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Franklyn Baur (April 5, 1903 – February 24, 1950) was a popular tenor vocal recording artist.Gracyk, Tim with Frank Hoffman, ''Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895--1925'', Haworth Press, New York, 2000, pp. 39--42. DeLong, Thomas A., ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960'', McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina, 1996, p. 26.
Baur was born in New York and educated at Amherst. At 19, he was selected from over 50 candidates as principal tenor in the
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Victor.library.ucsb.edu Baur first recorded for Columbia in 1924, with many more Columbia recordings to follow, and for other labels, including Brunswick, Banner, Domino, Emerson,
Franklyn Baur recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baur, Franklyn American tenors 1903 births 1950 deaths Gennett Records artists 20th-century American singers Victor Records artists Columbia Records artists Brunswick Records artists 20th-century American male singers Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders members
Franklyn Baur (April 5, 1903 – February 24, 1950) was a popular tenor vocal recording artist.Gracyk, Tim with Frank Hoffman, ''Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895--1925'', Haworth Press, New York, 2000, pp. 39--42. DeLong, Thomas A., ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960'', McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina, 1996, p. 26.
Baur was born in New York and educated at Amherst. At 19, he was selected from over 50 candidates as principal tenor in the Park Avenue Baptist Church
Park Avenue Baptist Church is a historic church at 296 Park Ave., West in Mansfield, Ohio.
It was built in 1928 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Mansfield-based firm of Althouse & Jones also designed the Rich ...
known as the John D. Rockefeller Church. His grandfather on the maternal side held the same position for many years in Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...
's Brooklyn church./ref>
Recording career
Baur made hundreds of recordings for about a dozen different recording companies, including the three major labels, Victor Talking Machine, Victor, Columbia and Brunswick. His first recording, ''If the Rest of the World Don't Want You'', was for Victor in 1923. Baur recorded for Victor as a featured soloist, as a member of the Shannon Quartet (known asThe 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 ...
after 1925); as one of the vocalists for Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra; with Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra; and on occasion, as the vocalist for Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...
's orchestra, with many of his recordings being listed by Joel Whitburn as "charted."Whitburn, Joel, ''Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories: 1890--1954: The History of American Popular Music'', Record Research, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, 1986, p. 47--48, 367 and 386--387, 449. The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR) lists detailed information for Baur's Victor recordings.Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (University of California, Santa Barbara)Victor.library.ucsb.edu Baur first recorded for Columbia in 1924, with many more Columbia recordings to follow, and for other labels, including Brunswick, Banner, Domino, Emerson,
Gennett
Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and ...
, Grey Gull, Puritan, Oriole, and Regal, often using pseudonyms.
Radio and other performances
Baur's first stage appearance was in the ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1927'', in which he was a featured vocalist. The show starred Eddie Cantor. Baur became the highest salaried ballad singer on the radio during the 1920s. Baur's most notable radio broadcasts were for the well-known Voice of Firestone (initially titled The Firestone Hour). He was one of the soloists on Firestone's first broadcast in December 1928 and remained with Firestone through May 1930, after which his contract was not renewed because he had asked for compensation, in addition to his generous weekly broadcast fee, to perform at a company function. Baur was among the vocalists on The Ipana Troubadours in the mid-1920s, and the Palmolive Hour and the Seiberling Singers in the late 1920s.Sies, Luther F., ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920--1960'', McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2000, pp. 49, 471, 504, 611. Following his dismissal by Firestone, Baur's career declined. In 1931, he went to France to take voice lessons, and he gave a recital in 1933 at Town Hall in New York City.Obituary, New York Times, February 25, 1950Personal life
He died on February 24, 1950 at the age of 46 of a heart ailment at his home in New York City.References
External links
Franklyn Baur recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baur, Franklyn American tenors 1903 births 1950 deaths Gennett Records artists 20th-century American singers Victor Records artists Columbia Records artists Brunswick Records artists 20th-century American male singers Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders members