Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Song Is You", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Long Ago (and Far Away)". He collaborated with many of the leading librettists and lyricists of his era, including George Grossmith Jr., Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg. A native New Yorker, Kern created dozens of Broadway musicals and Hollywood films in a career that lasted for more than four decades. His musical innovations, such as 4/4 dance rhythms and the employment of syncopation and jazz progressions, built on, rather than rejected, earlier musical theatre tradition. He and his collaborators also employed his melodies to further the action or develop characterization to a greater extent than in the other musicals of his day, creating the model for later musicals. Although dozens of Kern's musicals and musical films were hits, only Show Boat is now regularly revived. Songs from his other shows, however, are still frequently performed and adapted. Many of Kern's songs have been adapted by jazz musicians to become standard tunes. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 27, 1885 (Manhattan), Died November 11, 1945 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1905 - 1960
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, piano
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 451-475 of 603 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | S-70336 | 10-in. | Nov. 1921 | Blue Danube blues | Blue Diamond Dance Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
OKeh | S-70412 | 10-in. | January 1922 | Ka-lu-a | Lewis James | Male vocal solo, with orchestra (Hawaiian) | composer | |
OKeh | S-72176 | 10-in. | December 1923 | Raggedy Ann | Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
OKeh | 73918 | 10-in. | Jan. 1926 | Who? | Casa Lopez Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
OKeh | W80256 | 10-in. | 12/17/1926 | You will—won't you? | Lem Cleg ; Markel's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
OKeh | W81959 | 10-in. | 12/22/1927 | Can't help lovin' dat man | Joe Green ; The Royal Music Makers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
OKeh | W81960 | 10-in. | 12/22/1927 | Why do I love you? | Joe Green ; The Royal Music Makers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | composer | |
OKeh | W400575 | 10-in. | 4/9/1928 | Can't help lovin' dat man | Beth Grey | Female vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
OKeh | W400994 | 10-in. | 7/7/1928 | Ol' Man River | Bix Beiderbecke and his Gang | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
OKeh | W402152 | 10-in. | 12/3/1928 | Can't help lovin' dat man | Bud Freeman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
OKeh | [OK cat 1266-A] | 10-in. | approximately 1919 | Some party | Van Eps Quartet | Instrumental quartet | composer | |
OKeh | [OK cat 4109-A] | 10-in. | approximately 1920 | Whose baby are you? | All Star Trio | Instrumental trio | composer | |
Brunswick | [Br cat 5206-a] | 10-in. | approximately Feb. 1918 | Oh! Lady, lady | Van Eps Trio | Instrumental trio | composer | |
Brunswick | 4868 | 10-in. | approximately Dec. 1920 | Look for the silver lining | Isham Jones Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | 4874 | 10-in. | approximately Dec. 1920 | Whip-poor-will | Isham Jones Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | 5159 | 10-in. | approximately Mar. 1921 | Whip-poor-will | Samuel Ash ; Irene Audrey | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 5162 | 10-in. | approximately Mar. 1921 | Look for the silver lining | Samuel Ash ; Irene Audrey | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 6965 | 10-in. | approximately Dec. 1921 | Ka-lu-a | William Reese | Male vocal solo and male vocal trio, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 6720-6723 | 10-in. | approximately Nov. 1921 | Ka-lu-a | Carl Fenton’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | 6724-6727 | 10-in. | approximately Nov. 1921 | Blue Danube blues | Carl Fenton’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | 9756-9758 | 10-in. | approximately Jan. 1923 | Pale Venetian moon | Arnold Johnson Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | 9907-9909 | 10-in. | 2/14/1923 | Love and the moon | Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | 12279-12281 | 10-in. | 1/14/1924 | Raggedy Ann | Carl Fenton’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | E21999 | 10-in. | 3/18/1927 | The same old moon | Carl Fenton’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | E22000 | 10-in. | 3/18/1927 | When the Bo-Tree blossoms again | Carl Fenton’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kern, Jerome," accessed May 12, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102963.
Kern, Jerome. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 12, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102963.
"Kern, Jerome." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 12 May 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Jerome Kern
Discogs: Jerome Kern
Allmusic: Jerome Kern
Grove: Jerome Kern
IMSLP: Jerome Kern
RILM: Jerome Kern
RISM: Jerome Kern
IMDb: Jerome Kern
Britannica: Jerome Kern
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Kern, Jerome, 1885-1945 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80149466
Wikidata: Jerome Kern - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q313270
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/196726
MusicBrainz: Jerome Kern - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8fb64b2e-db8b-4579-ad08-f324ef1bf494
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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