Robert S. Roberts (April 27, 1871 – January 21, 1930), sometimes referred to as "Ragtime" Bob Roberts, was an American
novelty
Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...
singer and ragtime song
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
in the early years of the 20th century.
Biography
He was born in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, the son of Nicholas (Nick) Roberts, a well-known
clown
A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms.
History
The most ancient clowns have been found in ...
who became the proprietor of one of the country's leading touring
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
companies, and his French-born wife Augustine C. Zahn. Bob Roberts is assumed to have traveled widely with his father's shows in his youth, and indeed for the 1880 census when he was 9-years-old, his mother and brother were found lodging in a Richmond, New York hotel while father and son were performing somewhere nearby. Roberts, who had published compositions in Cincinnati as early as 1897, made his recording debut for
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
in 1900, and initially recorded remakes of other artists' cylinders before starting to make recordings of new songs.Allan Sutton, ''American Recording Pioneers - Bob Roberts . Retrieved 16 May 2013 Among the most successful of his early recordings for Columbia were "Hurrah For Baffin's Bay" and "By The Sycamore Tree", both in 1903.
Roberts also recorded for Edison,
Victor
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
, and other companies. He recorded prolifically, recording some songs for several different labels. One of his biggest comedy successes was with "The Woodchuck Song", written by Theodore Morse, with a chorus of "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?",Tim Gracyk, ''Bob Roberts - Tenor'' Retrieved 16 May 2013 which he recorded in 1904 for Edison, Columbia, Victor, and Zon-O-Phone Records. He also recorded for both Edison and Columbia as part of a duo with Albert Campbell.
He was at the peak of his recording career between 1903 and 1907, when he rivaled Billy Murray for popularity, and received a similar payment of $30 for each recording. He and Murray occasionally recorded together, as on "Oh! Oh! Sallie", in 1905. Roberts was a leading exponent of the comedic "
coon song
Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they we ...
", such as "Wouldn't It Make You Hungry", written by
Harry Von Tilzer
Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer.
Early life
Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...
, and "I'm Satisfied", many of them recorded for Zon-o-phone, a subsidiary of Victor.
The number of his recordings started to diminish around 1908, perhaps because he devoted more of his time to stage performances. Roberts spent long periods touring in
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 ...
, where he became a popular
monologist
A monologist (), or interchangeably monologuist (), is a solo artist who recites or gives dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry, or work of literature, for the entertainment of an audience. The term can also refer to a person wh ...
, and was a leading attraction at the Regal Theater in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. However, he also continued to record for Edison, Columbia, Victor, and other labels such as Indestructible.
He had further popular success in 1911 with his recording of "Woodman, Woodman, Spare That Tree", from the '' Ziegfeld Follies of 1911'', and in 1912 with the earliest recording of "
Ragtime Cowboy Joe
Ragtime Cowboy Joe is a popular western swing song. The lyrics were written by Grant Clarke and the music was composed by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams. It was copyrighted and published in 1912 by F.A. Mills.
Artists
The song has been ...
", for Victor Records. He did not record for any of the major companies after 1913 but, between 1914 and 1917, recorded for the Rex Talking Machine Company as Robert Roberts, including a duet with fellow vaudevillian
Elida Morris
Elida Mary Morris (November 12, 1886 – December 25, 1977), later Elida Morris Cooper, was an American vaudeville singer, comedian and actress.
She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Jim Walsh, he ran a
pool hall
A billiard, pool or snooker hall (or parlour, room or club; sometimes compounded as poolhall, poolroom, etc.) is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serve ...
there, and in the late 1920s appeared on radio station WCKY in a show called "Adolph and Otto".
He died in 1930.
See also
*
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck" (sometimes phrased with "could" rather than "would") is an American English-language tongue-twister.Thomas A. Green, ''Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music'' (1997): "Sometimes, ton ...
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 ...