Harry Kennedy

William Henry Kennedy, known as Harry Kennedy (c. 1855 - January 3, 1894) was a popular ventriloquist and songwriter.

Kennedy was born in Manchester, England, around 1855 (obituaries stated his age as either 39 or 45, the latter putting his birth year around 1849), and was a talented ventriloquist as a child. After working briefly as a teacher and seaman, by 1871 he had made it to Montreal and began performing as a ventriloquist. He debuted in New York City in 1874 and traveled with various minstrel groups. In 1890, he opened "Harry Kennedy's Theatre" in New York, but sold out and moved after one season to a smaller venue, the Alhambra, on Coney Island. He also managed a bar on Fulton Street in Brooklyn.

Songs he wrote include "When Peggy And I Are Wed", "Molly and I and the Baby", "Say Au Revoir, But Not Good-bye", "A Flower from Mother's Grave", "Cradle's Empty, Baby's Gone", "An Old Fashioned Photograph", "Patsy Branigan", "I Owe Ten Dollars to O'Grady", "I Had Fifteen Dollars in my Inside Pocket", "Hush Don't Wake the Baby", "Grandmother's Birthday" and "Little Empty Stockings By the Fire".

He married his first wife, Nellie [Brock], in 1876, and she died in 1883. He married again in 1886 and his second spouse (Mary, sister of Nellie Brock) died in 1890. Survived by five minor children, Kennedy died at his home in Brooklyn of Bright's disease on January 3, 1894, and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1855, Died 1894

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1895 - 1935

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Berliner 188 7-in. Before June 1895 Say au revoir, but not goodbye Artists vary Male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Berliner 3302 7-in. Before Apr. 1899 Say au revoir, but not goodbye Arthur Pryor Trombone solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]698 7-in. 2/21/1901 Sing me those pretty songs again J. W. Myers Male vocal solo, with piano composer, lyricist  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]698 10-in. 4/29/1902 Sing me those pretty songs again J. W. Myers Male vocal solo, with piano composer, lyricist  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]3139 10-in. 2/21/1901 Sing me those pretty songs again J. W. Myers Male vocal solo, with piano lyricist, composer  
Victor C-3140 12-in. 2/23/1906 A flower from my angel mother's grave Richard Jose Counter-tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Victor B-13033 10-in. 3/28/1913 Say 'au revoir' but not 'good-bye' John McCormack Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Victor C-16098 12-in. 6/17/1915 Songs of the past, no. 1 Victor Mixed Chorus Vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Victor CVE-16098 12-in. 1/13/1927 Songs of the past, no. 1 Victor Mixed Chorus Vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-89511 10-in. 4/1/1935 Tina Don Reid ; Xavier Cugat Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Columbia 559 7-in. ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 Sing me those pretty songs again J. W. Myers Male vocal solo, with piano composer, lyricist  
Columbia 559 10-in. ca. Jan.-Sept. 1902 Sing me those pretty songs again J. W. Myers Male vocal solo, with piano composer, lyricist  
Columbia 3634 10-in. between January and May 1907 Sing me those pretty songs again J. W. Myers Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Columbia 77769 10-in. 4/13/1918 Say "au revoir" but not goodbye Charles Harrison Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Columbia 79036 10-in. 3/9/1920 Hush, don't wake the baby Frank Kamplain Male vocal solo (yodeling), with orchestra composer, lyricist  
OKeh 9010 10-in. Mar. 1925 A flower from my angel mother's grave Charles Nabell Male vocal solo, with guitar composer, lyricist  
OKeh W400345 10-in. 2/25/1928 Flower from my angel mother's grave Elond Autry ; Charles Winters Male vocal duet, with fiddle (violin) and guitar composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E5018-E5019 10-in. 5/11/1927 A flower from my angel mother’s grave McGee Brothers Male vocal solo, with guitar and mandolin composer, lyricist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kennedy, Harry," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111072.

Kennedy, Harry. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111072.

"Kennedy, Harry." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111072

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