May Singhi Breen

May Singhi Breen
Also known as Ukulele Lady
Born February 24, 1895
New York City
Died December 19, 1970
Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune, New Jersey[1]
Genres Jazz, blues, rock, Hawaiian
Instruments Ukulele
Labels Victor Records
Associated acts The Syncopators, Sweethearts of the Air

The original Ukulele Lady, May Singhi Breen was born in New York City as the daughter of a builder and a pianist in 1895.[2] Her work in the music publishing business spanned several decades. Breen was the driving force in getting the ukulele accepted as a musical instrument by the American Federation of Musicians. In 2000 she became the first woman inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame.[3]

Beginnings

Breen was given an inexpensive ukulele as a Christmas present. Being unable to exchange it, she took lessons and learned to play it. Before long she and some of her friends formed The Syncopators and played radio stations in the New York area. In 1923 Breen met Peter DeRose and left the Syncopators. Together the two were the "Sweethearts of the Air", a radio show that ran for 16 years from 1923-1939, on NBC affiliate WJZ in New York where Breen played ukulele and DeRose accompanying her on the piano.[2][4]

Like so many of the performers during the era, Breen was a big fan of the instruments created by the C.F. Martin & Company and used a variety of their products, including a couple of custom inlaid models. Like all of the other performers who had tried, Breen was unsuccessful in obtaining an endorsement deal with Martin. Unlike the others, she didn't go looking for another endorsement deal, she liked her Martin instruments too much.[5]

Publishing

Breen is credited with convincing publishers to include ukulele chords on their sheet music. The Tin Pan Alley publishers hired her to arrange the chords and her name can be found on hundreds of examples of music from the 1920s on.[6] Her name appears as a music arranger on more pieces than any other individual.[7] Her earliest known credit for a ukulele arrangement was in 1917[8] but her arrangements began to appear in large numbers in 1923.

Breen issued the first recorded ukulele lesson, a 78 rpm record entitled Ukulele Lesson that came with the Peter Pan Uke Method book, that gave a 6 minute ukulele tutorial on the Victor Label.[9] Building on the popularity of the instrument as promoted by Arthur Godfrey Breen published the New Ukulele Method in 1950.[6]

In 2000 May Singhi Breen was inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame along with Cliff Edwards and the founder of Kamaka Ukulele, Sam Kamaka. Her citation reads in part: "She convinced music publishers of the commercial value of ukulele arrangements and pioneered the inclusion of arrangements on almost all printed copies of popular music. Her own arrangements appear on more pieces of sheet music than those of any other single person in history."[10]

American Federation of Musicians

Breen worked hard to get the American Federation of Musicians to accept ukulele players into their union. In 1931 she approached the Manhattan Local for membership, but was refused, as they would not recognize the ukulele as a musical instrument.[11] In the refusal the representative told her that the ukulele was considered a "fun toy which isn't allowed in orchestras, and anyone can make a noise on it in a matter of days ... it was simply a novelty contraption...".[12] While the union relented and allowed that the ukulele was an instrument, they would not accept ability with it as qualification for membership. They refused for many years, but eventually, under her constant pressure with the support of such notable players as Cliff Edwards and Arthur Godfrey, the individual chapters relented.[6]

Endorsements

The Progressive Musical Instrument Corporation (P'MiCo) was a distributor that included the May Singhi Breen autographed model banjo uke in their line in the 1940s.[13]

Personal life

Born May Singhi, she married an attorney named Breen. They divorced about 1922 and she and her daughter, Rita, were on their own. She married Peter DeRose, a man 12 years younger, in 1929 and the two of them worked together until his death. Breen died on December 19, 1970 and is buried next to her husband DeRose in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.[14]

Rita Breen Bunch, her daughter, continues to hold the copyright of many of her and DeRose's works.[15]

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Billboard, January 2, 1971, p. 32
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tranquada, Jim (2012). The Ukulele: A History. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-8248-3634-4.
  3. ↑ "The Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum - Inductees". Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Beloff, Jim (2003). The Ukulele: A Visual History. Backbeat Books. p. 64. ISBN 978-0879307585.
  5. ↑ Walsh, Tom (2013). The Martin Ukulele: The Little Instrument That Helped Create a Guitar Giant. Hal Leonard. pp. 66–7. ISBN 978-1-4768-6879-0.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Whitcomb, Ian (2012). Ukulele Heroes: The Golden Age. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard Books. pp. 60–1. ISBN 978-1-4584-1654-4.
  7. ↑ Dixon, Daniel (2011). Ukulele: The World's Friendliest Instrument. Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4236-0369-6.
  8. ↑ http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/catalog/levy:155.047
  9. ↑ Victor Record No. 19740
  10. ↑ "Ukulele Hall of Fame Citation, May Singhi Breen". Ukulele.org. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  11. ↑ TIME, Monday, Jan. 04, 1932
  12. ↑ Herald Journal - 3 January 1932
  13. ↑ "May Singhi Breen Signature Ukulele". Tikiking.com. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  14. ↑ "Find-a-Grave May Singhi Breen". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  15. ↑ "New Ukulele Method". Copyright Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2013-06-13.