The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-02-20
COMIC SONGS AND SINGERS.
PEEP BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF
THE MINSTREL STAGE.
The Fun that has Convulscd New York
Audiences with InuRbtcr-The Burnt-
Cork Songsters ofthe Past nd the Present.

Only very few wears ago we got almost all
| our comic songs from England generally after
| they had been worn threadbare in tho music
halls, and our professional comic singers were
almost all English. From that source came the
hideous nightmare OF scarlet vests. red and
green checked trousers, weeded white hats,
brass buttoned blue coats, startling necktles,
| and other dstnc tive eccentrlctios OF garb that
| Cypress the memory at thought Of comic sing
efs. Next to the era OF bodily swallowing Of all
| the purely local trash sent over from the Lon
| don music halls, came the fancy for the re-
vampinR and adapting OF those materials for use
| here. Not much was needed. walking In the
Mall did duty just as well In its new guise Of
| walking down Broadway" and as for Pretty
| little Polly Perkins OF Abingdon Square," she
was as much at home here as In London. and
might have walked "On the Beach at Long
Branch just as comfortable as she had done
ION the Sands at Margate."
All the while our native production OF comic
| songs was increasing and developing a new
tendency away from the limits OF the form out
| Of which they sprang. Toward the more prop
| crly ballad style, and with a greater leaning In
favor Of character dellneations, local hits, and
| illustrations of trade and class life and charnc-
| ter Negro mnstrelsy, too, trcnchcd upon tho
| ground OF comic song to such an extent that
| not even the popularity OF the variety class
| OF entertainments, commenced during the war
| and growing ever since. has been able to make
the variety stage OF this country. In the matter
of comic songs, tho legitimate ana honrishing
successor OF the English music hail.
rNswoRTu. wfNANs AND OTHERS.
Poor Doc Unsworth dead now-gave us some
taking local songs when Bryant's Minstres we're
down N Mechanics Hall but there was an in
| congruitv about tho singing Of Irish songs-in
which lay his fofte-1eneath coating OF burnt
| cork.
Looklne back beyond him, we mud only few
/ names OF comic singers OF the Dlupf time
| were not more properly low comedy actors. with
whom their vocal efforts were secondary con
siderations
JACK Winans. for instance. first low comedian
| In tho ilowcry Theatre thirty Years ago, thought
| but ths "old-timcrs" chiefly remember his
"Dlow We winds OF morning. and Use slip.
perry heel" barney Williams, many years ago,
used & be simply comic singer In the Chat
| ham Theatre, but ne graduated 10 what he
was a comic singer IN that house, and his
original local songs made him favOrite
And Lcllngwall. who nov does ourcsque Dusi-
ucss. achieved hrs nrst fame twenty years ago ~
! a comic vocalist, his greatest hit being, Want
ed, Governess." George Edes3n. now stage
manager IN this Park Theatre ~ Brooklyn. was a
comic singer twenty We rs agO. ana John n.
! Poole. the dramltist. he's written at least two
| hundred orilinal songs for min. the most sue
! cessful of them being The lcinaie NJ. D.
| There was Fred NAY, who sang irish songs alto
| gcther, and was the first TO introduce Lahi-
gan Ball ia this counTf; liilly Jacobs, VINO
| sang 10 ihousands Never Buy TRIBE on FIJI
v9r ronnd aud lar many xcsrs AZ ,yeiI az :. IN,
q S,a n | , saS
| Charlie Gardner who falninari1od TO the public
Islands" in connection with his happy song
| I'm enc Of the Lucky Boys" They are all
dead; ami Jim,HS iis@ier' a eonts9tQrMy 81
| made him famous Is slid to nave Joined the
church years ago md quit the business" SO tnat
for comic song purposes ne may DC counted as
good n dead.
TO day there are very few comic singers In
| this country who are deaued " any good from
t based UPON eSpsf%snrai tnowsdso Of pubic
taste. Tony Pastor, MS bretne. lnIly. III; llir-
| rgan. Gus Williams, 81 smith ki.seii' larry
| Kernel, VIM. t'urtrl-nt. Hurry Bsown, Fat
Rooney, and Harry M'ntashe make M the
short LIST o. fenS UT lmiIeht names IA this
hue ahd ~ these h3oney s!nss 'hI lr,A comic
| .or-a. hh { ,'Fitl-ht cor me. ~ n-'l manly
- negro 0ou'' ~s"'n ~ f'e"-Y'
soNG WRITER'S.
| Most Of tho SONGS sung by thesa le,din- ner-
formers sre writ N by tfem.elves. n5t hs-.. 4.
there ave Il II many persons tying wiitecon.ic
sone.. but because few possess the knack Of
rnyminG the sort OF stun WHICH pleases the
the lively. ling music m At i" deWanded- Sext
to the singers own proluc tons, four or ave
names cover almost ali tue comic songs written
ANYBODY else. both Il III rot shiy lcrSssfui and
OF moderately taking soma. lie writes all OF
| Tony Pastors songs except those written by
Pastor himself or by q. " Hunt of England
Among his lat. st popalsr productions are - r. =
! Girl In the Calico Dress, and The IT, .,or and
| Lower Zen Thousand" Harry Benil ~ Ia
! the author Of "Danclny the ara. la-la-lu'' - ~
| tould YOU carKy 4 Pr RHd 20 Reilly t,rhrt
| n - OF Wnlch fet rooney sang urst. He
| "J,kev Ennenstatn ,ybirh .. $500, J,.,t'eu
| DntchS porody on ..Jiiidrhr,n1 NontrNse .
| but wilkins inter buving ~ chonrej
| tnrouehont g. Mad N " J,tev 9yniianstain !" ord
il MOI singing n very s,lcress mn, a. RAM. p,s
| tors 4 p SkelIv has vfttten mo stiii n, ,r,
| popular comic sony-s .Sinre 'r,ddv Jo,ned ~
| G1nv" Sras one ~ his -, va ,is1 :, Az, y Nv,
Awfl ,"d ,.Tte Eire,, u IL H., ~ rv,,, v" ~
:. ma r,m,d A,yl,.rd s.,',.i - W, -,
viii IN, H., - n r., Stii,, va 49, z!
| " rsriar. :, ina rr ~ ~ -'1s =, u.
INA il nor, ,,,,,i - ~, ~, u1nn
! ina mi ft.sr,,5er1 weeu' CIV n L; joni
| 'S1 - vi ~ - .,, 80 SsHou ~ uy lPhY llstoD'
,in NJ ~. , ',', ~; ~ sehss nave cen lpul9r,
~ h,n, H., =, Wy hWh.inE alrs 10 Wnlch ne
nts tu"u Vu' '"o pne ihht proved most sue
yVYslui Y NJ, rai nls Muli n Guards His
latest trluinph Il " lildehrdnd Montrose, which
iony Pastor has been singing nightly 10 delight
ca audiences ever since last October. Gus Will
ilam5 Processes to o. aole To produce one or
WluSr severe pressure-tWO new songs every
week. lie ceIi amy sings now one every week,
and seldom pHys one, Among his latest are
The Tin aud Needle Pcddler' " Michael shy
ders Party" My WIFE Is : o Awfully Fat" and,
rs counterpose TO the latter, "Aiy Wife IS 50
AWfully 1hin.' Tony Pastors new songs, of
Mhlch.ne stngs two every week, are generally by
q. W. Hunt, an English writer from whose pen