The Rondoliers was the name of an American vocal ensemble in the United States. In the beginning, the group was an all-male vocal quartet that was popular on American radio and on recordings during the late 1920s.[1] and 1930s.[2] In 1929 the group's membership included Fred Wilson (first tenor), Ernest Ebler (Second tenor), George Gove (bass), and Hubert Hendrie (baritone).[1] Members of the group changed across time with the following additional singers being members of the group at one time or another during the 1930s: Royal Hallee, Earl Palmer, Kenneth Schon, and Artells (sometimes spelled Artella) Dickson.[2] The group made numerous recording for Columbia Records from 1930-1933. These works are catalogued in the Discography of American Historical Recordings.[3]
In November 1933 and February 1934 The Rondoliers performed with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra on Kraft Musical Review.[2] By 1943 the ensemble was under the direction of Artells Dickson (also known as Art Dickson )[4] who had studied singing with Estelle Liebling.[5] By this time the group had evolved from a male quartet into a mixed-gender vocal ensemble whose members included Dickson, Mimi Walthers, Dorrit Merrill LaRue, and Don Gautier. This line-up of the group was featured in several "Soundies" in 1943; a film precursor to the music video.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "It Could Only Happen on Radio". What's on the Air. 1: 35. 1929.
- ^ a b c Rayno, Don (2003). Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967. Scarecrow Press. p. 368. ISBN 9780810883222.
- ^ "The Rondoliers". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ a b Cantor, Mark (2023). "1003 That's A Lot of Schicklgruber". The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9781476646428.
- ^ Dean Fowler, Alandra (1994). Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices (PhD). University of Arizona.