United States of America -- Indiana -- Marion County -- Indianapolis
Scope and Contents:
22 digital images (2016-2017) and 1 file folder.
General:
The gardens at Jipson Place are primarily deep borders of hosta arranged into rooms according to the names of the varieties, augmented with statuary and other features. The one-and-one-half acre property has an historic house built in Victorian style in 1896-1897, used as a summer house with wraparound porches on a wooded 40 acre lot. Remodeled to Colonial Revival style by the second owners circa 1920 the property lost more than ten mature trees to a tornado in 1992, leaving open spaces that sparked the current owners' interest in developing gardens. Brick and stone paths lead into the perimeter patios and garden rooms that have poured concrete edging. More than 1,400 varieties of hosta have been planted with heuchera, ferns, acanthus, blue fescue, and ageratum; more than 45 varieties of Japanese maple, conifers and old oaks. Large urns and other containers are planted with annuals or left empty as focal points, particularly a collection of bright red pots. Statuary includes two Chinese armed warriors and other antique pieces that were rescued from the site of the Three Gorges Dam, a contemporary Rose sculpture comprised of four free standing glass panels and roses, metal palm trees, several Greek figures, and a Purdue University basketball player commemorating the owners' alma mater. A turn of the 20th century trolley waiting station used as a children's playhouse now serves as a bar for weddings and other events, in view of a large hippopotamus fountain with "the works" concealed by large rocks.
Some of the hosta varieties are rare and four have been registered by the owners: "Jipson Place Summer Solstice", "Jipson Place City Shadows", "Jipson Place Meteor Crater" and "Jipson Place Tree Top Lover". The property is situated in an historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Dr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Eastman (former owners, 1897- ); Josiah K. Lilly, Jr. and Ruth Lilly (former owners, 1919- ); Mr. and Mrs. William A. Hanley, Sr. (former owners, 1940- ); Dr. Paul F. and Ruth L. Muller (former owners, 1956- ); Michael D. and Mona Kramer (former owners, 1971- ); Richard Butler and Dr. Jamie Street (owners, 1983- )William C. and Elizabeth Elliott (former owners, 1975- ); Kyle Swift (hardscape designer, 1992- ); Heath Outdoors Landscape (landscape design, 1992- ); GRT Glass Design/Lulu's Petals (sculpture); Custom Made Palm Tree Co. (sculpture); Star Tile Works (Chinese red dragon chimney pot).
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
The Fletcher and Horace Henderson Collection contains original scores and band books, loose sheet music, both original and published, from both Fletcher and Horace's libraries, playlists, lyrics, photographs, personal papers and correspondences, newspaper clippings, jazz publications, an oral history manuscript of an interview with Horace, audio tapes, and other personal memorabilia documenting the lives and careers of the two brothers as pianists, band leaders, and arrangers. The majority of the material dates from the mid 1920s to the early 1980s.
Series 1: Fletcher and Horace Henderson's Music ca. 1930s - 1980s Boxes 1-68.
Original band books and scores, lyrics, playlists, loose music, and published music either arranged or used by Fletcher or Horace Henderson during their careers as pianists, band leaders, and arrangers. The series is organized into six subseries: Subseries 1A: Horace's Band Books, Subseries 1B: Loose Music, Subseries 1C: Original Scores, Subseries 1D: Lyrics, Suberies 1E: Playlists, and Suberies 1F: Published Music.
Suberies 1A, ca. 1940s -1980s, boxes 1-21. Horace Henderson Band Books. Each Band Book stands on its own, and is identified by the musician who used it or the location where the music was performed. Some performers include Gail Brochman, Eddie Calhoun, and George Reed. Many of the band books were used for performances at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago.
Subseries 1B, ca. 1930s - 1980s, boxes 22-58. Music in boxes 22-54 comes from Horace Henderson's band library, and boxes 55-58 from Fletcher Henderson's band library. The music consists of full scores, piano scores, and parts arranged or used by Horace or Fletcher Henderson. Arranged alphabetically by title; FS - Full Score, PS - Piano Score, and P - Parts. * Indicates an overlap between loose music, and music known to have been performed at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago. **Indicates an overlap between Horace and Fletcher's Libraries. The music is arranged alphabetically by music title.
Subseries 1C, ca. 1930s - 1940s, boxes 59-60. Original scores arranged by Fletcher Henderson, many for Benny Goodman and other bandleaders, including AHoneysuckle Rose@, AKing Porter's Stomp@, and AStealin' Apples@. There is also a complete band book written and arranged by Fletcher. Arranged alphabetically by title.
Subseries 1D, ca. 1940s - 1980s, box 61. Original lyrics used in performances by Horace Henderson's bands. Arranged alphabetically by title where identified.
Subseries 1E, ca. 1940s - 1980s, boxes 62-63. Playlists compiled in preparation for performances by Horace Henderson's orchestras, listing titles played at various performances. Un-arranged.
Subseries 1F, ca. 1920s-1980s, boxes 64-68. Published sheet music and books for piano/vocal parts. Includes art music, method books, popular music, fake books, and music book covers. Folders are arranged by type of publication, and the music is arranged alphabetically by title within each folder.
Series 2: Photographs, ca. 1920s - 1980s Boxes 69-70.
Photographs documenting the lives of both Fletcher and Horace Henderson's personal lives and careers. Photographs are arranged by category including Fletcher Henderson Candids with Friends, Horace Henderson Candids, Performance Marquees, and both brothers with their orchestra. Some unique pictures include portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Henderson (Fletcher and Horace's parents), candids of Fletcher with Benny Goodman, and Horace with Lena Horne.
Series 3: Personal Papers and Correspondences, ca. 1920s - 1980s Boxes 71-78. Programs and broadsides, newspaper articles, letters, essays, publications, and other personal documents tracing the lives of Horace and Fletcher, as well as some personal items of their parents. The series is divided into six subseries: Subseries 3A: Programs and Broadsides, Subseries 3B: Newspaper Articles and Clippings, Subseries 3C: Personal Papers and Correspondences, Subseries 3D: Miscellaneous Publishings, Subseries 3E: Transcript of an Oral History Interview, and Subseries 3F: Henderson Family Scrapbook.
Subseries 3A, ca 1930s - 1980s Boxes 71-72. Contains broadsides and ad clippings promoting both Horace and Fletcher's performances, along with programs for various jazz festivals. There are also three sets of Las Vegas Programs, advertising the weekly happenings during the years Horace was performing there, mainly at the Riviera Hotel and Casino (1959-1961). These include; Ken's Spotlight Las Vegas, Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine, On The Go, and other miscellaneous circulations. Arranged by category (Fletcher's broadsides, Horace's broadsides, Programs), and by date within each set of publications or programs.
Subseries 3B, ca. 1950s - 1980s, Boxes 73 & 78. Contains newspapers, articles, and clippings, ranging from 1951 to 1986, documenting the lives of Fletcher, Horace, and some of their contemporaries (ie: Duke Ellington) through the eyes of the media. Arranged by categories; reference to Fletcher, Horace, or Miscellaneous. Box 73 contains the oversized articles.
Subseries 3C, ca. 1920s-1980s, Box 74. Contains letters, contracts, and other personal documents of Fletcher, Horace, and their parents. Also contains a copied photo collection of Horace, a manuscript of AHorace Henderson Presents his Interpretation of Jazz@, and an essay (author unknown) about Fletcher's influence on jazz.
Subseries 3D, ca. 1960s - 1980s, Box 75. Contains miscellaneous publishings collected from the various locations Horace lived and worked. Includes weekly circulations from Denver and the surrounding area where Horace lived from the mid sixties until his death, along with various music magazines that he subscribed to (ADownbeat@, AInternational Musician@). Arranged by date within each category.
Subseries 3E, ca. 1975, box 76. Contains the original transcript of the Oral History Interview of Horace Henderson, for the Smithsonian Institution, performed by Tom MacCluskey on April 9-12, 1975.
Subseries 3F, box 77. Contains a Henderson Family Scrapbook which includes photographs of Fletcher's and Horace's father and mother, and various newspaper clippings commending the careers of Mr. Henderson, Horace, and Fletcher. The scrapbook's original order has been maintained.
Series 4: Audio Tape Recordings ca.1970s - 1980s Boxes 79-80.
Contains a collection of recordings of live performances of Horace's orchestra in various Denver area locations such as the Esquire Supper Club and the Petroleum Club. Also includes a sample tape, a brief Atest@ recording by Horace and Angel, a radio tribute to Horace, and a few miscellaneous mix tapes. The tapes are arranged by date when available. Box 79 contains the original copies, and box 80 contains the duplicates.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Horace and Fletcher Henderson's Music, 1954-1955
Series 2: Photographs, 1942-1977
Series 3: Horace and Fletcher Henderson's Personal Papers, 1937-1987
Series 4: Horace Henderson Audio Tapes, 1978-1983, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. (a.k.a. Smack) was born on December 18, 1897 in Cuthbert, Georgia. He was born into a middle class black family, and as a child studied European art music with his mother, a piano teacher. His sister later became the head of the music department at the Tuskeegee Institute in Alabama, and his younger brother, Horace, would eventually follow in his footsteps as a jazz musician, arranger, and band leader. Horace W. Henderson (a.k.a. Little Smack) was born on November 22, 1904. He also studied piano with his mother and sister, and like his brother, began formal music training as a teenager. Fletcher Henderson attended Atlanta University where he earned a degree in chemistry and math in 1919.
In 1920, Fletcher Henderson moved to New York City to find a job as a chemist. Because employment in this field was hard to come by, especially for African Americans, he began working as a song demonstrator for the Pace Hardy Music Company. Shortly after Fletcher Henderson's arrival Harry Pace founded Pace Phonograph Corporation to produce records on the Black Swan label in 1921. Fletcher joined Pace's music team and was responsible for contracting and leading a jazz bands to accompany the label's singers.
In 1924, Fletcher's orchestra, under the direction of Don Redman, began to perform at Club Alabam (sic) on New York City's Broadway Avenue. That same year he and the band was offered a job performing at the Roseland Ballroom, where the band remained for ten years and gained national fame. His band was no different than the hundreds of dance bands, springing up across the country in response to the growing demand for social dance music, such as Count Basie's Orchestra, King Oliver and his Dixie Syncopators, and McKinney's Cotton Pickers. Don Redman left the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in 1927 to direct McKinney's Cotton Pickers. However the music collaboration of Redman and Henderson had by then established what would become the "standard" big band arrangement for several decades, specifically the dynamic interplay between the brass and reed sections of the orchestra that included interspersed solos made famous by such esteemed soloists of the band as Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins. Some of the band's most notable recordings made between 1924 and 1925 include Copenhagen and Sugarfoot Stomp.
By this time Horace Henderson had formed his own college jazz band in 1924, The Wilberforce Collegians, after transferring from Atlanta University to Wilberforce University to pursue a music degree. His older brother sent him arrangements and piano parts used by the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra for performances by the Collegians. Later that year Horace Henderson left the university to travel and perform with his band in New York City. His newly formed band included such notable musicians as Benny Carter and Ben Webster. While in New York he also began playing as a guest musician in his brother's band and learning from such legends of jazz as Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Louis Armstrong, and Don Redman that were working for the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. During a Smithsonian Institution sponsored oral history interview with Tom MacCluskey, Horace recalled late night jam sessions at Hawkins' (Hawk) apartment where they would play through pieces from "Fletch's" library and analyze each individual's performance. We would "stop and discuss what had transpired during that session, you know, that particular tune. And man, that was a lesson...It was a session that was actually to help everybody, so that they would try things out and take another tune, and use these particular little points that Hawk would tell 'em.'"
Until the 1930s, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra was the principal model for big jazz bands. However, his management of the band and its finances led to frequent band break-ups. In 1934, severe financial problems forced Fletcher to sell some of his best arrangements to Benny Goodman. Horace Henderson and others suggested Goodman's rapid rise in popularity among swing bands for white audiences was largely due to Fletcher Henderson's innovative band arrangements. Fletcher Henderson continued to lead bands until 1939 when he joined Goodman's orchestra as a full time staff arranger. In 1941 he returned to band leading and arranging, but suffered a severe stroke in 1950. Fletcher was partially paralyzed from the stroke, and died on December 29, 1952.
Horace, also, formed many bands throughout the 1930s and 40s, and became a sideman for leaders such as Don Redman (1931-33) and, most notably, his brother. He was a pianist and arranger for Fletch's band intermittently between 1931 and 1947. During this time, Horace spent a lot of time in Chicago with Fletcher's band at the Grand Terrace, and formed his own band at Swingland. Horace also worked as a freelance arranger for Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, and Earl Hines3. From November 1942 through August 1943, Horace was the leader of the 732nd Military Police Band in Joliet, Illinois. The position was first offered to Louis Armstrong, who turned it down and recommended Horace for the position. After leaving the army, he played with Fletcher's band for two years. Horace began writing for Charlie Barnet in 1944, where he first came across Lena Horne. During a job at the Paramount, Charlie had Called Horace to say that his vocalist had laryngitis, and he needed a new singer. Horace went to the Apollo in Harlem in search of some talent, and they sent him to the Regent where he could find Lena Horne. She joined Charlie's show the next day, and from there went on to fame. Horace joined her for an extended tour as a pianist and arranger, and later worked with Billie Holiday3.
Horace moved to Denver with his wife, Angel, in the late 1960s. The Horace Henderson Combo performed at many nightclubs and resorts in the Denver area, including Estes Park, the Broadmoor Hotel, and the Petroleum Club. He began playing the organ in 1970 because the clubs didn't want to pay for four or five piece bands, and with an organ to replace the piano, a bass player was no longer necessary3. Horace continued to lead bands in the Denver area until his death on August 29, 1988.
Although both brothers had a major impact on the future of jazz, Horace is often thought of merely as a shadow to his more celebrated brother. Fletcher Henderson's career as a pianist, bandleader, and arranger is one of the most important in jazz history. Bands of leaders such as Count Basie, Charlie Barnet, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman all played arrangements, which were either written or influenced by Fletcher Henderson. Fletcher constantly surrounded himself with the most talented musicians of his era, and patterned the basic formula, which were imitated throughout the big band era.
However, at least thirty of Fletcher's arrangements, many for Benny Goodman, are accredited as Horace's work. His arrangement Hot and Anxious was based on the traditional riff that later became the basis for Glenn Miller's In the Mood. Christopher Columbus is the most notable example of Horace's potent piano style, which is often noted to be stronger than his brother's. Although the brothers had differences, Horace insists that they did not involve music. Fletcher's style and success had a huge influence on Horace's career, and he was incredibly grateful for all his brother taught him. In an interview in April of 1975, he was quoted as saying, "I idolize his way of thinking because he was successful. You don't fight success, you join it." 3
Sources
1. Biographical information derived from The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, edited by Barry Kernfeld (New York: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1988).
2. The Pace Phonograph corporation was the first African-American-owned recording company in the United States. Historical information derived from The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Black Music; Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians, by Eileen Southern (USA: Greenwood Press, 1982).
3. Interview with Horace Henderson, April 2-12, 1975, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Provenance:
The Fletcher and Horace Henderson collection was acquired by the museum in December of 2001, donated by Barbara and Barry Lewis.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Music -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiocassettes
Audiotapes
Manuscripts -- Music -- 20th century
Parts (musical)
Photographs -- 20th century
Citation:
Fletcher and Horace Henderson Music and Photographs, 1930s-1980s, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Grace F. Thorpe Collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
The records of Sohmer & Co., date from 1872 through 1989. They fall into fourteen series based primarily on function. Legal, financial, inventory & appraisal, manufacturing, marketing, advertising, and sales are the major series. Photographs, awards, family papers, publications about Sohmer, general publications, "miscellaneous" and correspondence are the remaining series. The records are especially strong in the areas of advertising, finances, and marketing. The collection does not contain corporate records, articles of incorporation, executive records, minutes, annual reports, or personnel records such as payrolls or job descriptions.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 14 series.
