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 Just
in time for St. Patrick's Day: an Irish song by Billy
Murray and the Haydn Quartet. By the end of the 20th
century's first decade, Murray had become the hottest
item in the recording industry. Besides his solo recordings,
he was featured in duets with Len Spencer, Bob Roberts,
and most famously, Ada Jones. But Murray also figured
largely in minstrel ensembles with Spencer, Collins
and Harlan, Harry Macdonough, and Steve Porter (among
others) for Edison, Victor, and Columbia. He was a frequent
guest singer with the Haydn (pronounced "Hay-den")
Quartet in the late part of the decade. Curiously, Murray
is believed by many to be singing with the Haydn Quartet
on "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," from 1908
but, while it certainly sounds like the kind of material
that would be perfect for Murray, it is Macdonough,
not he, singing the lead on the record (Victor 5570).
The Haydn Quartet of 1909  consisted
of Macdonough, John Bieling, William Hooley, and S.
H. Dudley. This was all before Victor assembled the
American Quartet, a vehicle designed explicitly to star
Murray in front of Porter, Bieling, and Hooley.
Irish songs and sketches of this same period typically
center around Irish stereotypes prevalent at
the time. "The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's
Day" is free of any such caricatures, other than
Billy Murray's light attempt at an Irish accent. This
song, composed by Jerome and Schwartz, the same team
responsible for "Bedelia" and "Chinatown,
My Chinatown," seems rather a genuine expression
of patriotic zeal and parental affection. Murray returned
to the song in 1941 as vocalist for Harry's Tavern Band
on the Bluebird label.
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