Steel’s earliest known appearance was with the Triangle Trio in 1917. In 1918 His first major Broadway role was in The Maid of the Mountains. He starred in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 and 1920. In 1922 he left Ziegfeld for Irving Berlin, performing in the 1922 and 1923 Music Box Revue. In 1925 Steel began touring on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. In Los Angeles he even appeared as an amateur boxer at the Orpheum. During Winter of 1924–28, Steel returned to New York to headline at the Hippodrome. His career was slowly declining though. By 1931, he was a taking second billing in a vaudeville act that preceded the screenings at the Los Angeles’ RKO-Hillstreet movie theater. He carried on into the late 1930s, performing in dinner clubs and small-time vaudeville houses. Later he worked as a vocal instructor before ending up in almost total oblivion. This record was made at the peak of his career in 1920. Steel was accompanied by a studio orchestra (probabty led by Joseph Pasternack).
