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: “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” hits #1

Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody Al Jolson with the Charles Prince Orchestra

Writer(s): Sam Lewis, Joe Young, Jean Schwartz (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 10, 1918 Peak: 18 US, 3 GA (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Crooner Bing Crosby once said of “Broadway’s most charismatic performer,” “Nobody could sell a song like Jolson.” LW “Rock-a-Bye” was one of his signature songs, debuting alongside 26 other musical numbers in the stage play Sinbad. PS The show, which starred Jolson in his familiar black face, LW opened at the Winter Garden on February 14, 1918 and ran for 164 performances. PS Jean Schwartz, who was a native Hungarian, wrote the music. His sister had studied under composer Franz Liszt and taught Schwartz to play piano. LW The lyrics were penned by Tin Pan Alley writers Sam Lewis and Joe Young, who also wrote for the vaudeville circuit and penned hits such as “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” and “Sitting on Top of the World.” Lewis had previously worked as a café singer while Young demoed songs for publishing houses. LW The “Stephen Foster sound-a-like song” even mentions the famous writer’s “Old Black Joe” and “Swanee River.” RCG Jolson took the song to #1 in 1918; that same year Arthur Fields’ version went to #9. Jolson integrated the song in his vaudeville act and performed the song in three films – 1939’s Rose of Washington Square, 1946’s The Jolson Story, and 1946’s Jolson Sings Again. The song was also featured in 1929’s The Show of Shows and 1944’s The Merry Monahans. PS The song resurfaced in 1956 as a top ten, million-selling hit for comedian Jerry Lewis JA and Aretha Franklin hit #37 with he song in 1961. Cher, Sammy Davis Jr., Connie Francis, Judy Garland, and Brenda Lee also recorded versions. RCG Resources: JA David A. Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 165. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 40. PS ParlorSongs.com RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) Related Links: First posted 8/17/2016; last updated 11/24/2022.

50 years ago: Paul Whiteman hit #1 with “My Mammy”

My Mammy Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra

Writer(s): Walter Donaldson (music), Sam Lewis (words), Joe Young (words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: May 7, 1921 Peak: 15 US, 12 GA, 13 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards (Paul Whiteman): Click on award for more details. Awards (Al Jolson):

About the Song: Walter Donaldson wrote the music for “My Mammy” with lyrics by Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis, Tin Pan Alley writers who wrote for the vaudeville circuit. LW Donaldson also wrote the music for “My Blue Heaven” and “Makin’ Whoopee” while Young and Lewis also penned lyrics for “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” and “Rockabye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody.” The trio previously wrote “How Ya Gonna Keep Em Down On The Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree).” A mammy was a slave who served as a surrogate mother. The song was written as a tribute from a grown man to his aging mammy, “proclaiming his unconditional love for her, hoping that despite her age she can still recognize him as her ‘little baby.’” WK William Frawley first performed the song in 1918 on vaudeville. Al Jolson, “Broadways’ most charistmatic performer,” LW then interpreted the song for the Broadway show Sinbad in 1921. Jolson went on to perform the song in The Jazz Singer (1927), The Singing Fool (1928), and >i>Rose of Washington Square (1939). He recorded and released the song twice, reaching #2 in 1928 and #18 in 1947. The Columbia Stellar Quartette released the first recording of the song in February 1921. SH The Peerless Quartet were the first to chart with the song, reaching #4. That same year Aileen Stanley and the Yerkes Jazarimba Orchestra also charted with the song, both reaching #8. Isham Jones took it to #11 that year. The most successful version, though, was an instrumental done that year by Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra, who took it to #1. It had become so well known by then that even without lyrics, people would sing along. SM The song experienced another resurgence in 1967 when the Happenings took it to #13. The song has also been recorded by Eddie Cantor, Cher, Dion, the Everly Brothers, Eddie Fisher, Liza Minnelli, and Kenny Rogers. WK Resources: LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 40. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) SH Second Hand Songs WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/24/2022; last updated 1/28/2023.