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The Sam Fox Publishing Company was an American music publishing house, founded in 1906 by
Sam Fox Sam Fox (born May 9, 1929) is an American businessman in St. Louis, and the owner of Harbour Group Industries. He was the United States Ambassador to Belgium from April 11, 2007 until January 2, 2009. President George W. Bush appointed Fox to t ...
of
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. The company was the first to publish original
film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
s in the United States, and was the publisher of numerous artists and international hit songs.


Founding

The company began in 1906, when at age 25, Sam Fox borrowed $300 to start the company he first called Sandbox Music Publishing. At the same time as the company's founding, construction of Cleveland's Hippodrome Theatre had just been completed where
John Stepan Zamecnik John Stepan Zamecnik (May 14, 1872 in Cleveland, Ohio – June 13, 1953 in Los Angeles, California) was an American composer and conductor. He is best known for the "photoplay music" he composed for use during silent films by pianists, organ ...
was named music director. Zemecnik began writing original music scores for the films shown at the Hippodrome, which Fox published. The business arrangement between Fox and Zamecnik flourished and the music director became the major composer and music director for Fox's publishing company.Mont Alto: Composer Profile: J.S. Zamecnik (1872-1953); http://mont-alto.com


Association with Zamecnik

Almost immediately, Fox and Zamecnik began a collaboration that resulted in a prolific output of music. Zamecnik used more than twenty pseudonyms in penning his songs, giving the impression that the publishing company was a large company. In 1908, Sam Fox Publishing Company released a march by Zamecnik entitled "The College Yell" which may have led to an association nine years later, when Fox became the exclusive publisher for the man known as the March King,
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...
. That working relationship continued until Sousa's death in 1934."Sam Fox, 89, Dies; Music Publisher", ''The New York Times'', December 1, 1971 Publication of the Zamecnik scores ran the extent of the
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
era (1913–1928) and the music was played in film theaters across the United States on a daily basis for more than a decade. The Fox-Zamecnik collaboration resulted in the publication of more than 2,000 compositions.


Expansion

The 1915 piano novelty "Nola," by
Felix Arndt Felix Arndt (May 20, 1889October 16, 1918) was an American pianist and composer of popular music. His mother was the Countess Fevrier, related to Napoleon III. His father, Hugo Arndt, was Swiss-born. Educated in New York (his music teachers incl ...
became an international hit, and by 1918, Sam Fox Publishing Company offerings could be found in newspapers in both the United States and Canada, in advertisements claiming "Leading Dealers sell Sam Fox Music of Merit."Newspaper Display Ad;''Winnipeg Free Press'', Winnipeg, Canada, December 4, 1918. "Kisses", Valse D'Amour by J.S. Zamecnik was listed as one of two successes that should be in "every home." Zamecnik's "Neapolitan Nights" also met with major success, as did "
Lady of Spain "Lady of Spain" is a popular song composed in 1931 by Tolchard Evans with lyrics by " Erell Reaves", a pseudonym of Stanley J. Damerell and Robert Hargreaves (1894–1934)I, and by Henry Tilsley. The sheet music was published in London by the Pet ...
," penned by Erell Reaves and
Tolchard Evans Sydney Edmund Tolchard Evans (20 September 1901 – 12 March 1978) was a British songwriter, composer, pianist and bandleader, whose works were popular from the 1920s to the 1960s. Early life He was born in West Kilburn, London, the son of Edmun ...
in 1931. Even as early as the release of "Nola," the Sam Fox Publishing Company logo featured the tag line, "Established Throughout The World," and listed offices and representatives in New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Melbourne, and "other Important Centers." The New York office was headed in later years by Sam Fox's son Frederick, who had worked at the office at 202 The Arcade, Cleveland until after 1942. The company's musical score publishing for Hollywood films was solidified with contracts with Fox Films and Movietone News as their exclusive musical producer. The Hollywood film work led to his publication of songs in Fox films, including "
On the Good Ship Lollipop "On the Good Ship Lollipop" is a song composed by Richard A. Whiting with lyrics by Sidney Clare. It was the signature song of child actress Shirley Temple. Temple first sang it in the 1934 film, '' Bright Eyes''. In the song, the "Good Ship ...
" and
Animal Crackers in My Soup "Animal Crackers in My Soup" is a song introduced by Shirley Temple in the film ''Curly Top'' (1935). The lyrics were written by Irving Caesar and Ted Koehler and the music by Ray Henderson; the sheet music was published by Sam Fox Publishing Com ...
sung by
Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
. Sam Fox Publishing Company entered the Broadway field in 1947 with the publication of the musical score for the award-winning film "
Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a ...
" and the score for "
Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay ''I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes ...
." Sam Fox Publishing Company ranked among the top ten musical publishers in the United States by the middle of the 20th century. The company became Sam Fox Publishing Company, Inc. on January 22, 1953, when it was incorporated in the state of New York.New York State Department of State, Division of Corporations, www.dos.state.ny.us; accessed April 15, 2010.


References


External links


List of Sam Fox Publishing Company titles.
{{Authority control Music publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1906 History of Cleveland Music of Cleveland 1906 establishments in Ohio