Series 1: Stock and Legal Records, 1882-1985
Series 2: Financial Records, 1887-1962
Series 3: Inventory & Appraisal Records, 1891-1980
Series 4: Manufacturing Records, 1872-1967
Series 5: Marketing, 1901-1989
Series 6: Advertising Records, 1880-1983
Series 7: Sales Records, 1923-1982
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1920-1964
Series 9: Awards, 1876-1976
Serioes 10: Sohmer Family Papers, 1945-1970
Series 11: Publications about Sohmer, 1883-1986
Series 12: General Publications, 1912-1985
Series 13: Miscellaneous Records, 1894-1983
Series 14: Correspondence, 1892-1987
Historical:
When Sohmer & Co. was founded in 1872 by Hugo Sohmer and his partner Joseph Kuder, it became one of 171 piano manufacturers in New York City. Over the next 110 years, Sohmer & Co. was one of the few active and successful family-owned and operated piano-making ventures in the United States. Nationally known for tonal quality and fine craftmanship, the firm's product, in the music trade, came to be referred to as "The Piano-Maker's Piano."
Biographical:
Born to an eminent physician in Dunningen, Wurtemberg, Germany on November 11, 1846, Hugo Sohmer enjoyed a first class education. Riding the last major wave of German immigration, which had brought piano makers such as Albert Weber, George Steck, John and Charles Fischer, and Henry E. Steinway to America, Hugo arrived in New York City in 1862. He became an apprentice in the piano making house of Schuetze & Ludolf. To learn more about European piano making, Hugo returned to Germany in 1868 and travelled extensively throughout Europe. In 1870 he returned to New York and by 1872 the 26 year old Sohmer and his partner, Josef Kuder, began manufacturing pianos in the 149 East 14th Street factory previously utilized by J.H. Boernhoeft and most recently by Marschall & Mittauer.
Josef Kuder, originally from Bohemia, Austria Hungary, learned piano making in Vienna between 1847 and 1854. Kuder arrived in New York in 1854 and became a pianomaker with Steinway & Sons which had been founded in 1853. In 1861 he returned to Vienna; he worked there until returning to New York in 1864, where he worked for Marschall & Mittauer until joining Sohmer.
Concentrating on tonal quality and response, Sohmer & Co. began producing pianos which were recognized in 1876 by an award from the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. In the waning years of the nineteenth century Sohmer & Co. received other awards including a diploma from the Exposition Provinciale in Montreal, Quebec in 1881, the gold medal at the Great New England Fair in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1889, and an award from the World's Columbian Commission in 1893 in Chicago.
By 1883 additional factory space, located on East 23rd Street and formerly used by Carhart & Needham, was occupied to accomodate increased production. In three years this space proved inadequate and forced the renting of an extension to the original factory. The main office and salesrooms were located at 31 West 57th Street in New York City. Meanwhile, in 1884 Sohmer invented the first five foot "baby" grand piano which was applauded for its musical brilliance and depth of tone. In the early 1900's Sohmer produced grand pianos in four sizes: Concert, Parlor, Baby & Cupid.
Limited space and increased production soon became issues again, and in 1887 the company moved its factory and special machinery to Astoria, Long Island. This factory, located at 31st Avenue and Vernon Boulevard, remained in continuous operation until 1982, when the Adirondack Chair Co. bought the building and Pratt Read acquired the company.
During the 1880s a number of letters patent were granted to Sohmer for such piano improvements as the agraffe bar for tone augmentation, and the aliquot string, which were auxiliary strings "arranged in conjunction with the regular strings for the purpose of giving forth reverberatory or sympathetic waves of sound, thus augmenting the general tone results of each unison." (Spillane, History, 256.)
In 1894 Hugo Sohmer took competitor Sebastian Sommer to court for stenciling the name "Sommer" on the fallboard of his pianos. Sohmer declared that "Sohmer" was a trademark used as an emblem to distinguish the piano from others, especially the Sommer piano which he considered inferior. The court in this equity case dismissed the case on the grounds that Sohmer had not proven damages accruing from the advertising and sale of the Sommer piano.
By 1907 Sohmer & Co. was producing 2,000 pianos per year. Additionally, with Farrand & Co. of Detroit, Sohmer was making the Sohmer Cecilian player piano. On June 8, 1913 Hugo Sohmer died in Scarsdale, N.Y.; 20 days later, Josef Kuder died as well. Hugo was survived by his wife, Elizabeth; a daughter, Adelaide S. Weber; and a son, Harry J. Sohmer, born in 1886. Company leadership was assumed by Harry J. Sohmer after Hugo's death.
During the 1920s Sohmer began a special department in its plant for the manufacture of period pianos. According to Harry Sohmer, the 1930s were difficult. He recalled that, once only one piano in 29 days was shipped. The number of American piano manufacturers dropped from 140 to 22 during this time. It was during this time that Harry's cousins, Frank and Paul Sohmer joined the company as consultants. However, through its pioneering efforts in the introduction of a console vertical piano known as a "Spinet," Sohmer revitalized the industry. (Taylor, "Piano Family.") This console vertical piano has been called "The Musicians' Console.
Primarily because of its concentration on the console vertical pianos Sohmer & Co. never cultivated famous performers in the way that Steinway and Baldwin did. While publicly acknowledging that it never entered into the competition for artistic endorsement (an acknowledgement which perhaps worked to its favor), Sohmer & Co. relied upon a most comprehensive and innovative advertising strategy stressing integrity, quality and craftsmanship in the pursuit of the ideal tone and touch.
In 1940 Harry incorporated the company as Sohmer & Co. and led it, with his sons Harry J. Sohmer, Jr., (born 1917) as production manager and Robert H. Sohmer (born 1920), as process engineer. By 1969 Harry Jr. was vice president in charge of production and Robert was production engineer/
treasurer. In 1971 Harry Sr. died and Harry Jr. became president.
In 1982 Pratt Read Corporation, a long established manufacturer of piano keyboards, acquired Sohmer & Co. for an undisclosed amount, and moved the operations to its Ivoryton, Connecticut factory, while retaining the Sohmer name. The Sohmer brothers retained their positions in the company. At the time of its purchase Sohmer & Co. employed 120 people, produced 2500 pianos yearly, and grossed $5 million in sales. Harry J. Sohmer, Jr., grandson of the founder, in expressing his feelings about the move and the Sohmer piano, compared his piano to old New York beers saying that "they were strictly New York products and in a way so were we." He concluded by saying, "We were always identified with this city. Sohmer was a New York piano." (Prial, "Sohmer Piano.")
By July 1983 under Pratt Read's management Sohmer was producing 6 pianos per day, only 50% of the expected capacity according to H.B. Comstock, president of Pratt Read. In 1986 the Ivoryton factory was sold to a group of investors organized as Sohmer Holding Co., who continued to make pianos there until a lack of skilled workers and financial losses forced its closing in December 1988. In an effort to fill the backlog of orders, Sohmer president Tom Bradshaw opened a new facility in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. A retail showroom was maintained in Ivoryton. In 1989, the Sohmer company was sold to the Falcone Custom Grand Piano Company of Haverhill, Massachusetts.
References
Cox, Erin. "Labor Woes a Main Factor in Sohmer Closing," The Pictorial Gazette West, 3 (December 8, 1988), 1, 22.
Dolge, Alfred. Piano and their Makers. 1911; rpt. New York: Dover Publications, 1973.
Loesser, Arthur. Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1954.
Musical Merchandise Review. "Sohmer Pianos Underway at Conn. Pratt Read," July 1983, 91.
The Music Trades. "Pratt, Read Acquires Sohmer & Co. Piano Maker,"August 1982, 18.
Piano and Organ Purchaser's Guide, 1907, 1930. Prial, Frank J. "Sohmer Piano, and 110 Years of Craft, will leave Astoria," New York Times, August 13, 1982, B1, B4.
Purchaser's Guide to the Music Industries. 1956, New York: The Music Trades, 1956, 58 60.
Spillane, Daniel. History of the American Pianoforte: Its Technical Development, and the Trade. 1890; rpt. New York: Da Capo Press, 1969.
Taylor, Carol. "Piano Family Stays in Tune," New York World Telegram & Sun, August 15, 1958.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Pratt Read Corp. Records (AC0320)
Chickering & Sons Records (AC0264)
Steinway Piano Co. Collection (AC0178)
Provenance:
Collection donated by Pratt Read Corporation, August 11, 1989.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
An extensive collection of oral histories conducted by Lu Ann Jones throughout the southern United States between 1985-1991. A few oral histories were conducted by Pete Daniel in the early 1980s. Subjects include all facets of agriculture in the south.
Scope and Contents note:
The collection is divided into four series. Series 1: Oral History Transcripts, 1982-1991 are transcribed versions of the oral interviews. Correspondence and/or notes pertaining to the interviewed individual collected or written by the interviewer are filed in this series following the transcription. The majority of the oral histories were done by Lu Ann Jones between1985-1991. There are a few interviews done by Pete Daniel in the early 1980s and some reference copies of oral histories done elsewhere.
This series is divided into eight sub-series: Sub-series 1.1: Arkansas, Sub-series 1.2: Georgia, Sub-series 1.3: Louisiana, Sub-series 1.4: Mississippi, Sub-series 1.5: North Carolina (including transcripts of the Mexican Workers Project in English and Spanish), Sub-series 1.6: South Carolina, Sub-series 1.7: Tennessee, and Sub-series 1.8: Virginia. Files are arranged alphabetically by state and there under by name; within the file materials are arranged chronologically. Interview files may contain transcribed copies of the oral history interviews and subsequent draft copies with corrections by the interviewer or subject. The file also may contain distillations or edited versions of the interview done by the researcher for possible publication. Correspondence and notes files may include Life History Forms, correspondence, newspaper articles, interviewer's notes, business cards, and paper copies of photographs. Signed releases are on file in the registrar's office, NMAH, with copies in the control file of the Archives Center.
Series 2: Project Files and Reference Materials, 1928-2004 contain notes and correspondence kept by Jones in support of the oral history project. This series is divided into four sub-series: Sub-series 2.1: State Files, Sub-series 2.2: Project and Reference Files, 1985-1991, Sub-series 2.3: Reference Publications, Pamphlets and Articles, 1928-2004 and Sub-series 2d: Computer Floppy Disks, 1985 and undated. This series include bills, receipts, photo orders, travel brochures, reference materials, articles, correspondence, fundraising proposals and materials, USDA Extension Service bulletins, product cookbooks, and ephemera. These materials are valuable in documenting the methodology of the oral history project. They are also valuable in detailing the funding and maintenance of the project over its five-year lifespan. There is also a great deal of information on black farmers. This series is arranged alphabetically by state and county or by article/publication title and within the file chronologically.
Series 3: Photographic Prints and Slides, 1987-1991 documenting the individuals interviewed, their homes and businesses, and geographic locations that were studied as part of the oral history project. The series is arranged numerically then chronologically by year. This series is followed by detailed photographic descriptions arranged alphabetically by state then subject. Photograph files contain photographs taken by a Smithsonian photographer or Jones and any copies of photographs supplied by the subject. Most of the photographs are black and white.
Series 4: Original Interview Tapes and Reference Compact Discs (CD), 1986-1991 are the original tapes of the individual interviews conducted by Jones. This series is divided into eight sub-series. Reference numbers for CDs matching the original tapes are noted after the tapes. CDs 495-497 are for the Smithsonian Photographer's Show: Sub-series 4.1: Arkansas, Sub-series 4.2: Georgia, Sub-series 4.3: Louisiana, Sub-series 4.4: Mississippi, Sub-series 4.5: North Carolina (within this sub-series are the transcripts of the Mexican Workers Project there may be an English language transcription as well as one in Spanish), Sub-series 4.6: South Carolina, Sub-series 4.7: Tennessee and Sub-series 4.8: Virginia and Sub-series 4.9: Miscellaneous and Duplicates, within the sub-series tapes are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into four series:
Series 1, Oral History Transcript
Series 2, Project Files
Series 3, Photographic Prints and Slides
Series 4, Original Oral History Interview Tapes and Reference Compact Discs (CDs) are the original interview tapes and the accompanying reference copy cds.
History:
The history of the American South is intricately entwined with the history of agriculture in North America. Until very recently, post 1950, the South was predominately rural and agricultural in both its production and culture. By the 1980s American agriculture, and particularly agriculture in the south, was under attack on various fronts especially cultural, financial, and technological. This assault threatened the very existence of the small and family farm. Many small farming operations went bankrupt and the face of American agriculture was becoming more corporate. It was amidst these troubling times that the Agricultural Division of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History undertook a massive project to document southern agriculture through oral history.
Through the efforts of NMAH staff, Pete Daniel, curator and project director, LuAnn Jones, researcher, and with countless support from staff photographers and personnel, Jones conducted approximately 159 interviews of individual persons, couples and sometimes small groups, in eight southern states over a five year period, 1986-1991. The project was funded by a series of grants from various sources. Not only were oral histories taken but also substantial documentary photographs and slides of the many interviewees. The interviews ranged from individual farmers to individuals at companies and corporations involved with agriculture. The range of crops discussed included tobacco, cotton and rice. The project interviewed a wide range of subjects: male, female, black, white, and Mexican. The project has contributed to at least two books, Mama Learned Us to Work: Farm Women in the New South by LuAnn Jones and Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World by Jacquelyn Dowd Hall and others of which Jones was a contributing author.
Related Collections:
Materials in the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (NMAH.AC.0060)
Kulp Collection of Account Books, 1755-1904 (NMAH.AC.0149)
Robinson and Via Family Papers (NMAH.AC.0475)
William C. Kost Farm Records (NMAH.AC.0481)
Timothy B. Bladen, Southern Maryland Photoprints (NMAH.AC.0767)
Provenance:
A transfer from the Division of History of Technology (Agriculture), NMAH, July 2001
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Arthur Ehrat invented and patented a breakaway basketball rim, fashioning his prototypes from bolts, metal braces and one key part: a piece of the heavy-duty coil spring on a John Deere cultivator. His invention helped to revolutionize the way basketball is played because players could slam dunk the ball with fewer injuries and without bending the rims or breaking backboards. This collection includes correspondence, legal documents --such as patent papers, litigation files and licensing agreements --photographs and sketches that relate to the basketball invention, as well as materials regarding his two field spreader patents and other invention ideas.
Scope and Contents:
The collection is divided into five series and consists of approximately seven cubic feet.
This collection includes correspondence and legal documents--such as patent papers, litigation files and licensing agreements--that relate to Arthur Ehrat's basketball goal, as well as materials regarding his field spreader patents and other invention ideas. The bulk of the collection is made up of attorney correspondence, patent infringement documents, and patent licensing documents. The collection also contains handwritten notes by Arthur Ehrat and his attorneys, sketches of his inventions, an oral history interview, and photographs.
Attorney McPherson Moore sent many of the legal documents and correspondence to Ehrat. These documents were assembled by the law firms for which Moore worked. The original order has been preserved.
The correspondence consists of letters from attorney McPherson Moore to Ehrat and from Moore or his associates to other attorneys regarding litigation, pending licensing agreements, and other actions. The correspondence contains handwritten notes, promotional materials for sporting goods companies, drafts of legal documents, copies of patents and other enclosures. The majority of the correspondence is copies.
