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{{Short description|British singer (1863–1939)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Leo Dryden
| name = Leo Dryden
Line 4: Line 6:
| caption = 1890 Sheet music
| caption = 1890 Sheet music
| birth_name = George Dryden Wheeler
| birth_name = George Dryden Wheeler
| birth_date = {{birth date|1863|6|6|mf=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1863|6|6|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| birth_place = [[London]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1939|4|21|1864|1|1|mf=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1939|4|21|1864|1|1|df=y}}
| death_place = [[London]]
| death_place = London, England
| other_names =
| other_names =
| occupation = [[Music hall]] vocal comic
| occupation = [[Music hall]] vocal comic
| known_for =
| known_for =
| spouse = Marie Tyler (m. 1897)
| spouse = Marie Tyler (m. 1897)
| partner = [[Hannah Chaplin]] (1892–93)
| partner = [[Hannah Chaplin]] (1892–1893)
| children = [[Wheeler Dryden]]
| children = [[Wheeler Dryden]]
| website =
| website =
}}
}}

'''George Dryden Wheeler, Sr.''' (6 June 1863 – 21 April 1939), known as '''Leo Dryden''', was an [[England|English]] [[music hall]] singer and vocal comic.
'''George Dryden Wheeler Sr.''' (6 June 1863 – 21 April 1939), known as '''Leo Dryden''', was an [[England|English]] [[music hall]] singer and vocal comic.


==Life and career==
==Life and career==
George Dryden Wheeler was born in London, the son of Sarah Ann (Frost) and George Kingman Wheeler.<ref>http://records.ancestry.com/george_dryden_wheeler_records.ashx?pid=81630746</ref> In 1892, he met music hall performer [[Hannah Chaplin]] (stage name Lily Harley), whose young son [[Charlie Chaplin|Charlie]] would become a leading actor, comedian, and director. They had an affair and a son, [[Wheeler Dryden|George Dryden Wheeler Jr]] ., leading to the breakdown of her marriage to Charles Chaplin, Sr. The couple split up and Dryden kept his son, leading to Hannah's bouts of mental illness and admission to the [[Cane Hill]] Asylum at [[Coulsdon]]. This also marked the end of Hannah's career and the start of a long decline. She was not reunited with her son until the 1920s.
George Dryden Wheeler, known as '''Leo Dryden,''' was born in London, the son of Sarah Ann (Frost) and George Kingman Wheeler.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://records.ancestry.com/george_dryden_wheeler_records.ashx?pid=81630746 |title=George Dryden Wheeler |access-date=7 September 2014 |archive-date=7 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907052539/http://records.ancestry.com/george_dryden_wheeler_records.ashx?pid=81630746 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


⚫
Leo Dryden became a music hall entertainer, and was best known as the ''Kipling of the Halls'',<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_KQQ4AwLPgsC&dq=%22leo+dryden%22&pg=PA117 ''Popular Music in England, 1840-1914: A Social History'' Dave Russell], p. 117, (1987
⚫
Wheeler married singer Marie Tyler (real name Marian Louise Crutchlow) in London in 1897.
McGill-Queen's Press) {{ISBN|0-7735-0541-5}} accessed 17 Oct 2007</ref> noted for his patriotic and colonial songs including "The Miner's Dream of Home" (1891).


===Marriage and family===
⚫
Leo Dryden was best known as the ''Kipling of the Halls'',<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_KQQ4AwLPgsC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=%22leo+dryden%22&source=web&ots=xTL8kc8hkV&sig=do9VTfrKLJnrlWWSf4quyNSpq0c ''Popular Music in England, 1840-1914: A Social History'' Dave Russell] (1987
In 1892, he met [[Hannah Chaplin]] (stage name Lily Harley) also a music hall performer. They had an affair and a son, [[Wheeler Dryden|George Dryden Wheeler Jr]], which resulted in the breakdown of her marriage to Charles Chaplin Sr. (She had already had a son with her husband, who later became known as actor and director [[Charlie Chaplin]]) The couple split up and Dryden kept his son because of Hannah's mental instability.
⚫
McGill-Queen's Press) {{ISBN|0-7735-0541-5}} accessed 17 Oct 2007</ref> noted for his patriotic and colonial songs including "The Miner's Dream of Home" (1891). He also performed parodies, including "Shopmates" <ref>"Shopmates" a parody on the popular song, "Shipwrecked",</ref> and one on "Funiculi Funicula".<ref>[http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_greatandonly1.htm ''My Great and Only'' (Kipling, notes by David Page)] accessed 17 Oct 2007</ref> He dressed to fit the songs, as a Canadian Indian for "The Great Mother", as an Indian soldier for "India's Reply", and "How India Kept Her Word" (1898). Even America did not escape, with "America Looking On", about the [[Boer War]].<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9D03E2D7173FE433A25757C1A9669D946197D6CF&oref=slogin ''New British War Songs'' 14 October 1900, ''New York Times''] accessed 17 Oct 2007</ref>


Hannah suffered bouts of mental illness and was committed to the [[Cane Hill]] Asylum at [[Coulsdon]]. This marked the end of her career and the start of a long decline. She was not reunited with her son Wheeler until 1918, when he joined her and her older two sons, his half-brothers, in the United States. Charlie Chaplin was beginning his film career in Hollywood.
⚫
These examples of colonial fealty were well received by British audiences, and were parodied in [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[Barrack-Room Ballads]]''. He also was known for tear-jerking ballads such as "Don't Go Down the Mine, Dad" (1910), possibly inspired by the great 1907 mining disaster at St. Genard in [[South Wales]], and "Good-bye, Mary!" (1911).


⚫
In 1897, Leo Dryden married singer Marie Tyler (real name Marian Louise Crutchlow) in London. His son Wheeler also became an entertainer, even touring in India in 1915.
⚫
At the start of [[World War I]], he returned to patriotic songs with "Call Us and We’ll Soon Be There" (1914).

===Career===
⚫
Dryden also performed parodies, including "Shopmates" <ref>"Shopmates" a parody on the popular song, "Shipwrecked",</ref> and one on "[[Funiculì Funiculà]]".<ref>[http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_greatandonly1.htm ''My Great and Only'' (Kipling, notes by David Page)], Kipling.org.uk, accessed 17 October 2007</ref> He dressed to fit the songs, as a Canadian Indian for "The Great Mother", as an Indian soldier for "India's Reply", and "How India Kept Her Word" (1898). Even America did not escape, with "America Looking On", about the [[Boer War]].<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/10/14/102618561.pdf ''New British War Songs'' 14 October 1900], ''[[The New York Times]]'', accessed 17 Oct 2007</ref>

⚫
These examples of colonial fealty were well received by British audiences, and were parodied in [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[Barrack-Room Ballads]]''. Dryden also was known for performing tear-jerking ballads, such as "Don't Go Down the Mine, Dad" (1910), possibly inspired by the great 1907 mining disaster at St. Genard in [[South Wales]], and "Good-bye, Mary!" (1911).

⚫
At the start of [[World War I]], Dryden returned to patriotic songs with "Call Us and We’ll Soon Be There" (1914).


Dryden also appeared in ''The Lady of the Lake'' (1925), an early sound film inspired by the [[Walter Scott]] poem.
Dryden also appeared in ''The Lady of the Lake'' (1925), an early sound film inspired by the [[Walter Scott]] poem.


With the music halls in decline by the 1930s, and his son joining his own half-brothers in America, Leo Dryden was reduced to [[busking]] in the streets. He died in London 21 April 1939.
With the music halls in decline by the 1930s, and his son having joined his Chaplin half-brothers in America, Leo Dryden was reduced to [[busking]] in the streets. He died in London 21 April 1939.


He is the paternal grandfather of rock musician [[Spencer Dryden]], the drummer for [[Jefferson Airplane]].
He is the paternal grandfather of rock musician [[Spencer Dryden]], the drummer for [[Jefferson Airplane]].


==The Miner's Dream of Home==
=="The Miner's Dream of Home"==
Will Godwin and Leo Dryden wrote ''The Miner's Dream of Home'' in 1891. Leo Dryden sang it in the music halls for many years and recorded it on August 27, 1898 on a Berliner cylinder E2013<ref>{{cite web
Will Godwin and Leo Dryden wrote ''The Miner's Dream of Home'' in 1891. Leo Dryden sang it in the music halls for many years and recorded it on 27 August 1898 on a Berliner disc E2013<ref>{{cite web
|title=Mainly Norfolk (with full lyrics)
|title=Mainly Norfolk (with full lyrics)
|access-date= 2 July 2016
|access-date= 2 July 2016
|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/john.kirkpatrick/songs/theminersdreamofhome.html
|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/john.kirkpatrick/songs/theminersdreamofhome.html|website=Mainlynorfolk.info
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist}}
*''The Miner's Dream of Home'', Leo Dryden


==External links==
==External links==
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*[http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/lifebeforevinyl/P15.htm Words to ''The Miner's Dream of Home'' (bottom of page)] [http://cobs.rollerorgans.com/data/media/midi/1016.mid Music]
*[http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/lifebeforevinyl/P15.htm Words to ''The Miner's Dream of Home'' (bottom of page)] [http://cobs.rollerorgans.com/data/media/midi/1016.mid Music]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070610164805/http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/dontgo.html Words to ''Don't Go Down in the Mine, Dad'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070610164805/http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/dontgo.html Words to ''Don't Go Down in the Mine, Dad'']
*{{Find a Grave|147720117}}
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=dryden&GSfn=leo&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=147720117&df=all& findagrave.com]

