John Frederick Coots (May 2, 1897 – April 8, 1985) was an American

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 ...

. He composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen

Broadway show Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

s. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist

Haven Gillespie James Lamont Gillespie (February 6, 1888 – March 14, 1975) pen name Haven Gillespie, was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", " Breezi ...

, for the biggest hit of either man's career, " Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." The song became one of the biggest sellers in American history. In 1934, when Gillespie brought him the lyrics to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Coots came up with the outline of the melody in just ten minutes. Coots took the song to his publisher, Leo Feist, who liked it but thought it was "a kids' song" and didn't expect too much from it. Coots offered the song to

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences ...

who used it on his radio show that November and it became an instant hit. The morning after the radio show there were orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music and by Christmas sales had passed 400,000.

Career timeline

: 1897 May 2 – born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

: 1914 (age 17) – began work with Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. in New York : 1916 (age 20) – first hit song published, "Mr. Ford You've Got the Right Idea," words by Ray Sherwood, music by Coots; A. J. Stasny Music Co., publisher : 1919 (age 22) – Actor-producer

Eddie Dowling Eddie Dowling (born Joseph Nelson Goucher; December 11, 1889Date and year of birth as per baptismal records of Precious Blood church, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where Dowling was christened — February 18, 1976) was an American actor, director ...

gave Coots his first chance at writing a musical score for Friars' Frolics : 1922 (age 25) – Dowling commissioned Coots to write the songs for ''Sally, Irene and Mary,'' a show which ran for two years on Broadway : 1928 (age 31) – wrote "Doin' the Raccoon" : 1929 (age 32) – moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

: 1931 (age 34) – wrote " Love Letters in the Sand" : 1934 (age 37) – wrote the songs " Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (over 4 million copies of sheet music sold) and " For All We Know" : 1940 (age 43) – wrote " The Rangers' Victory Song"; : 1985 (age 87) April 8 – died in a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

hospital, after a lengthy illness

Selected songs

* " Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," words by

, music by Coots ::

Leo Feist, Inc. Leopold Feist (January 3, 1869, New York City – June 21, 1930, Mount Vernon, New York), in 1897 founded and ran a music publishing firm bearing his name. In the 1920s, at the height of the golden age of popular music, his firm was among the seve ...

, publisher (1934); :: © September 27, 1934, Class E unpublished 93634,

, New York :: © October 23, 1934, Class E published 44456, October 25, 1934,

:: © Renewal September 27, 1961, R28248025, Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots :: © Renewal October 25, 1961, R283907, Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots * "

You Go to My Head "You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. Numerous versions of the song have been recorded, and it has since become a pop and jazz standard. Melody and lyrics Alec Wilder terms Coots' me ...

," words by

, music by Coots ::

Remick Music Jerome Hosmer Remick (15 November 1867 – 15 July 1931) was an American music publisher, businessman and philanthropist in Detroit, Michigan. Life and career Remick was born in Detroit as the son of James Albert Remick and Mary Amelia Hosmer. ...

(1938); * "

Louisiana Fairy Tale "Louisiana Fairy Tale" (or "Louisiana Fairytale") is a song written in 1935 by Haven Gillespie, with lyrics by Mitchell Parish and J. Fred Coots, and was originally popularized by Fats Waller. Waller's version opens with him playing a four-bar s ...

," words and music by

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

, and Coots :: Mills Music (1935); :: © April 5, 1935, Class E 47450, Mills Music, Inc., New York * " For All We Know," words by Sam M. Lewis, music by Coots ::

(1934); :: © March 14, 1934, Class E unpublished 84751,

, New York * "I Still Get a Thrill (Thinking of You)," words by

Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. I ...

, music by Coots :: Davis, Coots & Engel (1930); * "There's Honey On The Moon Tonight," words by

and Mack Davis, music by Coots :: Miller Music, Inc. (1938);

Selected musicals

* ''Sally, Irene and Mary'', music by Coots, words by Raymond W. Klages (1888–1947), March 23, 1925 – April 4, 1925 & September 4, 1922 – June 2, 1923 # "Kid Days" # "Time Will Tell" # "Pals" # "Stage Door Johnnies" # "I Wonder Why" # "Do You Remember?" # "How I've Missed You Mary" # "Right Boy Comes Along" # "Our Home Sweet Home" # "Peacock Alley" # "Something in Here" # "Opportunity" # "We Are Waiting" # "Clouds Roll By" # "Until You Say Yes" # "Wedding Time" # "Old Fashioned Gown" # "When a Regular Boy Loves a Regular Girl" # "Up on Fifth Avenue Near Central Park" # "Jimmy" * ''Sons O' Guns,'' music by Coots, November 26, 1929 – August 9, 1930 * ''Broadway Nights'', featuring songs by Coots, July 15, 1929 – August 17, 1929 *

George White's Scandals ''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. F ...

, musical review, featuring songs by Coots, July 2, 1928 – January 19, 1929 * ''White Lights'', music by Coots, October 11, 1927 – November 5, 1927 * ''Gay Paree,'' musical review, music and lyrics by Coots, November 9, 1926 – April 9, 1927 & August 18, 1925 – January 30, 1926 * ''A Night in Paris'', musical review, music by Coots, July 26, 1926 – October 30, 1926 & January 5, 1926 – July 10, 1926 * ''The Merry World'', musical review, music by Coots, June 8, 1926 – August 21, 1926 * ''Mayflowers'', music by Coots, November 24, 1925 – January 30, 1926 * ''June Days'', musical, music by Coots, August 6, 1925 – October 17, 1925 * ''Artists and Models'', musical review, music by Coots, June 24, 1925 – May 7, 1926 * ''Artists and Models'', musical review, music by Coots, October 15, 1924 – May 23, 1925 * ''Innocent Eyes'', musical review, additional music by Coots, May 20, 1924 – August 30, 1924 * '' Dew Drop Inn'', musical comedy, featuring songs by Coots, May 17, 1923 – August 25, 1923 * ''Spice of 1922'', musical review, music by Coots, July 6, 1922 – September 9, 1922

External links

*
Entry at Songwriters Hall of Fame (includes a complete list of compositions)

J. Fred Coots recordings
at 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 ...

Notes and references

Notes Original copyrights : ''

Catalog of Copyright Entries United States copyright registrations, renewals, and other catalog entries since 1978 are published online at the United States Copyright Office website. Entries prior to 1978 are not published in the online catalog. Copyright registrations and ren ...

, Part 3 Musical Compositions, New Series'',

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

, Copyright Office Copyright renewals : ''

, Part 3, Musical Compositions, Third Series'',

, Copyright Office Inline citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Coots, J. Fred 1897 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American musicians Broadway composers and lyricists Musicians from New York City Songwriters from New York (state)