Historical information

John Donald Mackenzie Brownlee (7 January 1900 – 10 January 1969) was an Australian operatic baritone. For most of his professional career he was based in Europe and then United States. He married former Countess Donna Carla Oddone di Feletto in Paris on 29 November 1928, and the couple had a daughter and two sons. He died in New York and was buried in Ferncliff cemetery, Hartsdale. (ref. www.operafolks.com)

Significance

The phonograph disc record was the primary medium used for music reproduction until late in the 20th century, replacing the phonograph cylinder record—with which it had co-existed from the late 1880s through to the 1920s—by the late 1920s. Vinyl records were still the most popular medium even when new formats such as compact cassette were mass-marketed. By the late 1980s, digital media, in the form of the compact disc, had gained a larger market share, and the vinyl record left the mainstream in 1991. This item is an example of the music popular in the the first decades of the 20th century.

Physical description

A black phonograph record - "His Master'sVoice". On the A side is Passing By (melody by Edward Purcell)) sung by John Brownlee, a baritone, accompanied by piano. On the B side is King Charles (music by Maude Valerie White) also sung by John Brownlee,

Inscriptions & markings

E 483