George Asaf
George Henry Powell (27 April 1880 – 3 December 1951) was a Welsh songwriter who, under the pseudonym George Asaf, wrote the lyrics of the marching song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag" in 1915. The music was written by his brother Felix Powell, and the song was entered into a World War I competition for "best morale-building song". It won first prize and was noted as "perhaps the most optimistic song ever written". Although Felix Powell was a Staff Sergeant in the British Army, George Powell was a pacifist, and became a conscientious objector when conscription was imposed in 1916. |
Birth and Death Data: Born St Asaph (city in Wales, United Kingdom), Died December 3, 1951 (Hove (part of the City of Brighton and Hove on the south coast of England) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1916 - 1942
Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist
= 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 | B-18924 | 10-in. | 12/22/1916 | Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile! | Edward Hamilton | Male vocal solo, with vocal chorus and orchestra | lyricist | |
| Victor | PBS-072023 | 10-in. | 1/12/1942 | Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag (and smile, smile, smile) | City Slickers ; Spike Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble | lyricist | |
| Columbia | 47227 | 10-in. | 12/13/1916 | Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag (And smile, smile, smile) | James F. Harrison ; Knickerbocker Quartet | Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
| Columbia | 77409 | 10-in. | 10/4/1917 | War song hits | Columbia Quartette | Male vocal quartet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
| Columbia | 49303 | 12-in. | 1/25/1918 | Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag (and smile, smile, smile) | Columbia Stellar Quartette ; Oscar Seagle | Baritone vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
| Edison | 5233 | 10-in. | 12/26/1916 | Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile | Helen Clark | Female vocal solo and male vocal ensemble, with orchestra | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Asaf, George," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109935.
Asaf, George. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109935.
"Asaf, George." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Asaf, George - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no94004616
Wikidata: George Henry Powell - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1565612
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/46335997
MusicBrainz: George Henry Powell - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c4552ff7-589f-4d1e-8c2e-89c23742a822
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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