Ernest Roland Ball (July 22, 1878 – May 3, 1927) was an American singer and songwriter, most famous for composing the music for the song "

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" is a lighthearted song in tribute to Ireland. Its lyrics were written by Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, Jr., set to music composed by Ernest Ball, for Olcott's production of ''The Isle O' Dreams'', and Olcott san ...

" in 1912. He was not himself Irish.

Early life and education

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ball received formal music training at the Cleveland Conservatory.

Career

His nascent career was much buoyed by James J. Walker, then a state senator of

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 * '' ...

, who asked Ball to write music for some lyrics he wrote. Ball did, and the song "Will You Love Me In December as You Do In May?" became a hit. Walker later became known as "Beau James," mayor of New York City from 1926–32; their collaboration was a fortunate event for Ball's career. Ball accompanied singers, sang in

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 ...

and wrote sentimental ballads, mostly with Irish themes. He collaborated with

Chauncey Olcott Chauncey Olcott, born John Chancellor Olcott and often spelled Chauncey Alcott, (July 21, 1858 – March 18, 1932) was an American stage actor, songwriter and singer of Irish descent. Biography He was born in Buffalo, New York. His mother, Mar ...

on many songs including "When Irish Eyes are Smiling", for which Olcott wrote the lyrics. Ball wrote other Irish favorites like "Mother Machree", and "A Little Bit of Heaven", as well as "Dear Little Boy of Mine", and "Let the Rest of the World Go By." "Mother Machree" was made popular by the famous Irish tenor, John McCormack. He also worked with J. Keirn Brennan on songs like "For Dixie and Uncle Sam" and "Good Bye, Good Luck, God Bless You". He became a charter member of

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, broadca ...

in 1907, and wrote many American standards. He was also a fine pianist, and his playing is preserved on several piano roll recordings he made for the Vocalstyle company, based in his home state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. He died just after walking off stage at the

Yost Theater The Yost Theater is a concert and events venue in Santa Ana, California. It is a National Register of Historic Places-listed building located in Santa Ana's Downtown Historic District. Under the ownership of the Olivos Family it became a movie ...

in Santa Ana, California while on tour with "Ernie Ball and His Gang", an act starring Ball and a male octet. Ball was interred at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

. Ball was posthumously 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 he ...

in 1970. A 1944 musical ''

Irish Eyes Are Smiling ''Irish Eyes Are Smiling'' is a 1944 United States musical film which chronicles the life of popular Irish song composer Ernest R. Ball. The screenplay by Earl Baldwin and John Tucker Battle is based on a story by E. A. Ellington. The film was ...

'' told the story of Ball's career and starred

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentinian singer and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host, ...

and

June Haver June Haver (born Beverly June Stovenour, June 10, 1926 – July 4, 2005) was an American film actress, singer, and dancer. Once groomed by 20th Century Fox to be "the next Betty Grable", Haver appeared in a string of musicals, but she never achi ...

Family

His grandson was the guitar string entrepreneur

Ernie Ball Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur and musician who developed guitar-related products. Ball began as a club and local television musician and entrepreneur, building an int ...

, his great-grandson is singer-songwriter/content producer Sherwood Ernest Ball, and his great-great-granddaughters are actress Hannah Marks and singer/songwriter Tiare' Ball.

References

External links

* * *
Sheet Music for "Let the Rest of the World Go By"
music by Ernest R. Ball; lyrics by J. Keirn Brennan, M. Witmark & Sons publisher, 1919.
Ernest R. Ball 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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Ernest 1878 births 1927 deaths 19th-century American male singers American male songwriters Musicians from Cleveland Songwriters from Ohio Vaudeville performers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians Columbia Records artists