Arthur Tracy
Encyclopedia
Arthur Tracy was an American
vocalist, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s. Late evening radio listeners tuned in to hear announcer David Ross' introduction ("Round the corner and down your way comes The Street Singer") and Tracy's familiar theme song, "Marta, Rambling Rose of the Wildwood."
, he emigrated to the United States
with his parents, sisters, and brother in April 1906. After their release from the Ellis Island
Immigrant station, they settled in Philadelphia. Naturalized in 1913, Tracy's parents became known as Morris and Fannie Tracy.
In 1917 Tracy graduated from Central High School. He began studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania but dropped out to become a professional singer. He began singing part-time in the Yiddish theatre
and vaudeville
while working as a furniture salesman.
After moving to New York City in 1924, he appeared regularly in vaudeville, joined the Blossom Time
touring company and appeared in various New York amateur revues, where he was seen by William S. Paley
who offered him a 15-minute CBS radio program.
To avoid embarrassing his family if his show failed and to prevent being blackballed from future vaudeville bookings for having appeared on radio, Tracy decided to make his identity a mystery and borrowed a billing from the title of Frederick Lonsdale's play The Street Singer. Listeners demanded to know his identity, but it was not revealed until five months after his 1931 debut on CBS. The following year he was off to Hollywood to appear in The Big Broadcast of 1932 with other radio stars, including Bing Crosby
, Kate Smith
and the Boswell Sisters
.
In the short film Ramblin' Round Radio Row #5
(1933
), his last name is pronounced "Treecy."
Tracy gave his romantic interpretation to such songs as "When I Grow Too Old to Dream", "I'll See You Again
", "Trees", "Everything I Have Is Yours", "Red Sails in the Sunset", "Harbor Lights", "The Whistling Waltz", and "Danny Boy". His September 1935 recording of East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
is among the very first of that much recorded song. His 1937 recording of "Pennies from Heaven
" was featured in the 1981 movie
of that name, with Vernal Bagneris lip-synching to Tracy's voice.
The film brought Tracy out of retirement, and at age 82 he returned as a cabaret singer at the Cookery in Greenwich Village in 1982. This brought a favorable review in The New York Times
from John Wilson, who wrote that his vocalizing had "a delightful patina of period charm", adding that Tracy was "a spellbinder, setting a mood and scene, disarming the doubters by admitting that 'I always put all the schmalz I had into my songs.'"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
vocalist, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s. Late evening radio listeners tuned in to hear announcer David Ross' introduction ("Round the corner and down your way comes The Street Singer") and Tracy's familiar theme song, "Marta, Rambling Rose of the Wildwood."
Biography
Born Abba Avrom Tracovutsky in Kamenetz-Podolsk, MoldovaMoldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with his parents, sisters, and brother in April 1906. After their release from the Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
Immigrant station, they settled in Philadelphia. Naturalized in 1913, Tracy's parents became known as Morris and Fannie Tracy.
In 1917 Tracy graduated from Central High School. He began studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania but dropped out to become a professional singer. He began singing part-time in the Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; naturalist drama; expressionist and...
and vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
while working as a furniture salesman.
After moving to New York City in 1924, he appeared regularly in vaudeville, joined the Blossom Time
Das Dreimäderlhaus
Das Dreimäderlhaus , adapted into English language versions as Blossom Time and Lilac Time, is a Viennese pastiche 'operetta' with music by Franz Schubert, rearranged by Hungarian Heinrich Berté , and a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
touring company and appeared in various New York amateur revues, where he was seen by William S. Paley
William S. Paley
William S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
who offered him a 15-minute CBS radio program.
To avoid embarrassing his family if his show failed and to prevent being blackballed from future vaudeville bookings for having appeared on radio, Tracy decided to make his identity a mystery and borrowed a billing from the title of Frederick Lonsdale's play The Street Singer. Listeners demanded to know his identity, but it was not revealed until five months after his 1931 debut on CBS. The following year he was off to Hollywood to appear in The Big Broadcast of 1932 with other radio stars, including Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Kate Smith
Kate Smith
Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith was an American Popular singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Smith had a radio, television, and recording career spanning five decades, which reached its pinnacle in the 1940s.Smith was born in Greenville, Virginia...
and the Boswell Sisters
Boswell Sisters
The Boswell Sisters were a close harmony singing group, consisting of sisters Martha Boswell , Connee Boswell , and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell , noted for intricate harmonies and rhythmic experimentation...
.
In the short film Ramblin' Round Radio Row #5
Rambling 'Round Radio Row
Rambling 'Round Radio Row is a series of short subjects, produced by Jerry Wald, and released by the Vitaphone division of Warner Brothers...
(1933
1933 in film
-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
), his last name is pronounced "Treecy."
Tracy gave his romantic interpretation to such songs as "When I Grow Too Old to Dream", "I'll See You Again
I'll See You Again
"I'll See You Again" is a song by the English songwriter Sir Noel Coward.It originated in Coward's 1929 operetta Bitter Sweet, however soon emerged as a standard in its own right and became one of Coward's best known compositions...
", "Trees", "Everything I Have Is Yours", "Red Sails in the Sunset", "Harbor Lights", "The Whistling Waltz", and "Danny Boy". His September 1935 recording of East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
"East of the Sun " is a popular song written by Brooks Bowman, an undergraduate member of Princeton University's Class of 1936, for the 1934 production of the Princeton Triangle Club's production of Stags at Bay...
is among the very first of that much recorded song. His 1937 recording of "Pennies from Heaven
Pennies from Heaven (song)
"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and words by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1936 film of the same name...
" was featured in the 1981 movie
Pennies from Heaven (1981 film)
Pennies from Heaven is a 1981 musical film. The film was based on a 1978 BBC television drama. In 1981, Dennis Potter adapted his own screenplay for a film of the same name for American audiences, with its setting changed to Depression era Chicago. Potter was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award...
of that name, with Vernal Bagneris lip-synching to Tracy's voice.
The film brought Tracy out of retirement, and at age 82 he returned as a cabaret singer at the Cookery in Greenwich Village in 1982. This brought a favorable review in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
from John Wilson, who wrote that his vocalizing had "a delightful patina of period charm", adding that Tracy was "a spellbinder, setting a mood and scene, disarming the doubters by admitting that 'I always put all the schmalz I had into my songs.'"
Films
- Crossing DelanceyCrossing DelanceyCrossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
(1988) (as Arthur Tracey) .... Pickle Stand Customer #1 - Pennies from Heaven (1981)
- Follow Your Star (1938) .... Arthur Tee
- The Street SingerThe Street Singer (1937 film)The Street Singer is a 1937 British musical film directed by Jean de Marguenat and starring Margaret Lockwood, Arthur Tracy and Arthur Riscoe A famous musician is mistaken for a street singer.-Cast:* Arthur Tracy ... Richard King...
(1937) .... Richard King
- ... aka Interval for Romance
- Command Performance (1937) .... Street Singer
- LimelightLimelight (1936 film)Limelight is a 1936 British, black-and-white, drama, musical, romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox starring Anna Neagle, Arthur Tracy, Jean Winton, and Ronald Shiner as the Assistant State Manager. It was produced by Herbert Wilcox Productions and British and Dominions Film Corporation....
(1936) .... Bob Grant
- ... aka Backstage (USA)
- ... aka Street Singer's Serenade
- The Big BroadcastThe Big BroadcastThe Big Broadcast is a musical comedy film produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Frank Tuttle, and starring Bing Crosby, Stuart Erwin, and Leila Hyams, with George Burns and Gracie Allen in supporting roles...
(1932)
- The Big Broadcast