Alexander Prince

Alexander Prince (1874 – 1928) was an early 20th-century vaudeville musician and recording artist who played the McCann-system Duet concertina (usually spelt 'Maccann'.[1][2][3] Born Alexander Sutherland in Aberdeen, Scotland, he was first given a concertina at age 8 by his music shop-owner father, who wanted to give him something to do after a broken leg rendered him immobile. Of this event, Prince said, "I am, or was, alas an infant prodigy. It was an accident, primarily. I was 8 years old, and I broke my leg. I had to lie in bed, and that was the start."[4] He started to perform while still a youth, and by 1889 London's The Era newspaper mentioned him in a review of the club Alhambra Palace: "Alexander Prince plays the concertina with great effect, and is rewarded with much applause."[5] After performing at the Glasgow Exhibition at age 20, Prince went on to perform internationally, including a 1904 tour in South Africa.[4][6]

Alexander Prince
Prince in 1906
Prince in 1906
Background information
Born1874
Aberdeen, Scotland
Died1928 (aged 53–54)
Instrument(s)concertina
LabelsZonophone, Columbia Records

Prince was among the first recorded concertinists, starting with cylinder recordings for Edison-Bell circa 1904.[3] He released the first of his records with Zonophone in February 1906. He later released works under Columbia Records[7] and other labels through the 1920s. Several were under the alias George King.[6] Prince's popular records were reprinted under budget labels in the United States and in the United Kingdom.[8]

When not on tour, Prince spent his later years in Nottingham. He died in 1928.[6]

References
  1. "Maccann Duet Concertina".
  2. "Duet Concertinas".
  3. Triggs, Bruce (2019). Accordion revolution : a people's history of the accordion in North America from the industrial revolution to rock 'n' roll. Canada. ISBN 978-1-9990677-0-0. OCLC 1117470211.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. "The Prince of Concertina Players: A Chat with Alexander the Great". The Talking Machine News. May 1906. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  5. "Amusements in Hull". The Era. London. 1889-03-09. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  6. Williams, Wes (2012). "Alexander Prince: An In-Progress Discography (Updated Jan 2013,Nov 2013,Sept 2020)". Papers of the International Concertina Association. 9.
  7. "Alexander Prince (instrumentalist : concertina) - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  8. Hoffmann, Frank (2004-11-12). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Routledge. p. 1695. ISBN 978-1-135-94950-1.


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