Billy Jones
William Reese Jones (March 15, 1889 – November 23, 1940) was a tenor who recorded during the 1920s and 1930s, finding fame as a radio star on The Happiness Boys radio program. Jones worked in such occupations as mining, banking, and blacksmithing before his 1918 recording debut. He recorded with the Cleartone Four, the Crescent Trio, the Harmonizers Quartet and the Premier Quartet, and he performed under a variety of names (Harry Blake, Billy Clarke, Lester George, Duncan Jones, Reese Jones, John Kelley, Dennis O'Malley, William Rees, Victor Roberts, Billy West, William West, and Carlton Williams). After he met Ernie Hare in 1919, they teamed in 1920 when Brunswick executive Gus Haenschen had them sing an accompaniment on a Brunswick Records recording. They went on to do numerous recordings together for Brunswick, Edison, and other companies. They began on radio October 18, 1921 on WJZ (Newark, New Jersey). Sponsored by the chain of Happiness Candy stores, they were heard on The Happiness Boys program beginning August 22, 1923 on New York's WEAF, moving to NBC from a run from 1926 to 1929. As "The Happiness Boys", they sang popular tunes, mostly light fare and comic songs, and they joked with one another between numbers. By 1928, they were the highest paid singers in radio, earning $1,250 a week. The partnership ended with Hare's death on March 9, 1939. Jones continued to perform, teaming with Hare's 16-year-old daughter, Marilyn Hare, in 1939-40. He died November 23, 1940, in Manhattan, of a heart attack, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. Among Jones' hits was "The grass is always greener in the other fellow's yard" which became the theme song of the "Big Brother Bob Emery " a children's program, first on radio, then on TV in both New York and Boston in the 1940s and 1950s. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 15, 1889 (New York City), Died November 23, 1940 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1916 - 1951
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor vocal, speaker, author, saxophone, tenor saxophone, songwriter, vocalist, lyricist
Notes: Also recorded under the name Victor Roberts.
See Also: Roberts, Victor
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 351-375 of 738 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | S-72900 | 10-in. | Oct. 1924 | Cold, cold mammas (Burn me up) | Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Billy Jones ; Vincent Lopez | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-72921 | 10-in. | October 1924 | How do you do | Billy Jones ; Harry Reser | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73000 | 10-in. | 11/26/1924 | I don't want to get married (I'm having too much fun) | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73002 | 10-in. | 11/26/1924 | Gotta getta girl | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73020 | 10-in. | 12/16/1924 | Oh Mabel | The Goofus Five ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance ensemble, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73021 | 10-in. | 12/16/1924 | I ain't got nobody to love | The Goofus Five ; Billy Jones | Jazz/dance ensemble, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73095 | 10-in. | Jan. 1925 | He sure can play a harmonica (It's the second best thing that he does) | Billy Jones ; Ben Kassover ; Harry Reser | Male vocal solo, with guitar and harmonica | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73096 | 10-in. | Jan. 1925 | On my ukulele (Tra-la-la-la-la) | Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones ; Harry Reser | Male vocal duet, with ukulele | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73111 | 10-in. | 1/18/1925 | My gal don't love me anymore | Billy Jones ; Okeh Syncopators ; Harry Reser | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73130 | 10-in. | Jan. 1925 | Of all my wife's relations I love myself the best | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73223 | 10-in. | 3/11/1925 | I'll take her back if she wants to come back | Billy Jones ; Tickle Toe Ten | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73286 | 10-in. | 4/2/1925 | Who takes care of the caretaker's daughter | Billy Jones | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73287 | 10-in. | 4/2/1925 | As a porcupine pines for its pork (That's how I pine for you) | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73288 | 10-in. | 4/2/1925 | Don't bring Lulu | The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73427 | 10-in. | June 1925 | We're gonna have weather (Whether or not) | The Bow-Wows ; The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73428 | 10-in. | June 1925 | Christofo Columbo (Thought the world was roundo) | The Bow-Wows ; The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73489 | 10-in. | June 1925 | Just a little drink | Tickle Toe Ten | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73494 | 10-in. | 7/2/1925 | Row, row, Rosie! | Arkansaw Travellers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73496 | 10-in. | July 1925 | There ain't no flies on Auntie | The Bow-Wows ; The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73497 | 10-in. | July 1925 | There's one born ev'ry minute | The Bow-Wows ; The Happiness Boys | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | S-73498 | 10-in. | July 1925 | Row! Row! Rosie | The Bow-Wows ; Billy Jones ; Joe Ross ; Joe Samuels | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | 73530 | 10-in. | Aug. 1925 | Sonya (Yup, alay yup) | Billy Jones ; Okeh Syncopators | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | 73531 | 10-in. | Aug. 1925 | I miss my Swiss | Billy Jones ; Okeh Syncopators | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | 73532 | 10-in. | Aug. 1925 | Alone at last | Billy Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
OKeh | 73612 | 10-in. | 9/14/1925 | Pardon me (ha-ha-ha-ha-ha) while I laugh | The Bow-Wows ; The Happiness Boys ; Joe Samuels | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, tenor vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Jones, Billy," accessed November 24, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109631.
Jones, Billy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109631.
"Jones, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Jones, Billy, 1889-1940 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no93019431
Wikidata: Billy Jones - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4912815
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/320148996089759751445
MusicBrainz: Billy Jones - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b575c167-df18-4018-b3fd-cbba2f9a6ef2
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