E. O. Excell
Edwin Othello Excell (December 13, 1851 – June 10, 1921), commonly known as E. O. Excell, was a prominent American publisher, composer, song leader, and singer of music for church, Sunday school, and evangelistic meetings during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Some of the significant collaborators in his vocal and publishing work included Sam P. Jones, William E. Biederwolf, Gipsy Smith, Charles Reign Scoville, J. Wilbur Chapman, W. E. M. Hackleman, Charles H. Gabriel and D. B. Towner. His 1909 stanza selection and arrangement of "Amazing Grace" became the most widely used and familiar setting of that hymn by the second half of the twentieth century. The influence of his sacred music on American popular culture through revival meetings, religious conventions, circuit chautauquas, and church hymnals was substantial enough by the 1920s to garner a satirical reference by Sinclair Lewis in the novel Elmer Gantry. Excell compiled or contributed to about ninety secular and sacred song books and is estimated to have written, composed, or arranged more than two thousand of the songs he published. The music publishing business he started in 1881 and that eventually bore his name was the highest volume producer of hymnbooks in America at the time of his death. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Uniontown (census-designated place in Stark County, Ohio), Died June 10, 1921 (Chicago (city and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1907 - 1929
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, bass vocal
= 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 | E-4841 | 8-in. | 9/27/1907 | Let the Saviour in | Haydn Quartet | Male vocal quartet, unaccompanied | composer | |
| Victor | B-4841 | 10-in. | 9/27/1907 | Let the Saviour in | Haydn Quartet | Male vocal quartet, unaccompanied | composer | |
| Victor | B-13755 | 10-in. | 9/11/1913 | How sweet is his love | Homer A. Rodeheaver | Male vocal solo, with organ | composer | |
| Victor | BVE-36224 | 10-in. | 9/13/1926 | I do, don't you | Pace Jubilee Singers | Mixed vocal chorus and female vocal soloist | composer | |
| Columbia | 80333 | 10-in. | 5/1/1922 | Will your heart ring true? | Gipsy Smith | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
| Columbia | W149520 | 10-in. | 12/4/1929 | The way to Glory Land | Corley Family | Mixed vocal ensemble, with guitar | composer | |
| OKeh | 8629 | 10-in. | 4/14/1924 | I know a great Saviour, I do | Emma E. Beacham | Female vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
| OKeh | W402774 | 10-in. | 6/28/1929 | The way to Glory Land | Stamps Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with piano | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Excell, E. O.," accessed January 21, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110009.
Excell, E. O.. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 21, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110009.
"Excell, E. O.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 21 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Excell, E. O. (Edwin Othello), 1851-1921 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no95015607
Wikidata: Edwin Othello Excell - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5322075
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/186275337
MusicBrainz: Edwin Othello Excell - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/364c40f5-020d-41e1-917d-ade1431f60a2
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