William Halley “I’m Glad My Wife’s In Europe“ on Victor 17683 (1914) wife can’t return due to WWI

SOME LYRICS: I’ve been blue for many years. My life’s been full of tears I’m glad my wife’s in Europe. So she can’t get back, can’t get back. While I’m eating lamb with peas, she eats beans with the refugees. William Halley “I’m Glad My Wife’s In Europe“ Victor 17683 1914 Words by Howard Johnson and Coleman Goetz Music by Archie Gottler William Halley “I’m Afraid I’m Beginning To Love You“ Oxford 39040 (this is a Columbia recording) Song by Lew Brown & Joe Goodwin The singer was born William Joseph Hanley in Hoboken, New Jersey, on January 17, 1893. He recorded only for Victor and Columbia, his recording career lasting from 1913 to 1915. He was a young man, and he soon gave up recording for legal work and the U.S. Marine Corps He made his debut with “At Uncle Tom’s Cabin Door,“ issued on Victor 17316 in May 1913. It was recorded on March 3, 1913. Also on that day he recorded “In The Golden West,“ issued on a disc with a slightly higher number (Victor 17323). The tenor’s heyday as a recording artist was 1913 and 1914, with two final titles recorded in 1915. He covered upbeat material, usually comic. He first worked for Victor, but by the end of 1913 he switched to Columbia. Victor labels identify him as a tenor, but Columbia calls him a baritone. The Victor supplement for that month states that Halley “is making a success in vaudeville“ but he was not famous in vaudeville. He was evidently attending Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, when his first discs were issued in mid-1913. He soon afterwards attended New York Law School. Victor labels at first identified him as William J. Halley, later as Will Halley. The young singer enjoyed no big hits. Moderately successful numbers include “You Made Me Love You“ (Victor 17381, 1913), “Do You Take This Woman For Your Lawful Wife?“ (Columbia A1497, 1914), and “All He Does Is Follow Them Around“ (Columbia A1563; 1914). He entered politics and by 1918 won a seat in New Jersey’s state assembly though he resigned this post to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. He later became a judge (Hoboken District Court Judge, 1923-1933), then worked as a defense attorney. Late in life he resided at 1000 Hudson Street in Hoboken and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington, New Jersey. His wife was Anna Helen McGahy Hanley, who was raised in Rye, New York (she died in 1953). The married couple had two sons: William J., Jr., and Patrick Robert Hanley. He died on November 14, 1961.