Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-04-18
WILL THERE Be MUSIC
At THE MATCH TONIGHT?
Boy Prodigy, a Friend of Goteh,
Comes to Sing at Third Avenue

Master George Eldridge, the original
of The Skylark"-not in reality, but
he might have been, for George has
a voice, and he sings as The Sky
lark must have sung. Yesterday af-
ternoon a young chap of sixteen sum-
mers registered at the Hotel Ford.
and asked for a room. Wearing knee
trousers. and diminutive in his youth.
he stood up to the hotel desk. look
ing over it like a cockatoo peering
out from a granary. and demanded a
room. A good room, and the best
in the house. Nothing ordinary would
! do for him. The best or nothing.
He got it,
Self confidence is not always
to be measured by age, for
Master George has the autocratic
tone Of a major general, and the i'm
pudence of an old, well seasoned stag
er. The fact is, although he lacks
the authority of the major general
he does not lack the experience of
the old stager, and the only thing
| required to appreciate the truth of
this is to meet George and have the
felicity of half an hour or so of his
conversation. He talks, ceaselessly
and without end, and recites a travel
story that would make Burton Holmes
| feel like stayat-home, for during
| the Years of his singing the young
codger has appeared in the leading
cities of nearly every continent on
! the globe as a boy wonder and infant
prodigy. By virtue of his extern
sive jaunts over the earths surface.
he has onnrrira1 8
many men three times as old as he.
and he has acquired other things,
sadly homogeneous with the average
mothers idealizatiOn of what her own
boy ought To have in his heart of
hearts. For George yarns like a
sailor. His tales of adventure would
cause the eyes of Stevenson to bulge
with envy at such precocious imag-
ination. and his exhaustive variations
Of celebrities l have known" would
fill an almanac twice or three times
as voluminous as Gotha's
AS sample: "In 1903 l sang be
fore King Edward in London. That
was a great time / had there. for the |
old fellow treated me royalty Like a |
prince of the blood. | guess I was
pretty dirty when / struck his palace, |
and the first thing he did was to
order me out for a bath. Then !
sang for him. and was he pleased? |
guess yes. He gave me a new suit |
of clothes. fixed me up for several |
feeds, and trotted out a ticket for
New York"
He has known all of them. He !
has sung for Roosevelt. and he has |
sung for other famous people too
numerous to be mentioned i'm an or |
binary newspaper column. Among the |
famous individuals who have been en- |
tertained by George. is Frank Gotch. |
and the coming match between Gotch |
and Johnson explains his presence |
here. The story Of his meeting with |
GOtCh follows:
Il came down here to sing at the |
Gotch match and I'm going to sing
Ga characteristic speech of the young /
skylark)-'I sang at his wrestling |
match in Fresno and he said he liked |
it, and that l could sing anywhere
he ever came. and l guess he's COM
ing, so here | am. You see ii was
this way at Fresno. | had been sing
ing around the town, and some fellows
there took me up to the wrestling
game, and l made good. From Fresno
! went To Bakersfield with him, and
sang there. / always sing. and l |
like it. So do other people. from
the things they say about me. l
will sing here at the Third Avenue,
and I'm going to select few bal
lads and sentimental songs for my |
numbers"
SO. in all probability, George will
be numbered among the preliminaries Il
at the big match to come off tonight
between the two braWny athletes, and II
if his singing compares with his own
description of its beauty, he will take
the city by storm. When asked
what he would do after the match,
he replied, with a toss of his head,
as though it mattered not.-as though
the world was his oyster. and only
awaited opening
"Oh, 1 guess I'll go east, or some
where | keep on the go, and move
around all the time"
n. B. 1t is possible that George
may wish to engage a nurse for him
self. An unemployed nurse. with
good recommendations. may be able
to make a contract with the young
singer. to go with him on contract
He needs taking care of.