The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-10-05
Mr.. James Hamilton Noted Tenor, Who Has Been
Called 'The Alabama Diamond to Give Programme
az DOLLY pA1RYMPLE

!
V1T1HERE's a pretty little story that
is told about the widely known
tenor, our own Mr.. James Hamil-
ton, for he is Birmingham boy, and
right proud are we to claim him as
ST CHI.
| 1t has to do with the way in which his
beautiful voice was discovered.
One of his admirers has named him
The Alabama Diamond and in the
naming mas said very attractively:
God doesn't scatter diamonds and ten
ors around miscellaneously They are
the scarcest things on earth. You have
| to hunt a long while for them And
| you don't find many. You find little
| ones, yellow ones, flawy ones, cracked
1 ones. Just once in a great while do
you find big, perfect, blue or blue
| white one. And then the world bids high
| for it,
You remember the little child that
| played long time with a pretty stone?
| Day by day around the house it played
with the pretty stone till one day a
| stranger came along and saw the pretty
| stone was a diamond. He sent the stone
| to diamond cutter and it became one
of the wonderful diamonds of earth"
| But-back to the story.
One day, right here in little old Bir-
\ nam, WiieH hamilton was sing
| ing to a group of friends as he very
| often did, woman across the street
| heard the pretty plaything voice; she
| rushed across and joined the bunch of
people, all excitement exclaiming:
Young man, l have discovered a won
| derful voice. she said. Go cultivate it.
| Go, right away Don't wait! Go, study
and make great singer. Don't, don't
| watt"
That woman did the world a favor.
She Helped to find another voice diamond
OF course, you know who the woman
| was Louise Aldrich (Mrs Truman II.
Aldrich, Jr) whose splendid musicianship
and innate love of all that is beautiful
and pleasing in music, placed her in
| unique position in Birmingham's musical
circles which has never been attained by
any other one individual and never viii!
be.
l recall meeting Mr. Hamilton six years
| ago at Mrs. Aldrichs; she had told me
Il at she wanted me to hear him sing and
tell her what thought of his voice.
From the first note that he uttered
realized that l was listening to an un-
usual tone quality and a marvellous
natural voice.
Mr. Hamilton hadn't had many lessons
! them also he didn't see his way clear to
g" away and study There were fl
| nances to be considered; there was a
family; there were home ties, everything;
what was he to do?
Mrs. Aldrich solved all these problems
| as only woman of her rare good judg-
| ment and executive ability could.
| She provided the means; she selected
the teachers; she arranged letters of in
PRODUCTION to the big musicians in Chi
cago, where she was so we'll and favor
ably known, and, behold, before we real
lied it Mr.. Hamilton, our Birmingham
| boy with the big, beautiful voice. was
on his way to fame and fortune Yes, L
say fortune advisedly, for Mr. Hamil-
ton. after six years of study and con-
/ certifying, appearing in over 500 cities
| in IS different states, has verified the
fact that music pays as we'll commercial
! ly as it does artistically.
| Mr. Hamilton has come home with a
clean slate as to finances, and heart
full of thanks to his benefactress he has
come back to let us hear his beautiful
| voice after years of hard training Chats
the diamond cutting you know, and it is
case of a rare diamond rarely trained
| Mr. Hamilton through the good graces
| OF Blrmingham's popular pianist teacher,
Mr.. Grover Tilden Davis, will appear
here this evening in a discriminating pro-
granme of songs. Mr.. Davis, it may be