Ada Jones

Ada Jones
Jones sending morse code in 1918
Background information
Born	June 1, 1873 Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Origin	Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Died	May 2, 1922 (aged 48) North Carolina
Genres	vocal
Occupation(s)	Singer, actress
Years active	1889–1922
Labels	North American Phonograph Co, Edison Records, others

Ada Jones (June 1, 1873 – May 2, 1922)^[1] was a popular mezzo-soprano who recorded from 1905 to the early 1920s.

Biography

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., including "Sweet Marie" and "The Volunteer Organist". But the demise of this company interrupted her 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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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 number one.^[4]

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

• "Sweet Marie" (c. 1893–94)
• "The Volunteer Organist" (c. 1893–94)
• "Please Come Play In My Yard" (1905)
• "Don't Get Married Any More, Ma" (1906, 1907; multiple recordings)
• "Experience (from 'The Little Cherub')" (1906)
• "All She Gets from the Iceman Is Ice" (1907)
• "If The Man In The Moon Were A Coon" (1907)
• "I Just Can't Make My Eyes Behave" (1907)
• "Now I Have to Call Him 'Father'" (1908)
• "I've Got Rings On My Fingers" (1909)
• "My Pony Boy" (1909)
• "The Yama Yama Man" (1909)
• "Call Me Up Some Rainy Afternoon" (1910)
• "Oh, You Candy Kid" (1910)
• "The Girl With The Brogue" (1910)
• "Whistle It" (1912) (with Peerless Quartet)
• "Row! Row! Row!" (1913)
• "Beatrice Fairfax, Tell Me What To Do!" (1915)

Duets with Billy Murray:

• "Under the Anheuser Bush" (Anheuser Busch Promotional)
• "Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk" (1907)
• "School Days" (1907)
• "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine" (1908)
• "The Boy Who Stuttered and the Girl Who Lisped" (1908)
• "Wouldn't You Like to Have Me for a Sweetheart?" (1908)
• "Blue Feather" (1909)
• "Can't You See I Love You" (1909) (Edison Standard Record: 10190)
• "Googy-oo" (1909) (Edison Amberol: 211)
• "I Can't Say You're the Only One" (1909) (Edison Standard Record: 10069)
• "Oh you kid!" (1909) (Edison 10090)
• "Shine On, Harvest Moon" (1909)
• "Rainbow" (1909) (Columbia 10049)
• "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine" (1911)
• "My Hula Hula Love" (1911)
• "Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee" (1912)
• "Nora Malone (Call Me by Phone)" (1912)
• "Silver Bell" (1912)
• "If I Said 'Please'" (1913)
• "Bedtime at the Zoo" (1914)
• "By the Beautiful Sea" (1914)
• "Dixie" (1916)
• "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" (1917)
• "Some Sunday Morning" (1918)

See also

• Ada Jones discography
• List of songs recorded by Ada Jones
• Billy Murray
• Len Spencer

References

1. Songwriters Hall of Fame
2. Sutton, Allan. "A Prehistory of Ada Jones: 1889–1905". Mainspring Press. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
3. Ada Jones & Victor Light Opera Company - The Yama Yama Man 1909, Internet Archive
4. “The Yama Yama Man”, Netlex News, July 5, 2006.

External links

• Ada Jones cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library
• Ada Jones discography in Discography of American Historical Recordings at UC Santa Barbara
• Ada Jones and Steve Porter. Backyard Conversation Between Mrs. Reilly and Mrs. Finnegan at Project Gutenberg

Ada Jones at Find a Grave