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Charles Adams Prince

Charles Adams Prince (1869 – October 10, 1937) was an American conductor, bandleader, pianist and organist known for conducting the Columbia Orchestra and, later, Prince's Band and Orchestra. He made his first recordings, as a pianist, in 1891 for the New York Phonograph Company. Later in the 1890s he worked as a musical director for Columbia Records. He also conducted the Columbia Orchestra and Columbia Band starting in 1904 as the successor of the cornetist Tom Clark.

In 1905, Prince assembled the ensembles Prince's Band, Prince's Orchestra, and the Banda Espanola. They principally recorded for Columbia's disc releases and performed much of the same music as the Columbia Band, which was given over for cylinder recording to the veteran flutist and conductor George Schweinfest. Prince's own composition, "The Barbary Rag", was recorded by the band in 1913.

Prince's Band was the first to record many compositions that became jazz standards. Their version of W. C. Handy's "Saint Louis Blues" in 1915 is the first known recording of the song. It took the band two sessions to record a successful take, which was considered unusual considering the talent of the band and its leader. Another song by Handy, "The Memphis Blues", was recorded by Prince's Band in 1914, a week after its first recording by the Victor Military Band. Other standards introduced by the band are Porter Steele's "High Society" (1911) and Lew Pollack and Ray Gilbert's "That's a Plenty" (1914). His band also played the popular instrumental "Too Much Mustard" released by Columbia and Sears's Oxford Records.

Prince recorded as a solo celeste player under the name Charles Adams. As such, his recording of "Silver Threads Among the Gold" was popular.

At Columbia, Prince also showed initiative in expanding the company's "classical" orchestral catalogue and in experimenting with the size of ensembles that acoustic recording equipment could capture. In October 1910 he conducted an abbreviated version of Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, popularly known as the Unfinished Symphony, on two sides of a 12-inch disc (released as Columbia A 5267), which was the first orchestral recording of any part of a symphony. He assembled a 90-piece orchestra to record the overture to Richard Wagner's opera Rienzi in February 1917 (released as Columbia A 6006), which was the largest ensemble commercially recorded to that date. Prince's last recording for Columbia was in 1922. He then changed labels to Puritan Records and later to Victor Records, where he worked as associate musical director.

Prince was related to the U.S. presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1869, Died October 10, 1937

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1903 - 1927

Roles Represented in DAHR: conductor, director, piano, arranger, composer, celeste, lyricist, xylophone, organ

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 126-150 of 556 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-30563 10-in. 8/11/1924 Annie Lisle Shannon Quartet Male vocal quartet, with celeste and orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30565 10-in. 8/12/1924 Why live a lie? Lewis James Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30566 10-in. 8/12/1924 At the end of the sunset trail Marcia Freer ; Lewis James Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30572 10-in. 8/13/1924 Mrs. Murphy's chowder Billy Murray Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30573 10-in. 8/13/1924 Dumb Dora Billy Murray Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30574 10-in. 8/13/1924 Down where the vest begins Billy Murray Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30575 10-in. 8/14/1924 Main Street wasn't big enough for Mary Henry Burr Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30586 10-in. 8/18/1924 You'll never get to heaven with those eyes Billy Murray ; Aileen Stanley Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30593 10-in. 8/19/1924 When I was the dandy and you were the belle Billy Murray ; Aileen Stanley Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30594 10-in. 8/19/1924 In a little rendezvous all alone with you Billy Murray ; Aileen Stanley Female-male vocal duet, with violin and orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30700 10-in. 8/19/1924 Somebody loves me Aileen Stanley Female vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30714 10-in. 8/21/1924 Siciliana Giovanni Gerrieri Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30715 10-in. 8/21/1924 Stidda d'amori Giovanni Gerrieri Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30718 10-in. 8/22/1924 Feigele Gus Goldstein Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30719 10-in. 8/22/1924 Itzik mit sein fiddle Gus Goldstein Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor C-30720 12-in. 8/22/1924 Così piange Pierrot Eugenio Cibelli Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor C-30721 12-in. 8/22/1924 Via Vai Eugenio Cibelli Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30725 10-in. 8/27/1924 Maria 'a regina 'e Napule Eugenio Cibelli Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30730 10-in. 8/28/1924 Follow the swallow Belle Baker Female vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30731 10-in. 8/28/1924 Hard hearted Hannah (The vamp of Savannah) Belle Baker Female vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30732 10-in. 8/28/1924 Sweet little you Belle Baker Female vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30733 10-in. 8/29/1924 Don't waste your tears over me Henry Burr Male vocal solo, with harp and orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30734 10-in. 8/29/1924 West of the Great Divide Henry Burr Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30738 10-in. 9/2/1924 My Madeleine Lewis James Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Victor B-30739 10-in. 9/2/1924 My Madeleine Lewis James Male vocal solo, with harp and orchestra conductor  
(Results 126-150 of 556 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Prince, Charles Adams," accessed October 9, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111328.

Prince, Charles Adams. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111328.

"Prince, Charles Adams." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 October 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/111328

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