| Birth Date: | 1874 |
| Birth Place: | Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Instrument: | concertina |
| Label: | Zonophone, Columbia Records |
Alexander Prince (1874 – 1928) was an early 20th-century vaudeville musician and recording artist who played the McCann-system Duet concertina (usually spelt 'Maccann'.[1] [2] [3] Born Alexander Sutherland in Aberdeen, Scotland, he was first given a concertina at age 8 by his music shop-owner father, who wanted to give him something to do after a broken leg rendered him immobile. Of this event, Prince said, "I am, or was, alas an infant prodigy. It was an accident, primarily. I was 8 years old, and I broke my leg. I had to lie in bed, and that was the start."[4] He started to perform while still a youth, and by 1889 London's The Era newspaper mentioned him in a review of the club Alhambra Palace: "Alexander Prince plays the concertina with great effect, and is rewarded with much applause."[5] After performing at the Glasgow Exhibition at age 20, Prince went on to perform internationally, including a 1904 tour in South Africa.[6]
Prince was among the first recorded concertinists, starting with cylinder recordings for Edison-Bell circa 1904. He released the first of his records with Zonophone in February 1906. He later released works under Columbia Records[7] and other labels through the 1920s. Several were under the alias George King. Prince's popular records were reprinted under budget labels in the United States and in the United Kingdom.[8]
When not on tour, Prince spent his later years in Nottingham. He died in 1928.