William F. Denny

William F. Denny (circa 1860 – October 2, 1908) was an American vaudeville performer and pioneer recording artist.

Denny ca. 1899

Biography

William F. Denny (also known as Will F. Denny) was born in late 1859 or more likely in 1860 in Boston,[1][2] to James and Elizabeth Denny.[3] He gained fame performing on vaudeville stages,[1] specializing in comic numbers.[2] His first recordings were made in 1891 for the New England Phonograph Company.[4] Beginning in May 1898 his popularity was such that he signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia that was in effect for one year.[2] He had a singular recording session for Victor Records on September 11, 1901.[2] His last records were made for the Zonophone company. He died in Seattle on October 2, 1908 of atherosclerosis,[5] while touring on the Pantages vaudeville circuit, and was buried in Philadelphia.[2]

Partial discography
Berliner Gramophone
  • 1748 – “Czar of the Tenderloin” (recorded July 14, 1897)[6]
  • 1749 – “I Didn’t Know”[6]
  • 1750 – “Darling Mabel”[6]
  • 1762 – “She Was There”[6]
  • 0125-I – “How’d You Like to Be the Iceman” (recorded May 2, 1899)[7]
  • 0126-I – “When a Woman Loves” (recorded May 3, 1899)[7]
  • 0129-I – “And the Parrot Said” (recorded May 3, 1899)[7]
Columbia Records
cylinders
  • 6325 – “A Pity to Waste It”[2]
  • 6351 – “What Ze English Call Ze”[2]
  • 6365 – “Miss Helen Hunt”
  • 32919 – “Nothing Like That in Our Family”[2]
discs
  • 53 – “When The Harvest Days Are Over”[8]
  • 318 – “When Reuben Comes to Town” (Goodwin – Levi) [8]
  • 319 – “I Want to Be a Military Man” (Hall – Stuart)[8]
  • 3368 – “Nothing Like That in Our Family”[2]
  • A489 – “You’ll Have to Get Out and Walk” (recorded May 1907)[9]
Edison Records
  • 7154 – “Naughty Banana Peel”[2]
  • 7379 – “Parody on ‘Because’”[2]
  • 7875 – “Ain’t Dat a Shame?”[2]
  • 7980 – “My Ebony Belle”[2]
  • 8015? – "Rip Van Winkle was a lucky man" c1902 from owned Edison Cylinder record
  • 8167 – “I Couldn’t” [10]
  • 8442 – “Just When I Needed You Most”[10]
  • 8443 – “For Old Time’s Sake”[10]
  • 8552 – “Trixie”[2]
  • 9306 – “Nothing Like That in Our Family”[2][11]
  • 9551 – “Ask Me Not” (Cobbs – Edwards)[2][12]
  • 9568 – “You’ll Have to Get Off and Walk” (Dave Reed)[2][13]
  • 9598 – “Tale of the Bucket” (Joe A. Budd)[2][14]
  • 9620 – “My Word! What a Lot of It!” (Dave Reed)[2]
New England Phonograph Company
  • (?) – “You Can’t Think of Everything” [15]
Victor Records
[16]
  • 953, 3561 – “I Want Someone to Care for Me”
  • 955, 3563 – “The Turkey and the Turk”
  • 956, 3564 – “Any Old Place I Hang My Hat Is Home Sweet Home to Me”
  • 957, 3565 – “I’m Looking at You, ‘Lize”
  • 958, 3566 – “The Tick Tack Tocking of the Clocking on Her Stocking”
  • 959, 3567 – “The Shadows on the Door”
  • 960, 3568 – “Oh! Don’t it Tickle You?”
  • 961, 3569 – “At the Pan-I-Merry-Can”
  • 962, 3570 – “Sarah from Syracuse”
Zonophone Records
  • 769 – “Rip Van Winckle Was a Lucky Man” [17]
  • 787 – “Ain’t Dat a Shame”[17]
  • 1545 – “Sadie Say You Won’t Be Sorry”[17]
  • 1546 – “Just When I Needed You Most”[17]
  • 1690 – “The Turkey and the Turk”[17]
  • 1798 – “I’m Tired”[17]
  • 9924 – “You Said a Plenty”[17]
  • 5934 – “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis”[2]
  • 1048 – “All the Girls Look Good to Me”[2]
  • 1081 – “Since My Mariutch Learned the Merry Widow Waltz” [18]

References
  1. Hobbies, volume 60, page 56.
  2. Gracyk, Tim and Hoffman, Frank W. (2000). Popular American recording pioneers, 1895-1925. Psychology Press, Binghamton, NY. ISBN 978-1-56024-993-1.
  3. Philadelphia Inquirer, October 13, 1908.
  4. ’ARSC (Association for Recorded Sound Collections) Journal' XI (1979) page 109.
  5. Barna, Ryan. "A Trip to Will F. Denny's Grave". Retrieved August 24, 2010
  6. Settlemier, Tyrone. "The Online Discographical Project – Berliner numerical listing: Early releases without ‘0’ prefix". Retrieved August 24, 2010
  7. Settlemier, Tyrone. "The Online Discographical Project – Berliner: Later ‘0’-prefix series". Retrieved August 24, 2010
  8. Brooks, Tim (1999). The Columbia Master Book Discography, Volume I: U.S. Matrix Series 1 through 4999, 1901-1910 with a History of the Columbia Phonograph Company to 1934. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-30821-5.
  9. Abrams, Steven and Settlemier, Tyrone. "The Online Discographical Project – Columbia A-prefix numerical listing: A1 - A499 (1908)". Retrieved August 24, 2010
  10. Koenigsberg, Allen (1969). Edison cylinder records, 1889-1912: with an illustrated history of the phonograph. Stellar Productions.
  11. Sage, Glenn. "August 1997 Cylinder of the Month". Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  12. Success Magazine, January 1907, page 360.
  13. Pacific Monthly, Portland, OR, Volume 17 (1907), page 755.
  14. Success Magazine, January 1907, page 509.
  15. Sage, Glenn. "May 2007 Cylinder of the Month". Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  16. University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries. " Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings: Will F. Denny (vocalist)". Retrieved August 24, 2010
  17. Settlemier, Tyrone. "The Online Discographical Project – Zonophone Numerical Listings: Etched-label issues (1899 – 1903)". Retrieved August 24, 2010
  18. Settlemier, Tyrone. "The Online Discographical Project - Zonophone Numerical Listings: 10-inch single-sided paper labels, 1904 - 1909". Retrieved August 24, 2010


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