Today in Music (1920): Paul Whiteman hit #1 with “The Japanese Sandman”

The Japanese Sandman Paul Whiteman

Writer(s): Richard A. Whiting (music), Ray Egan (words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 13, 1920 Peak: 12 PM, 2 GA (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 1.0 sheet music, 3.0 total Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.29 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “During the ’20s, transportation was still primitive enough that to most people the Orient was excitingly exotic and distant. Tin Pan Alley adapted authentic Far Eastern music to appeal to Americans, who accepted it as genuine.” TY2 “The song is about a sandman from Japan who exchanges yesterdays for tomorrows. By doing so…“he’ll bring you tomorrow, just to start a life anew.” WK “The first verse of the song asks us to stretch our imaginations ‘for the moment and come with me…over the western sea.’ There we will find a Japanese lady singing a lullyaby to her baby. The chorus continues by telling us the ‘Japanese Sandman’ is ‘sneaking on with the dew’ and ‘taking ‘every sorrow of the day that is through.’ This sandman is ‘just an old second hand man trading new days for old.’” TY2 Paul Whiteman’s instrumental recording of the song was the first to chart and the most successful, reaching #1 in 1920. “The Japanese Sandman” was the flip side of “Whispering,” Whiteman’s first chart entry. The songs “established Paul Whiteman and his orchestra as major show business personalities.” TY2 Whiteman was “the most popular bandleader of the pre-swing era” PM charting more than 200 songs from 1920 to 1954. Both songs went to #1 – a feat Whiteman would accomplish thirty more times. PM There were other charted versions by Nora Bayes (#7, 1921), Ben Selvin (#15, 1921), and Benny Goodman (#10, 1935). PM Although Whiteman’s version charted before Bayes, she first popularized the song on vaudeville. TY2 The song gained attention again in 1967 when it was featured in the movie musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, starring Julie Andrews. It has also been featured in Destination Tokyo (1940), Belles on Their Toes (1952), They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. WK Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 108. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 114-5. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 447, 533. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 5/13/2025.

100 Years Ago: “How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm” hit #1

How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm After They’ve Seen Paree Nora Bayes

Writer(s): Walter Donaldson (music), Sam Lewis (words), Joy Young (words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: March 15, 1919 Peak: 2 US, 14 GA, 14 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.21 video, 0.02 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Composer Walter Donaldson previously wrote “The Aba Daba Honeymoon” (Arthur Collins & Byron Harlan, #1, 1914) and would work again with lyricists Sam Lewis and Joe Young on “My Mammy” (Paul Whiteman, #1, 1921). Donaldson was a Songwriting Hall of Famer who also wrote “Carolina in the Morning” (Van & Schenck, #1, 1923), “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” (Gene Austin, #1, 1925), “My Blue Heaven” (Gene Austin, #1, 1927), and “Makin’ Whoopee” (Eddie Cantor, #2, 1929). “How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm” was written with a focus on soldiers from rural America and the concer that they “would not want to return to farm life after experiencing the European city life and culture of Paris during the Great War. “ SM It was a hit in vaudeville, being sung by Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker, and Nora Bayes. DJ The song hit the charts three times in 1919 with versions by Nora Bayes (#2), Arthur Fields (#7), and Byron G. Harlan (#9). PM The latter two included a verse with a wife assuring her farmer husband that nothing much will have changed. SM Bayes’ version did not include that verse, but it was the biggest hit of the three. She was born Rachel Eleanora “Dora” Goldberg in Chicago, Illinois in 1880 and became a famous singer in vaudeville and then Broadway before marrying singer/songwriter Jack Norworth in 1908. SM They wrote “Shine on, Harvest Moon” which was a #1 hit in 1909 for Harry MacDonough with Miss Walton and Billy Murray with Ada Jones. It was revived in 1942 when Judy Garland sang it in the film For Me and My Gal. Cantor sang it in his own 1953 biopic The Eddie Cantor Story. Pee Wee Hunt and Joe “Fingers” Carr recorded the song in 1956. DJ Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 79. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) SF Songfacts PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 512. Related Links: First posted 3/20/2023.

100 years ago: The American Quartet’s “Over There” hit #1

Over There American Quartet

Writer(s): George M. Cohan (see lyrics here) First Charted: September 29, 1917 Peak: 19 US, 120 GA, 122 SM, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.05 video, -- streaming

Over There Nora Bayes

First Charted: November 3, 1917 Peak: 13 US, 120 GA (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 2.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.18 video, -- streaming

Awards (American Quartet version):

---

Awards (Nora Bayes’ version):

About the Song: George M. Cohan’s “biggest song not written for Broadway” RCG became World War I’s most famous song. DJ He penned the patriotic number after reading in the newspaper that the United States had declared war on Germany. He expanded the opening phrase of “Johnny Get Your Gun,” a popular song from 1886, into “a lyric that is both a call to arms and a vow not to come home till ‘it’s over, over there’.” RCG Cohan himself introduced the song at Ft. Myers to an audience of soldiers, but it had little impact. However, the response was “overwhelming” when Charles King sang it at the New York City’s Hippodrome Theatre for a Red Cross Benefit. RCG For the official recording of the song, Cohan specifically requested Nora Bayes. NRR She was a popular vaudeville and Broadway star and former member of the Ziegfeld Follies. NRR She introduced it at a Red Cross war-bond rally, DJ added it to her vaudeville act, and then recorded it. It sold over a million copies RCG and hit #1. She wasn’t the first to chart with the song, however. In fact, the American Quartet and the Peerless Quartet took it to #1 before she did. The American Quartet’s version was the biggest hit of 1917. CPM The following year, Enrico Caruso also recorded a chart-topping version PM giving “Over There” and “Peg O’ My Heart” the distinction of being the only two songs in history to top the charts four times. Billy Murray and Prince’s Orchestra also recorded top 10 versions of the song. Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 154. NRR National Recording Registry RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 565. CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 28. Related Links: First posted 9/29/2011; last updated 3/20/2023.