John W. Steel (January , â€" June , ; sometimes referred to as John
Steele) was an American tenor. He was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies
of and and Irving Berlin's Music Box Revues of and .Steel was born
in Montclair, New Jersey, on January , , and grew up in the New York
City area. He served in the military during World War I, and studied
music in Paris during leaves of absence from military duty.In Steel
appeared on Broadway in the musical The Maid of the Mountains, which
had been a hit in London, but closed in New York after just
performances. This was followed by his appearance in the Ziegfeld
Follies of , in which he was one of the show's most popular
performers. In the Follies he introduced Irving Berlin's song "A
Pretty Girl is Like a Melody," as well as singing "My Baby's Arms" and
"Tulip Time." Producer Florenz Ziegfeld is said to have paid him $, a
week for this show. In later years, Irving Berlin said that he had
composed "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" with Steel in
mind.Subsequent performances included appearances in the Ziegfeld
Follies of , Ziegfeld's "Midnight Frolic" in , and Irving Berlin's
Music Box Revues of and . In the Ziegfeld Follies of he introduced
the songs "Tell Me, Little Gypsy," "The Girls of My Dreams," and "The
Love Boat." In the Music Box Revue of he introduced songs including
"One Girl" and "Little Butterfly" and joined with Florence Moore, Ivy
Sawyer, Joseph Santley, Grace Moore and Frank Tinney to sing the
novelty song "Yes, We Have No Bananas". As of , he reportedly was paid
between $, and $, weekly by Ziegfeld.
Steele) was an American tenor. He was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies
of and and Irving Berlin's Music Box Revues of and .Steel was born
in Montclair, New Jersey, on January , , and grew up in the New York
City area. He served in the military during World War I, and studied
music in Paris during leaves of absence from military duty.In Steel
appeared on Broadway in the musical The Maid of the Mountains, which
had been a hit in London, but closed in New York after just
performances. This was followed by his appearance in the Ziegfeld
Follies of , in which he was one of the show's most popular
performers. In the Follies he introduced Irving Berlin's song "A
Pretty Girl is Like a Melody," as well as singing "My Baby's Arms" and
"Tulip Time." Producer Florenz Ziegfeld is said to have paid him $, a
week for this show. In later years, Irving Berlin said that he had
composed "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" with Steel in
mind.Subsequent performances included appearances in the Ziegfeld
Follies of , Ziegfeld's "Midnight Frolic" in , and Irving Berlin's
Music Box Revues of and . In the Ziegfeld Follies of he introduced
the songs "Tell Me, Little Gypsy," "The Girls of My Dreams," and "The
Love Boat." In the Music Box Revue of he introduced songs including
"One Girl" and "Little Butterfly" and joined with Florence Moore, Ivy
Sawyer, Joseph Santley, Grace Moore and Frank Tinney to sing the
novelty song "Yes, We Have No Bananas". As of , he reportedly was paid
between $, and $, weekly by Ziegfeld.
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