Talk:Jack Caddigan

The William Thomas recording of "Rose of No Man's Land"

User 86.3.134.164 altered this page on 2 April 2014, adding the following to the publication entry for "Rose of No Man's Land": "n.b. This song was recorded by the William Thomas Orchestra before the Americans entered the war, in 1916. see http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/ef9e5dff#b03ymr52 The Brennan/Caddigan 'International' copyright was claimed in 1918."

I have removed this for the present, though I'm keeping the user's contribution here, on the talk page, pending further research. Regal Records did indeed release a recording of this title by "William Thomas / with Orchestra" on Regal G 7547 (mx 69948); on the flip side was "City of Laughter—City of Tears" (mx 69949). The BBC website and some other sources give a release date of 1916, but I cannot confirm this in any primary source. Possibly the 1916 date first appeared on the album "Oh It's a Lovely War, vol. 2" (2002). Regal Records was the British label for Columbia releases, and a Columbia recording of this title was made by Hugh Donovan on 23 October 1918 (see Tim Brooks, The Columbia Master Book Discography, p. 264). I have not yet heard that recording. Several other recordings of this title were issued that year and in 1919 by other firms. "City of Laughter—City of Tears" was copyrighted in 1920 in the US. On the basis of the copyright record and discographic history, it would seem extremely unlikely that the recording by "William Thomas" actually dates from 1916.

Wfbrooks (talk) 22:35, 4 April 2014 (UTC)