Charles Adams Prince (1869–1937) was an American bandleader, pianist and organist known for conducting the Columbia Orchestra and, later, Prince's Band and Orchestra.[1][2] He made his first recordings as a pianist in 1891 for the New York Phonograph Co. Later in the 1890s he worked as a musical director for Columbia Records and also conducted the Columbia Orchestra.[2]
In 1905, Prince assembled a group called "Princes Band and Orchestra". They recorded for Columbia and featured much of the same material as the Columbia Band.[2] Prince's own composition, "The Barbary Rag", was recorded by the band in 1913.[3]
Prince's Band was the first to record many now popular jazz standards. Their version of W. C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues" in 1915 is the first known recording of the song. It took the band two sessions to record a successful take, which was considered unusual considering the talent of the band and its leader.[4] Another Handy's song, "The Memphis Blues", was recorded by Prince's Band in 1914, a week after its introduction by the Victor Military Band.[5] Other standards introduced by the band are Porter Steele's "High Society" (1911)[6] and Lew Pollack and Ray Gilbert's "That's a Plenty" (1914).[7]
Prince conducted Richard Wagner's "Rienzi Overture" in 1917 for Columbia's first classical music release. Prince's last recording for Columbia was in 1922. He then changed labels to Puritan Records and later to Victor Records, where he worked as associate musical director.[2]