John McCormack was a tenor whose income from phonograph records was second only to that of Enrico Caruso in the early days of recorded music. McCormack first performed professionally at the age of 19 at the Irish National Festival in Dublin, in 1903. The following year he made his first phonograph recording. Moving from Dublin to London was not easy, for he had to earn his living singing in cabarets and restaurants until a concert at Queen's Hall led to further operatic engagements. He debuted at the Manhattan Opera House in La Traviata in 1909, engaged by Oscar Hammerstein. McCormack moved from operatic performances to concerts and toured extensively. He appeared in several films, including Song of My Heart.