Beth Slater Whitson (December 1, 1879 – April 26, 1930) was an American

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

. She was born on December 1, 1879, in

Goodrich, Tennessee Goodrich is an unincorporated community in Hickman County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. History A post office called Goodrich was established in 1884, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1933. The community was named for Lev ...

and died on April 26, 1930. She was the daughter of John H. Whitson and Anna Slater Whitson. Her Father was the Co- Editor of the Hickman Pioneer Newspaper. Whitson began her songwriting in Hickman country. In 1913 Whitson and her family moved to Nashville where she and sister Alice continued to write and publish, Beth’s local biographer, Grace Baxter Thompson, remarked at the dedication of a state historical marker to Whitson’s career in 1978: “She gave beauty and color and enjoyment to her community from which those qualities have been far-reaching and long-lasting”. She composed lyrics to over 400 songs, and is best remembered for the songs "

Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland" was one of the most famous and beloved popular songs of the early 20th century. This gentle waltz, with lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson and music by Leo Friedman, was published in Chicago in 1909. Friedman and Whit ...

" (1909) and "

Let Me Call You Sweetheart "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" is a popular song, with music by Leo Friedman and lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson. The song was published in 1910 and was a huge hit for the Peerless Quartet in 1911. A recording by Arthur Clough was very popular the sa ...

" (1910), both becoming one of the largest selling songs in

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

. Her first major hit

really became known in 1949 when it was featured in the movie

In the Good Old Summertime ''In the Good Old Summertime'' is a 1949 American Technicolor musical film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It stars Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S.Z. Sakall, Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, and Buster Keaton in his first featured film role at M ...

She wrote the words to her songs but got someone else to write the music. In 1913, Whitson and her family moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, where she and her sister, Alice, continued to write. ''"Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you. Let me hear you whisper that you love me too" - Beth Slater Whitson, from''

Short stories

Beth didn't just write songs but also wrote amazing stories and poems. One of those stories, “The Knitter Of Liege” was named as a National top fifty short story for the year 1916. Alice, Beth's sister also became known for her short stories. Whitson's stories were published in many magazines in the decade.

References

1879 births 1930 deaths Songwriters from Tennessee {{Songwriter-stub