Carrie Minetta Jacobs-Bond (August 11, 1862 – December 28, 1946) was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter who composed some 175 pieces of popular music from the 1890s through the early 1940s. She is perhaps best remembered for writing the

parlor song Parlour music (or parlor music) is a type of popular music which, as the name suggests, is intended to be performed in the parlours of houses, usually by amateur singers and piano, pianists. Disseminated as sheet music, its heyday came in the 19th ...

" I Love You Truly", becoming the first woman to sell one million copies of a song. The song first appeared in her 1901 collection ''Seven Songs as Unpretentious as the Wild Rose'', along with " Just Awearyin' for You", which was also widely recorded. Jacobs-Bond's song with the highest number of sales immediately after release was " A Perfect Day" in 1910.Rick Reublein
America's First Great Woman Popular Song Composer.
Musicologist David A. Jasen (in ''A Century of American Popular Music'' nnotated edition ew York: Routledge, 2002 , ) chose those three of Jacobs-Bond's works for inclusion among the most noteworthy U.S. songs of the 20th century. A 2009 August 29

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

documentary on Jacobs-Bond emphasized "I Love You Truly" together with "Just Awearyin' for You" and "A Perfect Day" as her three great hits. Jacobs-Bond was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work represent and maintain the heri ...

in 1970.

Personal life and death

Carrie Minetta Jacobs was born in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the List of cities in Wisconsin, tenth-most populous city in Wis ...

, to Dr. Hannibal Jacobs and his wife, Mary Emogene (or Emma) Davis Jacobs and was an only child. She was a distant cousin of John Howard Payne, the lyricist who wrote "

Home Sweet Home Home Sweet Home may refer to: Film * ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne * ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film * ''Home Sweet Home'' (1926 film), a silent film drama * ''Home, Swe ...

." Jacobs was born in the house of her maternal grandparents at the corner of Pleasant Street (now W. Court Street) and Oakhill Avenue. Her father died while she was a child, and the family faced financial difficulties without him. Most of Jacobs-Bond's family enjoyed playing music, and her father played the flute. Jacobs-Bond could pick out piano tunes at age 4, she could play some pieces just by hearing them at age 6, and then at age 8 she was able to play Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody just by hearing it. She studied the piano from age 9 to age 17, with the dream to become a songwriter. As a child, she attended classes in the Janesville public school system. During Jacobs' short-lived first marriage to Edward Smith J. Smith of Janesville, at age 18, her only child, Frederick Jacobs Smith, was born on July 23, 1882. This marriage ended in divorce in 1887. Her second marriage in 1888 was to her childhood sweetheart, physician Frank Lewis Bond of Johnstown, Wisconsin. They lived in

Iron River, Michigan Iron River is a city in Iron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,007. The city is situated at the southeast corner of Iron River Township, but is administratively autonomous. History A post ...

, where she was a homemaker and supplemented the family income with painted ceramics, piano lessons, and her musical compositions. She lived among miners and loggers for several years and when the economy of the iron mining area collapsed, Frank had no money. Struck by a child's snowball, Dr. Bond fell on the ice, and died five days later from crushed ribs in 1895. She was left with debts too large to be covered by the $4,000 in proceeds of his life insurance, and she returned to Janesville. Selling ceramics, running a rooming house, and writing songs did not produce enough money to pay her bills. She slowly sold off their furniture and ate only once per day. After achieving some success with her composing, Jacobs-Bond moved with her son to Chicago to be closer to music publishers. For several years while living in Chicago, most of her songs never made the transition from manuscript to being published, so she had to raise money by singing them at social gathering and concerts. Soon she found that people enjoyed her simple and lyrical music.Carrie Jacobs-Bond collection, circa 1896-circa 1944 (Library of Congress)
/ref> Her lyrics and music exemplified sentimentality, which was intensely popular at that time. Since Jacobs-Bond's attempts to have her music published were repeatedly turned down by the male-dominated music industry of the day, in 1896 she resorted to establishing her own sheet music publishing company. As a result, she was one of very few women in the industry, and perhaps the only one, to own every word of every song she wrote. Her publishing company changed location eight times, finally settling in Hollywood, California, which is where she and her son moved to in the early 1920s to help ease the pains of her

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...

