Sam Mayo (born Samuel Cowan, 30 July 1881 – 31 March 1938) was an English

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

entertainer,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

Life

Born Samuel Cowan in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 30 July 1881, he first worked in his father's

second-hand shop __NOTOC__ A second-hand shop is a shop which sells used goods. Temporary venues People will sell used goods right in front of their home in what is called a "garage sale". The products would be set up in front of the garage. In the UK, peo ...

while also collecting

bet Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

s and singing in

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s and clubs with his brothers Ted and Maurice Cowan. He adopted the stage surname "Mayo" to distinguish himself from his brother Ted, who was also a professional entertainer. Mayo married Zillah Flash (performing name: Stella Stanley) in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

on 13 August 1904. His early involvement in

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

stayed with him: heavy gambling caused him to be three times declared

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

Career

Mayo developed a unique comic style as a

singer. Dressed in long overcoat or dressing gown, he sang deadpan at the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

in a lugubrious voice and with quirky humour. He became billed as "The Immobile One". Mayo mostly wrote his own songs, such as "The Old Tin Can", and provided other entertainers, such as

Ernie Mayne Percy Ernest Barratt (17 March 1871 – 15 May 1937) was an English music hall entertainer who performed under the name Ernie Mayne. Mayne was one of the first music hall stars to broadcast on radio in 1922. Born in Topsham, Devon, by the age o ...

, with material such as the song "Where Do Flies Go in the Winter Time?" He held the record for appearing at the greatest number of music halls in a single evening: nine performances at nine London venues on the evening of 21 January 1905.

Death

He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

whilst playing snooker at Ascot Club, in Charing Cross, on 31 March 1938, a week after attending the funeral of his son, who died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. He was buried at

Willesden Jewish Cemetery The Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, usually known as Willesden Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery at Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent, England. It opened in 1873 on a site. It has been described as the "R ...

. The funeral was attended by Will Fyffe and a few other notable figures in music hall.

Trivia

The noted writer

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer, essayist and journalist, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebra ...

quoted Mayo's lyrics in a letter dated 1 November 1920.

References

External links

*
Text collection of Sam Mayo's lyricsSam Mayo: British Pathé, 1930Sam Mayo: British Pathé, 1931Sam Mayo: British Pathé, 1932Sam Mayo: ''Things are Worse in Russia''Sam Mayo: ''I'll Prove That I'm Right''Sam Mayo: ''The Toreador''Sam Mayo: ''Bread and Marmalade''Sam Mayo: ''The Trumpeter''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Sam 1881 births 1938 deaths 20th-century British male singers 20th-century English singers Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery English male singers Music hall performers Musicians from London Pioneer recording artists