Edward Meeker (January 22, 1874 – April 19, 1937) was an American singer and performer, best known for his appearances on the recordings of

Thomas 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 inventio ...

both as an announcer and singer, performing songs such as " Chicken Reel", "Go Easy Mabel", " Harrigan" and most notably, "

Take Me Out to the Ball Game "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song ...

". Original music by Meeker includes, "That Railroad Rag" released in 1911. As well as reading

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

skits and providing sound effects throughout the remainder of his career.

Personal life

Edward Meeker married Margaret Wood Meeker in 1895. Meeker was born in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

, on January 22 of 1874, and died in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

, on April 19, 1937, at the age of 63.

In Popular Culture

Meeker's Rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" can be heard on the radio in '' Slender: The Arrival''. Meeker's appearance on Thomas Edison's cylinder recordings can be found on Apple Music.

References

External links

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Edward Meeker recordings
from

UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive The Cylinder Audio Archive is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid-1920s. The ...

1874 births 1937 deaths American male singers Musicians from East Orange, New Jersey Pioneer recording artists Singers from New Jersey {{US-singer-stub