Henry Burr, sometimes called Irving Gillette and other pseudonyms, born Harry Haley McClaskey, (born 1882 died 1941), singer of popular songs from the early part of the early 20th century, early radio performer and producer. He was one of the first singers to make popular acoustic recordings and one of the most prolific recording artists of all time, with more than 12,000 recordings according to his own estimate. A tenor, he performed as a soloist and also in duets, trios and quartets. His most famous collaboration was the Peerless Quartet. 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Peerless Quartet, (known as the Columbia Quartet prior to 1908), was a vocal group from the acoustic era. ...

Early Years

Born in the border town of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, on January 15, 1882, Harry McClaskey was the son of a candy and tobacco store owner. His vocal talents were recognized early and by the age 13 he was performing as a boy tenor with the Artillery Band in the nearby city of Saint John. Perhaps doubting that he could make a career in music, he later attended Mt. Allison Academy in Sackville, New Brunswick, and afterwards worked for his father. In 1901, he appeared at the opera house in Saint John in his first important concert with the Scottish soprano Jessie Maclachlan. Later that year, he was discovered by the Metropolitan Opera baritone Giuseppe Campanari who insisted that he should go to New York for musical training. St. ... Motto: Spem reduxit (Hope was restored) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Fredericton Largest city Saint John Lieutenant-Governor Herménégilde Chiasson Premier Bernard Lord (PC) Area 72 908 km² (11th) • Land 71 450 km² • Water 1 458 km² (2. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Saint John may refer to: // People Several saints: Ian St. ... Located in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, Mount Allison University is noted for being the first in the entire British Empire to award a baccalaureate to a woman. ... Sackville is the name of several places in Canada and Australia: Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville, Nova Scotia Sackville, Hawkesbury, New South Wales. ... A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Josef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ...

Recording Artist

Henry Burr and the Peerless Quartet, about 1923. From left to right: John H. Meyer, Burr, Frank Croxton, Albert Campbell. Source: Virtual Gramophone.

Emboldened by Campanari's endorsement, McClaskey soon ventured to New York, where he began lessons and sang with the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church choir. He ultimately rose to tenor soloist for the choir. His teachers included John Dennis Meehan (or Mehan) and Miss Ellen Burr, from whom he would soon adopt his stage name in her honour. It was around 1902 that he started to make recordings with Columbia Records and he used that name Henry Burr at that time. He also recorded for Edison Records, Victor, and others. It was Edison that gave him the name Irving Gillette. In 1905 he recorded Egbert Van Alstyne's "In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree" which proved to be highly popular. It was also recorded by contemporary Billy Murray the same year. Burr Burr proved to be a successful recording artist recording, as noted, thousands of songs for various labels under various names. He arrived at a particularly opportune time for Columbia, as their star tenor George J. Gaskin was in the final years of his career. Columbia Records is the oldest continually used brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888. ... Edison Records was the first record label, pioneering recorded sound and an important player in the early record industry. ... A Victor (from vincere defeat, victoria victory) is a winner. ... Egbert Anson Van Alstyne (born, according to differing sources, March 4 or March 6, 1878; died July 9, 1951) was a United States songwriter and pianist. ... Billy Murray has been the name of more than one person of note: Billy Murray (actor) (born 1941), British actor Billy Murray (singer) (1877-1954), United States singer There is also U.S. film actor Bill Murray. ...

In 1906, Burr joined the Columbia Quartet as second tenor, under the management of Frank C. Stanley. Stanley died in 1910, when Burr took over managment of the group. It continued on as a popular recording and live performance team (with various personnel and name changes over the years) through the 1920's.

As a Businessman

By 1916, he was in a comfortable position financially, and he began to seek ways to invest his money. That year, he formed the Paroquette Record Manufacturing Company with Fred Van Eps. Based in New York City, it made vertical cut records and featured his own recordings and several others. As a novel introduction in a highly competitive market, the Paroquette recording technique was an early failure, lasting only a few months. Burr also tried music publishing, and he also shared ownership in a banjo factory with Van Eps for a short while. Old 6-string zither banjo 4-string banjos The banjo, derived from the banjar, is a stringed instrument of American origins, sometimes called the gourd banjo. The banjar, in turn was based on the African akonting. Some etymologists derive it from a dialectal pronunciation of bandore, though recent research suggests...

Early Radio

Around 1920, Burr performed live on the radio while the broadcasting technology was still in its infancy. He made his first broadcast in 1920 in Denver, Colorado using a a microphone improvised from a wooden bowl with an inverted telephone transmitter. The broadcast was heard as far west as San Francisco. Burr is also credited with making the first transcontinental 'broadcast' by singing into the telephone in New York and being heard by diners wearing headphones at a Rotary dinner in California. Also in 1920, he signed an exclusive contract with Victor records that lasted seven years. A lucrative contract, it made him (for a time) a wealthy man. This article refers to the state capital of Colorado. ... State nickname: The Centennial State Other U.S. States Capital Denver Largest city Denver Governor Bill Owens (R) Senators Wayne Allard (R) Ken Salazar (D) Official language(s) English Area 269,837 km² (8th)  - Land 268,879 km²  - Water 962 km² (0. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Logo of Rotary International Rotary International is an organisation whose members comprise Rotary Clubs (service clubs) located all over the world. ...

By the late 1920s, his recordng career was over (electrical recording technologies had led to the crooner style of tenor first exemplified in the person of Gene Austin), but the commercial potential of radio continued to interest Burr. As a result, he became involved in early radio programming, forming Henry Burr, Inc. in 1928 as a producer of radio programming. He produced numerous programs for commercial radio networks into the 1930s. He originated the Cities Service broadcast, which he produced for two years. In 1929, he reputedly lost a substantial portion of his wealth in the stock market crash. Less than a month later, however, he was appointed Director of the Artist's Bureau of the CBS which had just been organized under the ownership of William S. Paley. About 1935, he returned to performing on the radio as a member of the WLS Chicago National Barn Dance troupe, which was broadcast over NBC on Saturday evenings. He soon became a featured performer on the show, which he stayed with for five years until shortly before his death. He suffered from throat cancer and died in Chicago on April 6, 1941. He left a wife, Cecilia and a step-daughter. Gene Austin (June 24, 1900 - January 24, 1972) was a United States singer and songwriter. ... CBSs first color logo, which debuted in the fall of 1965. ... William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois - October 26, 1990 in New York City, New York) was a Jewish-American executive who built CBS from a small radio network to the dominant television network in America. ... WLS is a pioneer Chicago radio station. ... The National Barn Dance was a former country music radio program broadcast in the early period of radio over the facilities of WLS in Chicago, Illinois. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...

References

• Article by Tim Gracyk (main source) Gracyk attempts to trace the convoluted changes in Burr's various quartets, trios and other ventures. The article also provides various additional stage names.
• Bio and pictures at Virtual Gramohone.

Audio

• When you and I were young Maggie (1916 solo performance) From Virtual Gramophone.
• Henry Burr in concert This site contains direct links to the site above, which eliminates the need to search the database.
• Samples from Archeophone Records