Irving Kaufman (February 8, 1890 – January 3, 1976) was a prolific American early twentieth century singer, recording artist and

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 ...

performer.

Life and career

Kaufman was born Isidore Kaufman in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

, the son of Russian

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrants. He was a member of ''The Kaufman Brothers'', along with his brothers Phillip and Jack. From 1913 through 1919 Kaufman was part of The Avon Comedy Four, a popular comedy and music group that was formed in 1902. Two of the group's members went on to fame as

Smith and Dale Smith and Dale were a famous American vaudeville comedy duo. They consisted of Joe Smith (born Joseph Sultzer on February 17, 1884February 22, 1981) and Charlie Dale (born Charles Marks on September 6, 1881November 16, 1971), who both grew up in ...

. Kaufman began recording in 1914, and recorded for Victor,

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, Vocalion,

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 Hoa ...

, Edison,

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howeve ...

, as well as all of the dime labels (

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...

, Perfect, etc.). Early in his career, when recording for Edison and Victor, he recorded under his own name, but he also used a number of (non-Jewish-sounding) aliases including 'Tom Frawley'. Sometimes, as in the case of several of his 1927 "Broadway Bell-Hops" vocals, he was merely credited as "Vocal Chorus". He was often credited as "vocal refrain by George Beaver" on the dime store labels. Kaufman was a singer in the vaudeville style, and although he was not considered a jazz singer, he nonetheless sang on recordings accompanied by some of the foremost jazz figures of the 1920s, including Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke,

Frank Trumbauer Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C-melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He a ...

, the Dorsey Brothers, Red Nichols,

Miff Mole Irving Milfred Mole, known professionally as Miff Mole (March 11, 1898 – April 29, 1961) was an American jazz trombonist and band leader. He is generally considered one of the greatest jazz trombonists and credited with creating "the first dist ...

, and

Eddie Lang Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro, October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as p ...

. His voice recorded well - both acoustically and electrically - and was one of the most prolific singers during the 1920s. Kaufman retired after a heart attack in 1949, and made no further commercial recordings until 1974, when a 2-LP set titled ''Reminisce With Irving Kaufman'' was released. It consisted mostly of transcriptions of his old recordings, but included several new cuts of Kaufman singing, accompanied by his second wife, Belle Brooks (1904–93). After his retirement, he lived in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

. He died January 3, 1976 in

Indio, California Indio ( Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, east of Los Angeles, 148 mil ...

.''The New York Times'', 5 January 1976
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References

External links

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:Kaufman, Irving 1890 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American people of Russian-Jewish descent Columbia Records artists Edison Records artists Gennett Records artists Jewish American musicians Musicians from Palm Springs, California Musicians from Syracuse, New York Sterling Records (US) artists Vaudeville performers Victor Records artists Vocalion Records artists 20th-century American Jews