Thomas Ernest Hare (March 16, 1883 – March 9, 1939) was an American singer who recorded prolifically during the 1920s and 1930s, finding fame as a radio star on ''
the Happiness Boys
''The Happiness Boys'' was a popular radio program of the early 1920s. It featured the vocal duo of tenor Billy Jones (1889-1940) and bass/baritone Ernie Hare (1883-1939), who sang novelty songs.
Career
Jones and Hare were already established as ...
'' radio program.
Career
Hare's recording career began in 1918. He was
Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...
's understudy in the Broadway musical '' Sinbad'' during 1919–20. He recorded with the Cleartone Four, the Crescent Trio, the Harmonizers Quartet, and the Premier Quartet. He made a series recordings with
Al Bernard
Alfred Aloysous Bernard (November 23, 1888 – March 6, 1949) was an American vaudeville singer, known as "The Boy From Dixie", who was most popular during the 1910s through early 1930s.
Life
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he became a blackface ...
Gus Haenschen Walter Gustave Haenschen ( - March 27, 1980) was an arranger and composer of music and an orchestra conductor, primarily on old-time radio programs.
Early years
Haenschen was born in St. Louis to parents who had come from Germany and settled in tha ...
had them sing an accompaniment on a Brunswick recording. They went on to do numerous recordings together for Brunswick,
Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...
and most other major U.S. record companies of the era. Similarities between the two singers were often noted: same height, same weight, and birthdays a few days apart.
They began on radio October 18, 1921 on WJZ in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.WEAF, moving to NBC for a run from 1926–1929. As the Happiness Boys, they sang popular tunes, mostly light fare and comic songs, with jokes and patter between numbers.Turtle Services: The Happiness Boys Turtleservices.com
By 1928, they were the highest-paid singers in radio, earning $1,250 a week. After Hare's death in 1939 of bronchopneumonia, Jones continued to perform, teaming in 1939–40 with Hare's 16-year-old daughter, Marilyn Hare (1923–1981). Jones died November 23, 1940. Marilyn Hare went on to a career as an actress in films,
Soundies
Soundies are three-minute American musical films, and each short displays a performance. The shorts were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to music videos" by UCLA. Soundies exhibited a variety of musical gen ...
, and television, and she also toured as a vocalist.
See also
*
The Happiness Boys
''The Happiness Boys'' was a popular radio program of the early 1920s. It featured the vocal duo of tenor Billy Jones (1889-1940) and bass/baritone Ernie Hare (1883-1939), who sang novelty songs.
Career
Jones and Hare were already established as ...
References
Sources
*Hoffmann, Carty, and Riggs, ''Billy Murray, The Phonograph Industry's First Great Recording Artist''
*Roger D. Kinkle, ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900-1950''
*Tim Gracyk, ''The Encyclopedia of Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895-1925''
Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...