Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It origin ...
.
Born in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
, he was a charter member of the
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
(ASCAP).
MacDonald wrote lyrics for a song called "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" in 1910, which became a hit with revised lyrics when it was sung in the ''
Ziegfeld Follies'' by
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 ...
star
Bert Williams.
He subsequently worked with composer
Harry Carroll
Harry Carroll (November 28, 1892, in Atlantic City, New Jersey – December 26, 1962, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania) was an American songwriter, pianist, and composer.
Biography
Carroll taught himself how to play the piano and began playing in mov ...
on "On the Mississippi" (1912) and "
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (1912, based on the
novel of the same name). He also partnered with
James F. Hanley, which produced the 1917 hit "
(Back Home Again in) Indiana
"(Back Home Again in) Indiana" is a song composed by James F. Hanley with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald that was published in January 1917. Although it is not the state song of Indiana (which is "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"), it is perhaps ...
".
In the early 1920s, MacDonald turned his attention to Broadway revues, which in 1924 brought him his most notable musical collaborator in
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
. In 1926, MacDonald teamed up with
Walter Donaldson to write songs for the Broadway show ''Sweetheart Time''.
''
Thumbs Up!'' was MacDonald's final Broadway show.
He died in
Forest Hills, New York.
Songs
* 1912 "On the Mississippi" with
Harry Carroll
Harry Carroll (November 28, 1892, in Atlantic City, New Jersey – December 26, 1962, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania) was an American songwriter, pianist, and composer.
Biography
Carroll taught himself how to play the piano and began playing in mov ...
* 1912 "
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" with Harry Carroll
* 1914 "Fatherland, the Motherland, the Land of My Best Girl" (m: Harry Carroll)
* 1914 "Tip-Top Tipperary Mary" (m: Harry Carroll)
* 1914 "War in Snider's Grocery Store" with Hank Hancock & Harry Carroll
* 1915 "I Wanna Be the Captain or I Won't Play" (m: Alfred Von Tilzer)
* 1915 "Is That You O'Reilly?"
* 1915 "Played by a Military Band" (m:
Halsey K. Mohr)
* 1916 "War Babies" with
Edward Madden
Edward Madden (July 17, 1878 – March 11, 1952) was an American lyricist.
Early life
Madden was born in New York City and graduated from Fordham University. After graduation, he wrote material for many singers including Fanny Brice and fo ...
(m:
James F. Hanley)
* 1917 "
Back Home Again In" with James F. Hanley
* 1917 "Mister Butterfly" (m:
Leo Edwards)
* 1917 "Never Forget to Write Home" (m: James F. Hanley)
* 1917 "Ragtime Volunteers Are Off to War" (m: James F. Hanley)
* 1917 "We'll Be There, on the Land, on the Sea, in the Air" (m: James F. Hanley)
* 1918 "At the Dixie Military Ball" (m: Harry Carroll)
* 1918 "Don't You Go and Worry, Mary" (m: Halsey K. Mohr)
* 1918 "Dreaming of Home Sweet Home" (m: James F. Hanley)
* 1918 "Father Will Be with Us Soon" (m: Nat Osborne)
* 1918 "I've Got a Ten Day Pass for a Honeymoon (With the Girl I Left Behind)" with
Walter Donaldson (m: James F. Hanley)
* 1918 "Little Bit of Sunshine (From Home)" with Joe Goodwin (m: James F. Hanley)
* 1918 "Magic in Your Big Blue Eyes" (m: Nat Osborne)
* 1918 "Strolling 'Round the Camp with Mary" (m: Nat Osborne)
* 1918 "
Three Wonderful Letters from Home" with Joe Goodwin (m: James F. Hanley)
* 1918 "With the Rose (I Send This Heart of Mine)" (m: Nat Osborne)
* 1919 "Another Good Man Gone Wrong" (m: Nat Osborne)
* 1919 "M'sieur Jimmie (Come and Shake Ze Shimmy)" (m: Nat Osborne)
* 1919 "On a Little Farm in Normandie" (m: Nat Osborne)
* 1920 "I Was a Florodora Baby" with Harry Carroll
Selective list of song credits
*"
Beautiful Ohio
"Beautiful Ohio" is the official song of the U.S. State of Ohio.
History
The first lyrics were written in 1918 by Ballard MacDonald and the music by Robert A. "Bobo" King, who used the pseudonym Mary Earl. The melody is partly based on " Song o ...
" (MacDonald/
Robert A. King), 1918
*"Rose of Washington Square" (MacDonald/
James F. Hanley)
*"
The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
''The Parade of the Tin Soldiers'' (''Die Parade der Zinnsoldaten''), also known as ''The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers'', is an instrumental musical character piece, in the form of a popular jaunty march, written by German composer Leon Jessel, ...
" (MacDonald/
Leon Jessel
Leon Jessel, or Léon Jessel (22 January 1871 – 4 January 1942) was a German composer of operettas and light classical music pieces. Today he is best known internationally as the composer of the popular jaunty march ''The Parade of the Tin Sold ...
), 1922
*"
Back Home Again in Indiana" (MacDonald/James F. Hanley), 1917
*
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (MacDonald/
Harry Carroll
Harry Carroll (November 28, 1892, in Atlantic City, New Jersey – December 26, 1962, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania) was an American songwriter, pianist, and composer.
Biography
Carroll taught himself how to play the piano and began playing in mov ...
), 1913
*"Play That Barbershop Chord"
*"
Clap Hands! Here Comes Charley!"
*"
Somebody Loves Me
"Somebody Loves Me" is a popular song, with music written by George Gershwin, and lyrics by Ballard MacDonald and Buddy DeSylva. The song was published in 1924 and featured in ''George White's Scandals'' of 1924.
This is not to be confused with ...
"
*"Bend Down, Sister"
*"Down in Bom Bombay"
*"On the Mississippi"
*"
"
References
External links
*
Ballard MacDonaldat the
Songwriters Hall of Fame
*
*Sheet music fo
"Dreamy Alabama" New York: Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., 1919. Fro
Alabama Sheet Music CollectionBallard MacDonald recordingsat 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 ...
1882 births
1935 deaths
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American male writers
American lyricists
American male songwriters
Musicians from Portland, Oregon
Songwriters from Oregon
Writers from Portland, Oregon
{{oregon-bio-stub