Video Discription |
Using a microphone in a recording studio for the first time, Richard Jose recorded two songs issued on one disc----his other recordings are "acoustic" (no microphone).
He had not made records for decades though he had been in studios for radio broadcasting.
Jose was approaching age 70 when he recorded (for the last time) "Silver Threads Among the Gold" and "When You and I Were Young, Maggie."
Jose made electric recordings in San Francisco for the small MacGregor and Ingram Company in San Francisco.
The year is 1930. The company, which made custom records, first appears in the San Francisco phone book in 1930 and is listed again in 1931. In 1932 the company changed its name to MacGregor & Sollie, which survived until 1937.
Curiously, one side is number 449 and the other 441.
A sticker on the back of some copies states, "Obtainable from the exclusive representatives, Schwabacher-Frey, 735 Market St., San Francisco off Grant Ave."
The Schwabacher & Frey office was in the Russ Building at 235 Montgomery. The 735 Market St. address was the Schwabacher & Frey Stationary Co. (Printers & Bookbinders).
It seems Jose later appeared at the stationary store to autograph copies that were being sold.
Richard Jose, countertenor, made his first Victor disc on October 27, 1903: "Silver Threads Among the Gold," published in 1873, with music by Hart Pease Danks and lyrics by Eben Eugene Rexford.
Victor executives hesitated paying $100 for Jose to record a song that was already old.
Jose was not the first to record "Silver Threads Among the Gold," but he was the first recording artist to enjoy success with the song (in the 1890s, it had been cut a few times on brown wax cylinders). Within a few years after Jose cut it, the song became an industry standard. Few songs have been covered by so many artists.
The early 10 inch version (2556) of the song is not to be confused with the better-selling 12 inch version (31342). Jose sang Rexford's popular song five times for Victor. On December 8, 1904, Jose redid "Silver Threads Among the Gold" and Victor pressed this as a 10 inch record, reusing the number of the version made a year earlier. On December 10, two days later, Jose recorded the 12 inch version, and though Jose sang additional versions in later years for Victor, apparently none were improvements since they were not issued. The 1904 version stayed in the Victor catalog for years.
Jose was the first countertenor to make records, including brown wax cylinders in 1892, such as "Poor Blind Boy." His unique voice was perfect for sentimental tunes and hymns.
He was born in England in a Cornish village, Lanner, on June 5, 1862. Various sources give later dates since Jose (and his wife) pretended that Jose was younger than he really was.
Jose's baptismal record is dated September 17, 1862. The surname is "Joce" (a phonetic spelling). Richard Jose senior was a copper miner who died in late 1876. The son traveled to Nevada to locate an uncle.
Victor recorded nothing from Jose after 1906. In that year he suffered an accident that led to his decline. A stage curtain fell on Jose with enough force to cause severe head injuries. But Jose eventually toured with a small company that presented a "pastoral play" titled "Silver Threads." Jose left the theater around 1919.
Jose was eventually appointed Assistant Enrolling and Engrossing Clerk of the California Legislature. During the 1930s, Jose served as California Real Estate Commissioner. He sang occasionally in the years of retirement, including on radio's Shell Hour. On radio, he performed numbers which by this time would have been regarded as nostalgic tunes. Jose was associated with songs of a different era even in the early 1900s.
He had no children.
He was buried in Colma, California.
The composer of this famous song from 1866 is James Austin Butterfield, who lived from May 18, 1837 to July 6, 1891. He was an American song writer. Butterfield was born in England in 1837 and emigrated to the United States in 1856. Butterfield died in Chicago, Illinois, and is buried in Graceland Cemetery.
Lyrics are by George W. Johnson.
I wander'd today to the hill, Maggie
To watch the scene below
The creek and the old rusty mill, Maggie
Where we sat in the long, long ago
The green grove is gone from the hill, Maggie
Where first the daisies sprung
The creaking old mill is still, Maggie
Since you and I were young
And now we are aged and gray, Maggie
And the trials of life nearly done
But to me you're as fair as you were, Maggie
When you and I were young
A city so silent and lone, Maggie
Where the young and the gay and the best
In polished white mansions of stone, Maggie
Have each found a place of rest
Is built where the birds used to play, Maggie
And join in the songs that were sung
For we sang as gay as they, Maggie
When you and I were young
Richard Jose "When You And I Were Young, Maggie" (1930) RARE electric MacGregor and Ingram version |