, where she continued performing and publishing. She named her home there "The End of the Road" (also the title of her 1940 book). She was an early supporter of the Theatre Arts Alliance, which created the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

near her home. Jacobs-Bond died in her Hollywood home of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

on December 28, 1946, at the age of 85. She is buried in the "Court of Honor" at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Poetry and art

Jacobs-Bond also published books of children's poetry and an autobiography. Her autobiography ''The Roads of Melody'' was published in 1927. She drew the artwork for her sheet music covers. The wild rose, her trademark artwork, appears on many of her publications.

Legacy and honors

Former U.S. President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

wrote in her epitaph: "Beloved composer of 'I Love You Truly' . . . and a hundred other heart songs that express the loves and longings, sadness and gladness of all people everywhere . . . who met widowhood, conquered hardship, and achieved fame by composing and singing her simple romantic melodies. She was America's gallant lady of song." The Los Angeles City Council honored her as "one of America's greatest women."

Music career

Jacobs-Bond studied piano with area teachers while a child. A performer named Blind Tom Wiggins toured the country, instantly memorizing any song played to him and then playing it back. After his part of the program, young Jacobs was prodded to go to the piano. She awed the crowd by playing back Blind Tom's song. She began writing music in the late 1880s when encouraged by her husband to "put down on paper some of the songs that were continually running through my mind." After her return from Iron River, Michigan, and the death of her second husband, she took up residence at 402 East Milwaukee Street, Janesville, Wisconsin, where she wrote the song " I Love You Truly". A young female singer who lived across the hall from Jacobs-Bond had to leave unexpectedly, so she asked Jacobs-Bond to entertain her manager and another man. When the two men arrived, Jacobs-Bond invited the men into her apartment. The manager, Victor P. Sincere, saw some of her manuscripts lying around and asked whether she had written them. After Jacobs-Bond said yes, Sincere asked her to perform a song;, so she played "I Love You Truly" for him. When he asked whether she would like to have the song performed in public, she answered "no" because she had not

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

ed the song, and someone could steal it. Jacobs-Bond had second thoughts, so she went to the telephone at the corner

drugstore A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of m ...

and called opera star Jessie Bartlett Davis, even though they had never met. Jacobs-Bond hoped that Davis would make the song as popular as she had "Oh Promise Me" (by

Reginald De Koven Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859January 16, 1920) was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas. Biography De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he receive ...

and Clement Scott) in 1898. Davis volunteered to pay the cost to publish ''Seven Songs as Unpretentious as the Wild Rose''. After moving to Chicago, Jacobs-Bond slowly gathered a following by singing in small recitals in local homes. She published her first collection with the help of opera star Jessie Bartlett Davis. ''Seven Songs: as Unpretentious as the Wild Rose'', which was released in 1901, included two of her most enduring songs—"I Love You Truly" and "Just Awearyin' for You". The success of ''Seven Songs'' allowed Jacobs-Bond to expand her publishing company, known as the Bond Shop, which she had originally opened with her son in her apartment in Janesville. Before the end of 1901,

David Bispham David Scull Bispham (January 5, 1857 – October 2, 1921) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Bispham was born on January 5, 1857, in Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalitie ...

augmented Jacobs-Bond's celebrity by giving a recital of exclusively Jacobs-Bond songs in Chicago's

Studebaker Theatre The Fine Arts Building, formerly known as the Studebaker Building, is a 10-story edifice at 410 S Michigan Avenue across from Grant Park in Chicago in the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. It was built for the Studebaker c ...

. Within a few years and with the help of her friends, Jacobs-Bond performed for

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

. She gave a recital in England (with

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that r ...

) and a series of recitals in New York City. She collaborated with American poet

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

. In 1906 they published five songs with lyrics by Dunbar and music by Jacobs-Bond. In 1910 she published "A Perfect Day", for which 25 million copies of the sheet music were sold. It was the most popular of her compositions during her lifetime although "I Love You Truly" was more frequently performed later. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Jacobs-Bond gave concerts in Europe for

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

troops. "A Perfect Day" was especially popular among them. She was invited again to Washington to perform at a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

