Christopher M. Smith (October 12, 1879 – October 4, 1949) was an American composer and popular

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 compositio ...

performer.

Biography

Smith was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He started traveling with

medicine show Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) that peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European mountebank shows and were common in the Unit ...

s when he was young and joined

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 compositio ...

, where he performed with

Elmer Bowman Elmari Wilhelm Bowman (March 19, 1897 – December 17, 1985) was a Major League Baseball player for the Washington Senators in August 1920. The 23-year-old rookie made two pinch-hitting appearances for the Senators and did not play in the fiel ...

and

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...

. He also wrote music for

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He is credited as bei ...

. Smith died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

on October 4, 1949.

Selected works

Smith composed many songs, including the following: * "Good Morning Carrie", lyrics by

Cecil Mack Cecil Mack (November 6, 1873 – August 1, 1944) was an American composer, lyricist and music publisher. Biography Born as Richard Cecil McPherson in Portsmouth, Virginia, he attended the Norfolk Mission College and Lincoln University in Pennsyl ...

(pseudonym of Richard Cecil McPherson), music by Smith & Euday L. Bowman; Windsor Music Co. (1901); * "Mandy, You and Me!" Smith and James H. Burris ''(né'' James Henry Burris; 1876–1923) (w&m); Attucks Publishing Company (©1905); * "Honky Tonky Monkey Rag" Words and Music by Chris Smith, 1911 * "Junk Man Rag", lyrics by Smith & Ferdinand E. Mierisch, music by Charles Luckyth Roberts ("Luckey"); Jos. W. Stern & Co. (1913); * "Fifteen Cents", Words and Music by Chris Smith, 1913 * "

Ballin' the Jack "Ballin' the Jack" (or sometimes "Balling the Jack") is a popular song from 1913 written by Jim Burris with music by Chris Smith. It introduced a popular dance of the same name with "Folks in Georgia's 'bout to go insane." It became a ragtime, pop ...

", lyrics by Jim Burris ''(né'' James Henry Burris; 1876–1923), music by Smith; Jos. W. Stern & Co. (1913); * "Never Let the Same Bee Sting You Twice", Cecil Mack (pseudonym of Richard Cecil McPherson), music by Smith; Broadway Music Corporation (1916); * "Down in Honky Tonk Town", music & lyrics by Smith & Charles R. McCarron (1891–1919); Broadway Music Corporation (1918); * "I've Got My Habits On", lyrics by Smith & Bob Schafer, music by

Jimmie Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...

; Goodman & Rose, Inc. (1921); † * "At the Honky-Tonk Steppers' Ball", lyrics & music by Smith & Jimmie Durante; Goodman & Rose, Inc. (1921); † * "The Camel Walk", lyrics by Cecil Mack & Bob Schafer; music by Smith & James Tim Brymn; Broadway Music Corporation (1925); Note * † – Goodman & Rose, Inc., was a New York music publishing firm founded by Frank Goodman and Justus Rose

References

External links

Chris Smith Biography by Tom Morgan
*
Chris Smith 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 ...

.
Chris Smith recordings
at the

UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive The Cylinder Audio Archive is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid-1920s. The ...

. 1879 births 1949 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male actors African-American composers African-American male actors African-American male composers Vaudeville performers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians {{US-composer-19thC-stub