
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 151-175 of 216 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | S-70864 | 10-in. | Sept. 1922 | Rocking horse parade | Hager's Concert Orchestra | Orchestra | composer, leader | |
OKeh | S-70986 | 10-in. | Nov. 1922 | Jokes | Rega Dance Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
OKeh | S-71007 | 10-in. | Nov. 1922 | Waltz of love | Rega Dance Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
OKeh | S-71164 | 10-in. | Jan. 1923 | Echoes of the dance | Sibyl Sanderson Fagan ; Rega Dance Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with whistling | composer | |
OKeh | S-71175 | 10-in. | Jan. 1923 | April sighs | Sibyl Sanderson Fagan | Whistling solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
OKeh | S-71713 | 10-in. | Aug. 1923 | Gloria | Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez | Jazz/dance band, with piano solo | composer | |
OKeh | S-71734 | 10-in. | August 1923 | The swaying narcissus | Sybil Sanderson Fagan | Whistling solo, with string orchestra | composer | |
OKeh | S-72393 | 10-in. | Mar. 1924 | Sundown in Birdland | Unique Trio | Vocal and instrumental trio, with whistling and bird calls | songwriter | |
OKeh | S-72529 | 10-in. | May 1924 | The Unky Unky Sextette Band | National Male Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with banjo and drums | songwriter | |
OKeh | 80195 | 10-in. | 10/26/1926 | Parade of the animals | OKeh Concert Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
OKeh | [OK cat 1174-B] | 10-in. | approximately 1918 | The little whistler | Henry Burr ; Sibyl Sanderson Fagan | Female-male vocal duet | composer | |
OKeh | [OK cat 1259-b] | 10-in. | between April and August 1919 | I wish I could | OKeh Dance Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Brunswick | 9112 | 10-in. | approximately Nov. 1922 | Swanee smiles | Oriole Terrace Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | 10840-10842 | 10-in. | 6/14/1923 | The woodland flirt | Margaret McKee | Whistling solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 14154-14157 | 10-in. | 11/7/1924 | Danse hongroise | Frank E. Banta ; Rudy Wiedoeft | Saxophone solo, with piano | composer | |
Brunswick | 14567-14568 | 10-in. | 1/5/1925 | The boy and the birds | Margaret McKee | Whistling solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | E29558 | 10-in. | Mar. 1929 | The bird and the saxophone | Brunswick Concert Orchestra ; Louis Katzman ; Margaret McKee | Whistling solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | E29559 | 10-in. | Mar. 1929 | The bird at the waterfall | Brunswick Concert Orchestra ; Louis Katzman ; Margaret McKee | Whistling solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | E17893-E17896 | 10-in. | 2/9/1926 | Gloria | Rudy Wiedoeft Trio | Instrumental trio | composer | |
Edison | 5005 | 10-in. | 9/19/1916 | Christmas morning with the kiddies | Peerless Orchestra | Descriptive scene, with Instrumental ensemble | composer | |
Edison | 5006 | 10-in. | 9/19/1916 | Toy shop symphony | Peerless Orchestra | Descriptive scene, with Instrumental ensemble | composer | |
Edison | 5679 | 10-in. | 7/12/1917 | When Johnny marches away | New York Military Band | Band | composer | |
Edison | 5680 | 10-in. | 7/12/1917 | Under the red, white and blue triangle | New York Military Band | Band | composer | |
Edison | 6370 | 10-in. | 9/23/1918 | Hiawatha | Sodero's Band | Band | composer | |
Edison | 6451 | 10-in. | between 11/6/1918 and 11/8/1918 | Sundown in Birdland | Sibyl Sanderson Fagan ; Harvey Wilson | Tenor vocal solo, with whistling and orchestra | songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hager, Frederick W.," accessed July 6, 2022, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111109.
Hager, Frederick W.. (2022). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111109.
"Hager, Frederick W.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022. Web. 6 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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