Cylinder of the Month

See also the Cylinders of the Month Archive.

For January 1999 . . .

This month: From 1905, a late concert cylinder recording of the comic song, Everybody Works But Father, sung by Bob Roberts.

Everybody Works But Father

Company	Edison's National Phonograph Company
Cylinder #	9100 (5" diameter)
Category	Song
Title	Everybody Works But Father
Performed by	Bob Roberts
Circa	October 1905
Announcement	"Everybody Works But Father, sung by Bob Roberts, Edison record."

Bob Roberts was a popular singer of comic and "race" songs, recording dozens of selections for Edison from 1904 through 1908.

To hear Everybody Works But Father —

To hear an excerpt —
For help playing these sounds, click here.

This particular record is a bit unusual in that it is a late-period concert cylinder (5" diameter, as compared with the standard-sized cylinder of just over 2" diameter). Concert-sized cylinders, originally introduced in 1898, were never a commercial success. Although sales of concert cylinders limped along for years, by 1905, the date of this record, they were obsolete and somewhat uncommon. In 1905, standard-sized wax cylinders sold for 35¢ and concert records (which had sold in the $4 and $5 range in 1898) sold for 75¢. In 1999 dollars, a concert record of this vintage and in this condition would be worth from $100 to $175!

— This cylinder of the month is from the collection of Don Fenske —

To hear other examples of wax cylinders, see the

Cylinders of the Month Archive

Cylinder Music Shop (Supports the preservation work of tinfoil.com)

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