Arthur W. French

Arthur Wells French (1846–1916) was a journalist from Connecticut who was also a successful songwriter of sentimental songs in the 1870s and 1880s. Born in Monroe, Connecticut, he moved to Bridgeport as a young man. He was inclined to write, especially songs and poetry, "and this natural bent early led him into a newspaper career." His most successful work may have been "Little Sweetheart" sung by minstrel tenor Dave Wambold, which sold "several hundred thousand...copies" of sheet music.

As a journalist in Bridgeport, French worked for The Leader weekly newspaper, The Morning News, The Morning Union, The Standard, The Post and Telegram, and in Monroe for The Telegram and The Farmer.

His first song was printed in a newspaper. After that he sold songs to a "prominent composer" who adapted music to them and published them. In 1911, French estimated that he had written several hundred sheet music songs, and a similar number "for secular and sacred songbooks." He had kept track by making a continuous list of titles as he wrote them. He also wrote music to be performed in variety shows, minstrel shows, operettas and cantatas which were never published.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 19, 1846 (Monroe), Died January 27, 1916 (Bridgeport)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1898 - 1928

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, composer

= 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 3006 7-in. 6/27/1898 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Roger Harding Male vocal duet lyricist  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]1329 7-in. 3/17/1902 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet lyricist  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]1329 10-in. 3/17/1902 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet lyricist  
Victor [Pre-matrix C-]1329 12-in. 6/10/1902 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet lyricist  
Victor C-108 [Old series] 12-in. 2/9/1903 or 5/26/1903 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet, with piano lyricist  
Victor B-1171 10-in. 3/29/1904 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet, with piano lyricist  
Victor A-1171 7-in. 11/16/1904 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet, with piano lyricist  
Victor B-4056 10-in. 11/22/1906 Bye and bye you will forget me S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough Male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-12936 10-in. 2/20/1913 By and by you will forget me Elsie Baker ; Frederick J. Wheeler Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-17715 10-in. 5/22/1916 Some day I'll wander back again Clarence Whitehill Baritone vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and orchestra lyricist  
Victor B-17716 10-in. 5/22/1916 Take me back to home and mother Clarence Whitehill Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor BVE-34527 10-in. 2/5/1926 After toiling cometh rest Lucy Isabelle Marsh Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Victor BVE-35675 10-in. 6/10/1926 Bye and bye you will forget me Kelly Harrell Male vocal solo, with violin and guitar lyricist  
Columbia 4507 10-in. ca. 1910 Trabbling back to Georgia Carroll Clark Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 39176 10-in. 1/8/1914 Someday I'll wander back again Harry McClaskey Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia 37498 12-in. 1/19/1916 Some day I'll wander back again Columbia Stellar Quartette ; Margaret Keyes Female vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia W147223 10-in. 10/17/1928 Bye and bye you will forget me Robert Hoke ; Vernal Vest Male vocal duet, with banjo and ukulele lyricist  
Columbia 28266 10-in. approximately 1912 Barney, take me home again William Thomas Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Edison 3265 10-in. Aug.-Sept. 1914 Bye and bye you will forget me Helen Clark Soprano vocal solo and vocal ensemble, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 7006 10-in. 11/3/1919 Bye and bye you will forget me Helen Davis Female vocal solo, with female-male vocal duet and orchestra lyricist  
Edison 8435 10-in. 4/27/1922 Some day I'll wander back again Carolina Lazzari ; Lyric Male Quartet Female vocal solo, with male vocal quartet lyricist  
Edison 8953 10-in. 5/1/1923 After toiling cometh rest Betsy Lane Shepherd Soprano vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with orchestra lyricist  
Edison 9088 10-in. 10/2/1914 Bye and bye you will forget me Anna Case Soprano vocal solo and vocal ensemble, with orchestra lyricist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "French, Arthur W.," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100212.

French, Arthur W.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100212.

"French, Arthur W.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100212

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.