⚫
{{Commons category|Leo Dryden}}


{{Authority control}}
⚫
{{Commonscat|Leo Dryden}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Dryden, Leo}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dryden, Leo}}
[[Category:1863 births]]
[[Category:1863 births]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:1939 deaths]]
[[Category:1939 deaths]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:English male singers]]
[[Category:19th-century English male singers]]
[[Category:Music hall performers]]
[[Category:Music hall performers]]
[[Category:Comedians from London]]
[[Category:Singers from London]]
[[Category:20th-century English male singers]]
[[Category:19th-century English comedians]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]

Latest revision as of 21:40, 2 November 2023

Leo Dryden
1890 Sheet music
Born
George Dryden Wheeler

(1863-06-06)6 June 1863
London, England
Died21 April 1939(1939-04-21) (aged 75)
London, England
OccupationMusic hall vocal comic
SpouseMarie Tyler (m. 1897)
PartnerHannah Chaplin (1892–1893)
ChildrenWheeler Dryden

George Dryden Wheeler Sr. (6 June 1863 – 21 April 1939), known as Leo Dryden, was an English music hall singer and vocal comic.

Life and career[edit]

George Dryden Wheeler, known as Leo Dryden, was born in London, the son of Sarah Ann (Frost) and George Kingman Wheeler.[1]

Leo Dryden became a music hall entertainer, and was best known as the Kipling of the Halls,[2] noted for his patriotic and colonial songs including "The Miner's Dream of Home" (1891).

Marriage and family[edit]

In 1892, he met Hannah Chaplin (stage name Lily Harley) also a music hall performer. They had an affair and a son, George Dryden Wheeler Jr, which resulted in the breakdown of her marriage to Charles Chaplin Sr. (She had already had a son with her husband, who later became known as actor and director Charlie Chaplin) The couple split up and Dryden kept his son because of Hannah's mental instability.

Hannah suffered bouts of mental illness and was committed to the Cane Hill Asylum at Coulsdon. This marked the end of her career and the start of a long decline. She was not reunited with her son Wheeler until 1918, when he joined her and her older two sons, his half-brothers, in the United States. Charlie Chaplin was beginning his film career in Hollywood.

In 1897, Leo Dryden married singer Marie Tyler (real name Marian Louise Crutchlow) in London. His son Wheeler also became an entertainer, even touring in India in 1915.

Career[edit]

Dryden also performed parodies, including "Shopmates" [3] and one on "Funiculì Funiculà".[4] He dressed to fit the songs, as a Canadian Indian for "The Great Mother", as an Indian soldier for "India's Reply", and "How India Kept Her Word" (1898). Even America did not escape, with "America Looking On", about the Boer War.[5]

These examples of colonial fealty were well received by British audiences, and were parodied in Rudyard Kipling's Barrack-Room Ballads. Dryden also was known for performing tear-jerking ballads, such as "Don't Go Down the Mine, Dad" (1910), possibly inspired by the great 1907 mining disaster at St. Genard in South Wales, and "Good-bye, Mary!" (1911).

At the start of World War I, Dryden returned to patriotic songs with "Call Us and We’ll Soon Be There" (1914).

Dryden also appeared in The Lady of the Lake (1925), an early sound film inspired by the Walter Scott poem.

With the music halls in decline by the 1930s, and his son having joined his Chaplin half-brothers in America, Leo Dryden was reduced to busking in the streets. He died in London 21 April 1939.

He is the paternal grandfather of rock musician Spencer Dryden, the drummer for Jefferson Airplane.

"The Miner's Dream of Home"[edit]

Will Godwin and Leo Dryden wrote The Miner's Dream of Home in 1891. Leo Dryden sang it in the music halls for many years and recorded it on 27 August 1898 on a Berliner disc E2013[6]

Extract:

It is ten weary years since I left England's shore
In a far distant country to roam.
How I long to return to my own native land,
To my friends and the old folks at home.
Last night, as a slumbered, I had a strange dream.
One that seemed to bring distant friends near.
I dreamt of Old England, the land of my birth,
To the heart of her sons ever dear.

Chorus

I saw the old homestead and faces I love
I saw England's valleys and dells.
I listen'd with joy, as I did when a boy
To the sound of the old village bells
The log was burning brightly
'Twas a night that should banish all sin
For the bells were ringing the old year out
And the new year in.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "George Dryden Wheeler". Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  2. ^ Popular Music in England, 1840-1914: A Social History Dave Russell, p. 117, (1987 McGill-Queen's Press) ISBN 0-7735-0541-5 accessed 17 Oct 2007
  3. ^ "Shopmates" a parody on the popular song, "Shipwrecked",
  4. ^ My Great and Only (Kipling, notes by David Page), Kipling.org.uk, accessed 17 October 2007
  5. ^ New British War Songs 14 October 1900, The New York Times, accessed 17 Oct 2007
  6. ^ "Mainly Norfolk (with full lyrics)". Mainlynorfolk.info. Retrieved 2 July 2016.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leo Dryden.
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