State Dinner given by President Harding for the Members of the Supreme Court on February 2, 1922. Carrie Jacobs-Bond was the most successful woman composer of her day, by some reports earning more than $1 million in royalties from her music before the end of 1910. In 1941, the General Federation of Women's Clubs cited Jacobs-Bond for her contributions to the progress of women during the 20th century. One of her final compositions titled ''Because of the Light'' was published in December 1944, when she was 82. Composer Rolande Maxwell Young later revised and updated some of Jacobs-Bond's songs for Boston Music Co. Jacobs-Bond's life and lyrics serve as testimony to her resilience in overcoming hardships such as poverty, her father's early death, her divorce, her second husband's death, and her son's suicide in 1932 while listening to "A Perfect Day" on the phonograph.Rick Reublein
"America's First Great Woman Popular Song Composer"
site. Her son committed suicide because of depression which resulted from an illness. Her son's suicide, caused her to stop composing and she dedicated her 1940 book of poetry, ''The End of the Road'', to him. p. iii.

Published works

Sheet music

*Almost Impossible *The Angelus *At Morning, Noon and Night *A Bad Dream *Because I Am Your Friend *Because of the Light *Betty's Music Box. *The Bird Song *Birds * The Blue Flag, 1917 *But I Have You *California *Chimney Swallows *Come, Mr. Dream-maker, 1897 *Compensation *Consolation *A Cottage in God's Garden *The Crimson-Breasted Bird *Cupid's Home *The Dark Lament *The Dear Auf Wiedersehn *De Las' Long Res', 1901 *Des Hold My Hands Tonight, 1901 *Do You Remember, 1915 *The Elopement *The End of a Perfect Day *Evening, My Love and You *First Ask Yourself *The Flying Flag *The Forget Me Not *The Free Concert *The Gate of Tears *God Remembers When the World Forgets, 1913 *Going to Church with Mother *The Golden Key *The Good Folk *Good Night *Got to Practice, 1917
The Hand of You
*Happy Lil Sal *Have You Seen My Kitty? *His Buttons Are Marked 'U.S.', 1902 *His Lullaby *Hollyhocks *Homeland *A Hundred Years from Now, 1914 *Hush-a-by * I Love You Truly, 1901 & 1906 *I was Dreaming... Maybe *If I Could Hear Your Voice Again *I'm the Captain of the Broom Stick Cavalry, 1890 *In a Foreign Land *In Dear Hawaii, 1908 *In My Garden *In the Meadow, 1925 *Is My Molly Dead?, 1895 *Is Yo'? Yo' Is, 1905 *I've Done My Work, 1920 *Jesus Is Calling *June and December * Just Awearyin' for You, 1901 *Just by Laughing *Just Lonesome *Keep Awake *Know and Find *Lazy River *Life's Garden *The Lily and the Rose *Linger Not *A Little Bit O'Honey, 1917 *The Little House *Little Lost Youth of Me. *A Little Pink Rose, 1912 *A Little Shoe *Lively Hour *Long Time Ago *Longing *Look Up *Love and Sorrow *Lovely Hour *Love's Sacred Trust *The Lure *May I Print a Kiss? *Memories of Versailles Waltz *A Memory *Men and Women *Morning and Evening *Mother Mine *Mother's Cradle Song, 1895 *Mother's Three Ages of Man *Movin' in de Bes' Soci'ty. *My Dear *My Garden of Memory *My Son! *My Soul *The Naughty Little Girl *Nothin' but Love! *Nothing but a Wild Rose *Now and Then *O Haunting Memory. *O Time Take Me Back, 1916 *Old Friends of Mine *Out in the Fields *Over Hills and Fields of Daisies *The Pansy and the Forget-Me-Not *Parting, 1901 * A Perfect Day, 1910 *Play Make Believe *Please *Remember to Forget *Robin Adair *Roses Are in Bloom *The Sandman, 1912 *Shadows, 1901 *A Sleepy Song *Smile a Little *Someone I Love is Coming *A Song of the Hills *The Soul of You *Still Unexprest', 1901 *Stop and Sing *A Study in Symbols *Sunshine (Po Li'l Lamb) *Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand *There Is a Way *Through the Mists *Through the Years, 1918 *Time Make All but Love the Past *Tis Summer in Thine Eyes *To-Day. *To My Valentine, 1926 *To the Savior Called *To the Victor (March) *To Understand *Trouble *Two Lovers *Tzigani Dances *Until Death *Until God's Day *A Vision *Walking in Her Garden *Waltz of the Wild Flowers, 1916 *The Way of the World * We Are All Americans, 1918 *Were I *When Church is Out *When do I Want You Most? *When God Puts Out the Light *When I am Dead, My Dearest *When I Bid the World Goodnight *When My Ships Come to Me *When You're Sad *Where Youth's Eternal *Who is True? *Why *Write to Me Often, Dear, 1896 *Your Song

