John W. Myers (c. 1864 – c. 1919?), who was usually credited as J. W. Myers, was a Welsh-born baritone singer, who recorded widely in the

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between the early 1890s and early 1917. His recordings, including "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1893), "

The Sidewalks of New York "The Sidewalks of New York" is a popular song about life in New York City during the 1890s. It was composed in 1894 by vaudeville actor and singer Charles B. Lawlor (June 2, 1852 – May 31, 1925) with lyrics by James W. Blake (September 23, ...

" (1895), "Just Tell Them That You Saw Me" (1895), "

When You Were Sweet Sixteen "When You Were Sweet Sixteen" is a popular song, written by James Thornton and published in 1898. Inspired and sung by the composer's wife, the ballad quickly became a hit song in vaudeville. It has a long recording history that includes numerous ...

" (1901), "On a Sunday Afternoon" (1902), "Way Down In Old Indiana" (1902), and "

In the Good Old Summer Time "In the Good Old Summer Time" is an American Tin Pan Alley song first published in 1902 with music by George Evans and lyrics by Ren Shields. Background Shields and Evans were at first unsuccessful in trying to sell the song to one of New Yor ...

" (1902), were among the most popular of the period.

Biography

Little is known of his life, although he is believed to have been born in Wales and emigrated to the US at the age of 12 in the 1870s. He worked at various jobs before becoming a theatre manager in

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. By 1892, he was identified as an already seasoned recording artist, suggesting that he may have first recorded as early as 1890.Biography by Uncle Dave Lewis at Allmusic.com
Retrieved 9 May 2013Myers, J.W., at Last.fm
Retrieved 9 May 2013 His first successful recordings were in 1892. He became regarded as "the foremost baritone ballad singer of his era", and over his career he recorded probably hundreds of songs for many

phonograph cylinder Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engra ...

recording companies, including New Jersey Phonograph, later known as United States Phonograph, Edison, Columbia,

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, and

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. In 1895 he resigned from his position in the theatre in order to join a touring

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, and in 1896 set up his own short-lived cylinder company, the Globe Talking Machine Company. Many of his recordings after 1900 were for Columbia Records. He also continued to record for Victor, Edison and Leeds & Catlin. Several were of songs made popular in Broadway musicals, such as "In the Good Old Summer Time" from ''The Defender'', while others such as "Come Take A Trip In My Air-Ship" referenced modern technology. After 1907, Myers' recording activity diminished. He invested in another recording company, the U.S. Everlasting Cylinder Company of Cleveland, Ohio, and recorded three cylinders for them, released in the first half of 1912. The listings refer to his recent concert tour, Canadian tour and eastern US vaudeville tour. He recorded at least four vertical discs for Rex Records in 1913-14. His last record for Columbia, Along the Yukon Trail, was issued in December 1914. In 1916-17 he recorded four titles for Victor H. Emerson's new Emerson records. He must have known Victor Emerson back in the early 1890s when he was head of the New Jersey Cylinder recording studio. The last known recording is 'War Song Medley'. His life after that time is unknown; researcher Jim Walsh suggested that he may have died around 1919, although it is also possible that he returned to Wales.

References

External links

J. W. Myers recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. * Audio of Myers
disc records
via the Library of Congress' National Jukebox * Audio of Myers
cylinder recordings
via the UC Santa Barbara Cylinder Audio Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, J. W. 1864 births 1919 deaths Columbia Records artists Pioneer recording artists American baritones 19th-century American male singers