Walter Melrose (October 26, 1889– May 30, 1973) was 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 ...

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 ...

in the 1920s and 1930s.

Background

He was born in Sumner,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and was the brother of

Lester Melrose Lester Franklin Melrose (December 14, 1891 – April 12, 1968) was a talent scout who was one of the first American producers of Chicago blues records. Career Lester Franklin Melrose was born in Sumner, Illinois, the second of six children ...

, with whom he established a music store in

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. This became successful after the Tivoli Theatre opened in the same street, greatly increasing the amount of passing trade. Melrose branched into music publishing when

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

turned up in his store, and hits such as

Wolverine Blues ''Wolverine Blues'' is the third studio album by Swedish death metal band Entombed, released on 4 October 1993 by Earache Records. The album displays a completely different sound from previous releases, combining elements of hard rock, heav ...

and

King Porter Stomp "King Porter Stomp" is a jazz standard by pianist Jelly Roll Morton, first recorded in 1923. The composition is considered to be important in the development of jazz.Magee, Jeffrey. "'King Porter Stomp' and the Jazz Tradition", p.46, ''Current Mus ...

became highly successful for the company. In 1926 he arranged a series of recordings for

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

by Morton's

Red Hot Peppers Red Hot Peppers was a recording jazz band led by Jelly Roll Morton from 1926–1930. It was a seven- or eight-piece band formed in Chicago that recorded for Victor and featured the best New Orleans-style freelance musicians available, includ ...

, which have come to be regarded as landmarks of early

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. He later parted company with Morton acrimoniously, and stopped paying him royalties for his compositions.

Major publications

He and his brother published the jazz standard "

Tin Roof Blues "Tin Roof Blues" is a jazz composition by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings first recorded in 1923. It was written by band members Paul Mares, Ben Pollack, Mel Stitzel, George Brunies and Leon Roppolo. The tune has become a jazz standard and is one o ...

" composed by the

New Orleans Rhythm Kings The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band included New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians. History The ...

" in 1923. He also wrote the lyrics to that song. Melrose added lyrics to many existing jazz compositions that his company published, such as "

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

". He established one of the major publishing companies with his brother, known as Melrose Brothers Music: The House That Blues Built.

Other publications

Melrose Music also published ''Glenn Miller's 125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone'', ''Louis Armstrong's 125 Jazz Breaks for Cornet'', and ''Benny Goodman's 125 Jazz Breaks for the Saxophone and Clarinet'' in 1928.

References

Walter Melrose had contributed to many songs and lyrics and has a broad discography after he died. Walter Melrose died in May of 1973, in Lake Barington, Illinois. Officially, he was a music publisher but did receive credits for several songs with the original Dixieland jazz band, including the songs "High Society" and "Tin Roof Blues". Both were hits in the late 1950s. The Music Goes Round And Round Eigenvertrieb / DSCMusic 2014001 Martinique 2007 Martinique Earworks.ch Piano Solo. Plays Blues And Ballads 2005 Piano Solo. Plays Blues And Ballads Jazz Connaisseur / JCCD 9107-2 Buona Sera New Orleans 2002 Buona Sera New Orleans Eigenvertrieb / TBH 602 For Louis 2000 For Louis Concord / CCD-4879-2 Jazz Club Trio - Plus 1995 Jazz Club Trio - Plus Elite Special / TCD 7935 Mo' Cream From The Crop 1994 Mo' Cream From The Crop Sony Music Entertainment Switzerland GmbH / CK 66628 Nothing But The Blues 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Melrose, Walter Businesspeople from Chicago American lyricists 1889 births 1973 deaths People from Sumner, Illinois American music publishers (people) 20th-century American businesspeople