Henry Burr
| Henry Burr | |
|---|---|
Burr in 1918
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Harry Haley McClaskey |
| Also known as | Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Alexander, Robert Rice, Carl Ely, Harry Barr, Frank Knapp, Al King, Shamus McClaskey |
| Born |
January 15, 1882 St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | April 6, 1941 (aged 59) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | vocal |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | late 1890s–1941 |
| Labels | Columbia, Victor |
| Associated acts | Peerless Quartet |
Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Alexander, Robert Rice, Carl Ely, Harry Barr, Frank Knapp, Al King, and Shamus McClaskey. He was one of the first singers to make popular acoustic recordings and one of the most prolific recording artists of all time, with more than 12,000 recordings by his own estimate. A tenor, he performed as a soloist and in duets, trios and quartets. His most famous collaboration was with the Peerless Quartet.
Born in the border town of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, Harry McClaskey was the son of a candy and tobacco store owner, A. A. McClaskey. His mother was the former Ida Connors and he was the youngest of four children. His vocal talents were recognized early and by the age of 5 he was performing publicly in St. Stephen. At age 10 he was the mascot for the Saint John Bicycle and Athletic Club in the nearby city of Saint John, singing "Her Eyes Don't Shine Like Diamonds" and at age 13 he was performing onstage as a boy tenor with the Artillery Band in Saint John. The family had moved to Saint John by this time. Perhaps doubting that he could make a career in music, he later attended Mt. Allison Academy in Sackville, New Brunswick, and afterwards worked for his father. On April 14, 1901, he appeared at the opera house in Saint John in his first notable concert with the Scottish soprano Jessie MacLachlan. On September 30, 1901 he was discovered by the Metropolitan Opera baritone Giuseppe Campanari who was in Saint John to perform at the St. John Opera House. Campanari insisted that McClaskey go to New York for musical training.
Emboldened by Campanari's endorsement, McClaskey ventured to New York in 1902, where he began lessons and sang with the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church choir. He eventually rose to tenor soloist for the choir. His teachers included John Dennis Meehan (or Mehan) and Kate Stella Burr, from whom he would adopt his stage name in her honor.
It was around 1902 that he started to make recordings with Columbia Records and he used the name Henry Burr at that time. He arrived at a particularly opportune time for Columbia, as their star tenor, George J. Gaskin, was in the final years of his career. Burr started recording for Edison Records in November 1904 under the name Irving Gillette. Disagreements with company executives resulted in his no longer recording for Edison after October 1914. He first recorded with Victor on January 4, 1905, and the recordings were released that March. On April 7, 1905 he recorded Egbert Van Alstyne's "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" which proved to be popular. It was also recorded by Billy Murray the same year. Burr proved to be a successful artist, recording thousands of songs for various labels under various names. He would record with Leeds Talk-O-Phone and the American Record Company as well. His recordings also appear on International Record Company and department store labels such as Vim Records.
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