Correspondence found throughout the collection is key to understanding the legal documents because it provides insight into the legal negotiations behind the settlement and licensing process, and the diligence necessary to protect a viable patent from infringement. Correspondence should be read in conjunction with litigation and licensing documents to gain a better sense of the negotiations between attorneys and how and why the legal documents were created.
Throughout this collection, reference is made to legal terms, including pleadings, production documents, discovery, patent infringement, file histories, and Bates numbers. Series 3, Civil Action and Settlement Records has numerous sets of pleadings, which are the legal documents filed in a lawsuit. These documents encompass complaints, petitions, answers, motions, declarations, and memoranda.
The discovery process is the effort of one party to a lawsuit to get information from the other party prior to a trial. This is done through depositions, requests for or production of documents, and interrogatories (written questions to the other party).6
Bates numbers --named after the Bates Automatic Numbering Machine patented in the late 1800s --are used to identify documents with a unique number. The parties to a lawsuit use these numbers to keep papers in order when they are sent to the other party during discovery. This collection contains sets of production documents stamped with Bates numbers. (See Series 3, Subseries 8: Ehrat v. Icon, Proform and K's Merchandise, 1984-1996)7
Patent infringement is "the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver."8
A patent file history (also called a file wrapper) is a folder maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It contains all of the correspondence and documents from a patent application.9 See Series 2, Subseries 2 for the file history of Ehrat's United States Patent No. 4,365,802.
Series 1: Background Materials, 1968-2005, 2011
This series, which is further divided into three subseries, comprises oral history interviews, early sketches of Ehrat's basketball goal, articles about slam dunking, Ehrat's breakaway rim, correspondence and notes, income and expense records (including legal expenses), photographs and facsimiles of photographs, and invoices from the components Ehrat purchased when he created prototypes. One receipt documents the heater Bob Copelin purchased for his new shed in 1975, around the time Ehrat began inventing. This was significant when Ehrat was trying to prove to the United States Patent Office that he had his idea before Frederick Tyner.
Subseries 1: Ehrat History, 1968-2005
Correspondence in this subseries includes a handwritten list of possible names for the basketball rim, one which Ehrat titled, "The Rebounder Has Been Tested." The correspondence also contains copies of letters sent to the United States Patent Office intended to prove that Ehrat's rim was unique; a letter from National Basketball Association saying that, after testing, it is going to use Kenneth Mahoney's (Toss Back) rim instead of Ehrat's; letters from basketball halls of fame; and copies of e-mail from the Smithsonian. This subseries has an original sketch of Ehrat's basketball goal with annotations. Also included is a 1 D2" VHS tape of Ehrat explaining the components he used to fashion his first breakaway rim prototypes and a news segment in which Ehrat was interviewed about his invention at the Chicago Board of Trade. The audio and video recordings contain some repetition of information.
Subseries 2: Photographs and Clippings, 1973-2005
Color photocopies of photographs depicting early rims; a birthday gathering for Ehrat's father, William Ehrat, circa 1974-1975 (used to help prove that he was working on the rim before Frederick Tyner); Ehrat giving a rim to Virden High School; Ehrat with sportscaster Dick Vitale; and a studio shot of his daughters, Rose, Jo, Sharon, Jane, and Linda.
Three photographs in this subseries show prototype rims with coil springs. Ehrat holds up one of these photographs in the video history, but he does not discuss the photographs' origin. There are no markings of any kind on the photographs.
Subseries 2 also contains field photographs taken by John Fleckner, National Museum of American History staff, in May 2005. Field photographs include: the grain elevator Ehrat managed; rim prototypes; and a donated rim hanging on the gym wall at Virden High School.
Articles in this subseries are from the Virden Recorder, The State Journal-Register, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and Kentucky Living. The topics covered include collapsible rims and breakaway rims; Ehrat and his invention; and the Smithsonian Institution's interest in the breakaway rim. Also included is a clipping from Farmers Elevator Co.'s meeting minutes from December 15, 1973, in which the board voted to relinquish rights to any patent or product created by Ehrat.
Subseries 3: Oral History Interview, 2005
A May, 2005, interview of Ehrat by John Fleckner at Ehrat's home in Virden, IL. Ehrat discusses his background, attorney Ralph Staubly, basketball rims he built, and a slam dunk contest that his nephew Randy Albrecht helped organize in the early 1980s at St. Louis Community College. Subseries 3 also contains Digital video disks (DVD) in which Ehrat discusses the documents he sent to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History. There is some repetition of topics discussed in the audio and video recordings.
Series 2: Patent Records for Basketball Rim, 1865-1984 (bulk 1970s-1984)
This series, divided into four subseries, contains copies of patents used as research or as prior art for Ehrat's patent application, a file history of the patent, correspondence/notes from Ehrat and his attorneys, and legal papers sent from Ehrat's first attorney, Ralph Staubly, to McPherson Moore.
Subseries 1: Ehrat and Dittrich Patents, 1979-1984
Copies of Ehrat's United States Patent No. 4,365,802, deformation-preventing swingable mount for basketball goals and William Dittrich's two patents, United States Patent No. 4,151,989, basketball practice device and United States Patent No. 4,465,277, basketball goal structure.
Subseries 2: Research and File History, 1865-1984
The complete patent file history consists of a list of actions taken (rejections, appeals, civil action filed) on the patent application for United States Patent No. 4,365,802. Pages 19-23 are copies of letters sent to United States Patent Office to establish the rim's unique qualities after the examiner's interference search found Frederick Tyner's patent (United States Patent No. 4,111, 420, Energy-absorbing basketball goal/backboard unit) and ruled Ehrat's invention was too similar.
Subseries 3: Correspondence and Notes, 1976-1984
Two sets of letters from acquaintances. The first set, 1977-1978, was sent to the United States Patent Office and provide a sense of the invention's unique quality. The second set, 1983-1984, consists of letters written by Ehrat's friends and was used in Basketball Products International and Ehrat v. Mt. Vernon School District and Porter (Series 3, Subseries 1) to establish that Ehrat had his breakaway rim idea before Frederick Tyner. A letter in the correspondence folder for this litigation, dated February 23, 1984, mentions that copies of these letters were sent to Basketball Products International. Also in this subseries is a transcript of a phone conversation between Ehrat and attorney McPherson Moore about when Ehrat had the idea for a breakaway rim and who knew about it.
Subseries 4: Files from Ehrat's First Attorney, Ralph Staubly, 1976-1982
Includes the file about Ehrat sent from Ralph Staubly to McPherson Moore when Ehrat changed legal representation in 1983. The folder contains originals, copies, and drafts of documents sent to the United States Patent Office, some with annotations. Also included is a high school basketball rulebook, 1977-1978, and the notes Ralph Staubly used to write an affidavit for Ehrat's patent application in which Ehrat swears he invented before Frederick Tyner.
Series 3: Civil Action and Settlement Records, 1984-1996
This series is divided into eight subseries. It contains full and partial sets of case pleadings, with pleadings indices, from eight court cases, attorney correspondence and notes, depositions of Ehrat and Frederick Tyner, case judgments, and signed settlements.
In 1984, Ehrat and Basketball Products International were plaintiffs or defendants together in five civil action lawsuits that involved sporting goods companies, including Porter Equipment Company, Gared Company, and Toss Back. These lawsuits and their correspondence should be consulted in conjunction with one another.
Subseries 1: Basketball Products International and Ehrat v. Mt. Vernon School District and Porter, 1984
Civil action, February 1984-June 1984: The complaint alleges patent infringement by sporting goods company Porter for manufacturing products embodying the invention, and infringement by Mt. Vernon School District (WA) for purchasing Porter basketball goals. Action dismissed June 11, 1984. This subseries contains the subpoena and deposition of Frederick Tyner regarding United States Patent No. 4,111, 420, Energy-absorbing basketball goal/backboard unit. It also contains plaintiff's exhibits, numbered 1-31, which include Tyner's notes, documents, and facsimiles of photographs related to his patented basketball goal.
Subseries 2: Porter Equipment Company v. Basketball Products International and Ehrat, 1984
Civil action, April 1984-June 1984: The complaint alleges that Ehrat's and Basketball Products International's patents are invalid and unenforceable and that Porter and Mt. Vernon School District did not infringe. Porter calls for dismissal or transfer of the case. The pleadings index for Vol. 1 has a note at the bottom that says "Start Vol. 2," but Vol. 2 is not in the collection.
Subseries 3: Gared Company v. Basketball Products International and Ehrat, 1984-1988
Civil action, March 1984-October 1984: This action is in response to letters sent by attorney McPherson Moore threatening a lawsuit if Gared Company does not cease manufacture of infringing goals. Gared Company files a complaint for declaratory judgment, calling the patent invalid and alleging unfair competition. A stipulated dismissal of complaint was signed by Moore and Ralph Kalish, Gared Company's legal counsel. Declaratory judgment is the judgment of a court which determines the rights of parties without ordering anything be done or awarding damages.
Of note in this subseries is the deposition of Ehrat regarding his involvement with Gared Company and the city of St. Louis, where the company is based. Gared Company's counsel, Ralph Kalish, asks Ehrat questions about his nephew, Randy Albrecht. Ehrat purchased 12 rims from Gared Company, on the advice of his nephew, for the purpose of building and testing his releasable basketball goals. Kalish tries to assess whether there was a profit motive and how Gared Company's goals factored into that.
Subseries 4: Basketball Products International and Ehrat v. Gared Company, 1984
Civil action, April 1984-June 1984: Complaint filed against Gared Company and Athletic Supply (which purchased Gared Company goals) for patent infringement. The case was dismissed.
Subseries 5: Basketball Products International and Ehrat v. Toss Back
Civil action, May 1984-June 1984: Complaint filed against Toss Back and the cities of Seattle and Tacoma (which purchased Toss Back basketball goals) for patent infringement. There is no evidence of a settlement or of court action. Toss Back signed a licensing agreement with Ehrat in 1985 (See Series 4, Licensing Agreements).
Subseries 6: Ehrat v. Gared Company and Nixdorff-Krein Industries, 1982-1990 (bulk 1987-1990)
Civil action, 1988-1990: Complaint filed against sports equipment company Gared and its parent company, Nixdorff-Krein Industries, for patent infringement. Request for passing case for settlement filed by Ehrat's attorney, McPherson Moore, and granted by the court. The signed settlement is in this subseries. This subseries has file histories of Gared Company patents. A file history (or file wrapper) is a folder kept at the United States Patent and Trademark Office that has all of the correspondence and documents from a patent application
Subseries 7: Ehrat v. Diversified Products, 1989-1994
Civil action, 1993: A complaint was filed against Diversified Products after a series of letters calling for the company to cease manufacture and sales of infringing basketball goals went unheeded. The parties were granted a consent judgment to settle out of court. The signed settlement is in this subseries.
Subseries 8: Ehrat v. Icon Health & Fitness Inc., Pro Form Fitness Products Inc., and K's Merchandise Mart, 1984-1996 (bulk 1994-1996)
The Icon Health & Fitness Inc. (hereinafter Icon) pleadings consist of two volumes, Vols. 2 and 3. Vol. 1 is missing. There is a draft of the first page of Ehrat's complaint against Icon in Box 9, Folder 3. A consent judgment was entered, and the parties settled out of court. The signed settlement is in this subseries.
There are two categories of production documents in this subseries, those for the plaintiff (three folders) and those for the defendant (seven folders), that have Bates numbers affixed to or printed on the bottom of the pages. Bates numbers are used to identify documents with a unique number. The parties to a lawsuit use these numbers to keep papers in order when they are sent to the other party during discovery.
The plaintiff's production documents include Bates numbers 1-205. Numbers 1-105 contain Ehrat's patent file history; numbers 107-205 are copies of Ehrat's licensing agreements through 1993.
In the defendant's production documents, one folder has Bates # I10001 and other numbered pages that are not in a particular order. Bates numbers I10068- I10882 include the file history for United States Patent No. 4,365,802, deformation-preventing swingable mount for basketball goals; correspondence among defendant's attorneys; copies of patents; and copies of licensing agreements through 1993.
Series 4: Licensing Agreements, 1982-2000 (bulk 1980s-1990s)
This series is divided into twenty-six subseries and encompasses materials pertaining to Ehrat's relationships with numerous companies that manufacture or sell sports equipment. These materials include correspondence and notes, licensing agreements and drafts of agreements, Dun and Bradstreet financial reports, catalogs, pamphlets, and other promotional materials. Ehrat and attorney McPherson Moore used the promotional materials to determine whether the companies were marketing or selling basketball goals that infringed on Ehrat's patent, then contacted the companies about licensing Ehrat's patent. With the exception of Subseries 1: Correspondence and Subseries 6: William Dittrich Patents, each subseries represents a different company.
To better understand Ehrat's relationships with these companies, researchers should consult Subseries 1: Correspondence, as well as the correspondence within specific subseries, in conjunction with licensing agreements and other documents in this series.
There are thirteen signed licensing agreements in this series, some of which bear original signatures. Ehrat's first licensee was with Basketball Products International, which signed an exclusive agreement in 1983. In November, 1984, after five civil action lawsuits in which Ehrat and Basketball Products International were either co-plaintiffs or co-defendants, the company signed a nonexclusive licensing agreement. Drafts of the agreements exist for some companies, but there is no evidence that the agreements were signed. In some cases, correspondence indicates which companies were not interested in entering into an agreement.
Ehrat's licensees include Huffy (signed May 1988); Basketball Products International, exclusive license (signed July 1983), nonexclusive license (signed November 1984); Toss Back (signed January 1985); Porter Equipment Company (signed 1985 and 1989); RDH Enterprises/Schutt (signed August 1991); Industrial Machine Specialties/Bison (signed January 1987); Lifetime Products (signed March 1989); Fisher-Price (owned by Quaker Oats, signed April 1988); Indian Industries/Harvard Sports (signed June 1991); McCullough (signed April 1990); and Sure Shot (signed March 1991).
Companies in this series without signed licensing agreements include Medart; Blazon-Flexible Flyer; Spang/Today's Kids; Sports and Leisure/Ideas That Sell; Wilson Sporting Goods; Hutch Sporting Goods; Aalco; Bergfeld Recreation; Future Pro; MacGregor; Pro-Bound; Architectural Design Products; and Hyland Engineering.
Settlements and licensing agreements that Ehrat signed with Gared Company, Diversified Products, and Icon appear only in Series 3, Civil Action and Settlement Records.
Subseries 6, William Dittrich Patents, contains correspondence and documents relating to the patent and royalty agreement Dittrich made with Ehrat in 1987. Dittrich had two basketball-related patents but had difficulty getting companies to license with him because there was confusion about his patents and those of Ehrat and Frederick Tyner. Dittrich contacted Ehrat's attorney, McPherson Moore, and they worked out an agreement. Ehrat acquired Dittrich's patents and they joined forces to attract licensing agreements and to split royalties and litigation settlements. Subseries 6 also has the transcript of a 1986 phone conference between William Dittrich and McPherson Moore regarding a possible joint agreement with Ehrat and the patent file history for United States Patent No. 4,151,989, basketball practice device. There is no file history for Dittrich's other patent, United States Patent No. 4,465,277, basketball goal structure, but there are pieces of the file history in this subseries. Subseries 6 also includes drafts and signed patent assignment papers and a signed licensing agreement between Ehrat and Dittrich, 1987.
