Harry Lauder I first came into contact with when he was a very young man. He was then singing at amateur concerts, and slowly laying the foundation of his successful career as a Scottish comedian. At that time, every town, village, and clachan in Scotland that had its handful of “natives” living in Glasgow had to have its annual soiree, concert and ball, and there was, therefore, a fairly good opening for any young fellow who could sing, dance, or play an instrument with reasonable skill…. Often and often people have asked me to explain the secret of Sir Harry Lauder’s extraordinary success. This, of course, is a matter on which opinion may differ widely, but my own personal feeling is that his triumph is ascribable to at least some of the following considerations. First, he has been blessed with a good singing voice, which he has never allowed to pass out of training. When he first came into prominence, comic artistes made no real effort to sing; they simply used artificial voices, squealed, shouted, and fooled about. But right from the beginning Harry sang his songs. Then his sentiment is, and always has been, real. He never, even in caricature, ridiculed traditional Scottish dress, sneered at religion, or said an unclean thing in public, and he possessed sense of rhythm and melody that was unique among his kind. << less