Geoffrey O'Hara (February 2, 1882 – January 31, 1967) was a Canadian-American composer, singer and music professor.

Early life

O'Hara was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. He initially planned a military career. O'Hara entered the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

at age 18 and he trained with the 1st Hussars. He had to abandon his military career upon the death of his father, Robert O'Hara.

Career

He moved to the United States in 1904, the same year he began performing in

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. He began recording for

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important and successful company in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by ...

in 1905. In 1913 O'Hara undertook the recording of traditional Indian songs on behalf of the American government. He was recorded on

phonograph cylinder Phonograph cylinders (also referred to as Edison cylinders after its creator Thomas Edison) are the earliest commercial medium for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their heyda ...

lecturing about the complexity of the music as well as singing and playing several types of

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

traditional songs in 1914. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was a singing instructor of patriotic songs for American troops. O'Hara lectured on music and songwriting and held positions at Teachers' College of Columbia University (1936–37), Huron College and the University of South Dakota, where he later received an honorary Doctor of Music degree in 1947. He lectured for the remainder of his life. In 1920, O'Hara helped organize The Composers' and Lyric Writers' Protective League. He also was a board member of the

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

(ASCAP), was the president of the Composers-Authors Guild, and served in the

United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

(USO). He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 a ...

, an international professional music fraternity.

Personal life

In 1919, he married Constance Dougherty from Massachusetts, and together they had two children; the same year, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Works

O'Hara composed over 500 popular and patriotic songs, and hymns. He had some moderate

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

hits in the 1910s with songs such as ''Your Eyes Have Told Me What I Did Not Know'' (1913), ''Tennessee, I Hear You Calling Me'' (1914), ''The Old Songs'', and '' Over the Top: Military March'' (1917). His one huge hit was his song

K-K-K-Katy "K-K-K-Katy" is a World War I-era song written by Canadian-American composer Geoffrey O'Hara in 1917 and published in 1918. The sheet music advertised it as "The Sensational Stuttering, Stammering Song Success Sung by the Soldiers and Sailors", a ...

(1918), one of the most popular tunes of the

era. It was sung in both World War I and World War II, occasionally as "K. K. K. K. P." He was commissioned by the Wilson administration to compose the modern day version of the Star Spangled Banner.

Songs

* 1917 ''Give A Man A Horse He Can Ride'', Lyrics by James Thomson * 1917 ''Give Three Loud Cheers'' with Samuel Stewart, Lyrics by Edith M. Gibbs * 1917 ''Over The Top March'' * 1917 ''Send Me A Curl'' * 1917 ''Woman Who Waits At Home, The'', Lyrics b
Gordon Johnstone
ref name=":1" /> * 1918 ''Aw Sammie!'', Lyrics by H.Sanborn * 1918 ''I Don't Care Where They Send Me'', Lyrics b
Schuyler Green
ref name=":0" /> * 1918 ''I Love The Merry Merry Sunshine'' with Francis Wheeler * 1918 ''

'' * 1918 ''Over Yonder Where The Lilies Grow'' * 1918 ''Patriotism'', Lyrics by William Horatio Day * 1918 ''South Will Do Her Part, The'', Lyrics by H. Sanborn * 1919
Buddie Boy (How's Ev'ry Little Thing With You?)
' with Theodore Morse * 1919 ''There Is No Death'', Lyrics b
Gordon Johnstone
ref name=":1" /> * 1919 ''Two Little Stars'', Lyrics by T.E.B. Henry * 1920 ''Get Up And Get Out'', Lyrics b
Gordon Johnstone
ref name=":0" /> * 1925 ''Out Of The West'', Lyrics b
Gordon Johnstone
ref name=":2" /> * 1928 ''Grace Before Meals'', Lyrics by Medomak Camp Boys * 1931 ''God's Other Room'', Lyrics by Katharine Bainbridge * 1931 ''There's A Light In The Window'' * 1931 ''Somewhere In The World'' * 1931 ''One More Song For Jesus'', Lyrics by Ina Duley Ogdon * 1931 ''At The Rainbow's End'' * 1931 ''Let Him In'' * 1931 ''Drop A Little Letter In Your Heart'' * 1940 ''Nebraska, We'll Fight For You!'', Lyrics by Hale C. Cole * 1942 ''Today Is Mine'', Lyrics by Ina Duley Ogdon * 1942 ''Never Bite Off Any More Than You Can Chew'' * 1942 ''Limericks'', Lyrics by

Gelett Burgess Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. He was an important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his ico ...

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Geoffrey O'Hara, composer, singer and lecturer (1882-1967)
*
Geoffrey O'Hara recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Geoffrey 1882 births 1967 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Chatham-Kent Canadian vaudeville performers American vaudeville performers Canadian composers Canadian male composers 20th-century Canadian male singers