week. The partnership ended with Hare's death on March 9, 1939. Jones continued to perform, teaming with Hare's 16-year-old daughter, Marilyn Hare, in 1939-40. He died November 23, 1940 in Manhattan and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. Among Jones' hits was "The grass is always greener in the other fellow's yard" (available on YouTube) which became the theme song of the "Big Brother Bob Emery " a children's program, first on radio, then on TV in both New York and Boston in the 1940s and 1950s. |
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Birth and Death Data: Born March 15, 1889 (New York City), Died November 23, 1940 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1916 - 1951
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor vocal, speaker, author, saxophone, songwriter, vocalist, lyricist, tenor saxophone
Notes: Also recorded under the name Victor Roberts.
See Also: Roberts, Victor
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 716 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-33244 | 10-in. | 8/21/1925 | I would rather be alone in the South | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33245 | 10-in. | 8/21/1925 | There ain't no flies on Auntie | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano and dialogue | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33246 | 10-in. | 8/21/1925 | Pretty puppy | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33626 | 10-in. | 11/25/1925 | Frank and Ernest | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33627 | 10-in. | 11/25/1925 | That certain party | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33628 | 10-in. | 11/25/1925 | Whispering leaves | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33629 | 10-in. | 11/25/1925 | Why aren't yez eatin' more oranges? (From Cal-i-for-ni-ay) | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33630 | 10-in. | 11/25/1925 | An operatic syncopation | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33682 | 10-in. | 1/26/1926 | In my gondola | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33683 | 10-in. | 1/26/1926 | What! No women? | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-33684 | 10-in. | 1/26/1926 | The village blacksmith own the village now | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-34355 | 10-in. | 1/25/1926 | Baby | Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-36131 | 10-in. | 8/25/1926 | Sing, Katie (But leave the piano alone) | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-36132 | 10-in. | 8/25/1926 | She knows her onions | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-36133 | 10-in. | 8/25/1926 | It won't be long now | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-36134 | 10-in. | 8/25/1926 | I haven't mentioned Mammy | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-36135 | 10-in. | 8/25/1926 | And then I forget | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38106 | 10-in. | 2/23/1927 | That's my hap-hap-happiness | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-38107 | 10-in. | 2/23/1927 | Cock-a-doodle, I'm off my noodle | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39165 | 10-in. | 9/8/1927 | Pastafazoola | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39166 | 10-in. | 9/8/1927 | From Saturday night till Monday morning | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39167 | 10-in. | 9/8/1927 | Since Henry Ford apologized to me | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39249 | 10-in. | 6/14/1927 | Oh ja ja | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39250 | 10-in. | 6/14/1927 | You don't like it, not much | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Victor | BVE-39251 | 10-in. | 6/14/1927 | When Lindy comes home | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with piano | vocalist, tenor vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Jones, Billy," accessed June 8, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109631.
Jones, Billy. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109631.
"Jones, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 8 June 2023.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Jones, Billy, 1889-1940 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no93019431
Wikidata: Billy Jones (singer, born 1889) - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4912815
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/320148996089759751445
MusicBrainz: Billy Jones - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a110fdc0-3b8b-404a-9c9e-a706d915c661
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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