Regal G 8161 – William Thomas – 1924

Please note: this article dates to Old Time Blues’ first year and does not meet the standard of quality to which more recent postings are held.  Thank you for your understanding.

I can’t imagine any better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day here at Old Time Blues than with authentic traditional Irish songs, recorded in Britain, and pressed on a Regal by the Columbia Graphophone Company in the United Kingdom.  These two classically Irish songs are sung by “William Thomas” which as I understand it was a pseudonym for the classical tenor Thomas Jackson.

Regal G 8161 was recorded in June of 1924 probably in London, by William Thomas, a pseudonym for tenor Thomas Jackson.  I can’t find any information on the singer, but he appears to have been quite prolific in Great Britain in the 1910s and 1920s.

First, the classic ballad set by Frederic Weatherby to the tune of Londonderry Air, now an unofficial anthem of the Irish people, “Danny Boy”.

Danny Boy

Danny Boy, recorded June 1924 by William Thomas.

Next, another Irish tune, Thomas Moore’s patriotic “The Minstrel Boy”, written in remembrance of some his friends lost in the Irish Rebellion of 1898.

The Minstrel Boy

The Minstrel Boy, recorded June 1924 by William Thomas.