Subseries 9, Lifetime Products, consists of itemized lists of attorney's fees from McPherson Moore for November 30, 1987, to February 28, 1989. The fees are for research, phone calls, photocopies, correspondence, and litigation documents for Ehrat v. Gared Company. The companies listed in these papers include Gared Company, Lifetime, Huffy, Fisher-Price, Sports and Leisure, Today's Kids, Toss Back, and Blazon.
Subseries 16, McCullough contains a Dunk-Kit (see Box 18), which Ehrat purchased in 1989. The Dunk-Kit is a set of springs and bolts that turn a set basketball goal into a breakaway goal. According to attorney McPherson Moore, the springs and bolts constituted an infringement of Ehrat's patent. McCullough disagreed with this assessment but eventually agreed to a monetary settlement.
Series 5: Field Spreader Patents and Other Ideas, 1977-2003
Subseries 1: Field Spreader Patents, 1977-2003
This subseries contains copies of Ehrat's two field spreader patents: United States Patent No. 4,358,054, field-sprayer tank-vehicle having means for on-site metering and mixing of soil-treating chemicals and United States Patent No. 4,588,127, material-spreading field vehicle having means for on-site metering and mixing of soil-treating chemicals. It also contains magazines, articles, and pamphlets on agricultural equipment and litigation documents between SoilTeq and Ag-Chem.
Subseries 2: Other Ideas, 1971-1998
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ehrat came up with ideas for other inventions, but none of them were patentable. This subseries has original sketches for "electric clippers with box for holding clippings;" a beverage can with multiple containers; and an "automobile refreshment temperature control." Included in the folders are letters that outline the ideas behind the inventions and the reasons they were not patented. Also included are copies of patents that relate to Ehrat's ideas.
Series 6: Toby Dittrich Files, 1889-1997
This series, which is further divided into five subseries, contains administrative records, prior art, patent records, correspondence, litigation materials, financial records, marketing and sales materials, photographs, and newspaper clippings from William A. (Toby) Dittrich. Dittrich invented the "Dunk King" break-away basketball rim in the mid 1970s while he was a physics professor at Pacific Lutheran University in Washington State. Dittrich patented and marketed his rim with mixed success before selling the rights to his patents to Arthur Ehrat in the mid 1980s. The two agreed to market and license their products independently, and cooperatively share royalties and settlements from patent infringement cases.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series.
Series 1: Background materials, 1968-2005
Subseries 1: Ehrat History, 1968-2005, 2011
Subseries 2: Photographs and Clippings, 1973-2005
Subseries 3: Oral History, 2005
Series 2: Patent records for basketball rim,1865-1984
Subseries 1: Ehrat and Dittrich Patents, 1979-1984
Subseries 2: Research and File History, 1865-1984
Subseries 3: Correspondence and Notes, 1976-1984
Subseries 4: Files from First Attorney, Ralph Staubly, 1976-1982
Series 3: Civil action and settlement records, 1984-1996
Subseries 1: Basketball Products International and Ehrat v. Mt. Vernon School District and Porter Equipment Company, 1984
Subseries 2: Porter Equipment Company v. Basketball Products International and Ehrat, 1984
Subseries 3: Gared Company v. Basketball Products International and Ehrat, 1984-1988
Subseries 4: Basketball Products International and Ehrat v. Gared Company --Pleadings, 1984
Subseries 5: Basketball Products International and Ehrat v. Toss Back, 1984
Subseries 6: Ehrat v. Gared Company and Nixdorff-Krein Industries, 1982-1989 (bulk 1987-1989)
Subseries 7: Ehrat v. Diversified Products, 1989-1994
Subseries 8: Ehrat v. Icon Health & Fitness Inc., Pro Form fitness Products, Inc. and K's Merchandise Mart, 1984-1996 (bulk 1994-1996)
Series 4: Licensing agreements, 1982-2000 (bulk 1980s-mid-1990s)
Subseries 5: Other Inventions and Ideas, 1978-1980
Biographical / Historical:
Arthur Henry Ehrat was born December 20, 1924. He grew up on a farm near Shobonier, IL, east of St. Louis. Ehrat had four sisters and a brother: Dorothea, Ruth, Bernice, Grace and Walter. Growing up on a farm during the Great Depression, Ehrat learned farming skills, including milking, baling, and operating heavy equipment such as threshing machines. After graduating from Vandalia High School he moved to Wheaton, IL, to work on a farm. From the latter part of 1945 until 1947, Ehrat was an Army medic, stationed in Fort Sheridan, IL; Camp Atterbury, IN; Fort Meade, MD; and Manila, Philippines. After his Army service, Ehrat moved back to Illinois and spent a few years farming with his brother.
In the early 1950s Ehrat lived with his sister Bernice and her family in Minneapolis while attending a two-year course at Minneapolis Business College. Upon completion of the course, he returned to Virden, IL and worked at a grain elevator. Ehrat met Mary Mardell Worth in Virden. They were married June 27, 1954, and had five daughters: Rose, Jo, Sharon, Jane and Linda. Ehrat managed the grain elevator at Farmers Elevator Co. in Lowder, IL for nearly 30 years.
In the mid-1970s, Ehrat's nephew, Randy Albrecht, a coach at St. Louis University, mentioned that basketball players were slamming the basketball ball through the rim and hurting themselves, as well as bending or breaking the rims, which were affixed directly to the backboard. The bent rims had to be straightened, causing a delay of game. While Ehrat never had a strong interest in the game of basketball, Albrecht suggested his uncle, who was known as a tinkerer, come up with a safer basketball rim. The conversation sparked a few ideas. Ehrat bought a flimsy $20 basketball rim and began building a prototype.
Basketball fans during the 1940s and 1950s didn't see many slam dunks. Despite the leaping ability of stars Bob Kurland, George Mikan, and James Clifford Pollard, aka "the Kangaroo Kid," the dunk shot was considered showboating and was often done only in practice. Basketball players, whose average size was smaller in the mid-20th century, viewed the dunk as a low-percentage shot compared with the ubiquitous jump-shot.
In 1967, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) outlawed dunking. A few years later, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, who played professionally for the American Basketball Association's Virginia Squires, re-ignited excitement about basketball with his high-flying slams. In the first half of 1976, a few months before Ehrat first applied for a patent, the dunk was reinstated in college basketball.
At the professional level, flamboyant hoops star Darryl "Dr. Dunk" Dawkins shattered some glass backboards in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which prompted the National Basketball Association (NBA) to ban the shattering of backboards and make collapsible rims mandatory. The NBA's call for collapsible rims, along with the NCAA's reinstatement of the dunk, opened the door for innovations in basketball rims.
Collapsible rims, which folded down when pressure was applied to them, were the precursor to breakaway rims and had to be manually put back in place. Ehrat created a safer basketball rim that automatically snapped back after a slam dunk.
Ehrat's first rim, used a door spring. It was bolted to two plates, one that remained fastened while the other flexed down under pressure. The hinge was not strong enough, so he focused on creating a detent. A detent is a device that holds one mechanical part in relation to another so the device can be released when force is applied. If someone slam dunks a basketball and pulls on the rim, a detent would allow the rim to flex downward with minimal pressure on the backboard. Ehrat fitted some heavy-duty magnets between metal plates on the rim, but this did not work as he envisioned.
The turning point came when Ehrat decided to use a spring mechanism. Drawing upon his agricultural background, he pulled a spring from a John Deere cultivator, cutting it to fit the basketball rim. The thick, sturdy coil was able to withstand more than a hundred pounds of pressure before yielding downward and would push the rim back into place. In addition to the spring, he tested ball bearings, bolts, and corner braces before finding the right combination that would hold at least 150 pounds of pressure.
Once he had viable prototypes, Ehrat tested their durability. He sent one to Virden High School and enlisted Randy Albrecht, to test the other prototypes. Albrecht used his connections as a basketball coach at St. Louis Community College at Meramec to have prototypes installed at the schools where he worked. The rims were sent to other high schools and colleges by Ehrat. For more information on where the prototypes went, see his deposition in Series 3, Subseries 3. Ehrat estimated in his deposition that he built approximately 36-40 prototype rims.
It took six years, from July 1976 to December 1982, for Ehrat to receive the patent on his basketball goal (United States Patent No. 4,365,802, Deformation-preventing swingable mount for basketball goals). His application was rejected twice, with patent examiner Paul Shapiro noting that Frederick C. Tyner held a patent for a similar basketball goal (United States Patent No. 4,111, 420, energy-absorbing basketball goal/backboard unit).
Ehrat and his attorney, Ralph Staubly, pursued an appeal of the rejection. Staubly, a retired patent examiner had moved to Springfield, IL, in the 1970s to open a private practice. A major part of the appeal involved notarized letters from acquaintances who said that Ehrat's invention was unique and would be an asset to the sport of basketball. He also proved, through copies of canceled checks and a rough sketch of his invention, that he was working on his breakaway basketball goal in 1975 before Frederick Tyner conceived of his. In a 1984 deposition (Series 3, Subseries 1), Tyner placed the date of his invention near the last week of March or first week of April 1976, not long after he heard that the NCAA had reinstated dunking.
Ehrat won the appeal, effectively rendering the Tyner patent invalid. After Staubly fell ill and moved to Texas, and in early 1983, Ehrat found a new patent attorney,McPherson Moore of the St. Louis firm Rogers, Eilers and Howell, who became Ehrat's main legal counsel for approximately 20 years.
In February, 1983, two months after Ehrat received his patent, his attorney McPherson Moore sent certified letters to more than 60 sporting goods companies to announce the patent. The letters were sent to alert companies of possible infringement and to garner interest in licensing agreements.
During the basketball goal patent's 17-year lifespan, Ehrat obtained a dozen companies as licensees. Only Fisher-Price and Schutt Manufacturing signed without much difficulty. Ehrat worked to get the other companies licensed, in some cases filing patent infringement lawsuits or threatening to file them. Ehrat's first licensing agreement, signed in 1983, was with Basketball Products International.
Ehrat was involved in eight civil action lawsuits, five of which took place in 1984, when he had to prove for a second time that he had his idea for a breakaway goal before Tyner. Ehrat also defended his patent against other, similar patents issued to sporting goods companies in the early 1980s. Kenneth Mahoney of Toss Back, Charles Engle of Gared Company, and the Porter Equipment Co. all received patents for basketball goal devices, citing Ehrat's patent as prior art. Ehrat was involved in lawsuits with all three companies.
In 1986, Ehrat and attorney McPherson Moore were contacted by William "Toby" Dittrich, who held two patents --United States Patent No. 4,151,989, basketball practice device and United States Patent No. 4,465,277, basketball goal structure. Dittrich was having difficulty licensing his patents to companies because of the confusion over Ehrat's and Tyner's patents. Dittrich assigned his patents to Ehrat in 1987 and they signed a joint licensing agreement to split royalties and settlement money.
In addition to his basketball goal patent, Ehrat also holds two patents for agricultural inventions: United States Patent No. 4,358,054, field-sprayer tank-vehicle having means for on-site metering and mixing of soil-treating chemicals; and United States Patent No. 4,588,127, material-spreading field vehicle having means for on-site metering and mixing of soil-treating chemicals.
Arthur Ehrat died on July 9, 2015.
Related Materials:
Artifacts related to this collection were donated to the Museum's Division of Music, Sports and Entertainment, now the Division of Culture and Arts.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2005 by Arthur Ehrat. An addenda of materials related to Toby Dittrich was donated by Toby Dittrich in 2014.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Sam DeVincent loved music and art and began collecting sheet music with lithographs at an early age.
Series 4: Songwriters: A "songwriter" for this series is defined as a composer, a lyricist, or both.
An overview to the entire DeVincent collection is available here: Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music.
Scope and Contents note:
A "songwriter" for this series is defined as a composer, a lyricist, or both. The songwriters included in this online finding aid are arranged alphabetically in the Biography of Songwriters section and alphabetically in the Name and Select Title Index.
The song sheets associated with each songwriter in this series are generally arranged in the following order: General Songs; Ethnic Songs; Armed Conflict Songs or other Topical Headings; Ragtime; Instrumental; Musical Theater Production Songs; Motion Picture Production Songs; Specialized Song Sheets/Editions; Professional/Artist Copy Song Sheets; and Folios/Volumes. Songs of four or more editions (multiple editions) are usually placed in individual folders and listed separately under the appropriate category, i.e., General Songs, Topical songs, etc. Copyright dates listed in the Container List represent the latest date on any given song sheet, i.e., a song originally published in 1906, but copyrighted in 1946, will show the date 1946.
In the Container List the word "Contains" in a descriptive entry identifies a folder that contains only the song sheet titles specified. For example, Subseries 4.1, folder B "contains" three song sheets and only those three are contained in that folder. The word "Includes" in a descriptive entry identifies a folder that holds not only the song sheet title(s) named but also other song sheet title(s) not specified in the Container List. For example, folder E of subseries 4.1 "includes" (or specifies) three song sheets ("Magic Moments," "Sad Sack," and "Warm and Tender"), but, in addition, folder E contains fourteen other song sheets that are not specified.
Variations in the size of the sheet music in this series may indicate its publication date. Large song sheets-approximately 11" x 13"- were superseded in April 1919, when publishers adopted a new "standard" or "regular" size for song sheets-9 1/4" x 12 1/4"-as recommended by the National Association of Sheet Music Dealers. The probable motivation was that smaller song sheets were cheaper to produce--a conservation effort prompted by World War I.
Titles of Musical Theater Production Songs and Motion Picture Production Songs are in capital letters. Individual song titles are within quotation marks. Portraits of the artist or artists that contributed to a song's success are featured on many song sheets. Songs are filed alphabetically, by title, within each folder.
Dates after the songwriter's name in the Biography of Songwriters section of this Register refer to the songwriter's birth and death dates. Dates after a songwriter's name in the Container List of this Register refer to the dates of the song sheets in this collection for that songwriter. Where two or more songwriters were a notable team over an extended period of time, their collaboration is noted in the Biography of Songwriters and included in the Container List.
The dates in the Container List represent the latest copyright year on the song sheets. The dates are not necessarily the same as the year of the productions. Copyright dates in the Container List represent the latest date on any given piece of sheet music, i.e., a song originally published in 1906, but re-copyrighted in 1946, will show the date 1946.
Arrangement note:
Arranged alphabetically
4.1 - 4.217
4.218: Ephemera
Biographies of Song Writers:
4.42 ADAMS, STANLEY -- (8/14/1907-1/27/1994). Lyricist. Former President of ASCAP; was a leader in the successful effort for Congressional revision of copyright law. Best known song is "What a Diff'rence a Day Made."
4.43 AGER, MILTON -- (10/6/1893-5/6/1979). Composer, publishers, pianist, arranger, vaudeville accompanist, stage entertainer for silent movies. First hit was "Everything is Peaches Down in Georgia," sung by Al Jolson.
4.44 AHLERT, FRED E. -- (9/19/1892-10/20/1953). Composer, publisher. Arranger for Fred Waring. One of first songwriters to quit Tin Pan Alley for Hollywood. First hit was "I'll Get By."
4.45 AKST, HARRY -- (8/15/1894-3/31/1963). Composer. Professional pianist as a teenager. Met Berlin at Camp Upton, worked for him as staff pianist. Hits include: and "Baby Face" and "A Smile Will Go a Long, Long Way."
4.46 ALLEN, STEVE -- (12/26/1921- ). Composer, author, pianist, comedian. Toured with parents in vaudeville; worked in radio; founder and first host of NBC-TV's Tonight Show. Composed the theme from PICNIC.
