Shawnee Press, Inc., was an independent print and recorded music publisher and for a time, the largest educational music publisher in the world. The Company published several music types including choral, vocal, instrumental, and classroom in a variety of styles. Shawnee Press was founded in 1939 by famed bandleader/choirmaster from the Golden Age of radio and television,

Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...

. Waring and his famous singing group “The Pennsylvanians” achieved national prominence on radio and television in the 1930s through the 1970s. As the group grew in popularity, school and church choral directors began requesting copies of Waring’s unique arrangements, and Waring responded by starting a music publisher based in New York City. Originally named "Words and Music" the new venture included

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

as one of the original investors along with Waring. Waring eventually bought out the other investors and moved the company to his native Pennsylvania, 80 miles outside of New York City to

Shawnee on Delaware Shawnee on Delaware is an unincorporated community on the Delaware River, part of Smithfield Township in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated just south of the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, southwest of the Shawnee ...

(and eventually Delaware Water Gap). Accordingly, he changed the name of the company from "Words and Music" to "Shawnee Press". After Waring's death in 1984, his widow, Virginia Waring, retained ownership of the company until selling it in 1989 to the

Music Sales Group Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...

, a global music publishing company based in London, England with offices in New York City and around the world. In September 2005, the company relocated to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. In 2009, Milwaukee-based

Hal Leonard Corporation Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...

acquired Shawnee Press (along with other

USA music print publications) with Shawnee becoming a publishing imprint of Hal Leonard. The Nashville office was soon thereafter closed and all functions folded into the operations of Hal Leonard.

References

* Waring, Virginia (1997). ''Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians''. University of Illinois Press. {{ISBN, 0-252-02295-5.

External links

Official website
Sheet music publishing companies Music publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1939 1939 establishments in New York City