Is It Wrong To Kiss?

1882

It seems appropriate, at least to me, to establish the moral basis for this month's subject. Fortunately, in 1882 J.W. Bischoff did just that in a song. Here we have a very clever and entertaining song with a bit of a surprise ending. A sweet maiden asks the question of many a person as well as the forces of nature about the morality of kissing and gets no answer. Only when she encounters a rather bold young man does she find the truth. See the scorch version or the lyrics link below to find out how the story goes, it is a wonderfully good humored work.

In addition to its good humor, the song is one of the earliest examples of a Tin Pan Alley style song to emerge in the late Dead Zone of American music. With an interesting cover and title, the sheet music is designed to sell. In addition, the musical style though through composed and still carrying the attributes of the dead zone, points ahead to the popular music style that would become America's musical signature. The lyrics are still firmly grounded in Victorian ideals yet coyly points to a more liberated and titillating time in music. It is a real gem.

John W. Bischoff (b. 1850, Chicago - d. 1909 Washington, DC) Blind from the tender age of two, Bischoff went on to become a noted organist, compiler of musical collections and composer. His compilations included a significant number of his own works and include Gospel Bells, 1883, God Be With You, 1880 and Not Half Has Been Told, 1877. He was principal organist at the First Congregational Church in Washington from 1874 till his death in 1909.

Hear this clever kiss song (Scorch format)

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Lyrics

Kiss And Let's Make Up

1891

Music by: Charles K. Harris
Lyrics by: Harris
Cover artist: unknown

Now that we've established the validity of the kiss, at least musically, we can move on to the various uses of the kiss and some of the many songs that were written around this rather odd human behavior. Charles K. Harris, the man we've dubbed the "King of The Tear Jerkers" wrote many songs that were firmly entrenched in the Victorian penchant for emotion and sweetness. Though not his most famous song (After The Ball, 1892), this song was one of his most popular and one still often remembered and sung as a children's song. Very similar but before another song from the same era, I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard (1894, H.W. Petrie), the song deals with a childhood friendship gone wrong and then later mended as a lasting loving relationships. Of course the kiss' value and use here is to "make up," between friends but later, lovers.

This song steps firmly into the Tin Pan Alley with the more familiar strophic song style and with music that is a bit further away from the classical style of earlier times. Harris always managed to hit on subjects that were timeless and told stories of interest, this song's lyrics are no exception and hold one's interest still today. The music is full of Victorian era ornamentation and playing style including trills and arpeggiated chords. The harmony is clearly of that era.

Charles Kassell Harris was born in 1867 in Poughkipsie, NY and died in NYC in 1930. He lived for many years in Milwaukee and published many of his early songs there. His After The Ball, published in 1892 is generally considered to be the watershed song that started the popular song industry in earnest as a commercial juggernaught. Though Harris wrote many songs over the years, none ever rose to the level of popularity as After The Ball. See our in-depth biography of Harris for much more information

Enjoy this great old Harris song (Scorch format)

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Lyrics

Kiss Me, Honey Do

1898

Music by: John Stromberg
Lyrics by: Edgar Smith
Cover artist: unknown

Kisses of course are more often connected to romance than to making up and the "kiss song" managed to cross over virtually all styles and genres of popular song. Here we have an early "coon song," that solicits the romantic kiss from his honey, Dinah. The story told in this song is rather unremarkable and it clearly was written to capitalize on the coon song craze which would have been at or near its peak when this song was written. The music is rather common and not particularly memorable either. With a mostly simple right hand that mostly doubles the melody and a fairly simple left hand chordal accompaniment, the song presents no major challenges to the pianist. The song was originally a part of the 1898 Weber & Fields stage production Hurley-Burley and was originally titled Dinah.

