Harry Frankel
Singin' Sam (January 27, 1888, Springfield, Ohio – June 12, 1948, Richmond, Indiana), also known as Harry Frankel, was an American minstrel performer, vaudevillian and popular personality during the early days of radio. He was best known as "Singin' Sam, the Barbasol Man" for his long association with that company. |
Birth and Death Data: Died June 12, 1948
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1938
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, ukulele, composer, performer, lyricist
Notes: Singin' Sam was Harry Frankel's stage name.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BS-027213 | 10-in. | 9/23/1938 | What are little girls made of? | Elisse Cooper ; Eddie De Lange Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | lyricist | |
| Columbia | 140358 | 10-in. | 1/25/1925 | Old black crow in the hicky-nut tree | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, ukulele | |
| Columbia | 140359 | 10-in. | 1/25/1925 | Now George | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, ukulele | |
| Columbia | 140360 | 10-in. | 1/25/1925 | Weepin' blues | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, ukulele | |
| Columbia | 140361 | 10-in. | 1/25/1925 | Frankie and Johnny | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, instrumentalist, ukulele | |
| Columbia | 140362 | 10-in. | 1/26/1925 | Continually | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, instrumentalist, ukulele | |
| Columbia | 140363 | 10-in. | 1/26/1925 | Who darkened that hole | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, instrumentalist, ukulele | |
| Gennett | 11799 | 10-in. | 3/19/1924 | Old black crow in the hickory tree | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist | |
| Gennett | 11800 | 10-in. | 3/19/1924 | Weeping blues | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Gennett | 11801 | 10-in. | 3/19/1924 | Frankie & Johnnie | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Gennett | 11817 | 10-in. | 3/31/1924 | Weepin' blues | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist | |
| Gennett | 12265 | 10-in. | 6/8/1925 | Just like a raindrop | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) | vocalist | |
| Gennett | 12266 | 10-in. | 6/8/1925 | You'll be broken hearted just like me | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist | |
| Gennett | 12701 | 10-in. | 4/12/1927 | Be some change made | Harry Frankel and his Uke | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, instrumentalist, ukulele, performer | |
| Gennett | 12702 | 10-in. | 4/12/1927 | Just like a raindrop | Harry Frankel and his Uke | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, instrumentalist, ukulele, performer | |
| Gennett | 12710 | 10-in. | 4/18/1927 | Southern lula byes (sic) | Harry Frankel | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist | |
| ARC | 11201 | 10-in. | 2/3/1932 | Starlight (Help me find the one I love) | Singin' Sam | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | ||
| ARC | 11203 | 10-in. | 2/3/1932 | Was that the human thing to do | Singin' Sam | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | ||
| ARC | 11537 | 10-in. | 3/19/1932 | Somebody loves you | Singin' Sam | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | ||
| ARC | 11538 | 10-in. | 3/19/1932 | Lawd, you made the night too long | Singin' Sam | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | ||
| ARC | 12334 | 10-in. | 9/20/1932 | Say it isn't so | Morton Downey ; Annette Hanshaw ; Singin' Sam ; Will Osborne and his Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | ||
| ARC | 13057 | 10-in. | 2/10/1933 | When it's lamp lightin' time in the valley | Singin' Sam | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | ||
| ARC | 13216 | 10-in. | 4/10/1933 | In the valley of the moon | Singin' Sam | Male vocal solo, with orchestra |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Frankel, Harry," accessed December 23, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100143.
Frankel, Harry. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 23, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100143.
"Frankel, Harry." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 23 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Singin' Sam, 1888-1948 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n00069353
Wikidata: Harry Frankel - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7523518
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/43070555
MusicBrainz: Harry Frankel - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/eb8b83aa-9763-40c4-b495-1a7b21a148c7
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/456718 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/456718
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.