4.47 ARLEN, HAROLD -- (2/15/1905-4/23/1986). Composer, author, pianist, vocalist. Played professionally at age 15. Signed by The Cotton Club to write with Ted Koehler, producing many hits. Also teamed with Yip Harburg. Write "Get Happy," "Stormy Weather," and the score for THE WIZARD OF OZ.
4.48 ARMSTRONG, HARRY W. -- (7/22/1879-2/28/1951). Composer, vocalist, pianist, producer, prize fighter. Hits include "I Love My Wife, But Oh You Kid" and "Sweet Adeline."
4.49 ASH, PAUL -- (2/11/1891-7/13/1958). Composer, author, conductor, pianist. Led his first band in 1910; became very successful bandleader. Wrote "I'm Knee Deep in Daisies."
4.50 AUSTIN, GENE -- (6/24/1900-1/24/1971). Composer, author. Sang in vaudeville, radio, films, and TV. Established as a recording star with "My Blue Heaven." Wrote "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street."
4.1 BACHARACH, BURT F. -- (5/12/1928- ). Composer and pianist. Collaborated with lyricist Hal David on a number of film scores (e.g., BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) and popular songs, many of which were recorded by Dionne Warwick.
4.51 BALL, ERNEST R. -- (7/21/1878-5/3/1927). Composer, pianist. Began as pianist in vaudeville, performing with his wife Maude Lambert; then worked as a song demonstrator. Successful songs include "Let the Rest of the World Go By"and "Mother Machree."
4.52 BARGY, ROY -- (7/31/1894-1/15/1974). Composer, pianist. Arranger for Paul Whiteman; led several radio show bands. Edited, played, arranged, and composed piano rolls; composed rags. From 1943-1963 was music director for Jimmy Durante.
4.53 BAXTER, PHIL -- (9/5/1896-11/21/1972). Composer, pianist, lyricist, vocalist. Bandleader in 20's and 30's. Wrote "Have a Little Dream on Me" and "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas."
4.54 BAYES, NORA -- (1880-3/19/1928). Vocalist, composer, lyricist. Was a top performing star; known as "The Wurzberger Girl" after her first hit. The first edition of Cohan's "Over There" featured Bayes on the cover. Bayes and husband Jack Norworth wrote "Shine on Harvest Moon."
4.55 BERLE, MILTON -- (7/12/1908- ). Comedian, vocalist, lyricist, composer. Began performing in silent movies at age 5; worked in vaudeville; was a MC in clubs and theaters. Was the first big TV star. Wrote "Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long."
4.2 BERLIN, IRVING -- (5/11/1888-9/22/1989). Composer and lyricist. One of the most versatile and popular songwriters of the 20th century. Wrote songs for some of the most successful Broadway musicals and Hollywood films. Best songs were sentimental ballads performed in unique ragtime or popular styles.
4.56 BERNIE, BEN -- (5/30/1891-10/20/1943). Bandleader, composer. Was a monologist in vaudeville; played violin until he formed his own dance band in early 20's. Known as The Old Maestro. Wrote "Sweet Georgia Brown."
4.57 BRAHAM, DAVID -- (1834-4/11/1905). Composer. Born in London; moved to New York at age 18. Was orchestral leader and composer for minstrel shows, Tony Pastor's, Theatre Comique. THE MULLIGAN GUARD was the first of many collaborations with Ned Harrigan.
4.58 BREUER, ERNEST -- (12/6/1886-4/3/1981). Composer, pianist. Born in Germany, moved to US in youth. Vaudeville pianist. WWII interpreter and entertainer. Wrote "Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?"
4.59 BROOKS, SHELTON -- (5/4/1886-9/6/1975). Composer. Parents American Indian/African American. Pianist in Detroit cafes; moved to Chicago. Composed rages; worked as a mimic in vaudeville. Wrote "Darktown Strutters' Ball" and "Some of These Days."
4.60 BROWN, A. SEYMOUR -- (5/28/1885-12/22/1947). Author, composer, actor. Worked in vaudeville. Composed "Oh You Beautiful Doll."
4.61 BROWN, GEORGE -- ...
4.3 BROWN, LEW -- (12/10/1893-2/5/1958). Lyricist. Achieved success with a number of songs in collaboration with composer Albert Von Tilzer, and later as member of the Ray Henderson and Buddy DeSylva songwriting team on Broadway.
4.62 BROWN, NACIO HERB -- (2/22/1896-9/28/1964). Composer. First toured as piano accompanist; worked as a tailor and realtor before first successes in early 20's. One of the movies most important composers during early sound years and many years thereafter. Wrote "Singin in the Rain" and "You Are My Lucky Star."
4.63 BROWN, NACIO HERB, JR. -- (2/27/1921- ). Composer, author, publisher. Son of Nacio Herb Brown. Professional manager of publishing firms; manager of music catalogs. Songs include "Who Put That Dream in Your Eyes."
4.64 BUCK, GENE -- (8/8/1885-2/25/1957). Lyricist. Chief aide to Ziegfeld; wrote book for some of his shows. Pioneer designer of sheet music covers. Songs include "Hello Frisco" and "Tulip Time."
4.65 BULLOCK, WALTER -- (5/6/1907-8/19/1953). Lyricist. Wrote screenplays and songs for movies. Hits include "This Is Where I Came In" and "When Did You Leave Heaven?"
4.66 CAESAR, IRVING -- (4/4/1895-12/17/1996). Lyricist, composer. Wrote mostly for New York stage but began working for films in 30's. Wrote message-bearing songs for children. Wrote "Count Your Blessings" and "Tea for Two."
4.4 CAHN, SAMMY -- (6/18/1913- ). Lyricist. Wrote many successful songs for Hollywood films, notably for Frank Sinatra, and in collaboration with Charlie Chaplin, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Jule Styne.
4.67 CALLAHAN, J. WILL -- (3/17/1874-11/15/1946). Vocalist, lyricist. Started as an accountant, then singer of illustrated songs. Wrote "Smiles."
4.5 CARMICHAEL, HOAGY -- (11/22/1899-12/27/1981). Composer, lyricist, bandleader, pianist, and singer. Abandoned law profession to pursue career in songwriting. Contributed songs to a number of very popular motion pictures.
4.68 CARROLL, EARL -- (9/16/1893-6/17/1948). Composer. Produced and directed many revues. Built two theaters in New York and had a restaurant in Hollywood. Produced movies. Hits include "Give Me All of You" and "So Long Letty."
4.69 CARROLL, HARRY -- (11/28/1892-12/26/1962). Composer. Pianist in movie theaters, cafes and vaudeville. Wrote for Winter Garden productions; wrote several Broadway stage scores. Hits include "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" and "Trail of the Lonesome Pine."
4.70 CHAMINADE, MME. CECILE -- (born in Paris. Pianist, composer. Toured the US in 1908.
4.71 CLARIBEL (CHARLOTTE ALLINGTON BARNARD) -- (1830-1869) Composer, lyricist. English. Enormously popular in her time. Her "Come Back to Erin" is often regarded as an Irish folk song.
4.72 COBB, GEORGE L. -- (8/31/1886-12/25/1942). Composer. Began as composer of rags. Wrote for Melody magazine. First hit was "All Aboard for Dixieland."
4.6 COHAN, GEORGE M. -- (7/4/1878-11/5/1942). Composer, lyricist, actor, playwright, and producer. Best remembered for elaborately choreographed dance music, flag-waving songs, and songs for musical comedies and vaudeville. Best known for his patriotic songs, "Over There" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
4.73 COLUMBO, RUSS -- (1908-9/2/1934). Composer; primarily a singer, featured in Gus Arnheims band. Theme song for own band was "You Call It Madness." Also wrote "Too Beautiful for Words."
4.74 CONFREY, ZEZ -- (4/3/1895-11/22/1971). Pianist, bandleader, composer. Cut many piano rolls. Solo piano pieces have become standards: "Dizzy Fingers" and "Kitten on the Keys."
4.75 CONN, CHESTER -- (4/14/1896- 4/4/1973). Composer. Manager of publishing companies before owning own firm of Bregman, Vocco & Conn. Hits include "Don't Mind the Rain."
4.76 CONRAD, CON -- (6/18/1891-9/28/1938). Composer, pianist. Worked as theater pianist and in vaudeville; wrote for stage and movies. Had publishing firm. Wrote "The Continental," first film song awarded an Oscar; also wrote "Ma" and "Margie."
4.77 CONVERSE, CHARLES CROZAT -- (10/7/1832-4/8/1918). Composer. Studied in Europe; practiced law upon return. Composed partriotic overtures and cantatas, vocal quartettes. Wrote on philosophical and philological subjects under pen name Karl Redan. Wrote "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
4.78 COOTS, J. FRED -- (5/2/1897-4/8/1985). Composer, pianist. Accompanied vaudeville acts; worked as song plugger; composed for Schuberts shows but returned to club dates in composing independently. Wrote "Love Letters in the Sand" and "You Go to My Head."
4.79 COSLOW, SAM -- (12/27/1902). Composer, lyricist, vocalist. Wrote for Broadway and movies; co-partner in music publishing; co-founded Soundies, song-movie shorts for coin machines. Hits include "Cocktails for Two" and "Was It a Dream?"
4.80 COWAN, LYNN -- (6/8/1888- ). Composer, actor, director, vocalist, pianist. Worked in vaudeville and as a film actor. Composed background scores for early sound film, and songs for LADIES MUST LOVE. Manager of Castle Terrace Club in Okinawa. Wrote "Kisses."
4.80 COWAN, RUBEY -- (2/27/1891-7/28/1957). Composer. Pianist in film theaters at age 13. Co-founded publishing company; wrote first show for Paramount Theater in New York; headed NBCs radio talent dept. then Paramounts radio dept. Wrote "You Can Expect Kisses from Me."
4.80 COWAN, STANLEY -- (2/3/1918- 12/13/1991). Composer, author, director, publicist. Wrote special material for orchestras, musicals, films; Produced shows for USAF during WWII. Joined father's (Rubey Cowan) firm, Rogers and Cowan. Wrote "Do I Worry."
4.81 COWARD, NOEL -- (12/16/1899-3/26/1973). Composer, lyricist, actor, playwright, producer. Born in England; began professional career at age 11. Best known of many popular songs are "I'll Follow My Secret Heart" and "I'll See You Again."
4.82 CRUMIT, FRANK -- (9/26/1889-9/7/1943). Composer, author, singer, actor. Vaudeville and stage performer. Had radio series with Julia Sanderson. Known for novelty numbers such as "Abdul Abulbul Amir."
4.83 CUGAT, XAVIER -- (1/1/1900- 10/27/1990). Bandleader, composer. Born in Spain; moved to Cuba when young; studied in Berlin; gave concert tours. Worked as a caricaturist for the LA Times. Led orchestra specializing in Spanish and Latin American music. Wrote "My Shawl," his theme song.
4.84 DANIELS, CHARLES N. -- (4/12/1878-1/21/1943). Composer, publisher. Pseudonym: Neil Moret. One of most significant ragtime entrepreneurs. Wrote first motion picture title song: "Mickey." Other songs include "You Tell Me Your Dream," "Moonlight and Roses," and "Chloe."
4.85 DANKS, HART PEASE -- (4/16/1834-11/20/1903). Composer. Singer and conductor in New York churches and concert stages. Published sacred and choral works; collaborated on three operettas. Best known for popular songs such as "Silver Threads Among the Gold."
4.86 DAVIS, BENNY -- (8/21/1895- 12/20/1979). Lyricist, vocalist. Performed in vaudeville as a child. Toured with Benny Fields as accompanist to Blossom Seeley. Hits include "Baby Face" and "Margie."
4.87 DEKOVEN, REGINALD -- (4/3/1859-1/16/1920). Composer, conductor, music critic. America's first significant composer of operetta: ROBIN HOOD the first American operetta to be performed in London. Founded the Philharmonic Orchestra in Washington, D.C. in 1902. Best known song is "Oh Promise Me."
4.88 DELEATH, VAUGHN -- (9/26/1896-5/28/1943). Vocalist, pianist, composer, lyricist. Reportedly the first woman on radio, sometimes credited with originating crooning. Played vaudeville, performed on Broadway, and recorded frequently. Hits include "At Eventide" and "Ducklings on Parade."
4.89 DEMING, MRS. L. L. -- (may be wife of Legrand L. Deming, born in Connecticut 10/29/1812.
4.7 DeROSE, PETER -- (3/10/1900-4/24/1953). Composer. Formed a radio team, The Sweethearts of the Air, with May Singhi Breen, whom he subsequently married. His most famous piece, "Deep Purple," became a commercial hit when lyrics were added.
4.3 DeSYLVA, BUDDY -- (1/27/1895-7/11/1950). Lyricist. Produced a number of hit songs with George Gershwin and particularly for the singer, Al Jolson. Also worked with Jerome Kern, Victor Herbert, and later as member of the Ray Henderson-Lew Brown songwriting partnership.
4.90 DILLON, HARRY -- (1866- 2/5/1916). Brother of John and Will. Started performing career on minstrel shows.
4.90 DILLON, JOHN -- (12/5/1882-9/2/1953). Brother of Will and Harry. Followed brother Harry into ministrel shows; first vaudeville engagement was at Tony Pastor's; toured. Operated grocery store in hometown, Cortland, NY, after retirement.
4.90 DILLON, WILLIAM AUSTIN -- (11/6/1877-2/10/1966). Composer, author, actor, businessman. Worked in vaudeville, medicine and minstrel shows; toured with Harry Lauder. Successes include "All Alone" and "I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad."
4.91 DIXON, HAROLD -- ...
4.8 DONALDSON, WALTER -- (2/15/1893-7/15/1947). Composer. Hired in 1919 as staff writer for Irving Berlin Inc. Wrote songs throughout the 1920s that made him one of the most popular composers of the decade. Had many collaborations, the most successful with Gus Kahn.
4.9 DRESSER, PAUL -- (4/22/1858-1/30/1906). Composer, lyricist, performer and publisher. One of the first American performers to enter the music publishing trade. Wrote songs for burlesque and vaudeville stage shows. Considered the leading American writer of sentimental ballads of the late 19th century. Best-known song: "My Gal Sal."
4.92 DUBIN, AL -- (6/10/1891-2/11/1945). Lyricist. Served overseas in entertainment unit in WWI. Biggest song successes when teamed with Harry Warren. Hits include "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."
4.10 EDWARDS, GUS -- (8/18/1879-11/7/1945). Composer, lyricist, impresario, and singer. Collaborated with lyricist Will D. Cobb producing several hit songs introduced in Broadway reviews, notably Ziegfeld's Follies of 1907 and 1910. Best-known songs include "School Days" and "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon."
4.93 EDWARDS, LEO -- (2/22/1886-7/12/1978). Composer, author, producer. Brother of Gus Edwards. Worked in vaudeville; was staff writer for music publishing firms; cabaret producer. Hit songs include "Isle d'Amour," "Inspiration," and the official Boy Scout song "Tomorrow's America."
4.94 EMMET, JOSEPH KLINE -- (3/13/1841-1892). Actor, composer. Performed in a minstrel company using a broken German dialect that made him famous. Several plays starring his 'Fritz' character were written for him. Successful songs were "Emmet's Lullaby" and "Sweet Violets."
4.95 ERDMAN, ERNIE -- (10/23/1879-11/1/1946). Composer. Was pianist in the Original New Orleans Jazz Band. Worked on professional staff of Chicago music publishers. Songs hits include "Nobody's Sweetheart" and "Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye."