John Stromberg (b. 1853, New York City - d. 1902, New York) was a popular composer during the 1890's and worked almost exclusively with lyricist Edgar Smith. Together they wrote a number of shows for Webber and Fields stage works including, The Geezer (1896), The Glad Hand (1897) Hurley-Burley (1898) and Whirl-i-gig (1899). Famed performer Lillian Russell introduced several of his songs in that 1899 production including When Chloe Sings A Song. Stromberg teamed up with Harry B. Smith to write several popular songs including, I'm Making A Bid for Popularity (1899), The Kissing Bug (1899), My Josephine (1899) and De Cake Walk Queen (1900). Unfortunately, little of Stromberg's music is heard today and none seems to have made it into the lasting hit category. Stromberg died by his own hand in 1902. That same year, after his death, Russell introduced his previously unperformed song Come Down, Ma Evenin' Star in a performance of Twirly-Whirly.

Listen to and see this kissing "coon" song (Scorch)

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Lyrics

May I Print A Kiss?

1902

It's often said that big things come in small packages and this exceptional example by Carrie Jacobs Bond proves that point without doubt. From a 1902 compilation of short but memorable songs, May I Print A Kiss is a creative song by a master of the short song. Bond was able to convey a complete musical idea in short order. However, it would be a mistake to assume the music she wrote was simple, it was quite accomplished. As well, she could convey volumes with a short lyric. This set of songs, and in particular this one, demonstrates her ability in this regard. Bond reached the pinnacle of this art with her Smile Songs, a group of sixteen songs of eight bars each that though short to the extreme, convey a full measure of musical and lyrical thought. This song though twice the length of the Smile Songs, is still a model of efficiency. At sixteen measures and a playing time of a mere 28 seconds, it is much more complex than one would think. For the best musical experience, be sure to view the Scorch version.

Carrie Jacobs-Bond suffered many tragedies in her life but managed to overcome them all through courage and determination. Her life is inspirational and her ability to overcome the odds made her one of America's most loved composers. We've featured many of her works on ParlorSongs and still have many more to present. We recommend you spend the time to learn much more about this remarkable woman by visiting our in depth biography of her and our June, 2000 feature on her music. For even more of her songs we've published, use our search page and search for "Carrie Jacobs-Bond."

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Lyrics

Kiss Me Good-Bye Sweetheart

1904

Music by: Henry W. Armstrong
Lyrics by: Armstrong
Cover artist: unknown

During the early 20th century, many of the major newspapers in the US published Sunday supplements that were in fact, sheet music for popular (or maybe not so popular) songs of the day. As with many such publications, the sheet music was a marketing method to get buyers of the Sunday paper. In October of 2000, we published a feature about Sunday supplements. See that article for more information. As with most newspaper supplements, this one is suffering from acid paper decay. This work appears to have been a part of a six issue series contracted by the paper of "six songs written for the New York Sunday World" by popular composers. The song is a march that starts out very reminiscent of the Madden work, Blue Bell (MIDI) from the same year, listen and see if you agree. And like Blue Bell, the song is a "good-bye" song for a military man about to leave his sweetheart for the perils of combat. Of course, all of us who have been in the military know the romantic value of departing on an assignment to danger and it seems that it's been a tried and true method for as long as conflicts have existed!

Henry W. Armstrong (aka Harry) (b. 1879, Sommerville, Mass., d. 1951, New York, NY) One does not often think of a prize fighter as a genteel lovers of the arts, but Armstrong is an exception. His varied career not only included his bout(s) as a pugilist but also included booking agent, producer, singer, pianist and of course composer. As a performer, Armstrong entertained in hospitals during the first world war and as well, performed in night clubs, radio and near the end of his life, even on TV. His biggest hit was Sweet Adeline, in 1903 with Richard H. Gerard.

Enjoy this classic kiss song (Scorch format)

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Lyrics

Kiss Me My Honey, Kiss Me

1910

Music by: Ted Snyder
Lyrics by: Irving Berlin
Cover artist: John Frew

Before he was the master of American popular song, Irving Berlin was a lyricist, in fact he got his start as a lyricist and singing waiter. He did not become a phenomenon till after the release of his 1911 Alexander's ragtime band. For details of his early life see our in-depth biography of Berlin. Prior to 1911, and for a short time after, Berlin often teamed up with Ted Snyder as his lyricist and they published a number of songs that were popular but not lasting hits. This song is one of their several songs published by Snyder's company. A fabulous cover by John Frew adorns this catchy tune. The rather large lady on the cover with the mouthful of tooth gaps is "little" Amy Butler. Butler was obviously a performer of note in 1910 however, I've been unable to locate any information about her. The song is a tender ballad, with a musically interesting chord basis for the accompaniment in the chorus. The verses are short but have a nice andante espressivo melody that leads to the more upbeat but delicato chorus. I found this song to be quite interesting and enjoyable.

