Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc.

Last updated

Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc. was, during the 1920s, one of the largest music publishers of popular sheet music in the country. The firm was based in New York City. What began as the Ted Snyder Company in 1908 evolved into Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc., in 1917 when its founder, Ted Snyder (1881–1965), took on two partners Henry Waterson (1873–1933) and Irving Berlin (1888–1989). [1] Berlin had been Ted Snyder's staff lyricist since 1909. [2]

Contents

Tin Pan Alley publisher

"Tin Pan Alley" was a specific area in New York City on 28th Street, between Broadway and 6th Avenue that, at the turn of the 20th century, was the epicenter of the popular music publishing industry. Many publishing firms were not actually located on that particular block, but, "Tin Pan Alley" was also as much a reference to a music industry district as it was to a music genre (popular music, ragtime the precursor to what became jazz). Waterson, Berlin & Snyder was a Tin Pan Alley firm.

Former addresses of Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc.

Mills Music, Inc.

Snyder left the company in 1927 to move to California. Waterson, Berlin & Snyder went bankrupt in 1929; and, as part of the bankruptcy sale, Jack Mills, of Mills Music, Inc., purchased its catalog for $5000. [3]

Pioneer publisher of black composers

It was rare for black composers to be involved in Tin Pan Alley, which, for Mills Music, represented a business opportunity. Through subsidiaries (such as Milsons, Exclusive, Grand, and American Academy of Music), Mills marketed Duke Ellington to different audiences. This strategy helped elevate Mills as major player in the music publishing business. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irving Berlin</span> American composer and lyricist (1888–1989)

Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander's Ragtime Band</span> 1911 song composed by Irving Berlin

"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911; it is often inaccurately cited as his first global hit. Despite its title, the song is a march as opposed to a rag and contains little syncopation. The song is a narrative sequel to Berlin's earlier 1910 composition "Alexander and His Clarinet". This earlier composition recounts the reconciliation between an African-American musician named Alexander Adams and his flame Eliza Johnson as well as highlights Alexander's innovative musical style. Berlin's friend Jack Alexander, a cornet-playing African-American bandleader, inspired the title character.

Mitchell Parish was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Schwartz</span>

Jean Schwartz was a Hungarian-born American songwriter.

Fred Fisher was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tin Pan Alley</span> Historic name for a collection of music publishers and songwriters in Manhattan, New York

Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in the Flower District of Manhattan; a plaque on the sidewalk on 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth commemorates it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Witmark & Sons</span>

M. Witmark & Sons was a leading publisher of sheet music for the United States "Tin Pan Alley" music industry.

Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be standards changes over time. Songs included in major fake book publications and jazz reference works offer a rough guide to which songs are considered standards.

Theodore Frank Snyder, was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. His hits include "The Sheik of Araby" (1921) and "Who's Sorry Now?" (1923). In 1970, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. As of 2007, his compositions have been used in more than twenty motion pictures.

Irving Harold Mills was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose.

Maceo Pinkard was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Among his compositions is "Sweet Georgia Brown", a popular standard for decades after its composition and famous as the theme of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.

"Prelude to a Kiss" is a 1938 ballad composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills.

Philip George Furia was an American author and English literature professor. His books focus on the lyricists of the Tin Pan Alley era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">When I Lost You</span> 1912 song by Irving Berlin

"When I Lost You" is a song with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It was written in 1912 after his wife of five months, the former Dorothy Goetz, died of typhoid fever. In it he poured out the grief of his loss; it was the only song that he ever admitted had such a connection to his own life. The song, a ballad, was unlike any of Berlin's previous songs, which were upbeat tunes written to take advantage of the dance craze. The song is in a slow waltz tempo. It became Berlin's first hit ballad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning</span> 1918 song written by Irving Berlin

"Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 that gives a comic perspective on military life. Berlin composed the song as an expression of protest against the indignities of Army routine shortly after being drafted into the United States Army in 1918. The song soon made the rounds of camp and became popular with other soldiers, partly because hatred of reveille was universal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Feist</span>

Leopold Feist, in 1897 founded and ran a music publishing firm bearing his name. In the 1920s, at the height of the golden age of popular music, his firm was among the seven largest publishers of popular music in the world. Leo Feist, Inc., ran until 1934.

T.B. Harms & Francis, Day, & Hunter, Inc., based in the Tin Pan Alley area of New York City, was one of the seven largest publishers of popular music in the world in 1920. T.B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, Inc. was one of seven defendants named in a 1920 Sherman antitrust suit brought by the U.S. Justice Department for controlling 80% of the music publishing business. The seven defendants were:

Ed Rose(néeEdward Smackels Jr.; 24 November 1875 Chicago — 29 April 1935 Evanston, Illinois), was an American lyricist who wrote the words to Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh! composed in 1917 by Abe Olman.

William James Baskette was an American pianist and composer who wrote popular songs of the Tin Pan Alley era. He also wrote one of the most successful World War I war songs, "Good Bye Broadway, Hello France".

Clarence Gaskill was an American composer and lyricist active during the 1920s to early 1930s. His most well-known songs include, Doo-Wacka-Doo (1921). I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me (1926), and Prisoner of Love (1932). His first hit came in 1919 with I Love You Just the Same, Sweet Adeline.

References

  1. Ted Snyder Dies; Wrote Hit Songs, The New York Times , July 21, 1965
  2. Irving Berlin Archived 2023-03-11 at the Wayback Machine , Billboard Magazine , col 1, pg. 76, Oct. 7, 1950
  3. David A. Jasen, Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song, New edition (June 25, 2003)
  4. Harvey G. Cohen, Duke Ellington's America, University of Chicago Press (2010)