4.96 FAIN, SAMMY -- (6/17/1902- 12/6/1989). Composer, vocalist, pianist. Was a self-taught pianist; began composing songs while in grammar school. Very successful partnership with Irving Kahal writing songs for movies. Hits include "Dear Hearts and Gentle People," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "That Old Feeling." Nominated for the Oscar 10 times; won twice.
4.97 FEIST, FELIX -- (Wrote "Can't You See Im Lonely."
4.97 FEIST, LEO -- (1/3/1869-6/1/1930). Publisher, lyricist. When early songs didnt sell well Feist partnered with Joe Frankenthaler to start what became one of the leading publishing firms. His successes include "Those Lost Happy Days" and "Smokey Mokes."
4.98 FIELD, EUGENE -- (9/3/1950-11/4/1895). Author. Newspaper columnist for Chicago Morning News. His poems were set to music.
4.99 FIELDS, DOROTHY -- (7/15/1905-3/28/1974). Author, lyricist. At age 15 sang in an amateur show by Rodgers and Hart; worked with brother Herbert as co-librettist on several Broadway shows. Most successful collaboration was with Jimmy McHugh. Wrote "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "I'm in the Mood for Love." Won an Oscar with Jerome Kern for "The Way You Look Tonight."
4.100 FIORITO, TED -- (12/20/1900-7/22/1971). Composer, conductor, pianist. Began as a song demonstrator. First hit song was "Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye." Formed band in early 20's and continued to lead an orchestra in the 60's. Other hits include "Alone at Last" and "Charley, My Boy."
4.101 FISHER, FRED -- (9/30/1875-1/14/1942). Composer, lyricist. Immigrated from Germany at age 25 but soon assimilated popular music idioms. Early success was "Come, Josephine, in My Flying Machine." Started composing for films in late 20's. Hits include "Dardanella" and "Your Feets Too Big."
4.11 FOSTER, STEPHEN -- (7/4/1826-1/13/1864). Composer and lyricist of popular household, plantation, and minstrel songs of the 19th century. Produced over 200 songs of two main types: sentimental ballads of hearth and home, and songs for the famous Christy's Minstrels.
4.102 FRANKLIN, DAVE -- (9/28/1895-2/3/1970). Composer, lyricist, pianist. Pianist in publishing house at age 13; vaudeville accompanist; played nightclubs in New York and European cities. Hits include "The Anniversary Waltz" and "When My Dream Boat Comes Home."
4.62 FREED, ARTHUR -- (9/9/1894-4/12/1973). Lyricist, producer. Wrote for vaudeville; managed theater in Los Angeles; produced shows. Began writing for movie musicals in 1929. Many hits include "After Sundown," "All I Do Is Dream of You," and "Singin' in the Rain."
4.103 FRIEDMAN, LEO -- (7/16/1869-3/7/1927). Composer. Studied in Chicago and Berlin. Two biggest hits were "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland."
4.104 FRIEND, CLIFF -- (10/1/1893-6/27/74). Composer, lyricist, pianist. Wrote for Broadway and movies; was a pianist for vaudeville performers in US and England. Also worked as a test pilot. Hits include "Give Me a Night in June" and "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down."
4.12 FRIML, RUDOLF -- (12/7/1879-11/12/1972). Composer and pianist. One of the principal exponents of traditional operetta and early musical comedy in the United States. Collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II and others to produce the most popular American musicals of the 1920s.
4.105 FROST, JACK -- (11/25/1893-10/21/1959). Composer, lyricist. Writer with Chicago music company; wrote special material for Eva Tanguay and Trixie Friganza; worked in advertising. Hits include "When You and I Were Young Maggie Blues."
4.106 GARBER, JAN -- (11/5/1897-10/4/1977). Violinist, bandleader, composer. Played violin in Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra; formed dance band in early 20's; still conducting into the 60's. Wrote his theme song, "My Dear."
4.107 GAY, BYRON -- (8/28/1886-12/23/1945). Composer, author, explorer. Educated at US Navel Academy and was on 1933 Byrd Expedition. Successful songs include "The Little Ford Rambled Right Along" and "The Vamp."
4.108 GILBERT, L. WOLFE -- (8/31/1886-7/12/1970). Lyricist. Started as a singer in New York clubs, writing parodies of popular songs for entertainers such as Al Jolson. Moved to Hollywood where he wrote for films and the Eddie Cantor radio show. Had his own publishing firm. Hits include "Lucky Lindy" and "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee."
4.13 GERSHWIN, IRA -- (12/6/1896-8/17/1983). Lyricist. Collaborated with various composers throughout his life, at times using pseudonym, Arthur Francis. He collaborated with brother George from 1924 until the latter's death in 1937. Their first musical comedy together was LADY, BE GOOD.
4.13 GERSHWIN, GEORGE -- (9/26/1898-7/11/1937). Composer, conductor, and pianist. Composer of Broadway shows and one of America's most famous composers of popular concert music. Brought jazz and classical styles together in concert pieces, African American folk music and opera, e.g. PORGY AND BESS.
4.109 GILLESPIE, HAVEN -- (2/6/1888-3/14/1975). Lyricist. Left job as journeyman printer and began writing songs in the mid-20's. Wrote for film, theater and radio. Awarded Freedoms Foundation Award for "God's Country." Hits include "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and "You Go to My Head."
4.110 GLOVER, CHARLES W -- (1806-3/23/1863). Composer. English. Violinist in orchestras of Drury Lane and Covent Garden; musical director of Queen's Theatre. "Do They Think of Me at Home" was one of his greatest successes in the USA.
4.111 GLOVER, STEPHEN -- (mid 1812-1870). Composer. English. One of his most popular songs was "What Are the Wild Waves Saying?"
4.112 GOETZ, E. RAY -- (6/12/1886-6/12/1954). Composer, lyricist, producer. Contributed to many Broadway musicals. Hits include "For Me and My Gal" and "Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula."
4.113 GOODHART, AL -- (1/26/1905-11/30/1955). Composer, pianist. Early career as radio announcer, vaudeville pianist, special material writer. With USO during WWII. Hits include "Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear," "I Apologize," and "Who Walks in When I Walk Out?"
4.114 GORDON, MACK -- (6/21/1904-3/1/1959). Lyricist, vocalist. Boy soprano in minstrel shows; comedian and singer in vaudeville. Hits include "Chatanooga Choo-Choo," "Time on My Hands," and "You'll Never Know" which won an Academy Award.
4.115 GREEN, JOHN W. -- (10/10/1908- 5/15/1989 ). Composer, arranger, pianist, ` bandleader. Accompanied various singers; formed own band. On many radio shows in New York then moved to Hollywood. MGM musical director for many years. Scored and conducted three Academy Award films. Hits include "Body and Soul" and "I Cover the Waterfront."
4.116 GUEST, EDGAR -- ( 8/20/1881-8/5/1959). Poet, Newspaperman for Detroit Free Press. Poems Syndicated in nearly 300 papers; 17 volumes of poetry published. Apeared on national radio for many years.
4.117 GUMBLE, ALBERT -- (9/10/1883-11/30/1946). Composer, pianist for publishers. Entertained troops during WWII. Hits include "Are You Sincere?" and "How's Every Little Thing in Dixie?"
4.118 HALL, WENDELL WOODS -- (8/23/1896-4/2/1969). Composer, author, singer, ukelele player. Known as "The Red-Headed Music Maker." Played the ukelele on radio and in vaudeville; made world radio tour in 20's. Worked as advertizing executive. Successful songs include "Underneath the Mellow Moon" and "Whispering Trees."
4.14 HAMMERSTEIN, OSCAR, II -- (7/12/1895-8/23/1960). Lyricist, librettist, producer, and publisher. Produced and wrote some of the most successful Broadway musicals in collaboration with composer Richard Rodgers and Jerome Kern. Many of his works later appeared in Hollywood films.
4.14 HAMMERSTEIN, OSCAR, I -- (5/8/1846-8/1/1919). Composer. An impresario who wrote several works, including orchestral pieces for use before or as intermezzi in his productions, a ballet, MARGUERITE (1896), and the operettas, SANTA MARIA (1896) and THE KOHINOOR (1893).
4.119 HANLEY, JAMES F. -- (2/17/1892-2/8/1942). Composer, pianist. Accompanist in vaudeville. Produced WWI army show TOOT SWEET. Wrote for early sound movie shorts. Hits include "Second Hand Rose" and "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart."
4.57 HARRIGAN, EDWARD -- ...
4.15 HARRIS, CHARLES K. -- (5/1/1865-12/22/1930). Composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Known principally as a successful publisher of popular music. First publisher to use an illustration of a performer on a song sheet cover. Most successful song: "After the Ball." Cofounder of ASCAP.
4.120 HARRISON, ANNIE FORTESQUE -- (Lady Arthur Hill)(1851-1944). Composer. Best known songs include "In the Gloaming."
4.14 HART, LORENZ -- (5/2/1845-11/22/1913). Lyricist and librettist. Collaborated with composer Richard Rodgers on the scores of several successful Broadway musicals and Hollywood productions.
4.121 HAYS, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. -- (7/19/1837-7/22/1907). Began writing songs at age 19. Very popular because of charming melodies, easy execution of music, and lyrics that projected authentic feelings.
4.122 HEMANS, MRS FELICIA DOROTHEA -- (1794-1835). Very prolific and popular English poet. Composer for some of the songs was her younger sister Harriet Mary Browne.
4.3 HENDERSON, RAY -- (12/1/1896-12/31/1970). Composer. Collaborated extensively with lyricists Lew Brown and Buddy DeSylva. Wrote many of the hit tunes of the 1920s and 1930s. Produced music of wide popular appeal performed by Al Jolson and others on stage and in films.
4.16 HERBERT, VICTOR -- (2/1/1859-5/26/1924). Composer, cellist, and conductor. Successful particularly as composer of American operettas, of which forty (40) were written between 1894 and 1924, mostly romantic and having happy endings.
4.123 HILL, DEDETTE LEE -- (11/2/1900-6/5/1950). Collaborated with her husband, Billy Hill, and later with Johnny Marks.
4.123 HILL, BILLY -- (7/14/1899-12/24/1940). Also used nom de plume George Brown. Composer, author, pianist, violinist, conductor. Worked as a cowboy and surveyors assistant in the west. Led first jazz band in Salt Lake City. Best known songs include "In the Chapel in the Moonlight" and "The Last Roundup."
4.124 HILLIARD, BOB -- (1/28/1918-2/1/1971). Lyricist. Wrote scores for Broadway. Successes include "Our Day Will Come" and "They've Got an Awful Lot of Coffee in Brazil."
4.113 HOFFMAN, AL -- (9/25/1902-7/21/1960). Composer, lyricist, drummer. Bandleader in hometown, Seattle; drummer in NY night clubs; songwriter early 30's through 50's. Hits include "Black Coffee" and "Mairzy Doats."
4.125 HOWARD, JOSEPH E. -- (2/12/1878-5/19/1961). Composer, author, actor, singer, producer, director. Boy soprano in vaudeville; wrote Broadway stage scores; also produced and directed on Broadway. Entertainer in night clubs, radio, TV. Hits include "Goodbye, My Lady Love" and "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now."
4.126 INGRAHAM, HERBERT -- (7/7/1883-8/24/1910) Music Director of touring theater companies. Led own orchestra. Staff composer for Shapiro Bernstein Publishing Co. Brother of Roy.
4.126 INGRAHAM, ROY -- (12/6/1893-?) Composer, author, singer. First song published at age 17. Had own orchestra; toured in vaudeville. Wrote for several motion pictures; radio broadcaster. Wrote special material for Sophie Tucher and others. Brother of Herbert.
4.17 JACOBS-BOND, CARRIE -- (8/1861-12/1946). Composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Called "the Riley of the Music World," her songs, such as "A Perfect Day," and "I Love You Truly," are beloved by many.
4.127 JENKINS, GORDON -- (5/12/1910-5/1/1984). Composer, author, conductor, arranger. Played organ in movie theater at age 10; quit high school to play piano in speakeasy. Pianist, arranger for leading bands; Broadway radio conductor. Grammy Award for arrangement of "It Was a Very Good Year" as recorded by Frank Sinatra. Hits include "P.S. I Love You" and "When a Woman Loves a Man."
4.128 JENTES, HARRY -- (8/28/1897-1/19/1958). Composer, pianist. Successes include "He May Be Old But He Has Young Ideas" and "Put Me to Sleep with an Old-Fashioned Melody."
4.18 JOHNSON, CHARLES L. -- (12/3/1876-12/28/1950). Composer and ragtime pianist. Known for his most popular ragtime piece, "Dill Pickles" (1906); also, piano pieces that evoked American Indian culture.
4.129 JONES, ISHAM -- (1/31/1894-10/19/1956). Composer, bandleader, pianist. Formed and led outstanding dance band, touring U.S. and Europe. Many radio appearances and recordings. Equally well known as composer. Two standards are "It Had to Be You" and "I'll See You in My Dreams."
4.19 KAHN, GUS -- (11/6/1886-10/8/1941). Lyricist. Writer of lyrical material for vaudeville performances and Hollywood film musicals. Collaborated with such leading composers as Donaldson, Gershwin, Romberg, Whiting, and Van Alstyne.
4.130 KALMAR, BERT -- (2/16/1884-9/18/1947). Lyricist, publisher. Worked in tent shows and vaudeville as a child. Wrote scores for Broadway and songs for movies; wrote screenplays. Hits include "I Wanna Be Loved by You," "Three Little Words," and "Who's Sorry Now?"
4.131 KASSEL, ART -- (1/18/1896-2/3/1965). Composer, author, vocalist, saxophonist, lyricist and bandleader. Early radio and TV appearances as bandleader after service in World War I. Composed his two theme songs, "Doodle Doo Doo" and "Hells Bells."
4.132 KENNEDY, HARRY -- (circa 1800-1894). Minstrel; ventriloquist who used two dummies simultaneously. Brother William H. Kennedy was his publisher and occassional collaborator.
4.133 KENNY, NICK -- (2/3/1895- ? ). Lyricist, newspaper reporter, produced early amateur radio show; radio editor of New York Daily Mirror. Successes include "Love Letters in the Sand" and "Gone Fishin'."
4.133 KENNY, CHARLES -- (6/23/1898- ? ). Composer, violinist, author. Collaborated with brother Nick.
4.20 KERN, JEROME -- (1/27/1885-11/11/1945). Composer. Considered the most prolific composer of Broadway musicals. He extended the popularity of the musical play form by introducing songs and themes, avoiding operatic styles, and using jazz rhythms and chords instead to characterize the dramatic demands of plot.
4.134 KING, ROBERT A. -- (9/20/1862-4/14/1932). Composer. Wrote under several noms de plume including Mary Earl ("Beautiful Ohio"), R. A. Wilson, and Mrs. Ravenhall. Staff composer for music publishers. Appeared in vaudeville. Hits include "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream."
4.135 KIPLING, RUDYARD -- (12/30/1865-1/18/1936). Author, poet. Best remembered for his celebrations of British imperialism, his tales and poems of British soldiers in India and Burma, and his children's stories. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.
4.136 KLICKMANN, F. HENRI -- (2/4/1885- ? ). Composer, pianist, violinist; arranger for Broadway musicals, music publishers, dance bands, and performers. Professional violinist, pianist, and accordianist. Successes include "Sing Me the Rosary" and "Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight."
4.137 KOEHLER, TED -- (7/14/1894-1/17/1973). Lyricist. Began music career as pianist for nickelodeon, silent film theaters. Wrote for Cotton Club, other stage shows, and films. Most successful collaboration with Harold Arlen ("Stormy Weather"). Also wrote "I Love a Parade" and "I've Got the World on a String."
