
Frederick W. Hager
Frederick W. Hager (December 31, 1874 - March 3, 1958) was a musician, recording artist, composer, and music director active in the United States between 1895 and 1923. Hager was born in New Milford, Pennsylvania in 1874 and began studying violin at 8 years old. He received a scholarship to study violin at the National Conservatory, and led his own band in New York City at the age of 21. In 1898 he began recording for Harms, Kaiser and Hagen, a recently formed independent record company based in New York and in September of that year won the Phonoscope gold medal for best violin record for Schumann's Traumerei. He began recording for Edison in 1899 and Zonophone and Columbia in 1900. Between 1900 and 1907 Hager served as a bandleader for Edison (Edison's Concert Band), Zonophone (Hager's Orchestra), and Columbia (Columbia Orchestra, Climax Orchestra) recording hundreds of sides and becoming the nation's leading recording orchestra. He was composing at the same time, and beginning around 1903 published a number of successful popular songs, including Laughing Water, The Midnight Flyer, and My Ramapoo. He worked in music publishing between 1907 and 1910 before returning to the recording industry as a musical director (choosing artists and repertoire) for several startup companies including the Boston Talking Machine Company, Keen-O-Phone, and Rex Talking Machine. In 1918 he began as musical director for OKeh Records, one of the most successful independent labels of the time. In this role he managed the recording of Mamie Smith's historic recording of Crazy Blues that initiated the "Race Records" craze in the U.S. Hager retired from recording in 1923 to Long Island, New York and died in Dunedin, Florida in 1958. |
Birth and Death Data: Born December 31, 1874 (New Milford), Died March 3, 1958 (Dunedin)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1900 - 1935
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, violin, songwriter, leader, lyricist, arranger, conductor, author
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 76-100 of 216 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 77573 | 10-in. | 12/13/1917 | The boy and the birds | Sibyl Sanderson Fagan ; Prince's Band | Band, with bird imitations | composer | |
Columbia | 77581 | 10-in. | 12/15/1917 | In the valley of sunshine and roses | Henry Burr ; Sibyl Sanderson Fagan | Male vocal solo and bird imitations, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | 140376 | 10-in. | 1/30/1925 | Whistling Bill and the lark | Sibyl Sanderson Fagan | Whistling solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
Columbia | 140377 | 10-in. | 1/30/1925 | The bird and the frog | Sibyl Sanderson Fagan | Whistling solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
Columbia | 36816 | 12-in. | 11/8/1913 | Buttercup schottische | Prince's Band | Band | composer | |
Columbia | 36817 | 12-in. | ca. 1913 | Violet mazurka | Prince's Band | Band | composer | |
Columbia | 36818 | 12-in. | ca. 1913 | Daisy dance polka | Prince's Band | Band | composer | |
Columbia | 36819 | 12-in. | 11/8/1913 | Golden rod galop | Prince's Band | Band | composer | |
Columbia | 140421 | 10-in. | 3/10/1925 | Happy moments | Sibyl Sanderson Fagan | Whistling, with male vocal solo, 2 xylophones, orchestra, and barking | lyricist, composer | |
Columbia | 140422 | 10-in. | 3/10/1925 | Bells | Sibyl Sanderson Fagan | Whistling, with male vocal solo, 2 xylophones, and orchestra | lyricist, composer | |
Columbia | W141977 | 10-in. | 4/16/1926 | Dancing dolls | Columbia Orchestra | Orchestra | songwriter | |
OKeh | 204 | 10-in. | ca. June 1918 | OKeh military march | Military Band | Band | composer | |
OKeh | 230 | 10-in. | ca. July 1918 | South American fox trot | Rega's Novelty Dance Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
OKeh | 338 | 10-in. | ca. Sept. 1918 | Ring out, Liberty Bell | Sterling Trio | Male vocal trio, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
OKeh | 384 | 10-in. | ca. Oct. 1918 | The boy and the birds | OKeh Concert Band | Band | composer | |
OKeh | 412 | 10-in. | ca. Oct. 1918 | Below deck rag | Van Eps Quartet | Instrumental quartet | composer | |
OKeh | 440 | 10-in. | approximately Oct. 1918 | Sundown in Birdland | Sybil Sanderson Fagan ; Harry McClaskey | Male vocal solo and whistling solo | songwriter | |
OKeh | 686 | 10-in. | approximately May 1919 | My sweet song-bird of the California hills | Henry Burr ; Sybil Sanderson Fagan | Male vocal solo, with whistling obbligato | songwriter | |
OKeh | S-748 | 10-in. | ca. July 1919 | Peter Gink | OKeh Dance Band | Band | conductor | |
OKeh | S-750 | 10-in. | ca. July 1919 | Russian rag | OKeh Dance Band | Band | conductor | |
OKeh | S-790 | 10-in. | approximately Aug. 1919 | The little whistler | Sybil Sanderson Fagan | Whistling solo | composer | |
OKeh | S-7003 | 10-in. | ca. Sept. 1919 | Arizona Mona | Conway's Band | Band | composer | |
OKeh | S-7005 | 10-in. | ca. Sept. 1919 | In my garden of yesterday | Samuel Ash | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
OKeh | S-7146 | 10-in. | Jan. 1920 | "O"—(Oh!) | Jack Kaufman ; Rega Dance Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
OKeh | S-7207 | 10-in. | February 1920 | A day in a Florida woodland : Suite | Sybil Sanderson Fagan | Whistling solo, with orchestra | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hager, Frederick W.," accessed July 3, 2022, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111109.
Hager, Frederick W.. (2022). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111109.
"Hager, Frederick W.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022. Web. 3 July 2022.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Frederick W. Hager
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Hager, Frederick W., 1874-1958 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98094699
Wikidata: Frederick W. Hager - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q50805173
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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