Lewis James

Born in 1893 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, James died on 19 February 1959. His robust tenor proved ideally matched to the acoustic limitations of cylinder records, and he appeared on dozens of sides during the opening decades of the twentieth century. He participated in several all-male vocal ensembles whose line-ups often shifted or whose identities were altered according to the label issuing the discs. Among these quartets were the Columbia Stellar Quartet, for which he sometimes substituted for Reed Miller; the Knickerbocker Quartet alongside George Eldred, William Morgan and Glenn Howard; and the Peerless Quartet. In 1918 he replaced Harvey Hindermeyer in the Shannon Quartet, soon renamed the Shannon Four; the same ensemble occasionally appeared as the Great White Way Quartet. Personnel adjustments in 1925 led to its rebranding as the Revelers, with James now singing beside Elliott Shaw, Wilfred Glenn and Franklyn Baur, the last of whom was later succeeded by James Melton. The Revelers toured England in 1926 and also issued material under the name Hudson Male Quartet. Further pseudonyms employed by the same core singers, sometimes with added voices, included the Acme Male Quartet, Aeolian Male Quartet, All Soul’s Choir, Campus Glee Club, Columbia Male Chorus, Gaiety Musical Comedy Chorus, Merrymakers and Singing Sophomores; James did not necessarily feature on every release credited to these ensembles.

Beyond these groups he also sang with the Crescent Trio, whose other members were Charles Hart and Shaw, and with both Trinity Choir and the Victor (Light) Opera Company, the latter continuing to use his voice after the advent of electrical recording. A handful of solo discs appeared under the aliases Robert Lewis, as on “When The Sun Goes Down In Dixie” and “Would You Take Back The Love You Gave Me?,” and Louis James, the billing given to his well-known version of “The Heart Of A Rose.” In addition he recorded duets with Hart, among them the 1919 chart-topper “Till We Meet Again.”