I Never Heard Father Laugh So Much Before

 

 

I Never Heard Father Laugh So Much Before
Image source:
National Library of Australia,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.mus-
an12582441-s1-e-cd

Billy Williams & Fred Godfrey, composed 1911; published London: Francis, Day & Hunter; Melbourne: Allan & Co., 1912.

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Regal G6008-B HMV-Victor 120081-A Phoenix 071-A

 

 

A “poor old father” song along the lines of When Father Papered The Parlour. Although written especially for Billy Williams and sung by him on stage and disc, evidently it was taken up by other artists, including male impersonator Claire Romaine (1873–1964).

 

Recordings

Billy Williams recorded five versions of this song: 3 January 1912 for Zonophone, ca. March 1912 for Columbia-Rena, ca. March 1912 for Pathé, ca. April 1912 for Favorite, and ca. August 1912 for Homophon. Reissues appeared on several other labels.1

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Note

1   For comprehensive discographies of recordings by Billy Williams, see Brian Rust, British Music Hall on Record (Harrow, UK:
    Gramophone, 1979); and Frank Andrews and Ernie Bayly, Billy Williams’ Records: A Study in Discography (Bournemouth, UK:
    Talking Machine Review, 1982).