4.138 KRAMER, ALEX -- (9/13/1893-8/25/1955). Composer, arranger; cellist in theater orchestras; arranger for vaudeville and muscial comedy singers. Compiled and arranged many music folios. Collaborated with wife, Joan Whitney. Hits include "High on a Windy Hill" and "Candy."
4.139 KUMMER, CLARE (Clare Rodman Beecher) -- (1/9/1888-4/21/1958). Composer, playwright. Wrote scores and librettos for Broadway. Successes include "Bluebird."
4.140 LAWNHURST, VEE -- (11/24/1905- 5/16/1992). Pianist, singer, composer. Arranged piano rolls. Original member of Roxy's Radio Gang. Successful songs include "Sunday Go to Meetin' Time."
4.141 LAWRENCE, JACK -- (4/7/1912- ? ). Composer, lyricist. Organized bands for the armed services. Wrote "Tenderly," and English Lyrics for "Ay, Ay, Ay" and "Cielito Lindo."
4.142 LEONARD, EDDIE, -- (10/18/1875-7/29/1941). Composer, author, singer, actor; professional baseball player. Performed in minstrel shows, sang in variety shows. Fought in the Spanish American War. Wrote "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider."
4.143 LESLIE, EDGAR -- (12/31/1885-1/20/1976). Lyricist, author, publisher. Wrote special material for performers and films. Hits include "For Me and My Gal" and "Moon over Miami."
4.144 LEWIS, AL -- (4/18/1901-4/4/1967). Composer, lyricist; became a music publisher later in career. Hits include "Now's the Time to Fall in Love."
4.145 LEWIS, SAM M. -- (10/25/1885-11/22/1959). Lyricist. Started as runner in a brokerage house. Sang in cafes; wrote material for self and other performers, also for stage and movies. Hits include "Dinah," "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue," and "How Ya Gonna Keep' Em Down on the Farm?"
4.146 LIEBER, JERRY -- (4/25/1933- ). Lyricist. Grew up in Baltimore hearing R&B. Struggled with acting in Hollywood when met and teamed with Mike Stoller to write many hits, including "Searching."
4.147 LITTLE, JACK -- (5/28/1900-4/9/1956). Pianist, composer, lyricist, vocalist, bandleader. Had a popular radio porgram in 20's. Led a band in the 30's. Successes include "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town."
4.148 LOESSER, FRANK -- (6/29/1910-7/28/1969). Composer, lyricist, publisher. Wrote songs for college shows and later for Army shows. Worked as newspaper reporter and caricaturist in vaudeville. Became leading writer for Broadway and Hollywood musicals. Founded own publishing company. Won Oscar and Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Among many hits are "Two Sleepy People" and "On a Slow Boat to China."
4.149 LOGAN, FREDERICK KNIGHT -- (10/15/1871-6/11/1928). Composer. Wrote sentimental ballads in collaboration with his mother, Viginia. Wrote "Missouri Waltz."
4.149 LOGAN, VIRGINIA K. -- (1800's). Mother of Frederick Knight Logan.
4.150 LOMBARDO, CARMEN -- (7/16/1903-4/17/71). Arranger and composer in brother Guy Lombardo's dance band for forty years. Played sax with heavy vibrato and sang most vocals.
4.151 LYMAN, ABE -- (8/4/1897-10/23/1957). Composer, author, singer. Led own dance orchestra, The Californians.
4.69 MacDONALD, BALLARD -- (10/15/1882-11/17/1935). Lyricist. Began writing material for vaudeville after attending Princeton. Lyricist, librettist for Broadway musicals.
4.152 MANCINI, HENRY -- (4/16/1924-). Composer. Very popular composer of songs and themes for film ("Moon River" and "The Days of Wine and Roses") and TV ("Peter Gunn" and "Mr Lucky"). Began career in Pittsburgh dance bands pre-WWII.
4.153 MARKS, EDWARD B. -- (11/28/1865-12/17/1945). Publisher. Started company with focus on popular music but added the more serious composers. Bought the Cohan Publishing Company; and was the agent for Polish and English companies. His own early song success was "The Little Lost Child."
4.154 MASTERS, FRANKIE -- (4/12/1904- ). Composer, bandleader. Led hotel and ballroom bands in New York and Chicago; on the West Coast circuit in 30's and 40's; TV shows in the 50's. Active in the midwest into the 70's.
4.155 McGLENNON, FELIX -- ...
4.156 McHUGH, JIMMY -- (7/10/1894-5/23/69 ). Composer. Early fame with score for BLACKBIRDS OF 1928. Popular composer for movies during 30's-40's. Important collaboration with many songwriters, especially Dorothy Fields. Hits include "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street."
4.157 McKINLEY, MABEL -- (1879?-6/7/1937) Pseudonym: Vivian Grey. Daughter of President McKinley's youngest brother, Abner. Married Dr. Hermanus Baer of Reading, PA.
4.21 MERCER, JOHNNY -- (11/18/1909-6/25/1976). Composer and lyricist with a gift for incorporating southern vernacular speech and images of country settings into songs. Wrote lyrics for Broadway musicals and words and music to many popular songs.
4.158 MERRILL, BLANCHE -- (7/23/1895-10/5/1966). Author, lyricist. Wrote special material for Eva Tanguay, Fanny Brice, and other prominent singers; also wrote for musicals. Successes include "Jazz Baby."
4.159 MERRILL, BOB -- (5/17/1921- 2/17/1998). Composer, lyricist. Leading writer of novelty songs in the 50's, including "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window" and "If I Knew You Were Comin' Id've Baked a Cake."
4.145 MEYER, GEORGE W. -- (1/1/1884-8/28/1959). Composer of many popular songs during the first half of the 20th Century, including "For Me and My Gal," "Tuck Me to Sleep in My Old Tucky Home," and "Sittin in the Corner."
4.160 MILLARD, HARRISON -- (11/27/1829-9/10/1895). Composer. Singer early in career, studied in Italy and toured England and the Continent. Returned to U.S.; wounded in the Civil War. Wrote about 350 songs and many church works. Set UNCLE TOM'S CABIN to music.
4.161 MILLARD, MRS. P. -- ...
4.73 MILLER, NED -- (8/2/1899-1/26/1990)
4.22 MILLS, KERRY -- (2/1/1869-12/5/1948). Composer and music publisher. Specialized in ragtime songs and instrumental pieces. His ragtime cakewalks and the non-ragtime piece, "Meet Me in St. Louis," popularized by Judy Garland, were particularly successful.
4.162 MOHR, HALSEY -- ...
4.163 MOORE, THOMAS -- (6/28/1779-2/26/1852). Irish poet, composer, lyricist, musician.Provided words and music to a selection of Irish songs and did much to kindle an interest in little known Irish tunes. As poet, he appealed to a wide range of tastes.
4.23 MONACO, JAMES V. -- (1/13/1885-12/17/1945). Composer. Earned reputation as a Tin Pan Alley composer playing rag music in cabarets and nightclubs. Contributed several song hits to Broadway and Hollywood musical productions, among which is the song, "You Made Me Love You," made famous by Judy Garland in 1937.
4.164 MORGAN, CAREY -- (12/25/1885-1/6/1960). Composer. Wrote special material for vaudeville and scores for Broadway. Hits include "Rain" and "My Own Iona."
4.165 MORGAN, RUSS -- (4/19/1904-8/8/1969). Bandleader, composer. Arranger for Victor Herbert, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, Chick Webb, among many others. Developed muted wha-wha trombone style with Freddy Martin. Wrote songs for Cotton Club Revues. Musical driector for Brunswick Records.
4.166 MORSE, THEODORA -- (7/11/1890-11/10/1953). Lyricist. Wrote under pseudonyms D. A. Esrom, Dorothy Terriss, and Dolly Morse. Most famous songs written in collaboration with husband Theodore Morse: "Three O'Clock in the Morning" and "My Wonderful One."
4.167 MORSE, THEODORE -- (4/13/1873-5/24/1924). Composer. Collaborated with several lyricists including his wife, Theodora. Successes include "M-O-T-H-E-R" and "Blue Bell."
4.168 MUIR, LEWIS F. -- (1884-1/19/1950). Composer. Ragtime pianist. Hits include "Take Me to That Swanee Shore" and "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee."
4.169 NELSON, STEVE -- ( ? ). Hits include "Frosty the Snowman."
4.169 NELSON, EDWARD G. -- (3/18/1885-3/30/1969). Composer, conductor; pianist in nightclubs and cabarets; orchestra leader. Wrote material for vaudeville and songs for movies. Successes include "Peggy O'Neil."
4.169 NELSON, EDWARD G., JR. -- (3/26/1916-). Composer, author. Served with Special Services during WWII.
4.24 NEVIN, ETHELBERT -- (11/25/1862-2/17/1901). Composer. Wrote songs and short piano pieces, sometimes overly sentimental but expressive of gentler and amorous moods.
4.170 NOBLE, RAY -- (12/17/1903- ). Composer, pianist, bandleader. Established as outstanding leader of dance bands in England and then in USA after emigrating. Radio work including Burns & Allen show. Successes include "Good Night Sweetheart" and "The Very Thought of You."
4.54 NORWORTH, JACK -- (1/5/1879-9/1/1959). Vocalist, Composer, lyricist. Entertainer in vaudeville and Broadway; blackface comedian in minstrel shows. Performed and collaborated with wife Nora Bayes. Their most famous song "Shine on Harvest Moon." Wrote lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
4.171 OLMAN, ABE -- (12/20/1888-1/4/1984). Composer, publisher. Started as a song demonstrator; established LaSalle Music Company. Wrote for early movie musicals. Hits include "Oh, Johnny Oh" and "Down Among the Sheltering Palms."
4.172 PALEY, HERMAN -- (5/5/1879-11/4/1955). Composer, publisher, radio executive. Studied music professionally. Worked as staff composer, then executive with music publishing companies. Director of New York Stage Door Canteen shows; talent scout and composer for Fox Films.
4.173 PARISH, MITCHELL -- (7/10/1900-4/2/1993). Lyricist. Attended Columbia and NYU. Staff writer for music publisher; began writing lyrics in 20's. Among the most famous songs are "Deep Purple," "Moonlight Serenade," and "Star Dust."
4.174 PETRIE, H. W. -- (3/4/1857-5/25/1925). Composer, vocalist. Performed in minstrel shows. Successes include "Asleep in the Deep" and "I Dont Want to Play in Your Yard."
4.175 PIANTADOSI, AL -- (7/18/1884-4/8/1955). Composer, pianist; accompanist in vaudeville. Popularized ragtime when touring US, Europe, and Australia. Worked for NY publishing house. Hits include "Pal of My Cradle Days."
4.25 PORTER, COLE A. -- (6/9/1891-10/15/1964). Composer and lyricist. One of the most thoroughly trained popular songwriters, whose theatrically elegant, sophisticated, and musically complex songs contributed to America's most popular music of the 20th century.
4.176 POWELL, W. C. -- (Pseudonym: Polla)
4.114 REVEL, HARRY -- (12/21/1905-11/3/1958). Composer and pianist. Born in London, had early classical piano training. Moved to USA and accompanied Mack Gordon in vaudeville. They started writing for Ziegfeld but were in Hollywood by 1933. The team broke up in 1939. He founded Realm Music Co., a publishing house, in 1949. Successes include "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?"
4.177 ROBERTS, LEE S. -- (11/12/1884-9/10/1949). Composer, pianist. Worked in piano manufacturing business. Developed QRS artist-recorded music rolls and catalogs. Pianist on radio. Hits include "A Little Birch Canoe and You" and "Patches."
4.178 ROBINSON, J. RUSSEL -- (7/8/1892-9/30/1963). Composer, lyricist, pianist. Began performing and composing as a teenager. Played with Original Dixieland Band; wrote songs for London revues; made piano rolls; accompanied singers. Pianist and vocal coach for radio show CHILDRENS HOUR. Hits include "Margie."
4.179 ROBISON, WILLARD -- (9/18/1894-6/24/1968). Composer, lyricist, pianist, vocalist, bandleader. Radio performer most active in 20's and 30's. Formed Deep River Orchestra; often featured African American folk music and spirituals. Radio shows "Deep River Music" and "Plantation Echoes." Hits include "Cottage for Sale."
4.14 RODGERS, RICHARD -- (6/26/1902-12/30/1979). Composer. Collaborated with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, whose partnership led to a series of musicals that enjoyed unprecedented artistic, critical, and financial success in both Hollywood and Broadway in the 1930's and 1940's.
4.26 ROMBERG, SIGMUND -- (7/29/1887-11/9/1951). Composer and conductor. Composed musical scores in the traditional style of the operetta of the 1920s. Proved to be more flexible than rival Rudolph Friml in adapting to the new tastes and musical styles emerging in American music of the 1930's.
4.180 ROONEY, PAT -- (7/4/1880-9/9/1962). Composer, vocalist. Dancer-singer in vaudeville and on Broadway, first with sister, then with wife Marion Brent. Successes include "You Be My Ootsie, I'll Be Your Tootsie."
4.27 ROOT, FREDERICK W. -- (6/13/1846-?). Composer and music teacher. He was the son of George Frederick Root. One of the country's most active and successful singing teachers, F. W. Root's School of Singing describes the first of his many singing methods.
4.27 ROOT, GEORGE F. -- (8/30/1820-8/6/1895). Composer and music educator. Pseudonym: G. Friedrich Wurzel. Best known for his songs of sentiment and patriotism published during the Civil War era. Also composed over 30 hymns and gospel songs rivaling Stephen Foster in number and popular success.
4.28 ROSE, BILLY -- (9/6/1899-2/10/1966). Lyricist and producer. Provided the lyrics to some of the most successful popular songs of the 1930's and 1940's. Also produced several Broadway musicals and perhaps known more for his editing, polishing, and promoting of songs than as a lyricist.
4.181 ROSE, VINCENT -- (6/13/1880-5/20/1944). Composer, pianist, vocalist, bandleader. Early training in Italy. Formed orchestra 1904. Successes include "Whispering."
4.182 ROSENFELD, MONROE H. -- (1861-12/13/1918). Pseudonyms: F. Heiser and F. Belasco. Composer, journalist. Credited with coining the term 'Tin Pan Alley.' Wrote more than 1,000 songs.
4.183 ROSSITER, WILL -- (3/15/1867-6/10/1954). Composer, publisher. Pseudonyms: Cleve Williams and W. R. Williams. Immigrated to USA from England in 1881. Appeared at Tony Pastor's. Very successful publisher of popular music; initiated innovative marketing techniques for sheet music. Wrote "I'd Love to Live in Loveland with a Girl Like You."
4.130 RUBY, HARRY -- (1/27/1895-2/23/1974). Composer. Professional pianist at age 16; song plugger for Tin Pan Alley publishers; vaudeville performer. Had many collaborators; partnership with Bert Kalmar produced many hits including score for Marx Brothers' ANIMAL CRACKERS; wrote theme for TV series THE REAL McCOYS.
4.130 RUBY, HERMAN -- (3/15/1891-7/31/1959). Composer. Older brother of Harry Ruby. Hits include "My Sunny Tennessee" and "Cecelia."
4.184 RUSSELL, HENRY -- (12/24/1812-12/8/1900). English. Composer, pianist; sang with children's opera troupe; studied composition in Italy. Came to US, worked as organist and choirmaster, then toured as one of the few major singers of his time to present unassisted entertainment. Wrote "The Old Arm Chair" and "Woodman! Spare That Tree!"
