"Beautiful Birds Sing On"
Byron G. Harlan and Joseph Belmont
Edison Gold Moulded Record 9022
1905
Joe Belmont lived from July 22, 1876, to August 28, 1949.
He was born Joseph Walter Fulton in Shamokin, Pennsylvania.
This whistler became perhaps the best known phonograph artist who imitated birds.
When he was eight his parents moved to Charleston, West Virginia, where he learned to play piano, whistle, and imitate birds.
At the age of 18, already using the name "Joe Belmont," he made his first records for Columbia, then headquartered in Washington, DC. Others in the 1890s recorded whistling solos--notably John Yorke AtLee, George W. Johnson, and Billy Golden--but Belmont's status as a whistler soon overshadowed that of others. In time he recorded for an estimated 42 companies. By 1900 he was among the most popular recording artists, particularly famous for his "Mocking Bird" specialty and "Beautiful Birds, Sing On," his own composition.
He was the baritone of the original Columbia Quartette, other members being Albert Campbell, James Kent Reynard and Joe Majors. He joined Byron G. Harlan, Frank C. Stanley, and the Florodora Girls for the 1901 recording of "Tell Me, Pretty Maiden" (Columbia 647, 1901).
He made his first Victor recording on November 12, 1901: "Whip-Poor-Will Song." He recorded often for Victor, supplying "bird effects" for various songs with lyrics about birds. On Victor 16094, Harry Macdonough is the featured singer for Reginald de Koven's "Robin Red Breast," and Belmont assists with "bird warbling." The label for "Dance of the Song Birds" (Victor 17521) credits "Victor Orchestra with Joseph Belmont" and characterizes the number as "orchestra with bird effects." The reverse side, "The Cricket's Serenade," gives credit to "Victor Orchestra--Bird Warbling by Joseph Belmont."
He also wrote songs, including "Whistle While You Walk" (Victor 17891), reportedly inspired by Billy Murray's whistling as Belmont and Murray were walking along Broadway together. The reverse side of the disc features Belmont, Murray, and Harlan performing "The Blue Jay and the Thrush," also credited to Belmont.
He had many sessions for British and German companies in the years prior to World War I that he spent in Europe. When he returned to the United States he made several Rex recordings, often accompanied by Hager's Band. For example, on Rex 5135, "Happy Birds," he is accompanied by Hager's Dance Orchestra. He then recorded often for Pathé.
His recording career was over by the electric recording era. According to Jim Walsh in "The Funny Side of the Phonograph World" in the May 1952 issue of American Record Guide, Belmont was engaged in 1925 to provide whistling during an Arthur Pryor's Band session. Scheduled for re-recordings, now with the electric process, were Perry's "The Warbler's Serenade" and Pryor's own "The Whistler and His Dog."
But Belmont had a tooth pulled that morning and upon arriving at the studio, he was unable to whistle and exclaimed, "I have no birds!" A studio executive then phoned Margaret McKee, daughter of dance orchestra leader Frank McKee, to invite her to whistle for the session along with Billy Murray.
The resulting disc, Victor 19869, was issued in March 1926. It was a big seller, staying in the catalog into the early 1940s.
In 1929, a Columbia record was issued with Belmont's Chorus of Feathered Songsters, which were canaries from the pet store in Radio City that he operated with his son Walter (Columbia in these years relied on performer Edward Avis for recordings of bird imitations). In the late 1940s Belmont's bird and kennel store sponsored its own label and issued discs designed to teach canaries to sing.
He was active as a stage performer for a longer period than as a record artist, informing Walsh that he had performed throughout world, "from the Fiji Islands to Australia." In his final years he operated with his son, Walter, the Belmont Bird Store in Radio City. He also had a daughter.
Belmont died in New York at age 73.
