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Daisy Bell: Origins and History

The document discusses the origins and history of the song "Daisy Bell." It was written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre, whose real name was Frank Dean. Frank Dean was inspired to write the song after having to pay an import duty on his bicycle when traveling to the United States. The song did not initially sell well but was later popularized in the U.S. by singer Jennie Lindsay in New York. It went on to be used frequently as the introduction to radio broadcasts by an Aunt Daisy in New Zealand from 1930 until her death in 1963.

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Maddy Sjiicro
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129 views3 pages

Daisy Bell: Origins and History

The document discusses the origins and history of the song "Daisy Bell." It was written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre, whose real name was Frank Dean. Frank Dean was inspired to write the song after having to pay an import duty on his bicycle when traveling to the United States. The song did not initially sell well but was later popularized in the U.S. by singer Jennie Lindsay in New York. It went on to be used frequently as the introduction to radio broadcasts by an Aunt Daisy in New Zealand from 1930 until her death in 1963.

Uploaded by

Maddy Sjiicro
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Daisy Bell – the song




I have an original copy of the song Daisy Bell, a “new edition with tonic sol-fa
arrangement”.

Daisy Bell (or as it is also known – A Bicycle built for Two) was written by British
songwriter, Harry Dacre (whose real name was Frank
Dean) in 1892. Frank Dean was born on the Isle of Man in
1857 and died in London on the 16th July 1922.

The story that is told, is that when Frank Dean travelled
to the United States, he took a bicycle with him. Frank
had to pay a duty for bringing the bike into the country
and subsequently he complained about this to many
people. One person stated that it was a good thing that
Frank Dean did not bring in ‘a bicycle built for two’, as he
would have been charge more. This apparently was one
of the inspirations for the song.

Initially, Frank Dean was unable to sell the song so that it could be published. A
singer in the United States called Katie Lawrence, a music hall singer, liked the
song and wanted to take it to the United Kingdom. She paid Frank Dean for a
contract, which gave her rights to sing the song exclusively in the country.

Later, Jennie Lindsay in the United States, sang it at the Atlantic Gardens (a beer
garden and music hall) in the Bowery in New York, to considerable success.

The song was played as a lead-in to Aunt Daisy’s radio broadcasts in New Zealand,
which ran from 1930 until her death in 1963.


References –


www.wikipedia.org/wiki/DaisyBell
www.bicylcleuniverse.com/daisy-bell-song
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz




2


From the Auckland Star Vol. XXVII Issue
972 4th April 1894.
From the Bruce Herald Vol. XXXXI Issue70
5th September1905










From Lyttelton Times Vol. LXXXI Issue10296
14th March 1894

















From the Lyttelton Times Vol. LXXXII Issue
10456 20th September 1894






From the Lake County Press Issue 618 16th August
1894






From the Poverty Bay Herald Vol. XXI Issue 7023
9th July 1894







From the Press Vol. LI ISSUE 8792 12th
May 1894







From the Waikato Independent Vol. XLII
Issue 3956 23rd January 1942

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