Oscar Seagle
Background information
Born(1877-10-31)October 31, 1877
Ooltewah, Tennessee, United States
DiedDecember 19, 1945(1945-12-19) (aged 68)
Dallas, Texas, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, music teacher
Years active1900-1945
LabelsColumbia

Oscar Seagle (October 31, 1877 – December 19, 1945) was a prominent musician and music teacher active in the early 20th century.[1] He founded the Seagle Music Colony in Schroon Lake, New York.[2]

Early life

He was born on October 31, 1877, on Ooltewah, Tennessee.[3]

He studied music in Paris, France with Jean De Reszke.[4]

Musical career

Seagle was a renowned baritone during the early 20th century. He toured the United States and Europe, with performances at Carnegie Hall, in Minnesota,[5] Okmulgee, Oklahoma,[6] etc. He recorded songs for Columbia Records.[2] His performances were booked by Winton & Livingston.[7]

In 1915, Seagle founded the Seagle Music Colony.[8] The colony moved to its current location in the Adirondacks when Seagle purchased property there in 1922.[2] Seagle's summer musical school expanded due to demand in 1923.[9] He employed well-known operatic instructors from Europe, including Beatrice LaPalme and Salvatore Isorel.[10]

In 1918, he recorded "Dear Old Pal of Mine". His other hits with the Columbia Stellar Quartette included "There's a Long, Long Trail", "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag", and "The Old Folks at Home".[11] Seagle also recorded the following ballads: "Deep River" in 1917 with Columbia, "I Don't Feel No Ways Tired" in 1917 with Columbia, and "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen" in 1918 with Columbia.[12] He studied music under Jean de Reszke in Paris and sang there for several years. He then returned to the United States in 1921.[1]

He recorded a cover of the song "Calling Me Home to You" in March 1918, which had previously been recorded by John McCormack. Seagle's rendition charted at #4 on the US charts.[13]

Other songs recorded by Seagle for use by educators include: "Smilin' Through", "Can't Yo Heah Me Callin' Caroline", "Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming", "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny", "The Banks of the Daisies. My Love's an Arbutus", "The Meeting of the Waters", "Loch Lomond", "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes", and "I'se Gwine Back to Dixie".[14]

Besides teaching music at the Seagle Music Colony, Seagle also taught at the Homer Institute in Kansas City.[15] His students included John Seagle, Saba Doak,[16] James Hardesty Johnson, J. Erwin Mulch,[17] and Capt. Donald W. Johnston, who organized the 102nd Infantry Division Chorus.[18]

Personal life

Oscar had a son named John, who was one of his prominent students.[2]

Death and legacy

Seagle died on December 19, 1945, in Dallas, Texas.[1][19]

A theater at the Seagle Music Colony is named after him.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Oscar Seagle, 68, Singer, Teacher. Baritone Long Associated With De Reszke in Paris Dies. Toured While in Teens". New York Times. Associated Press. December 21, 1945. Retrieved 2015-03-07. Oscar Seagle, baritone opera singer, who was well known as a voice teacher, died here last night in the home of a friend, Glenn Booher. ...
  2. 1 2 3 4 "our history - Seagle Music Colony". seaglecolony.org.
  3. ↑ He used October 31, 1877, in the World War II draft registration and his passport application from October 4, 1922. He used "October 31, 1878 in Ooltewah, Tennessee" in the World War I draft registration. He uses one or the other date evenly on various ship's manifests. His parents used "October 1877" in the 1900 United States Census and as the earliest document, it is the most likely correct one.
  4. ↑ The Music Magazine-musical Courier, Volume 81, page 53.
  5. ↑ Music News. Music News Corporation. 1917.
  6. ↑ Musical America, Volume 29, March 1, 1919, page 9.
  7. ↑ Musical America, Volume 29, January 25, 1919, page 29.
  8. ↑ Cormier, William A. Along the Battenkill. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2014, page 119.
  9. ↑ National Federation of Music Clubs. The Musical Monitor. Chicago: Mrs. David Allen Campbell, Publisher], 1923, page 420.
  10. ↑ National Federation of Music Clubs. The Musical Monitor. Chicago: Mrs. David Allen Campbell, Publisher], 1923, page 437.
  11. ↑ "Oscar Seagle & the Columbia Stellar Quartet Songs. Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography. Music VF, US & UK hits charts". musicvf.com.
  12. ↑ Brooks, Tim, and Richard K. Spottswood. Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004, page 485, ISBN 0252028503.
  13. ↑ "Top Songs of 1918". Music VF. Howard Drake/VF Entertainment.
  14. ↑ Columbia Graphophone Company (U.S.). Columbia New Graded Catalog of Educational Records. New York: Columbia Graphophone Co, 1920, pages 67-68, OCLC 18386164.
  15. ↑ Musical America, Volume 29, March 8, 1919, page 23.
  16. ↑ Musical America, Volume 29, page 47.
  17. ↑ Musical America, Volume 29, April 26, 1919, page 31.
  18. ↑ Turner Publishing Co. 102nd Infantry Division: "The Ozarks.". Paducah, KY: Turner Pub. Co, 2000, page 37, ISBN 1563116863.
  19. 1 2 Music News Desk. "Seagle Music Colony Receives $118,000 Grant". broadwayworld.com.

Further reading

  • Booher, Glenn. A Guide to Singing and Speaking from Studios of Jean De Reszke, Oscar Seagle, Glenn Booher. Dallas, Tex: Melodic Press, 1977. OCLC 9001604
  • Oscar Seagle. [New York]: [Letterhead Press], 1915. OCLC 849563
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