100 years ago: “When My Baby Smiles at Me” hit #1

When My Baby Smiles at Me Ted Lewis

Writer(s): Bill Munro (music), Andrew B. Sterling (words), Ted Lewis (words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: May 1, 1920 Peak: 17 US, 8 GA, 12 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.10 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Ted Lewis was a clarinet player, singer, comedian and bandleader born Theodore Leopold Friedman in Ohio in 1890. His band was one of the first from the northern states to play New Orleans-style jazz SM “although even he would admit, he was more about entertainment than principled jazz playing to the level of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.” SM Lewis co-wrote the lyrics for his #1 hit “When My Baby Smiles at Me” and introduced it in 1918 TY2 before incorporating it in the Broadway show The Greenwich Village Follies of 1919. Andrew B. Sterling also had a hand in the lyrics and Bill Munro wrote the music. However, Harry Von Tilzer, whose publishing company published the song, claimed he also had a hand in writing the lyrics. SM “Baby” became Lewis’ theme song DJ and he even rerecorded it again in 1938 and charted again, reaching #18. The two versions bookended Lewis’ chart career. The original was only his third chart entry and first of six #1 songs. The 1938 version was the last of more than one hundred chart entrys from 1920 to 1938. PM He also recorded the song in 1926 and 1957. TY2 There were also chart versions in 1920 by Billy Murray & Gladys Rice (#8) and Henry Burr (#11). It was also used in the film of the same name in 1948. DJ It was also used in Sing, Baby, Sing (1936); Shirley Temple’s first film, Hold That Ghost (1941); and the Abbott & Costello comedy Behind the Eight Ball (1942). TY2 Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Ted Lewis DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Pages 210-1. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 113-4. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 272-4 and 607. First posted 4/25/2023.

 

100 years ago: “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” hits #1 – for the first time

Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie Byron G. Harlan

Writer(s): Harry Von Tilzer (music), Andrew B. Sterling (lyrics) (see lyrics here) First Charted: February 3, 1906 Peak: 19 US, 13 GA, 16 SM (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Harry Von Tilzer, born Harry Gumm in Detroit in 1872, was one of the few successful songwriters of his era, serving as inspiration to other composers such as Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. RA He wrote thousands of songs in his lifetime, of which more than two thousand were published. RA Von Tilzer fell in love with show business at an early age and at age 14 ran away to join the circus. By the next year he was touring with a repertory company playing piano and composing songs. His big break came when his song “My Old New Hampshire Home,” with lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling and William C. Dunn, was published in 1898 and sold more than two million copies. PS He and Sterling worked together again on this Tin Pan Alley landmark song. “The song told the story of a couple, Joe and Nellie on a Sunday morning, looking forlornly through the window at the rain with her sweetheart by her side. It was a shame it was raining as there was a picnic at the old Point View and she also longed for a trolley ride to show her brand new gown.” SM One legend says Von Tilzer and Sterling were inspired to write this when they were sitting in a hotel lobby and overheard a groom consoling his bride, “Just wait ‘til the sun shines, Nellie.” RA A variation of that tale had just Sterling hear a man utter the phrase to his wife when they had to postpone a trip to Coney Island. RCG Another account says Von Tilzer read a newspaper article about down-on-its-luck family in which the reporter declared, “the sun would once again shine for them after the storm.” PS Still another take suggests Von Tilzer heard someone standing outside a theater during a rain shower say, “wait ill the sun shines.” TY2 “The theme of the song about being optimistic when its raining, that sooner or later the sun will shine through was a theme picked up around 30 years later during the Great Depression by the New York Stock Exchange and it is traditionally sung by floor traders every Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.” SM “Nellie” was originally written for an unsuccessful Broadway show called The Kissing Girl. Tilzer’s original tune was “a slow and deliberate march” RCG but in later years became a jazz favorite in a faster version. RCG Winona Winter introduced the song in vaudeville DJ and then it became popular via versions by Byron G. Harlan and Harry Talley. They each took the song to #1 while Prince’s Orchestra recording from the same year also went top 5. Mary Martin and Bing Crosby dueted on the song for the 1941 film The Birth of the Blues. In 1942, Gale Storm sang it in Rhythm on Parade and the song served as the title for a 1952 film. It has become “a staple of ensembles and barbershop quartets or for sing alongs in schools and homes”. PS Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 204. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) PS ParlorSongs.com RA Theodore Raph (1964). The Songs We Sang: A Treasury of American Popular Music. A.S. Barnes and Co., Inc.: New York. Page 321. RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 33. Related Links: First posted 2/10/2016; last updated 12/15/2022.

