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This release presents John Steel, The Famous Ziegfeld Follies Tenor,
in a series of his Victor recordings.
He was born in 1900 and died in 1971. He was a star in Broadway reviews,
The Ziegfeld Follies (1919 & 1920), The Music Box Revue (1922 & 1923), vaudeville headliner and many concerts throughout the 1920’s.

His voice had a unique quality in that he was capable of signing full voice and at the same time singing with an incredible top in a soft high pianissimo.
Florence Ziegfeld engaged him immediately upon his audition in 1919 for a role in the follies.
He was only 19 years old.

He lost his voice at the height of his career due to partying and heavy drinking.
He married at a young age, divorced and remarried in 1930 to Jeannette Hackett.
She urged him to stop drinking, nurtured him back to health and after 4 years his voice returned. He made a comeback in the mid 1930’s on stage and radio.
In later years he taught voice.

His Victor recordings are the only ones known to exist although a 1936 magazine article alludes to the fact that there were others.
These Victor recordings were made at the peak of his musical career using the acoustic method of recording.
Microphones did not exist at this time as they were invented in 1925.
Instead the singer sang into a large horn protruding out of wall that recorded his voice and accompaniment.
Considering this primitive method of recording, his records sound great and capture his sensitivity and incredible top range.