Grandfather's Clock

Grandfather clocks are so-called because of an 1876 song by American songwriter Henry Work which opens: "My grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf, so it stood 90 years on the floor."

I am very fond of that song, because my Dad used to sing it to me (and with me) when I was a little girl.

Thanks to history writer Rick Beyer who recently blogged on this story, which is part of his forthcoming book on The Greatest Music Stories Never Told. Here is a 1905 recording of the song by the Edison Male Quartet which Rick unearthed at UCSD's Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project.

The grandfather clock to the left was made in 1905 by the Waltham (MA) Clock Company; photo is from the Antique Clocks Guy website.