100 years ago: “Down Where the Wurzburger Flows” hit #1

Down Where the Wurzburger Flows Arthur Collins & Byron G. Harlan

Writer(s): Harry Von Tilzer (music), Vincent P. Bryan (lyrics) (see lyrics here) First Charted: December 20, 1902 Peak: 15 US, 11 GA, 12 SM (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Down Where the Wurzburger Flows” was a drinking song written as a toast to one’s native land. It was inspired by a saloon and restaurant owned by a German immigrant named August Lüchow. He served many different brands of beer, including Wurzburger. The song launched a trend for name-brand beer songs. DJ The St. Louis brewing company Anheuser Busch even commissioned Harry Von Tilzer, the composer of “Wurzburger,” to re-work the song for them. With lyricist Andrew B. Sterling, he created the song “Under the Anheuser Bush.” SM This was the fourth #1 for Von Tilzer, who was one of Tin Pan Alley’s most famous songwriters. He also wrote such popular songs as “A Bird in a Gilded Cage,” “Wait ‘Til the Sun Shines, Nellie,” and “The Green Grass Grew All Around.” Nora Bayes introduced it in vaudeville at the Orpheum Theater in Brooklyn. TY2 She was overcome with emotion at the first performance. Von Tilzer was in the audience and started singing until Bayes had regained her composure. TY2 The audience responsed so well that management insisted on the two performing together for the rest of the week. TY2 She became so identified with the song that she became known as “The Wurzburger Girl,” although she had success as a recording artist with songs such as “Shine On, Harvest Moon,” a song she cowrote. Lew Dockstader, the Empire City Quartet, and Madge Ellis also performed the song on stage. GA The popular duo of Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan were the first to chart with the song, reaching #1 in early 1903. Both had previously experienced solo success: Collins had topped the chart as a solo act nine times and Harlan had done so three times. This, however, was only their second charting song as a duo and their first of a dozen trips to the pinnacle. Collins also recorded a solo version of the song which hit #4 in 1904. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Hary Von Tilzer GA Edward Foote Gardner (2000). Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century. Paragon House: St. Paul, MN. Page 262. DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 51. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 19. Related Links: Last updated 12/15/2022.

100 years ago: “On a Sunday Afternoon” hit #1

On a Sunday Afternoon J.W. Myers

Writer(s): Harry Von Tilzer (music), Andrew B. Sterling (lyrics) (see lyrics here) First Charted: April 15, 1902 Peak: 16 US, 13 GA (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

On a Sunday Afternoon J. Aldrich Libbey

First Charted: April 15, 1902 Peak: 3 US, 13 GA, 16 SM (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards (J.W. Myers): Click on award for more details. Awards (J. Aldrich Libbey):

About the Song: This waltz was one of the earliest hits from songwriter Harry Von Tilzer, “one of the best known Tin Pan Alley songwriters at the turn of the 20th century. SH He was born Harry Gumm in Detroit, Michigan in 1872. He ran away from home at 14 and joined the circus where he played piano, composed, and acted. In 1892, he moved to New York and got a job as a saloon pianist. SH He published his first song, “My Old New Hampshire Home,” in 1898. SH The lyrics were written by Andrew B. Sterling, who would be Tilzer’s songwriting partner for nearly 30 years. FA Sterling was born in 1874 in New York City. He started writing songs for vaudeville after graduating from high school and started working with Von Tilzer in 1898. Among Von Tilzer’s most famous compositions are “A Bird in a Gilded Cage,” “Down Where the Wurzburger Flows,” “The Mansion of Aching Hearts,” and “In the Sweet Bye and Bye.” Sterling also penned “Hello Ma Baby,” “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie,” and “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis.” Von Tilzer got the idea for “On a Sunday Afternoon” while at the beach and pondering how many people had to return to work on a Monday after a fun day at the beach the day before. He presented the idea to Andrew Sterling, who then penned the lyrics. The song celebrated all the activities one could do with free time on Sundays in light of having to work hard on Monday. The song was introduced in vaudeville by Ira Kessner. DJ J.W. Myers was the first to chart with the song in April 1902, reaching #1. It was his sixth of seven chart-toppers from 1893 to 1902 for the baritone ballad singer born John W. Meyers in Wales PM in 1864. Over the next few months, versions also charted by Edward M. Favor (#2), J. Aldrich Libbey (#3), and Harry MacDonough (#5). In 1944, the song was performed by Constance Moore in the movie Atlantic City. The next year it was used in Naughty Nineties, an Abbot and Costello movie. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for J.W. Myers DMDB encyclopedia entry for Hary Von Tilzer FA FleischerAllstars.com “On a Sunday Afternoon” DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 151. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) SH Songwriters Hall of Fame: Harry Von Tilzer TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 18. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954 (1986). Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 333. First posted 12/9/2022; last updated 12/15/2022.