American Quartet (ensemble)

The American Quartet
Also known as	The Premier Quartet(te) The Premier American Quartet
Origin	New York City, United States
Genres	Vocal group
Years active	1899–1925
Labels	Victor, Edison, Columbia, etc.
Past members	John Bieling William F. Hooley S. H. Dudley Jere Mahoney Harry Macdonough Albert C. Campbell W. T. Leahy Billy Murray Steve Porter Walter B. Rogers Robert D. Armour John Young Donald Chalmers John H. Meyer Frank Croxton (NOTE: Core members 1909-1913 in bold.)

The American Quartet was a four-member vocal group that recorded for various companies in the United States between 1899 and 1925. The membership varied over the years, but the most famous line-up — comprising John Bieling (first tenor), Billy Murray (second tenor), Steve Porter (baritone), and William F. Hooley (bass) — recorded for the Victor Talking Machine Company from 1909 to 1913. The same group of singers also recorded for Edison Records as the Premier Quartet (or Quartette), and for that and other labels as the Premier American Quartet. From 1912 to 1914 the quartet also recorded with countertenor Will Oakland as the Heidelberg Quintet.

The name "American Quartet" was first used on some recordings around 1899 by the group that became more widely known as the Haydn Quartet - that is, John Bieling, Jere Mahoney, S. H. Dudley, and William F. Hooley. That line-up recorded for Edison Records as the Edison Male Quartet, for Berliner as the Haydn Quartet, and for other companies as the American Quartet. After Harry Macdonough replaced Mahoney, the name was used by Edison on some of the group's recordings. Another line-up credited with the same name comprised Albert C. Campbell, W. T. Leahy, Dudley, and Hooley, on recordings for Victor from 1901.

The best known line-up of the quartet was formed in 1909, when Victor Records needed a vehicle for their new singing star, Billy Murray. They formed a group around Murray, with Bieling and Hooley brought in from the Haydn Quartet (in which they continued to sing), and Steve Porter from the Peerless Quartet. Their debut release, "Denver Town", in the then-popular "cowboy song" genre, was released in February 1909 and, like many of the group's recordings, was arranged (and in this case co-written) by George L. Botsford. The group also recorded the song for Edison, where it was credited to the Premier Quartette; the record company claimed that Will Oakland sang on the record rather than Macdonough, but according to Jim Walsh this was probably an error.

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