Ted Snyder (b. 1881, Freeport, Illinois d. 1965, Hollywood, CA) Ted Snyder is the person who gave Irving Berlin his start in the music business by hiring him in 1909 as a song plugger for his publishing company. But Snyder is also recalled as a composer in his own right who wrote hits such as The Sheik of Araby (1921) and Who's Sorry Now? (1923).

Little is known of Ted's early life, other than he attended the public schools in Boscobel, WI., and as a very young man, he posted theater bills for a living. Later, he was a cafe pianist, and then a staff pianist and song plugger in Chicago and New York music publishing houses. Like Berlin, his first publications came in 1907 with his first song There's a Girl in This World for Every Boy, with lyrics Will D. Cobb. Snyder wrote a number of other tunes in collaboration with other important lyricists of the day and in 1909 he began his association with Berlin. Some of their first tunes included, Sweet Italian Love, Kiss Me, My Honey, Kiss Me, and Next To Your Mother, Who Do You Love? as well as 1910's That Beautiful Rag.

In 1913, Irving Berlin was writing his own melodies, as well as his own lyrics and Snyder's firm is reorganized and is called, Waterson, Berlin and Snyder. Ted Snyder also continued writing his own melodies, often with other lyricists such as Bert Kalmar and Edgar Leslie. Among the songs he wrote with Kalmar and/or Leslie are: Moonlight on the Rhine, In The Land of Harmony and The Ghost of the Violin. From the end of the first World War till 1930, Snyder continued writing songs with other talented lyricists.

In 1930, Ted Snyder retired from the songwriting business, settled in Hollywood, CA., and went into the restaurant business. He died in Hollywood. He is a member of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.
(Adapted from Kinkle, pp 1784-85)

Irving Berlin. Born Isidore Baline in Temun, Russia, in 1888, Berlin moved to New York City with his family in 1893. He published his first work, Marie of Sunny Italy (Scorch format) in 1907 at age 19 and immediately had his first hit on his hands. It was at that time he changed his name to Irving Berlin. His total royalties for this first song amounted to 37 cents. In 1911 the publication of Alexander's Ragtime Band (MIDI) established his reputation as a songwriter. He formed his own music-publishing business in 1919, and in 1921 he became a partner in the construction of the Music Box Theater in New York, staging his own popular revues at the theater for several years. Berlin wrote about 1500 songs. One unique fact about Berlin is that he was not able to read or write music or play the piano except in one key (F sharp). He picked out melodies or dictated them and had assistants fill in the harmonies and accompaniment for him. Berlin never seemed to give credit for these very talented people. In his later years, he had a special device attached to his piano that allowed him to transpose any song into his "favorite" key. His initial start in the music industry was as a singer and then as a lyricist. It was only after great success in writing lyrics that Berlin turned to melodies.

Whether for Broadway musicals or films, for humorous songs or romantic ballads, his compositions are celebrated for their appealing melodies and memorable lyrics. Among the numerous musical comedies and revues for which Berlin wrote music and lyrics were Annie Get Your Gun (1946), and Mr. President (1962). His many popular songs include There's No Business Like Show Business, God Bless America, and White Christmas. In 1968 Berlin received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On September 22nd 1989, at the age of 101, Berlin died in his sleep in New York City.

It is almost impossible to provide a meaningful biographical sketch of Berlin in only a few words, he is perhaps the most celebrated and successful composer of American song from the Tin Pan Alley era. Way back in November of 1998 we did a feature on Berlin's music, which we updated early in 2003. In addition, we have added a more extensive biography of Berlin for those who want to know more about him.

Listen to this great old song (scorch format)

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Lyrics