The American Billionaire - Frank C. Stanley (1901)

"The American Billionaire" from Hoity-Toity -- sung by Frank C. Stanley

Lyrics by Edgar Smith.

Music by John Stromberg.

Frank C. Stanley lived from December 29, 1868, to December 12, 1910.

He was well known in the phonograph world, so his death was a major news item in the industry when the singer died unexpectedly.

This important bass-baritone was born William Stanley Grinsted in Orange, New Jersey.

His father was Augustus T. Grinsted, an educator who was at one time the president of Orange's Board of Education. One obituary printed soon after the singer's death states that William had a bass voice that was fully trained during his boyhood whereas another suggests he did not have vocal lessons until later. Victor generally identified Stanley as a bass, Columbia and Edison usually as a baritone.

In high school he entertained classmates during recess with his banjo playing. In the early 1890s he made North American Phonograph Company cylinders as a solo banjoist and used his real name.

Playing banjo at a handful of sessions brought him extra income. He worked full-time as a clerk in Orange's Second National Bank from around 1890, when it opened, to 1902, finally resigning to devote himself to a musical career.

He began singing on records by 1898 and for this phase of his recording career adopted the name Frank C. Stanley. The August 1898 issue of The Phonoscope states that Stanley's "second effort" at recording for the Norcross Phonograph Company, run by Ike W. Norcross, Jr., resulted in 45 good master records. The journal says that Stanley had "made a good start" in the record-making business and adds that his only vocal teacher was Frederick G. Handel.

Before 1898 or so, nearly all recording artists used their real names since artists who recorded regularly were not prominent as concert artists and had no reason to disassociate themselves from recorded work. But by the end of the century some trained musicians who were new to the industry adopted pseudonyms. Many wished to sing in prominent churches, for example, and records at this time did not enhance any singer's reputation. The name W. Stanley Grinsted was used by the singer for concerts, including one at the Waldorf-Astoria on December 6, 1910, a week before his death.

The singer's widow informed Jim Walsh that the name "Frank C. Stanley" was formed after Frank Banta, Edison's house pianist, urged the singer to combine in some manner the names Frank Banta and W. Stanley Grinsted. The middle initial ("C.") must have been added because several prominent record artists of this period included middle initials in their professional names, including Dan W. Quinn, Will F. Denny, George J. Gaskin, Vess L. Ossman, and William F. Hooley.

In 1898 he sang as soloist on a dozen Edison cylinders, all patriotic numbers (5000 to 5011).