[PW] Re: ?Herbert Kingsley dates & biography

[Shari Haber]

Murl-

Herbert Eugene Kingsley is supposed to be covered in the following 
source:

Encyclopedia of American Biography. New Series. Volume 11. New York: 
American Historical Society, . Use the Index to locate biographies. 
[EncAB- A 11]

His dates are 1858-1937.

Shari Haber
MCLS Reference Center
shaber at mcls.org

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Winters, Murl" <WintersM at evangel.edu>
To: <list at project-wombat.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 9:40 AM
Subject: [PW] ?Herbert Kingsley dates & biography


>I have been asked to locate life dates and (at least a brief) biography
> of Herbert Kingsley.
>
> He is primarily known for composing the art song, Green Dog, 
> c.1939/1950
> - a standard soprano solo.
>
> I have checked www.vivisimo.com <http://www.vivisimo.com/> ,
> www.dogpile.com <http://www.dogpile.com/> , and www.google.com
> <http://www.google.com/> . I found somebody else has sought the same
> information in a Yahoo listserv and on the classical music listserv. 
> The
> latter string (from 2002) did offer that he wrote a ballet that was
> funded by the WPA and he was born in 1898, but offered no 
> documentation
> for the date. It also mentioned he is supposed to have written the 
> Green
> Dog for singer/actor/director (?) Juanita Hall.
>
> I did find the Federal Theatre Project Collection: A Register of the
> Library of Congress Collection of U.S. Works Progress Administration
> Records ... 2005 at
> http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/music/eadxmlmusic/eadpdfmusic/mu995001_x.p
> df .
>
> In Container 1257 there are 3 folders containing: Eternal Prodigal -
> Herbert Kingsley, NY, NY (which apparently was where the work was
> produced on stage).  Among the Production Records, 1934-43, in 
> Container
> 1364 there is a note the material is Oversize. (It is within a section
> carrying the subtitle: WPA Catalog of Transcriptions.)
>
> However, these entries do not offer any life dates or even where the
> composer may have lived.
>
> The Social Security Death Index has 6 Herbert Kingsleys but none have
> the 1898 birth date mentioned above.
>
> LOC Authorities has Kingsley, Herbert in the Name Authority file but
> does not include life dates.
>
>
>
> The solo work, Green Dog, is described in From Studio to Stage:
> Repertoire for the Voice, by Barbara Doscher, and Repertoire for the
> Solo Voice, by Noni Espina, but no life dates, etc. are provided.
>
> In American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion, by Bloom, he
> is listed as Composer of "Nutcracker Jive" (1943) with John Latouche 
> as
> Lyricist which has the note: "This show, ... , was to be produced at
> Christmas as a puppet show for adults." Also, in the same work he is
> listed as the Musical Director of "Talent 50" (which opened 04/28/1950
> in the Guild theatre). Kingsley is credited composing the music
> (Langston Hughes was the lyricist) for Lil Ole Letter which was sung 
> in
> the production.
>
> Green Dog is presently available in Twentieth Century Art Songs for
> Recital and Study, and First Book of Soprano Solos, compiled by Joan
> Frey Boytim - both published by G. Schirmer.  I briefly checked for a
> Contact Us link, but have not tried the company yet.
>
>
>
> Other sources checked with negative evidence:
>
> Musica Virtual Choral Library
>
> New Grove... 2nd ed.
>
> Slonimsky. Baker's Biographical... 6 vol. 2000.
>
> Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music 4th ed
>
> Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900-1950
>
> Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre/Ganzl
>
> Dictionary of Amer. Composers/Butterworth
>
> ASCAP Biographical Dictionary. 4th ed.
>
> Great Song Thesaurus 2nd ed.
>
> Songs of the Theater/Lewine & Simon
>
> Dictionary of Composers and Their Music/Gilder
>
> Who's Who in Music and Musicians Intl. Directory 5th ed.
>
> Historical Biographical Dictionaries Master Index 1st ed.
>
> Biographical Dictionaries Master Index 3 vol. 1st ed. [I do not have 
> the
> later expansions of this set.]
>
> Dictionary of American Biography Master Index  in Supplement Ten
>
> Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives Cumulative Index (2003)
>
> American National Biography/Garraty & Carnes (1999)
>
> Music for the Voice/Kagan
>
>
>
> Murl Winters
>
> Associate Library Director
>
> Evangel University
>
> Springfield, MO 65802
>
> I
>
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