John Steel (singer)
Encyclopedia
John W. Steel was an American tenor
. He was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies
of 1919
and 1920
and Irving Berlin's
Music Box
Revue
s of 1922
and 1923
.
, on January 11, 1895, and grew up in the New York City
area. He served in the military during World War I
, and studied music in Paris during leaves of absence
from military duty.
in the musical
The Maid of the Mountains, which had been a hit in London
, but closed in New York after just 37 performances. This was followed by his appearance in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919, in which he was one of the show's most popular performers. In the 1919 Follies he introduced Irving Berlin's song "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody," as well as singing "My Baby's Arms" and "Tulip Time." Producer Florenz Ziegfeld
is said to have paid him $3,500 a week for this show. In later years, Irving Berlin said that he had composed "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" with Steel in mind.
Subsequent performances included appearances in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1920, Ziegfeld's "Midnight Frolic" in 1920, and Irving Berlin
's Music Box Revues of 1922 and 1923. In the Ziegfeld Follies of 1920 he introduced the songs "Tell Me, Little Gypsy," "The Girls of My Dreams," and "The Love Boat." In the Music Box Revue of 1923 he introduced songs including "One Girl" and "Little Butterfly" and joined with Florence Moore
, Ivy Sawyer
, Joseph Stanley, Grace Moore
and Frank Tinney to sing the novelty song "Yes, We Have No Bananas
". As of 1921, he reportedly was paid between $1,000 and $2,000 weekly by Ziegfeld.
In 1922 Steel began touring the United States on a summer vaudeville
circuit. He preferred vaudeville to musical theatre because vaudeville allowed him to choose the songs he wanted to sing instead of performing an assigned role. Additionally, he liked working in Los Angeles
and the West Coast states of California
, Oregon
, and Washington. In addition to singing, in Los Angeles
he appeared as an amateur boxer
in staged matches.
In 1927 he appeared in a London production of the musical Castles in the Air
, playing the role of John Brown opposite soprano
Helen Gilliland. Although the show closed in London after just 28 performances, after it closed in London it toured through the United Kingdom
for the remainder of the year and well into 1928.
Steel returned to the United States, where in the early 1930s he performed in vaudeville and in cabaret
s and clubs in New York, Chicago
, and other cities. In August 1938 he filed for bankruptcy
, with liabilities of $40,070 against assets of just $350. In later years he worked as a singing instructor.
in 1925.
Shortly after his divorce from Sidonie Espero, Steel married Mabel Stapleton, a professional violin
ist. They appeared together in a series of concert
s. In 1929 he was named as correspondent in the divorce suit
of Walter P. Inman, a stepson of tobacco
magnate James Buchanan Duke
. Inman accused his wife (Helen Garnet Patten Inman) of infidelity with Steel. In April 1930, in the wake of the highly publicized Inman divorce case, Mabel Steel sued John Steel for divorce. Mabel Steel was then living in Paris, and it was revealed that the couple had been living apart since 1927.
Steel's third wife was Jeanette (Janet) Hackett, a former dance
r. Their son, Donn Raymond Steel, was born in 1930.
Steel died in New York City on June 25, 1971. His wife, Jeanette Hackett Steel, survived him. His son, Donn Steel, died in 1993.
. His contract with Victor ended in 1923. His final three known recordings were made for Columbia
in London in 1927.
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. He was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
of 1919
1919 in music
-Events:*July 22 - The Ballets Russes gives the world premiere of Manuel de Falla's ballet El sombrero de tres picos in London.*August - Josef Matthias Hauer devises his own twelve-tone technique of composition....
and 1920
1920 in music
-Events:*January 19 - The Salzburg Festival is revived.*December 4 - Première of the opera Die tote Stadt by 23-year-old Erich Wolfgang Korngold...
and Irving Berlin's
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
Music Box
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
Revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
s of 1922
1922 in music
-Events:*January 24 - Carl Nielsen conducts the first public performance of his Symphony No. 5 in Copenhagen.*October 19 - Maurice Ravel orchestral arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is premiered in Paris...
and 1923
1923 in music
-Events:*November 11 - Premiere of John Foulds's World Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It is repeated on that date each year until 1926....
.
Early life
Steel was born in Montclair, New JerseyMontclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
, on January 11, 1895, and grew up in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area. He served in the military during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and studied music in Paris during leaves of absence
Leave of absence
Leave of absence is a term used to describe a period of time that one is to be away from his/her primary job, while maintaining the status of employee...
from military duty.
