Lewis James

American tenor vocalist (born July 29, 1892 in Dexter, Michigan – died February 19, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois)

Lewis James was among the most active recording artists in the United States from 1917 through much of the 1930s. He was a member of the The Merrymakers (3), and The Criterion Trio. He had many Top Ten hits during that time, including "My Baby Boy," "Till We Meet Again," "What'll I Do," and "Pal of My Cradle Days," among others.

James recorded extensively as a soloist, duet partner, and quartet lead singer. His first recording with the Shannon Four (a.k.a. the Shannon Quartet) was the World War I chestnut, "All Aboard For Home Sweet Home" (1918). Like many of his colleagues, he proved exceedingly versatile in recording love ballads, hymns, children's songs, and the more sophisticated early jazz harmonies of the Revelers with whom he made several successful European tours. The Shannon Four, Revelers, Crescent Trio, and Merrymakers consisted mostly of the same singers, with occasional substitutes.

James himself estimated his recording output at more than 3,000 records, of which between 1,200 to 1,500 featured him as solo vocalist. During the peak of his popularity between 1917 and 1927, he recorded not only for the Big Three labels, Victor, Columbia, and Edison, but also for dozens of smaller labels, using numerous pseudonyms.

In 1940 James became program director for radio station WGN in Chicago, a position from which he retired in 1957.