Ada Jones

Ada Jones (June 1, 1873 – May 2, 1922)^[1] was a popular mezzo-soprano who recorded from 1905 to the early 1920s. She was born in Lancashire, England but moved with her family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the age of six in 1879. She started performing on stage, including juvenile roles in the 1880s.^[2]

In 1893 or 1894, she recorded some musical performances for the North American Phonograph Co., most popularly known, "Sweet Marie". But the demise of this company ended this recording career and it was not until 1905 that she returned to recording, after a few years doing performances at such locations as Huber's 14th Street Museum in New York City.^[3] She recorded several duets with Billy Murray and Len Spencer. She sang in a range of accents and dialects.

Ada Jones recorded "The Yama Yama Man" in 1909 for Victor Light Opera Company.^[4] The lyrics for verse two and three were changed from the original, verse two being more bawdy. It was the most popular song of her career, spending five weeks at #1.^[5]

Death

While on tour, Ada Jones died of kidney failure at the age of 48 in North Carolina on May 2, 1922. She was survived by her husband Hugh Flaherty and one daughter.

Songs

• "Experience (from 'The Little Cherub')" (1906)
• "Don't Get Married Any More, Ma" (1906, 1907; multiple recordings)
• "All She Gets from the Iceman Is Ice" (1907)
• "I Just Can't Make My Eyes Behave" (1907)
• "If The Man In The Moon Were A Coon" (1907)
• "The Yama Yama Man" (1909)
• "My Pony Boy" (1909)
• "I've Got Rings On My Fingers" (1909)
• "Call Me Up Some Rainy Afternoon" (1910)
• "Row! Row! Row!" (1913)
• "Now I Have to Call Him 'Father'" (1908)
• "Beatrice Fairfax, Tell Me What To Do!" (1915)
• "Please Come Play In My Yard" (1905)
• "The Girl With The Brogue" (1910)
• "Whistle It (with Peerless Quartet)" (1912)

Duets with Billy Murray:

• "Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk" (1907)
• "School Days" (1907)
• "Wouldn't You Like to Have Me for a Sweetheart?" (1908)
• "The Boy Who Stuttered and the Girl Who Lisped" (1908)
• "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine" (1908)
• "Shine On, Harvest Moon" (1909)
• "I Can't Say You're the Only One" (1909) (Edison Standard Record: 10069)
• "Can't You See I Love You" (1909) (Edison Standard Record: 10190)
• "Googy-oo" (1909) (Edison Amberol: 211)
• "Blue Feather" (1909)
• "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine" (1911)
• "Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee" (1912)
• "Bedtime at the Zoo" (1914)
• "Some Sunday Morning" (1918)

References

1. ^ Songwriters Hall of Fame
2. ^ Ada Jones: A Prehistory, Mainspring Press
3. ^ Ada Jones: A Prehistory
4. ^ Ada Jones & Victor Light Opera Company - The Yama Yama Man 1909, Internet Archive
5. ^ “The Yama Yama Man”, Netlex News, July 5, 2006.

External links

• Works by Ada Jones at Project Gutenberg
• Ada Jones recordings at the Internet Archive
• Ada Jones cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
• Ada Jones at Find-A-Grave
• Discography of Ada Jones on Victor Records from the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR)