William James Baskette (October 20, 1884 – November 8, 1949) was an American pianist and composer who wrote popular songs of the

Tin Pan Alley 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 ...

era."Billy Basket, 64, Pianist, Songwriter", ''

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'', November 11, 1949 He also wrote one of the most successful

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

war songs, " Good Bye Broadway, Hello France". Baskette was born in

Henderson, Kentucky Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and is the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as the ...

. His career in music began as a bassist in a circus band. He also was involved in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performances as a dancer and a pianist. Later, he became a staff composer for various music publishing firms in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He died in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

on November 8, 1949. Baskette was a part of the

movement of music. In 1918, there was a focus on music called "goodbye songs" referring to U.S. soldiers who were deployed to France during World War I. One of Baskette's most notable works was "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France," which was a hit song of the period.

Selected compositions

Leo Feist, Inc. * "Hawaiian Butterfly", lyrics by George A. Little (1890–1946); music by Baskette &

Joseph Santley Joseph Mansfield Santley (born Joseph Ishmael Mansfield, January 10, 1890 – August 8, 1971) was an American actor, singer, dancer, writer, director, and producer of musical theatre, musical theatre, theatrical plays motion pictures and tele ...

(1917) * "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France", C. Francis Reisner &

Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. In ...

; music by Baskette (1918) * "Take a Letter To My Daddy Over There", lyrics by Roger Lewis & Bobby Crawford; music by Baskette (1918) * " Jerry, You Warra A Warrior In the War", lyrics by Dannie O'Neil, music by Baskette (1919) Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., New York * "Baby's Prayer Will Soon Be Answered", lyrics & music by Baskette,

Gus Van Van and Schenck were popular American entertainers in the 1910s and 1920s: Gus Van (born August Von Glahn, August 12, 1886 – March 12, 1968), baritone, and Joe Schenck (pronounced "skenk"; born Joseph Thuma Schenck, (June 2, 1891– June ...

, & Joe Schenck (1918) † Berlin & Snyder, Inc. * "Waiting for the Evening Mail", lyrics by James Barton, music by Baskette (1923) H. Waterson, New York * "Dream Pal", lyrics & music by Baskette (1925) McCarthy & Fisher, Inc. * "If We Had a Million Like Him Over There", lyrics & music by Baskette (1918) * " I'm Goin' to Fight My Way Right Back to Carolina", lyrics & music by Baskette & Jessie Spiess (1918) * "Everybody Wants a Key to my Cellar",

Ed Rose Ed Rose is an American sound engineer and record producer. He has worked extensively with groups in the modern emo and pop punk scenes. He also co-owns Black Lodge Recording with Rob Pope and his brother Ryan Pope, members of the emo band The Get ...

, Baskette, &

Lew Pollack Lew Pollack (June 16, 1895 – January 18, 1946) was an American song composer and musician active during the 1920s and the 1930s. Career Pollack was born in New York City where he went to DeWitt Clinton High School and was active as a boy sopran ...

(1919) J. Albert & Son * "Tell the Rose", lyrics & music by Baskette (1924) Milton Weil Music Co., Chicago * "Talking to the Moon", lyrics by George A. Little; music by Baskette (1926) * "Let Me Spent the Journey's End With You", lyrics by Baskette, music by

Paul Ash Paul Robert Ash (February 11, 1891, Germany — July 13, 1958, Manhattan, New York) was a German orchestra leader, composer, vaudeville personality, and recording artist, who emigrated to the United States. He recorded several hit songs: "Rememb' ...

(1927) * "Hoosier Sweetheart", lyrics & music by Joe Goodwin,

, & Baskette; arr. by Rube Bennett (1927) * "The Man In The Moon Told Me", lyrics & music by Baskette, Theo Alban (''né'' Theophilus Lewis Alban; 1897–1951), &

; arr. by Rube Bennett (1927) * "My Secret of Happiness", lyrics & music by Baskette & Theo Alban (''né'' Theophilus Lewis Alban; 1897–1951); arr. by Rube Bennett (1927) * "Night Time in Picardy", lyrics & music by Baskette & Theo Alban (''né'' Theophilus Lewis Alban; 1897–1951); arr. by Rube Bennett (1927) * "Save a Little Girl For Me", lyrics & music by Baskette & Theo Alban (''né'' Theophilus Lewis Alban; 1897–1951); arr. by Rube Bennett (1927) * "Tune In To-Night", lyrics & music by Baskette, arr. by Rube Bennett (1927) * "Right After They Leave My Arms", lyrics & music by Rube Bennett,

, & Baskette (1927) * "One Hour of Love", lyrics by Baskette, music by Rube Bennett (1927) * "Dream Train", words by Charles Newman, music by Baskette (1928) Harold Rossiter Music Co., Chicago * "I Could Waltz On Forever With You Sweetheart", lyrics by Rube Bennett, music by Baskette (1927) * "Ula-hoo", lyrics by Baskette, music by Rube Bennett (1927) * "Love Is Like That", lyrics by

, music by Baskette (1927) C. Bayha Music, New York (Charlies Anthony Bayha; 1891–1957) * "That's When I Learned To Love You", lyrics by Bartley Costello, music by Baskette (1929) Harms, Inc. * "The Perfect Dream", lyrics & music by Baskette & Theo Alban (''né'' Theophilus Lewis Alban; 1897–1951) (1933) Bobbins Music Corp., New York * "Honolulu Sweetheart", lyrics & music by Baskette (1927) Billy Baskette Music Co., New York * "Old Shoes", lyrics & music by Baskette (1927) ; Helmy Kresa arranged for band Publisher unknown * "Forever and Ever and Ever", lyrics & music by

Jesse Crawford Jesse Crawford (December 2, 1895 – May 28, 1962) was an American pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theatre organist for silent films and as a popular recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and b ...

, Baskette, & Bartley Costello (1929) Mason Music Company, New York * "The Blue Eagle Is Flying High", lyrics & music by Baskette & Theo Alban (''né'' Theophilus Lewis Alban; 1897–1951) (1933) Joe Davis, Inc., New York (Joseph Morton Davis; 1896–1978) * "Carolina Lullaby", words and music by Cecelia G. Reeker (''née'' Huenergardt; 1897–1981),

, & Baskette (1933) Mort Beck Music Co. * "Whistlin' Joe From Kokomo", lyrics & music by Baskette, Harry Edelheit, & Arthur Berman (1933) ---- :† "Baby's Prayer Will Soon Be Answered" was written in 1918 in response to Baskette's earlier song "Just A Baby's Prayer at Twilight (For Her Daddy Over There)", a pair of late war songs hoping for a soldier's safe return.''Billy Baskettte'',

Germantown, Tennessee Germantown is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 41,333 at the 2020 census. Germantown is a suburb of Memphis, bordering it to the east-southeast. Germantown was founded in 1841 by mostly German emigrants. The ...

: The Parlor Songs Academy

References

External links

Billy Baskette in the National Jukebox

Billy Baskette recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baskette, Billy 1884 births 1949 deaths Songwriters from Kentucky People from Henderson, Kentucky

Selected compositions

References

Further reading

External links