Not Will Oakland Nor Anyone Else Could Save Edison Records

Will Oakland

Source: SecondHand Songs

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on 15 January 1880, high-voiced countertenor, Will Oakland, began his music career in Rochester, New York, as a minstrel singer with Lew Dockstader and George Primrose in 1905 upon discharge from the Army. Largely associated with the American Quartet, the Heidelberg Quintet from 1912 to 1914 and the Will Oakland Chorus, he also sang with the Haydn Quartet and was well-known for duets with major name, Billy Murray, of the American and Heidelberg Quartets. As a solo artist he liked ballads and sentimental "heart" songs. Oakland was also partial to songs with an Irish theme, prevalent in early popular music of the United States.

The 'Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound Vol 1 A-L' (Frank Hoffmann) has Oakland's first issue on cylinder for Edison per 'When the Autumn Moon Is Creeping Thro' the Woodlands' (Edison 9902) which the 'Chronology of American Popular Music 1900-2000' (Frank Hoffmann) has released on 25 July of 1908. Oakland's initial disc was 'When You and I Were Young, Maggie' w the Victor Orchestra on Victor 5682 released in spring the next year on 10" for 60 cents per plate (fairly expensive at the time). That title reached #7 on the charts in December. Oakland's career in the second decade of the 20th century is likened to that of Richard Jose in the first. Oakland placed 12 titles in the Top Ten to as late as 'Dear Little Boy of Mine at #7 in August 1919. Two of those had topped the charts at #1: 'Mother Machree' in February of 1911 and 'I Love the Name of Mary' in April 1911. Titles below are stacked per recording dates where possible.

'When You and I Were Young, Maggie'   Will Oakland

Recorded 19 Feb 1909 in Camden NJ   Issued on Victor 16666

This title issued on Edison 9980 had charted at #7 in Dec 1908

Composition: George Washington Johnson / James Butterfield

'Only a Pansy Blossom'   Will Oakland

Recorded 6 May 1910 in Camden NJ   Issued on Victor 16496

This title issued on Edison 9980 had charted at #7 in Dec 1908

Composition: George Washington Johnson / James Butterfield

DAHR traces Oakland to the American Quartet as early as 12 July of 1910 for unissued tracks of 'In the Gloaming' and 'Who Will Care for Mother Now?'. 'At the Club' went down in May of 1912, that destroyed. It wasn't all that bad though since the American also recorded as the Heidelberg Quintet much featuring Oakland. DAHR has his first session with that outfit on 15 April 1912 for 'Under the Love Tree' and 'I Want to Love You While the Music's Playing'. Their release of 'By the Beautiful Sea' topped the charts in July 1914. The Heidelberg was a brief-existing entity which DAHR follows to the last of 22 titles on 26 June of 1914: 'Don't Go Away', 'Ma Pickaninny Babe' and 'Roll Them Cotton Bales'. Oakland thereafter led a solo career, recording 'Let's Grow Old Together' and 'Gone' for Columbia as late as March of 1926. He contributed to lyrics with George Whiting on 'Just Beyond the Blue' which went down twice for Edison Records in June and July of 1929 by Tommy Weir backed by the Jack Stillman Orchestra. Those were among the last issues by Edison Records. After four decades in the music industry, 1929 became its final year of operation.

'Eileen Allanna'   Will Oakland

Edison Standard 10532 issued 1911

Music: John Rogers Thomas   Text: E.S. Marble   1873

'Say 'Au Revoir' But Not 'Good-bye''   Will Oakland

Edison Amberol 1022   #1 June 1912

Composition: Harry Kennedy

'The Curse of an Aching Heart'   Will Oakland

Edison Blue Amberol 2022 issued 1913

This title also recorded 13 June 1913 toward Victor 17372 which charted at #9 in Sep 1913

