(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey

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"(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey"
BillBailey1902Cover.jpg
1902 sheet music cover, words and music written by Hughie Cannon published by Howley, Haviland and Dresser
Song by Al Hirt
Written1902
PublishedHowley, Haviland and Dresser
Genre Dixieland jazz, jazz standard
Composer(s) Hughie Cannon

"(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey", originally titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please.... Come Home?" is a popular song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "Bill Bailey".

Contents

The words and music were written by Hughie Cannon, an American songwriter and pianist, and it was published by Howley, Haviland and Dresser. It is still a standard with Dixieland and traditional jazz bands. The simple 32-bar chord sequence of its chorus also underpins many other tunes played mainly by jazz bands, such as "Over the Waves", "Washington and Lee Swing", "Bourbon Street Parade", "My Little Girl", and the final themes of "Tiger Rag" and "The Beer Barrel Polka".

Origin

May 1902 Victor Monarch recording of Dan W. Quinn performing "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" Bill Bailey Victor Monarch 1902.jpg
May 1902 Victor Monarch recording of Dan W. Quinn performing "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?"

Cannon wrote the song in 1902 when he was working as a bar pianist at Conrad Deidrich's Saloon in Jackson, Michigan. Willard "Bill" Bailey, also a jazz musician, was a regular customer and friend, and one night told Cannon about his marriage to Sarah (née Siegrist). Cannon "was inspired to rattle off a ditty about Bailey's irregular hours. Bailey thought the song was a scream (i.e. very good), and he brought home a dashed-off copy of the song to show Sarah. Sarah couldn't see the humor...[but] accepted without comment the picture it drew of her as a wife." Cannon sold all rights to the song to a New York publisher, and he died from cirrhosis at age 35. Willard and Sarah Bailey later divorced; he moved to Los Angeles with their daughter Frances, and died in 1954. Sarah died in 1976, age about 102. (See New York Times archives 1976, unknown date)

Parodies

See also

References

  1. "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home". 16 February 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2023 via YouTube.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 216.
  3. "CHUM Hit Parade - July 4, 1960" (JPG). Chumtribute.com.
  4. "Bobby Darin". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  5. The Ed Sullivan Show (2024-03-23). Tokyo Happy Coats "Bye Bye Blues & Bill Bailey" on The Ed Sullivan Show . Retrieved 2025-06-08 via YouTube.