George Addison Norton (April 18, 1880 – November 18, 1923), usually credited as George A. Norton, was an American lyricist and composer of popular songs.

Biography

He was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. His earliest credits came in 1899, with "In the Shenandoah Valley" and "Sing Me a Song of the South", both written with composer James W. Casey (1875–1964). In 1903, Norton's song "Mary from Maryland" was used in a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

show, ''The Girl from Dixie''. He found employment with Theron C. Bennett, a

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

with offices in New York,

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and in 1912, at Bennett's request, he rewrote the lyrics to

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

's "

The Memphis Blues "The Memphis Blues" is a song described by its composer, W. C. Handy, as a "southern rag". It was self-published by Handy in September 1912 and has been recorded by many artists over the years. "Mr. Crump" Subtitled "Mr. Crump", "The Memphis Blu ...

", described as "the first commercial blues ever published". The same year, Norton rewrote the lyrics to another song, "Melancholy", which had been written by a married couple, Maybelle and Ernie Burnett, before they divorced. Retitled "

My Melancholy Baby "My Melancholy Baby" is a popular song published in 1912 and first sung publicly by William Frawley. The music was written by Ernie Burnett (1884–1959), the lyrics by George A. Norton. Background Ernie Burnett, who composed the music, was ...

", the revised song was introduced by

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy ser ...

in Denver and was later recorded successfully by

Al Bowlly Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African– British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs. His most popular songs includ ...

, Bing Crosby and many others. Norton also wrote "I'm Goin' Back to Memphis, Tennessee", recorded by

Collins & Harlan Collins & Harlan, the team of American singers Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan, formed a popular comic duo between 1903 and 1926. They sang ragtime standards as well as what were known as "coon songs" – music sung by white performers in a bl ...

. In 1917, he was credited with writing both words and music for "Round her Neck She Wears A Yeller Ribbon (For Her Lover Who is Fur Fur Away)", one of the inspirations for the 1973 song "

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/ Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, J ...

". Norton died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, in 1923, aged 43. George A. Norton death certificate, Arizona Department of Health Services. Arizona Death Records., ''Ancestry.com''
Retrieved 26 April 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, George A. 1880 births 1923 deaths American lyricists American composers Musicians from St. Louis