ABSTRACT
Welsh baritone, also a theater manager. He came to the U.S. at age 12, and became a successful singer. He began recording ca. 1892 for the New Jersey Phonograph Co., then for Columbia and other labels, and was one of the most popular recording artists at the turn of the century. There were 22 Edison cylinders, the first being “Light of the Sea” (#7820; 1901). For Columbia two-minute cylinders, ca. 1896-1900, Myers sang such numbers as “Beer, Beer, Glorious Beer” (#6012), “The Star Spangled Banner” (#6015), and “Sweet Rosie O’Grady” (#6036). Myers founded the Globe Phonograph Record Co. in 1897, a maker of brown wax cylinders. He was usually identified on records as J.W. Myers; he should not be confused with his contemporary, John H. Meyer. Myers recorded over 100 titles for Victor from 1901-1906. He quit recording in 1907, except for a few discs about 10 years after. [Brooks 1979; Walsh 1944/7.]
An American record, one of the Grey Gull affiliates, issued from around 1922 to sometime after 1925. Material was dance music and popular vocals. [Barr 1982; Rust 1978.]
An internationally known expert on architectural acoustics, Nagata was born in Fukuoka, Japan, and graduated from Tokyo University in 1949. Between 1949 and 1971, he was employed by NHK, in the company’s technical research laboratories. In 1962, while still working for NHK, he received his doctorate from Tohoku University, and during 1963 and 1964, he engaged in further studies at Goettinngen University, Germany. In June 1971, he left NHK to establish his own company, Minoru Nagata Acoustic Engineer & Associates Co., Ltd. (later renamed Nagata Acoustics Inc.). During his career, he has acoustically engineered a large number of fine concert halls including Suntory Hall, Casals Hall, and Tokyou Metropolitan Art Space Concert Hall in Tokyo, as well as Kyoto Concert Hall and Sapporo Concert Hall in other parts of Japan, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Nagata is a member of the Acoustical Society of America, the Audio Engineering Society, the Acoustical Society of Japan, and the Japan Organ Society. He has won the Sato prize from the Acoustical Society of Japan, a Best Technical Paper prize from the Acoustical Society of America, and won the prestigious Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan.