4.185 SANDERS, JOE -- (10/15/1896-5/15/1965). Composer, pianist, vocalist, arranger, bandleader. Co-leader of the Coon-Sanders Orchestra in 20's and 30's. Known as The Old Lefthander from early days as amateur baseball pitcher. Hits include "Got a Great Big Date with a Little Bitta Girl."
4.186 SCHWARTZ, JEAN -- (11/4/1878-11/30/1956). Composer, pianist. Prolific leading composer from turn of century. Pianist in cafes, publishing houses. Teamed with William Jerome on Broadway shows and performed with him in vaudeville. Successes include "Hello Central, Give Me No Man's Land."
4.140 SEYMOUR, TOT -- ( 10/23/1889-8/31/1966). Lyricist of the 30's. Worked for New York publishing house. Wrote special material for Fanny Brice, Belle Baker, Sophie Tucker, Mae West; also songs and scripts for raido shows.
4.187 SHAND, TERRY -- (10/1/1904- 11/11/1988). Composer, lyricist. Pianist in silent movie theaters early in career. Pianist/vocalist in 30's; later had own band. Hits include "Dance with a Dolly."
4.188 SHAY, LARRY -- (10/10/1897- 2/22/1988). Composer, arranger, pianist. WWI military service. Musical director for MGM; program director for NBC radio in New York. Hits include "Get Out and Get Under the Moon."
4.144 SHERMAN, AL -- (9/7/1897-9/15/1973). Composer, lyricst. As pianist provided mood music for silent movies; pianist for publishing house. Successes include "On a Dew-Dew-Dewy Day."
4.144 SILVER, ABNER -- (12/28/1899- 11/24/1966). Composer, lyricist, pianist. Dance band pianist; worked for publishing house. Song publisher. Composed many popular songs from 1920 into 60's, including songs for Elvis Presley movies JAILHOUSE ROCK, KING CREOLE, and G.I. BLUES.
4.189 SIMONS, SEYMOUR B. -- (1/14/1896-2/12/1949). Composer, lyricist, bandleader. Wrote Michigan Union operas while attending the University. In AAF during WWI, and with USO in WWII. Wrote material for revues in London and Paris early 20's, then led dance band in US. Later record company executive. Hits include "Breezin Along with the Breeze" and "All of Me."
4.190 SKYLAR, SUNNY -- (11/11/1913- ). Composer, lyricist, author; band singer with Abe Lyman, Paul Whiteman, and others; also worked as a single act. Wrote band material for Betty Hutton and others. Hits include "Besame Mucho."
4.191 SMITH, HARRY B. -- (12/28/1860-1/2/1936). Lyricist. Librettist-lyricist of Broadway musicals 1887-1932, one of most prolific. Brother of Robert B. Smith. Collaborated with DeKoven on first American comic opera. Music and drama critic for Chicago newspapers. Adaptations of French and German operettas. Successes include "The Sheik of Araby."
4.192 SMITH, LEE OREAN -- (1874-?)
4.191 SMITH, ROBERT B. -- (6/4/1875-11/6/1951). Lyricist. Reporter for Brooklyn Eagle. Publicity for Casino Theater, wrote material for shows there. Collaborated with brother Robert B. Smith in Broadway shows. Adapted some stage shows to musicals. Successes include "All the World Loves a Lover."
4.193 SNYDER, TED -- (8/15/1881-7/16/1965). Composer, lyricst, pianist. Early career pianist in cafes and publishing houses. Hired Irving Berlin as staff pianist for his publishing company; collaborated in early songs; Berlin later became partner. Successes include "Whos Sorry Now?"
4.194 SOLMAN, ALFRED -- (5/6/1868-11/15/1937)
4.29 SOUSA, JOHN PHILIP -- (11/6/1854-3/6/1932). Composer, bandleader, and writer. Known as the "March King" and as the most important figure in the history of American bands and band music. His contributions to band brass instrumentation includes the sousaphone and a bass tuba with bells, built in the 1890's.
4.195 SPENCER, HERBERT -- (5/27/1878-8/26/1944). Composer, arranger, singer. Studied voice with Enrico Caruso. In vaudeville for 12 years. Accompanist and arranger for prominent singers. Successes include "There's Egypt in Your Dreamy Eyes."
4.196 SPINA, HAROLD -- (6/21/1906-7/18/1997). Composer, lyricist. Pianist, arranger for publishing house; wrote special material. Founder-President of Telefilm. Director and producer for record companies. Hits include "Annie Doesnt Live Here Anymore."
4.197 STEPT, SAM -- (9/18/1897-12/1/1964). Composer, lyricist, bandleader. Pianist for publishing house. Vaudevile accompanist for Mae West and Jack Norworth among others. Led dance band in early 20's. Songwriting mainly in 30's and 40's. Hits include "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" and "That's My Weakness Now."
4.30 STERLING, ANDREW B. -- (1874-1955). Composer and lyricist. Collaborated extensively with the popular Tin Pan Alley songwriter, Harry Von Tilzer, providing the lyrics to some of the most popular songs, including so-called coon songs of the early 1900's as "One Sunday Afternoon" and "Down Where The Cotton Blossoms Grow."
4.153 STERN, JOSEPH W. -- (1/11/1870-3/31/1934)
4.146 STOLLER, MIKE -- (3/13/1933-). Composer. Early piano lessons in New York. Moved to Los Angeles and met Jerry Lieber. First hits were "Kansas City" and "Hound Dog."
4.198 STRAIGHT, CHARLEY -- (1/16/1891-9/21/ or 10/17/1940). Composer, lyricist, pianist, bandleader. Early career in vaudeville. Leader of band in 30's. Musical director of company producing player-piano rolls. Hits include "Funny, Dear, What Love Can Do."
4.31 STYNE, JULE K. -- (12/31/1905- ). Composer. Collaborated with Sammy Cahn on several Broadway musicals. Became one of the most prolific theatrical composers of the post-WWII era, creating scores for over 20 musicals performed by such artists as Carol Channing, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, and Barbra Streisand.
4.32 SULLIVAN, SIR ARTHUR S. -- (5/13/1842-11/22/1900). English composer and conductor. Composed comic operas whose music, written to librettos by W.S. Gilbert, represents a peculiarly English style of operetta that achieved exceptional renown in both England and the United States. One of the most widely popular of all British composers.
4.199 TAYLOR, TELL -- ...
4.200 THORNTON, JAMES -- (12/5/1861-7/27/1938). Composer, performer. Worked as a singing waiter, then toured in vaudeville, often performing with wife, Bonnie. Successes include "When You Were Sweet Sixteen."
4.201 TIERNEY, HARRY -- (5/21/1890-3/22/1965). Composer, pianist. Toured US and abroad as concert pianist. Worked for Remick publishing house. Wrote scores for several Broadway shows. Hits include "Alice Blue Gown."
4.202 TOBIAS, CHARLES -- (8/15/1898-7/7/1970). Lyricist, composer, vocalist. Prolific songwriter mid-20's into 50's. Collaborated with brothers Harry and Henry. Early career sang in vaudeville, for publishing houses, and on radio. Formed publishing company in 1923. Hits include "Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer."
4.202 TOBIAS, FRED -- (3/25/1928-). Lyricist. Son of Charles Tobias. Wrote special material for Carol Burnett and Julius Monk, among others. Made Broadway debut as co-lyricist of Ellington's POUSSE CAFE. Wrote lyrics for TV specials THE GIFT OF THE MAGI and QUINCY. Songs recorded by Patti Page, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence, Elvis Presley and others.
4.202 TOBIAS, HARRY -- (9/11/1895-12/15/1994). Lyricist. Brother Charles among several collaborators; most songwriting in 30's and 40's. Wrote special material for movies. Hits include "It's a Lonesome Old Town."
2.202 TOBIAS, HENRY -- (4/23/1905 - 12/5/1997). Lyricist, composer pianist, vocalist. Wrote for vaudeville and night club performers and for radio. Pianist, singer and disc jockey; TV producer for CBS. Collaborated with brothers Charles and Harry. Directed and produced shows for summer stock and resort hotels. Hits include "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"
4.33 VAN ALSTYNE, EGBERT -- (3/5/1878-7/9/1951). Composer and lyricist. Best known for his collaboration with lyricist Harry H. Williams, with whom he wrote songs exploiting Indian themes and the popular "In The Shade of the Old Apple Tree." Later joined forces with lyricist Gus Kahn.
4.203 VINCENT, NAT -- (11/6/1889-6/6/1979). Pianist on vaudeville circuit. One of radio's "Happy Chappies." Remained active in later years despite total blindness. Wrote "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles."
4.34 VON TILZER, ALBERT -- (3/29/1878-10/1/1956). Composer, lyricist, and publisher. Wrote some of the most popular songs of the early 20th century, and contributed songs to a number of films and Broadway productions. Like brother Harry, Albert's songs incorporate dance rhythms and slang idioms typical of Tin Pan Alley that have since become standards.
4.35 VON TILZER, HARRY -- (7/8/1872-1/10/1946). Composer, lyricist, performer, and publisher. Wrote and published over 2,000 of his own songs and other sentimental and moralistic ballads. Also wrote so-called coon songs for blackfaced minstrels and vaudeville acts of the period. Plugged and published many of the Gershwin and Berlin songs that later became famous.
4.204 WALLACE, WILLIAM VINCENT -- (3/11/1812-10/12/1865). Irish composer, pianist, violinist. Debuted as composer at age 22. Moved to Australia, then various North and South American cities; finally settled in London where he had his great success with MARITANA.
4.36 WARREN, HARRY -- (12/24/1893-9/22/1951). Composer, lyricist. Wrote songs for Broadway reviews, including several co-authored and produced with Billy Rose. Considered one of the most successful composers of American films. The wide dissemination of his music through the film medium made him one of the most influential of all 20th-century songwriters.
4.205 WASHINGTON, NED -- (8/15/1901- 12/20/1996). Lyricist. Early career in vaudeville as M.C. and agent, and writing special material. Popular lyricist from late 20's into 60's; wrote for Broadway shows and movies, including title songs. Hits include "High Noo n" and "When You Wish Upon a Star."
4.206 WAYNE, BERNIE -- ( ? ). Composed "There She Is," the Miss America Pageant Theme Song.
4.207 WAYNE, SID -- (1/26/1923-). Composer, author. Wrote songs and comedy material for TV. Popular songs include "Nintey- nine Years" and "Two Different Worlds."
4.208 WEBSTER, JOSEPH PHILBRICK -- (2/18/1819-1/18/1875). Composer and performer. Toured in concerts of popular music. Managed a Connecticut troupe, The Euphonians, and composed many of their successful songs. Public opposition to slavery forced several moves. Published over 400 songs, ballads, patriotic songs and hymns.
4.209 WEBSTER, PAUL FRANCIS -- (12/20/1907- 3/22/1984). Lyricist. After college became seaman, dancing instructor. To Hollywood mid-30's for movie work. In 50's and 60's wrote many movie and title songs; had several Academy Award nominations and awards. Hits include "Giant" and "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing."
4.210 WEIL, KURT -- (3/2/1900-4/3/1950). German. Composer, arranger, pianist. Very successful career in Germany; left in 1933 with wife Lotte Lenya, first to Paris then to US in 1935. Composed many Broadway musicals in the 40's including KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY ("September Song") and THE THREEPENNY OPERA, first produced in Germany.
4.37 WENDLING, PETER -- (6/6/1888-4/8/1974). Composer, lyricist, and pianist. Wrote several hit songs of the post-WWII era in partnership with Bert Kalman and Edgar Leslie. Most popular song: "Oh, What a Pal Was Mary."
4.38 WENRICK, PERCY -- (1/23/1887-3/17/1952). Composer, lyricist, pianist, and singer. Best known for his pre-WWII popular songs such as "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet," "Moonlight Bay," and others, that became favorites of barbershop quartets and sing-alongs. Known in Tin Pan Alley as "The Joplin Kid".
4.39 WHITING, RICHARD A. -- (11/12/1892-2/10/1938). Composer and lyricist. Among the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. He was one of the first important Hollywood composers to began writing music for silent film and later for sound productions such as the very successful movie, HOLLYWOOD HOTEL.
4.138 WHITNEY, JOAN -- (6/26/1914-7/12/1990). Composer, lyricist, vocalist. Own radio show; sang in clubs and hotels. Formed publishing firm with husband Alex Kramer. Hits include "Candy" and "High on a Windy Hill."
4.211 WILLIAMS, GUS -- (7/19/1847-1/16/1915). Composer, actor, singer. Performed at Tony Pastor's before playing legitimate leading roles. Toured in vaudeville.
4.212 WOOODBURY, ISAAC BAKER -- (10/23/1819-10/26/1858). Composer. Studied in London, Paris. Taught music; was conductor, editor, writer. Compiled music collections. Popular songs include "Be Kind to the Loved Ones at Home."
4.213 WOODS, HARRY -- (11/4/1896-1/14/1970). Composer, lyricist. Pianist and singer while student at Harvard. Wrote for English movies mid-30's. Hits include "When the Red, Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along" and "Side by Side."
4.214 WRUBEL, ALLIE -- (1/15/1905-12/13/1973). Coposer, lyricist, bandleader. Saxman in bands; led own band; theater manager. Wrote for Warner Brothers, then Disney. Hits include "Gone with the Wind" and "Zip-a Dee-Doo-Dah."
4.40 YELLEN, JACK -- (7/6/1892-4/17/1991 ). Lyricist. Permanent lyricist for Tin Pan Alley songwriter, Milton Ager. Also wrote special material for entertainer Sophie Tucker for over 20 years. A famous song by the Yellen/Ager combination was "I Wonder What's Become of Sally." "Happy Days Are Here Again" was another great hit.
4.41 YOUMANS, VINCENT M. -- (9/27/1898-4/5/1946). Composer. Wrote and produced three successful Broadway musicals. Published fewer than 100 songs, but 18 of these were considered standards by ASCAP, including "Tea For Two," "Take A Chance," and "I Want To Be Happy."
4.145 YOUNG, JOE -- ...
4.215 YOUNG, VICTOR -- (b. Chicago, 8/8/1900-11/11/1956). Composer, violinist, conductor. Worked in radio and theater as violinist, arranger, conductor. Wrote over 200 scores for movies, including SHANE. Song hits include "Stella by Starlight" and "Sweet Sue."
4.216 YOUNG, VICTOR -- (b. Bristol, Tennessee, 4/9/1889-9/2/1968). Pianist and composer. Studied and toured in Europe. Accompanist to prominent singers. Music director in Thomas A. Edison's Experimental Laboratory. Composed for about 300 movies including some of the earliest sound productions.
4.217 ZAMECNIK, JOHN S. -- (5/14/1872-6/13/1953). Composer. Classical training included time under Antonin Dvorak. Violinist in Pittsburgh Orchestra under Victor Herbert. Wrote operettas.
Materials in Other Organizations:
Sam DeVincent Collection of American Sheet Music, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
This collection contains duplicates of materials in the Smithsonian collection, as well as materials acquired by Mr. DeVincent after the donation to the Smithsonian. The phonograph records described above were transferred to the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Sheet Music and Reference Material, 1843-2010 (AC1211)
Forms Part Of:
Series 4: Songwriters forms part of the
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music
.
An ongoing, updated list of DeVincent topical series is available via the Smithsonian finding aid portal.
Provenance:
This collection was purchased by the Smithsonian Institution in 1988 from Sam and Nancy Lee DeVincent.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Citation:
The Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Collection, Acc. 1992.0023, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art