Charles Hart sings “It's Time For Every Boy To Be A Soldier.”
Most ev'ry fellow has a sweetheart Some little girl with eyes of blue My daddy also had a sweetheart And he fought to win her too! There'll come the day When we must pay The price of love and duty Be there, staunch and true!
It's time for ev'ry boy to be a soldier To put his strength and courage to the test It's time to place a musket on his shoulder And wrap the Stars and Stripes around his breast It's time to shout those noble words of Lincoln And stand up for the land that gave your birth That the nation of the people By the people For the people Shall not perish from the earth!
Boys of America, get ready Your motherland is calling you Boys of America, be steady For the old Red White and Blue When Yankee Doodle comes to town Upon his little pony Be there, staunch and true!
Charles Hart was born on May 16, 1884, on South Halsted Street in Chicago to parents who had emigrated from Germany.
The parents were named Henry and Elsabe (Timm) Hart. The father worked as a civil engineer, became alcoholic, and deserted his family when Charles was four.
The tenor took his father's name when he began singing professionally, calling himself Charles Henry Hart, which is why some labels give his name as Charles H. Hart.
Working as a solo artist, Hart had his first session with a major company on April 23, 1917. For Victor, Hart cut two songs issued in July: "Thou Shalt Not Steal (a Heart Away)" (18294; the reverse side featured the American Quartet) and "It's Time for Every Boy to be a Soldier" (Victor 18300; the reverse side featured the Peerless Quartet). A month later, Hart performances were issued on Victor 18319: "A Tear, A Kiss, A Smile" and "That's Why My Heart Is Calling You."
Victor's August supplement features a photograph of Hart. A Victor disc with a lower record number than the above was issued in November 1917: "'Forever' Is A Long, Long Time" (18283), recorded on June 29. For "Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl," issued in February 1918 on Victor 18410, Hart was given a pseudonym ("Henry Jordan"), which is curious since the material and delivery are typical for Hart.
He was an original member of Victor's popular Shannon Four, which began recording in mid-1917 and consisted of Hart, Harvey Hindermyer, Elliott Shaw, and Wilfred Glenn. The first Shannon Four disc was issued in September 1917, "I May Be Gone For A Long, Long Time" (18333), followed in October by "Wake Up, Virginia" (18355).
He was also a member of the Crescent Trio, which usually consisted of Hart, Shaw, and James.
Lewis James was a duet partner at many sessions, and until late 1923 Elliott Shaw was another.
He began recording for Edison in 1917 as a member of the Shannon Four, later called the Lyric Male Quartet by the company.
He married soprano Esther Nelson. They recorded a handful of duets between 1922 and 1924.
In late 1923 he left the Shannon Quartet (creating an opening for Franklyn Ba
