Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher 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 ...

performer.

Early life

Von Tilzer was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. His parents, Sarah (Tilzer) and Jacob Gumbinsky, were

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

immigrants. Harry ran away and joined a traveling

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

at age 14, where he adopted his mother's maiden name as his own, seeking to make it sound even classier by tacking on a "Von." So impressive seemed the transformation that eventually all his brothers changed their last name to match his.

Career

Harry proved successful playing piano and

calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muse ...

and writing new tunes and incidental music for shows. He continued doing this for burlesque and

shows for some years, writing many tunes which were not published or which he sold to entertainers for one or two dollars. In 1898, he sold his song " My Old New Hampshire Home" to a publisher for $15, and watched it become a national hit, selling over two million copies of the sheet music. This prompted him to become a professional songwriter. He was made a partner of the Shapiro Bernstein Publishing Company. His 1900 number "

A Bird in a Gilded Cage "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" is a song composed by Arthur J. Lamb and Harry Von Tilzer. It was a sentimental ballad (or tear-jerker) that became one of the most popular songs of 1900, reportedly selling more than two million copies in sheet music. ...

" became one of the biggest hits of the time. Von Tilzer became one of the best-known

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 ...

songwriters. In 1902, Von Tilzer formed his own publishing company, where he was soon joined by his younger brother Albert Von Tilzer. Harry Von Tilzer's hits included "

," "The Cubanola Glide," " Wait 'Til The Sun Shines Nellie," "Old King Tut," "All Alone," "Mariutch," "The Ragtime Goblin Man," "I Love My Wife, But Oh You Kid!" "They Always Pick On Me," " I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (with lyrics by

William Dillon William Austin Dillon (November 6, 1877 – February 10, 1966) was an American songwriter and Vaudevillian. He is best known as the lyricist for the song " I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911), written in collaborati ...

), " And The Green Grass Grew All Around," " On the Old Fall River Line," "

Under the Anheuser Bush "Under the Anheuser Bush" is a beer garden song commissioned by the Anheuser-Busch brewing company in 1903. With music by Harry Von Tilzer and words by Andrew B. Sterling, the title contains a pun on the surnames of the company's founders ("Busch" ...

," and many others.

Death

He died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on January 10, 1946.

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...

's Teleklew Productions acquired Harry Von Tilzer Music in 1957.

Work on Broadway

*''The Fisher Maiden'' (1903) –

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

– composer *''The Man From Now'' (1906) – musical – featured composer *''The Dairymaids'' (1907) – musical – featured

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

*''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

of 1910'' (1910) –

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

– featured composer for "I'll Get You Yet" *''Doctor Jazz'' (1975) – musical – featured

for "I Love It" *''

Tintypes ''Tintypes'' is a musical revue conceived by Mary Kyte with Mel Marvin and Gary Pearle. Description With its time frame set between the turn of the 20th century and the onset of World War I, this chamber piece with a cast of five provides a mus ...

'' (1980) –

– featured

References

External links

*
Sheet music for his song "Under the Anheuser Bush"
from the collection of the San Francisco Public Library
Harry Von Tilzer songs
at

Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project The Cylinder Audio Archive is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid-1920s. The ...

– Enter ''Harry Von Tilzer'' in Keyword Search window.
Harry Von Tilzer recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Von Tilzer, Harry 1872 births 1946 deaths Musicians from Detroit Jewish American songwriters American people of Polish-Jewish descent Vaudeville performers Ragtime composers Songwriters from Indiana American male composers American composers Songwriters from Michigan American music publishers (people) American male songwriters