Career
In 1918 Steel appeared on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
The Maid of the Mountains, which had been a hit in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but closed in New York after just 37 performances. This was followed by his appearance in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919, in which he was one of the show's most popular performers. In the 1919 Follies he introduced Irving Berlin's song "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody," as well as singing "My Baby's Arms" and "Tulip Time." Producer Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...
is said to have paid him $3,500 a week for this show. In later years, Irving Berlin said that he had composed "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" with Steel in mind.
Subsequent performances included appearances in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1920, Ziegfeld's "Midnight Frolic" in 1920, and Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
's Music Box Revues of 1922 and 1923. In the Ziegfeld Follies of 1920 he introduced the songs "Tell Me, Little Gypsy," "The Girls of My Dreams," and "The Love Boat." In the Music Box Revue of 1923 he introduced songs including "One Girl" and "Little Butterfly" and joined with Florence Moore
Florence Moore
Florence E. Moore was an American vaudeville, Broadway performer, and actress in silent films.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Moore began singing in the choir of Saint Clement's Church, Philadelphia at the age of thirteen. She began touring with the stock company of her brother Frank Moore...
, Ivy Sawyer
Ivy Sawyer
Ivy Sawyer was an American cabaret and ballroom dancer, singer, and stage actress.Ivy Sawyer danced professionally with John Jarrot until she met and married fellow dancer/actor Joseph Santley. The two would dance and perform on stage together primarily in musical comedies for nearly two decades...
, Joseph Stanley, Grace Moore
Grace Moore
Grace Moore was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience.-Early life:...
and Frank Tinney to sing the novelty song "Yes, We Have No Bananas
Yes, We Have No Bananas
"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is the title of a novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn from the 1922 Broadway revue Make It Snappy. Sung by Eddie Cantor in the revue, the song became a major hit in 1923 when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman, and others...
". As of 1921, he reportedly was paid between $1,000 and $2,000 weekly by Ziegfeld.
In 1922 Steel began touring the United States on a summer vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit. He preferred vaudeville to musical theatre because vaudeville allowed him to choose the songs he wanted to sing instead of performing an assigned role. Additionally, he liked working in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and the West Coast states of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and Washington. In addition to singing, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
he appeared as an amateur boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in staged matches.
In 1927 he appeared in a London production of the musical Castles in the Air
Castles in the Air
Castles in the Air is a musical comedy, with a book and lyrics by Raymond W. Peck and music by Percy Wenrich . The story concerns two young men, Monty Blair and John Brown, who mistake an exclusive Westchester resort for an inn. They decide to pretend to be nobility, and Monty introduces John as...
, playing the role of John Brown opposite soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Helen Gilliland. Although the show closed in London after just 28 performances, after it closed in London it toured through the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the remainder of the year and well into 1928.
Steel returned to the United States, where in the early 1930s he performed in vaudeville and in cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
s and clubs in New York, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and other cities. In August 1938 he filed for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, with liabilities of $40,070 against assets of just $350. In later years he worked as a singing instructor.
Personal life
Steel had a tempestuous marital history. In 1919, he married Sidonie Espero, another member of the cast of The Maid of the Mountains. A son, John W. Steel, Jr., was born to the marriage on June 15, 1921. The marriage foundered in 1921 amid allegations that Steel had abused his wife and abandoned her and the infant child. It ended in divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in 1925.
Shortly after his divorce from Sidonie Espero, Steel married Mabel Stapleton, a professional violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist. They appeared together in a series of concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s. In 1929 he was named as correspondent in the divorce suit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
of Walter P. Inman, a stepson of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
magnate James Buchanan Duke
James Buchanan Duke
James Buchanan Duke was a U.S. tobacco and electric power industrialist best known for his involvement with Duke University.-Personal life:...
. Inman accused his wife (Helen Garnet Patten Inman) of infidelity with Steel. In April 1930, in the wake of the highly publicized Inman divorce case, Mabel Steel sued John Steel for divorce. Mabel Steel was then living in Paris, and it was revealed that the couple had been living apart since 1927.
Steel's third wife was Jeanette (Janet) Hackett, a former dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
r. Their son, Donn Raymond Steel, was born in 1930.
Steel died in New York City on June 25, 1971. His wife, Jeanette Hackett Steel, survived him. His son, Donn Steel, died in 1993.
Recordings
There are about 40 known recordings of John Steel's work. Almost all of these were made between 1919 and 1923 in New York City for VictorVictor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
. His contract with Victor ended in 1923. His final three known recordings were made for Columbia
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
in London in 1927.
Biographical
- John Steel at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...