George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878 – November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudeville act known as "The Four Cohans". Beginning with Little Johnny Jones in 1904, he wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen musicals on Broadway. Cohan wrote more than 50 shows and published more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including the standards "Over There", "Give My Regards to Broadway", "The Yankee Doodle Boy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag". As a composer, he was one of the early members of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He displayed remarkable theatrical longevity, appearing in films until the 1930s and continuing to perform as a headline artist until 1940. Known in the decade before World War I as "the man who owned Broadway", he is considered the father of American musical comedy. His life and music were depicted in the Oscar-winning film Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and the 1968 musical George M!. A statue of Cohan in Times Square, New York City, commemorates his contributions to American musical theatre. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Providence (capital city of Rhode Island, United States), Died 1942 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1896 - 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, vocalist, author
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 214 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berliner | 507 | 7-in. | 10/14/1896 | Hot Tamale Alley | George J. Gaskin | Male vocal solo | composer | |
| Berliner | 966 | 7-in. | 5/18/1896 | My Polly’s a peach | George J. Gaskin | Male vocal solo | lyricist, composer | |
| Berliner | 1733 | 7-in. | 6/26/1897 | The man in the moon is a coon | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 1778 | 7-in. | Before September 1897 | The warmest baby in the bunch | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 1930 | 7-in. | Before April 1899 | The patriotic coon | John Terrell | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 1965 | 7-in. | 3/9/1899 | Telegraph my baby | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 0713 | 7-in. | 11/9/1899 | I guess I'll have to telegraph my baby | Edward M. Favor | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 0883 | 7-in. | 1/13/1900 | I guess I'll have to telegraph my baby | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 0885 | 7-in. | 1/13/1900 | My babe from Boston town | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 01030 | 7-in. | 2/27/1900 | Dear little girly, girly | S. H. Dudley | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Berliner | 01295 | 7-in. | May 1900 | Hannah’s a hummer | Arthur Collins | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]11 | 7-in. | 6/29/1900 | San Francisco Sadie | Dan W. Quinn | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-127 | 10-in. | 6/24/1903 | Then I'd be satisfied with life | S. H. Dudley | Male vocal solo, with piano | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-162 | 10-in. | 6/29/1903 | Then I'd be satisfied with life | S. H. Dudley | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-469 | 10-in. | 10/1/1903 | Then I'd be satisfied with life | S. H. Dudley | Male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-1991 | 10-in. | 12/2/1904 | The Yankee Doodle boy | Billy Murray | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | A-1991 | 7-in. | 11/9/1905 | The Yankee Doodle boy | Billy Murray | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | D-1991 | 14-in. | 11/9/1905 | The Yankee Doodle boy | Billy Murray | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | E-1991 | 8-in. | 1/19/1906 | The Yankee Doodle boy | Billy Murray | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-2595 | 10-in. | 6/2/1905 | Little Johnny Jones medley | Vess L. Ossman | Banjo solo | composer | |
| Victor | C-2620 | 12-in. | 6/9/1905 | Little Johnny Jones | Arthur Pryor's Band | Band | composer | |
| Victor | B-2620 | 10-in. | 6/9/1905 | Little Johnny Jones | Arthur Pryor's Band | Band | composer | |
| Victor | B-2654 | 10-in. | 6/21/1905 | Give my regards to Broadway | Frank Kernell [i.e., Samuel H. Dudley] | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | A-2654 | 7-in. | 12/12/1905 | Give my regards to Broadway | Frank Kernell [i.e., Samuel H. Dudley] | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | B-2863 | 10-in. | 11/2/1905 | Forty-five minutes from Broadway selection | Victor Orchestra | Orchestra | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Cohan, George M.," accessed January 5, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102632.
Cohan, George M.. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 5, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102632.
"Cohan, George M.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 5 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: George M. Cohan
Discogs: George M. Cohan
Allmusic: George M. Cohan
Grove: George M. Cohan
IMSLP: George M. Cohan
RILM: George M. Cohan
IMDb: George M. Cohan
Britannica: George M. Cohan
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Cohan, George M. (George Michael), 1878-1942 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79145587
Wikidata: George M. Cohan - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q563017
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/64196140
MusicBrainz: George M. Cohan - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/227b1c3f-a7f8-4576-8f96-e0c4acaf36e7
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/47435 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/47435
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