Song books

*''Eleven Songs'', 1897 **Mother's Cradle Song **Write to Me Often, Dear **Come, Mr. Dream-Maker **The Pansy and the Forget Me Not **Who is True **June and December **Someone I Love Is Coming **Through the Mists **Until Death
''Four Songs'', 1899
**A Little Shoe **Have You Seen My Kitty? **The Bird Song **When My Ships Come Home *''Seven Songs as Unpretentious as the Wild Rose'', 1901 **Shadows w.m. Jacobs-Bond, pp. 3–5 **Parting w. William Ordway Prestridge m. Jacobs-Bond, pp. 6–7 ** Just Awearying for You w. Frank Lebby Stanton m. Jacobs-Bond, pp. 8–9 **De Las' Long Res' w.

m. Jacobs-Bond, p. 10 ** I Love You Truly w.m. Jacobs-Bond, p. 11 **Still Unexprest w.m. Jacobs-Bond, pp. 12–13 **Des Hold My Hands Tonight w.m. Jacobs-Bond, pp. 14–15 *''Two Songs'', 1902 **May I Print a Kiss **Two Lovers *''Twelve Songs'', 1902 **A Bad Dream **I Was Dreaming... Maybe **Linger Not **Love's Sacred Trust **Mother's Three Ages of Man **Over Hills and Fields of Daisies **The Dear Auf Wiedersehn **Time Make All But Love the Past **When I Am Dead, My Dearest **When I Bid the World Goodnight *''Three Songs'', 1904 **Nothing But a Wild Rose **The Angelus **Walking in Her Garden *''Ten Songs'', 1905 **In a Foreign Land **Just By Laughing **Men and Women **My Dearest Dear **When Do I Want You Most? **Where to Build Your Castles *''Two Songs'', 1907 **Happy Lil Sal **Trouble *''Half Minute Songs'' or ''Miniature Songs'', 1910 **Making the Best of It **First Ask Yourself **To Understand
Doan' Yo' Lis'n
**How to Find Success **The Pleasure of Giving **Answer the First Rap **A Good Exercise **A Present From Yourself **Now and Then **When They Say the Unkind Things **Keep Awake
The Smile Songs, 1910
**Know and Find **Look Up **Mother Mine **Please **A Memory **Smile a Little **Stop and Sing **The Good Folk **The Way of the World **There Is a Way **Why **Almost Impossible *Little Kitchen Songs and Stories, 1911 *''Thirty Songs: Songs Everybody Sings'', about 1927

Autobiography

Jacobs-Bond, Carrie. ''The Roads of Melody: My Story''. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1927. 224 pp.

Poetry

Short stories

Notes

External links

* *
"America's First Great Woman Popular Song Composer"
— Biography from ParlorSongs.com by Rick Reublein * by Robin & The Giant on their program ''Notables''.

at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

Carrie Jacobs-Bond collection, circa 1896-circa 1944 (Library of Congress)Carrie Jacobs-Bond in the Songwriters Hall of Fame
from

ASCAP 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, broadc ...

Carrie Jacobs-Bond lyrics
at the Lied and Art Song Texts Page * * * *
Sheet music for "The Hand of You"
1920.
Sheet music for "A Perfect Day"
1910.
Sheet music for "Doan' yo' lis'n"
1908.
Sheet music for "I Love You Truly"
1906.
''Four Songs'' songbook
1899. * Just Awearyin' for You recorded by Evan Williams (1867–1918)
Carrie Jacobs-Bond recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs-Bond, Carrie 1862 births 1946 deaths American women writers Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Elegiac poets Singers from Chicago Singers from Wisconsin People from Janesville, Wisconsin People from Iron River, Michigan American vaudeville performers Writers from Wisconsin Writers from Chicago 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American women composers