Criterion Quartet

The vocal ensemble originated in the middle portion of the 1900s to undertake recording sessions for labels such as Edison and Columbia Records. Its probable original roster consisted of first tenor Robert R. Rainey, second tenor William A. Washburn, baritone Reinald Werrenrath who founded the group, and bass Walter A. Downie. Over subsequent years the membership expanded to include Harvey Hindermeyer, Frank Mellor, John Young, who recorded at times under the name Harry Anthony and maintained a thriving solo career, Horatio Rench, George W. Reardon, Donald Chalmers, and Lewis James, the remarkably active solo artist credited with roughly 3,000 sides. The group’s discography featured the popular success “Little Tommy Went A Fishing” along with “Honey Babe,” “Annie Laurie,” “When The Corn Is Waving,” “The Musical Trust,” and “My Gal Sal.”

Entering the early 1920s the quartet cut “Humming” for Edison’s Diamond Disc label, recorded “Bring Back My Bonnie To Me,” “Old-Time Religion,” “Some Blessed Day,” and “De Coppah Moon” for Victor Records, and laid down “While The Years Roll By,” “Drifting Down,” and “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” for Columbia. It also supplied accompaniment for classical soloists, with the resulting sides issued under the lead artist’s name; those performers included Anna Case, Marie Rappold, Frieda Hempel, Olive Kline, and Hulda Lashanska.

The ensemble occasionally performed as the Criterion Male Quartet; its Brunswick Records output appeared under that name as well as the Strand Quartet. Among its widely circulated selections were “Little Cotton Dolly,” waxed in both the acoustic and electric eras, and “Unclouded Day.” In the mid-1920s the singers appeared on radio, most notably on Roxy’s Gang, the variety program hosted by Samuel L. “Roxy” Rothafel, during which they were billed as the Roxy Quartet or the Roxy Male Quartet. The lineup remained largely unchanged at that point, still featuring Young, Reardon, and Mellor alongside newly added bass Fred Thomas. Activity continued into the early 1930s.