Robert Bache Smith ( June 4, 1875 – November 6, 1951), usually published as Robert B. Smith, was an American librettist 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 ...

. His older brother,

Harry B. Smith Harry Bache Smith (December 28, 1860 – January 1, 1936) was a writer, lyricist and composer. The most prolific of all American stage writers, he is said to have written over 300 librettos and more than 6000 lyrics. Some of his best-known works ...

, was also a successful lyricist and a writer and composer. Born in Chicago, Smith began his career apprenticing with the famed

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 ...

duo

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

and

Fields Fields may refer to: Music *Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006 *Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971 * ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010) * "Fields", a song by ...

. He most notably wrote the lyrics to “Come Down, Ma Evenin' Star” from Weber and Fields' '' Twirly Whirly'' (1902; famously sung by Lillian Russell). He went on to write libretti for

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s and lyrics for musicals, including such works as '' Fantana'' (1905), ''

The Spring Maid ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1910), '' Sweethearts'' (1913), and '' Angel Face'' (1919). His last work was ''

The Girl in the Spotlight ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' (credited as Richard Bruce) in 1920. He died in New York City at the age of 76.

Selected productions

*'' Twirly Whirly'' – musical, book written in 1902 *'' Breaking Into Society'' – musical, book and lyrics written in 1902 *''

'' – musical, book and lyrics written in 1910 *''The Rose Maid'' – musical, lyrics written in 1912 *''The Girl from Montmartre'' – musical, lyrics written in 1913 *''

Lilac Domino ''Der lila Domino'' (''The Lilac Domino'') is an operetta in three acts composed by Charles Cuvillier. The original German libretto is by Emmerich von Gatti and Bela Jenbach, about a gambling count who falls in love at a masquerade ball with a ...

'' – Broadway adaptation, written in 1914 *''A Lonely Romeo'' – musical, lyrics written in 1919 *'' Sweethearts'' – musical, lyrics written for 1929 revival (also 1947 revival)

References

External links

* * 1875 births 1951 deaths American musical theatre lyricists American librettists Musicians from Chicago {{US-dramatist-stub