Today in Music (1893): “Daisy Bell” hit #1

Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two) Dan Quinn

Writer(s): Hary Dacre (music & words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: September 16, 1893 Peak: 19 PM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards (Dan Quinn): Click on award for more details. Awards (Edward M. Favor): Awards (Max Mathews, John L. Kelly Jr., & Carol Lockbaum):

About the Song: “Daisy Bell” was written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre (born Henry Decker). It became better known as “A Bicycle Built for Two.” When Dacre first came to America, he had to pay an import duty on his bicycle – the era’s “most popular mode of transportation.”SS His friend and fellow songwriter William Jerome said, “It’s lucky you didn’t bring a bicycle built for two, otherwise you’d have to pay double duty.” WK As for the song’s namesake, it was inspired by British socialite and philanthropist Daisy Greville – the Countess of Warwick and a mistress of King Edward VII. WK Katie Lawrence popularized the song at a London music hall. In the United States, Jennie Lindsay helped popularize the song by performing it in early 1892 at the Atlantic Gardens on New York’s Bowery as well as the Winter Garden on Union Square. SS Dan Quinn was the first to record and release the song. He was “one of the three top recording stars of the 1890s (along with George J. Gaskin and Len Spencer).” PM Over a twenty-year career, he recorded over 2500 songs. He charted 34 times from 1892 to 1907, including seventeen chart-toppers. “Daisy Bell” was one of his biggest hits, spending nine weeks at #1. Only “The Band Played On” from 1895 spent more weeks on top (10). PM The song has the distinction of being the first to be sung via computer speech synthesis. The feat was accomplished in 1961 with the IBM 7094. WK It was used in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey as the dying words sung by the HAL 9000 computer. It was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2009. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Dan Quinn SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 512. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 360-1. WK Wikipedia First posted 6/24/2024.