Richard J. Jose (June 5, 1862 – October 20, 1941) was an American
countertenor
A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...
, popular during the early 20th
century.
[(21 October 1941)]
Richard J. Jose (Obituary)
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
Life
Richard Jose was born in
Lanner, Cornwall
Lanner ( kw, Lannergh) is a village and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the A393 about south-east of Redruth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End''
Lanner is in the St Day, Carharrac ...
in 1862. Following the death of his father in 1876, he immigrated to Nevada in search of his uncle.
He sang in saloons for charity, and in 1881 with Thatcher's Minstrels.
[Gracyk, p. 203] In 1884, he joined a minstrel troupe in California, and later appeared in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In 1896, Jose married Therese Shreve.
In 1887, he won a gold medal from the
Academy of Music (New York City)
The Academy of Music was a New York City opera house, located on the northeast corner of 14th Street (Manhattan), East 14th Street and Irving Place in Manhattan. The 4,000-seat hall opened on October 2, 1854. The review in ''The New York Tim ...
.
He made
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 ...
s as early as 1892 for the New England branch of the
North American Phonograph Company
The North American Phonograph Company was an early attempt to commercialize the maturing technologies of sound recording in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Though the company was largely unsuccessful in its goals due to legal, technical and financ ...
. Between October 27, 1903 and 1906, he recorded for the
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...
, and his version of "
Silver Threads Among the Gold
"Silver Threads Among the Gold", first copyrighted in 1873, was a popular song in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today it is a standard of barbershop quartet singing. The lyrics are by Eben E. Rexford, and the music b ...
" was a hit. In 1905 and 1906, he toured with his own minstrel show, and in 1906, was injured when a stage curtain fell on him.
In 1915, Jose sang the song "Silver Threads Among the Gold" in
a silent short movie of the same name, by
Pierce Kingsley
Pierce may refer to:
Places Canada
* Pierce Range, a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia
United States
* Pierce, Colorado
* Pierce, Idaho
* Pierce, Illinois
* Pierce, Kentucky
* Pierce, Nebraska
* Pierce, Texas
* Pierce, West ...
and
R. R. Roberts. After retiring from entertainment, Jose became the California Deputy Real Estate Commissioner.
Pronunciation
Jose, pronounced ''/z/'' like "rose," is a Cornish name. He added an accent, ''eɪ'' as in José.
Discography
*"Belle Brandon" (02:47) Victor 2554, 1903-10-27
*"Dear old songs" (02:24) Victor 2629, 1904-01-12
*"Dear old songs" (03:37) Victor 31170, 1904-01-14
*"May, sweet May" (01:23) Victor 2630, 1904-01-12
*"May, sweet May" (01:57) Victor 2630, 1904-01-12
*"Abide with me" (02:09) Victor 2633, 1904-01-14
*"Glory to God" (03:38) Victor 31192, 1904-01-18
*"Sun of my soul" (02:42) Victor 2669, 1904-01-18
*"O come all ye faithful" (02:12) Victor 2725, 1904-01-20
*"Since Nellie went away" (04:00) Victor 31489, 1905-12-22
*"When I'm away from you, dear" (03:19) Victor 31154, 1904-12-08
*"She fought on by his side" (02:05) Victor 4261, 1904-12-09
*"Too late!" (03:51) Victor 31344, 1904-12-08
*"Killarney" (03:16) Victor 31343, 1904-12-09
*"Dear old girl" (04:15) Victor 31172, 1904-12-10
*"With all her faults I love her still" (04:10) Victor 31171, 1904-12-10
*"Rose of my life" (02:27) Victor 4219, 1904-12-10
*"Time and tide" (03:48) Victor 31355, 1904-12-09
*"Home, sweet home" (03:27) Victor 31515,
*"Belle Brandon" (03:03) Victor 16666
*"
When You and I Were Young, Maggie
"When You and I Were Young, Maggie" is a folk song, popular song, and standard written by George W. Johnson and James Austin Butterfield.
Origin
Although Springtown, Tennessee, has a small monument outside an old mill claiming the song was writt ...
" (03:59) Victor 31485, 1905-12-20
*"I cannot sing the old songs" (03:59) Victor 31496, 1905-12-21
*"Ben Bolt" (03:29) Victor 31497, 1905-12-22
*"The blind boy (03:26) Victor 31513, 1906-02-23
*"We've been chums for fifty years" (03:58) Victor 31516, 1906-02-23
*"Home, sweet home" (03:24) Victor 31515, 1906-02-23
*"The ninety and nine" (03:01) Victor 4755, 1906-02-23
*"Abide with me" (02:19) Victor 16660, 1906-02-23
*"Softly now the light of day" (02:32) Victor 2686, 1906-02-23
[ ]
References
Sources
*
External links
Tim Gracyk's Phonographs, Singers, and Old Records -- Richard Jose, America's Great Countertenor*
List of Recordings by Richard Jose
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jose, Richard
1862 births
1941 deaths
People from Lanner, Cornwall
Vaudeville performers
British emigrants to the United States
Countertenors
Musicians from Nevada