Andrew B. Sterling (August 26, 1874 – August 11, 1955) was an American

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 incom ...

Biography

Born in

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 ...

, after he graduated from high school, he began writing songs and

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 ...

s. An important event was his meeting with the composer Harry Von Tilzer in 1898. The two began a songwriting partnership that lasted almost 30 years. Others that Sterling collaborated with include

Arthur Lange Arthur Lange (April 16, 1889 – December 7, 1956) was a United States bandleader and Tin Pan Alley composer of popular music. He composed music for over 120 films, including ''Grand Canary'' and '' Woman on the Run''. Lange shared an Oscar nomi ...

, Gus Edwards, Bernie Grossman, M. K. Jerome, William Jerome, Frederick Allen Mills, his brother Raymond Sterling,

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...

Edward Moran Edward Moran (August 19, 1829June 8, 1901) was an English-born American artist of maritime paintings. He is arguably most famous for his series of 13 historical paintings of United States marine history. Early life Moran was born to Thomas and M ...

and Bartley Costello. Sterling wrote the songs '' Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis'' in 1904 and '' Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie'' in 1905. He wrote the song '' America, Here's My Boy'' for the Peerless Quartet in 1917 in the aftermath of U.S. entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in April 1917. He wrote ''

On the Old Fall River Line ''On the Old Fall River Line'' is a song composed in 1913 by William Jerome (words), Andrew B. Sterling (words) and Harry Von Tilzer (music) set on a steamship of the Fall River Line of steamships between New York and Newport, Rhode Island, which ...

'' with Von Tilzer and W. Jerome. He worked with Von Tilzer on the classic '' Pick Me Up and Lay Me Down in Dear Old Dixieland''. Other songs for which Sterling wrote the lyrics in whole or part include '' After the War is Over'' (1918) and '' When My Baby Smiles at Me'' (1920). Sterling died in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...

on August 11, 1955. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Selected works

* with Von Tilzer, '' My Old New Hampshire Home'', 1898 * with

, '' A Mother's Prayer for Her Boy Out There'', New York: Joe Morris Music Co, 1917. * with

, '' America, Here's My Boy'', New York: Joe Morris Music Co, 1917. * with Von Tilzer and W. Jerome, ''

'' * with Von Tilzer, '' Pick Me Up and Lay Me Down in Dear Old Dixieland'' * Von Tilzer, Harry, and Andrew B. Sterling. ''Under the American Flag''. New York: Harry Von Tilzer Music Pub. Co, 1915. * '' Wait 'till the Sun Shines, Nellie'', 1905 * with

, ''What'll We Do With Him Boy's?'' New York: Joe Morris Music Co., 1918. * with Arthur Lange, Bernie Grossman, and Starmer. '' We're Going Over the Top''. New York: Joe Morris Music Co, 1918. *Von Tilzer, Harry, and Andrew B. Sterling. '' You'll Have to Put Him to Sleep with the Marseillaise and Wake Him Up with a Oo-La-La''. New York: Harry Von Tilzer Music Co., 1918. * with Charles B Ward, ''Strike Up The Band (Here Comes a Sailor)''

References

External links

Sheet music for his song "Under the Anheuser Bush"
from the collection of the San Francisco Public Library
Words and music for "Strike Up the Band (Here Comes a Sailor)"
written with Charles B. Ward in 1900
Andrew B. Sterling 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:Sterling, Andrew B. 1874 births 1955 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) Musicians from New York City Ragtime composers