Music: Al Piantadosi   Text: Henry Fink

'Just for Tonight'   Will Oakland w Billy Murray

Recorded 6 July 1914 in Camden NJ   Issued on Victor 17622

Composition: George L. Cobb

'When It's Moonlight in Mayo' ('Two Irish Eyes Are Shining')   Will Oakland

Recorded 4 June 1915 in Camden NJ   Issued on Victor 17819

Music: Percy Wenrich   Text: Jack Mahoney

'That Tumble-Down Shack in Athlone'   Will Oakland and Chorus

Edison Blue Amberol 3876 issued Dec 1919

Music: Monte Carlo / Alma M. Sanders   Text: Richard W. Pascoe

The doom of Edison Records had been foretold at its very formation in 1888 to record and distribute cylinders. Thomas Edison had invented phonograph recording in 1877, leaving cylinder recording in its tinfoil phase until he began to experiment with wax in 1887, the same year that Emile Berliner began to develop disc technology that would soon yield greater advantages. When Berliner merged his operation with the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901. Victor's first issues on its Monarch imprint competed breast to breast with Columbia's first on its Climax imprint the same year. Columbia, founded in 1889, had been Edison's strongest competition in the cylinder market. In a grip between Columbia and Victor, the suits at Edison began to feel the pressure and squeezed out the Edison Gold Moulded cylinder in 1902. Only five years later Columbia decided to ditch cylinder recording altogether in 1907, and stopped distributing them in 1911. Nor could Edison's proprietary Diamond Discs introduced in 1912 compete with the greater market clearly leaving cylinders to history as discs prevailed.

Tinfoil and wax aside, the Edison operation was tardy at a lot, not entering into electronic recording until 1927, two years behind Columbia, Victor and Brunswick, the last formed in 1916 to become the third major record label to make the suits at Edison sweat. Cylinder technology having much reached its limits with Edison's Blue Amberols introduced in 1912, added to a market decidedly disc-oriented but not one in which Diamond Discs performed especially well, Edison Records issued its final cylinder in June of 1929 per John Gart at organ on 'If I Had You' recorded on 27 March in New York City toward Blue Amberol 5719. Its last disc was 'Honey' backed with 'Oh! Susanna!' by Vaughn De Leath recorded in September of 1928 toward issue on Edison 52651. Tommy Weir's 'Just Beyond the Blue' had been issue 52631.

Edison Records had begun to cease operations on 14 October 1929. The company made its last recording on 19 October, a private session for an obscure Margaret Rogge Becker. On 21 October 1929 the General Electric Company held the jubilee anniversary of Thomas Edison's invention of the direct current (DC) light bulb, which by then was illuminating entire cities like NYC and Boston along with Nikola Tesla's alternating current (AC). (Tesla had arrived to his initial notions about AC in 1882, worked for Edison for a year in 1884, then quit and turned to Westinghouse.) Three days later came the crash of the stock market on 24 October 1929, known as Black Thursday, initializing the Great Depression and hastening Edison Records' task of shutting up shop. Ironically, though Thomas Edison also invented the stock ticker in 1923, he himself never traded stocks.

'Honey' by contralto Vaughn De Leath

Edison matrix 18723 recorded 14 Sep & 25 Oct 1928 [DAHR]   Issued on Edison 52651

Composition: Vaughn De Leath   Final disc released by Edison Records

'Just Beyond the Blue'   Tommy Weir w the Jack Stillman Orchestra

Recorded 15 July 1929   Edison 52631

Music: Charlie Abbott / Edwin J. Weber   Lyrics: Will Oakland / George Whiting

Oakland joins Sophie Tucker as one of the earliest of entertainers to also fully enter into the modern age per appearances on television, those being 'The Ed Sullivan Show' on 14 June 1953 and 22 Jan 1956 [IMDb]. He also spanned the whole period from cylinder recording to magnetic tape, apparently taping a demo as the Hi-Fi Minstrel Man [Lewis / AllMusic] briefly before his death on a bus heading to Newark, New Jersey, on 15 May 1956.