Lewis Lyman James (July 27, 1892 – February 19, 1959) was a
vocalist
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
and among the most active of recording artists in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
from 1917 through much of the 1930s.
He was a member of
The Shannon Four,
The Revelers
The Revelers were an American quintet (four close harmony singers and a pianist) popular in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Revelers' recordings of "Dinah (song), Dinah", "Ol' Man River, Old Man River", "Valencia (song), Valencia", "Baby Fa ...
, and
The Criterion Trio. He had many
Top Ten hits during that time, including "
My Baby Boy", "
Till We Meet Again", "
What'll I Do
"What'll I Do" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1923. It was introduced by singers Grace Moore and John Steel late in the run of Berlin's third '' Music Box Revue'' and was also included in the following year's edition."American Classics - ...
", "
All Alone)" and "
Pal of My Cradle Days", among others.
[
]
Biography
He was born in Scio, Michigan on July 27, 1892.[
He recorded extensively as a soloist, duet partner, and quartet lead singer. His first recording with the Shannon Four (aka the Shannon Quartet) was the ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
chestnut, "All Aboard For Home Sweet Home." Like many of his colleagues, he proved exceedingly versatile in recording love ballads, hymns, children's songs, and the more sophisticated early jazz harmonies of the Revelers with whom he made several successful European tours. The Shannon Four, Revelers, Crescent Trio, and Merrymakers consisted mostly of the same singers, with occasional substitutes. His sweet melodic tenor is immortalized on Victor, Columbia, and Edison recordings, mostly from 1917 through 1927.[
He died on February 19, 1959 in ]Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
References
External links
Lewis James recordings
at the 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 ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Lewis
1959 deaths
1892 births
20th-century American singers
20th-century American male singers
Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders members