Biography
Formed in the closing years of the nineteenth century to cut cylinder recordings for what would become Columbia Records, the ensemble began life under the name Columbia Quartet, a designation that sometimes appeared as Columbia Quartette or Columbia Male Quartet. Its first roster placed Albert Campbell on first tenor, James Kent Reynard on second tenor, Joe Belmont on baritone and Joe Majors on bass. Over the ensuing seasons the roster shifted: George J. Gaskin briefly took Reynard’s place before Henry Burr assumed the second-tenor role, while Tom Daniels filled the bass position until Frank C. Stanley succeeded him. Arthur Collins and Bob Roberts also appeared with the Columbia and Peerless aggregations during this period.
By the middle of the 1900s the lineup had stabilized around Campbell, Burr, Steve Porter and Stanley. The singers produced numerous successful discs for Columbia and soon received invitations to record for Edison and Victor as well. Because performers of the era typically worked as freelancers, the quartet adopted the name Peerless whenever it recorded for those other companies. Columbia itself later applied the Peerless name to the same group and, for a subsidiary imprint, called the foursome the Climax Quartette. The latter title, however, was also employed by an entirely different ensemble—the Haydn Quartet, whose members were John H. Bieling, Harry Macdonough, S.H. Dudley and William F. Hooley—when that group recorded for Victor; the same four singers appeared on Edison under the name Edison Male Quartet.
Beyond its own quartet releases, the original group supplied choral support for soloists such as George H. O’Connor on “Down Where The Sweet Potatoes Grow” and Irving Kaufman on “Hail! Hail! The Gang’s All Here.” Among the selections it recorded directly for Columbia and Peerless were “That Raggedy Rag,” “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “My Creole Sue.”
By the middle of the 1900s the lineup had stabilized around Campbell, Burr, Steve Porter and Stanley. The singers produced numerous successful discs for Columbia and soon received invitations to record for Edison and Victor as well. Because performers of the era typically worked as freelancers, the quartet adopted the name Peerless whenever it recorded for those other companies. Columbia itself later applied the Peerless name to the same group and, for a subsidiary imprint, called the foursome the Climax Quartette. The latter title, however, was also employed by an entirely different ensemble—the Haydn Quartet, whose members were John H. Bieling, Harry Macdonough, S.H. Dudley and William F. Hooley—when that group recorded for Victor; the same four singers appeared on Edison under the name Edison Male Quartet.
Beyond its own quartet releases, the original group supplied choral support for soloists such as George H. O’Connor on “Down Where The Sweet Potatoes Grow” and Irving Kaufman on “Hail! Hail! The Gang’s All Here.” Among the selections it recorded directly for Columbia and Peerless were “That Raggedy Rag,” “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “My Creole Sue.”
Singles