George P. Watson

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George P. Watson (* 1871 ; † 1926 ) was an American singer and vaudeville artist. He is considered to be one of the first American singers to record yodel songs and to celebrate greater success with them.

life and work

Apart from his surviving recordings, little is known about Watson's life, such as the fact that he was married to Marguerite Newton. She was an interpreter of humorous songs and was one of the female stars of Thomas Edison's music label at the turn of the century .

Yodelling had become part of the American minstrel and vaudeville scene by the middle of the 19th century . American yodelling was initially still closely linked to its alpine origins, but slowly began to change. Often it was advertised as a special curiosity or included in the imitation of animal sounds. In 1847, Tom Christian, known as "Yodeling Minstrel", appeared in public for the first time, and LW Lipp made the first sound recordings in 1892. Dan Emmett (1815–1904), who is considered the founder of the blackface tradition in the minstrel genre, also composed numerous yodel songs.

Over the years, Watson himself made numerous recordings for various labels, singing in both English and German, sometimes with orchestral accompaniment. He recorded his first phonograph cylinders for Edison in 1897, including Leben auf den Alpen and Emmett's German Yodle (sic!). The latter is an homage to Dan Emmett, others followed: Emmett's Lullaby (1899), as well as Medley of Emmett's Yodles and Emmett's Yodle Song (1901).

George P. Watson, Sleep, Baby, Sleep (1911)

He later also worked for Columbia Records and Victor , where he re-recorded some of his Edison recordings, but on records. In 1911 he recorded a new version of Sleep, Baby, Sleep for Victor , which he had recorded for Edison in 1897 and 1901, at that time still with piano accompaniment, on the new version with orchestra. This song, composed in 1869 by SA Emery, plays a special role in the history of American yodelling: Jimmie Rodgers , the founder of Blue Yodeling , used it in his first recording session in August 1927, closely following Watson's recording. Previously, it had been recorded more than a dozen times by different bands in different styles between 1890 and 1927.

As far as can be seen, Watson's repertoire comprised only yodelling songs, a large part of which were in German, such as Lauterbach (1906) or Hi Le Hi Lo (1909), the latter also published in 1902 as German Hunter's Song . In keeping with the vaudeville tradition, most of his recordings were novelty songs , like Snyder, does your mother know you're out? (1899). The Santa Claus Song (1906), a Christmas carol with sleigh bells and yodelling, is unusual . His yodels are described as “accurate and clear”, he himself referred to as “concert performer” and his singing style has been compared with that of the tenor John McCormack on some recordings .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tosches, Nick: Country: The twisted roots of Rock 'n' Roll , Da Capo Press, 1996, p. 110. ISBN 9780306807138
  2. ^ Tosches, Nick: Where Dead Voices Gather, Back Bay, 2002, p. 96. ISBN 9780316895378
  3. ↑ Green, Douglas B .: Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy , Vanderbilt University Press, 2002, p. 19. ISBN 0-8265-1412-X
  4. ↑ Notes on Sauerkraut is Bully and Lauterbach in Robert's Old Schmaltz Archives
  5. ↑ Coltman, Robert: Roots of the Country Yodel: Notes toward a Life History , in: Porterfield, Nolan (ed.): Exploring Roots Music, Twenty Years of the JEMF Quarterly , The Scarecrow Press, 2003, pp. 135-156 , here. 136. ISBN 978-0810848931
  6. ^ Mazor, Barry: Meeting Jimmie Rodger: How America's Original Roots Music Hero Changed the Pop Sounds of a Century , Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 68. ISBN 978-0195327625
personal data
SURNAME Watson, George P.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer and vaudeville artist
DATE OF BIRTH 1871
DATE OF DEATH 1926