Ida Emerson (17 April 1873 – 25 September 1945) was a Broadway

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

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 one of the few women admitted to the famed group of songwriters of

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 ...

, where she worked with her husband, composer, lyricist, arranger and

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

Joseph E. Howard Joseph Edgar Howard (February 12, 1870May 19, 1961) was an American Broadway composer, lyricist, librettist, and performer. A famed member of Tin Pan Alley along with wife and composer Ida Emerson as part of the song-writing team of Howard and E ...

as part of the song writing team of Howard and Emerson. Emerson met Howard when he was 17. After the death of his first wife, Mabel Barrison, the two were married. They worked the Midwestern vaudeville circuit, gaining notice in Chicago that landed them a gig in New York at Tony Pastor's Music Hall on 14th Street.Answers.com
– Joseph E. Howard

Songs

Hello Ma Baby "Hello! Ma Baby" is a Tin Pan Alley song written in 1899 by the songwriting team of Joseph E. Howard and Ida Emerson, known as "Howard and Emerson". Its subject is a man who has a girlfriend he knows only through the telephone. At the time, tele ...

" (1899) – The song that brought her lasting fame and success was a syncopated novelty telephone number called "Hello, Ma Baby," published in 1899. It sold over a million copies of sheet music within a couple of months. It is best known works to modern audiences. It was popularized in modern culture by the singing

Michigan J. Frog Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character from the Warner Bros.' ''Merrie Melodies'' film series. Originally a one-shot character, his only appearance during the original run of the ''Merrie Melodies'' series was as the star of ''One Fro ...

of the Warner Bros. Cartoons.

References

19th-century American singers 19th-century American women singers American women songwriters Broadway composers and lyricists Ragtime composers {{US-songwriter-stub