Idabelle Smith Firestone (November 10, 1874 July 7, 1954) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates 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 genre and film scoring. ...

Biography

She was born in Minnesota City, Minnesota, to Eliza B. Allen (18431923) and George T. Smith (18411921), the youngest of five children. Her father was the inventor of a

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

milling process that turns out "Patent" and "Half Patent" flour. She learned to play piano and organ as a girl and studied music at

Alma College Alma College is a Private college, private Presbyterian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,200 students and is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accre ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. On 20 November 1895, she married Harvey Samuel Firestone, who had begun the

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey S. Firestone (18681938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, carriages, and other form ...

five years earlier. She was the mother of Harvey S. Firestone Jr., and Leonard Firestone, the grandmother of Brooks Firestone, and the great-grandmother of William Clay Ford Jr., Andrew Firestone, and Nick Firestone. She was not the only composer in the Firestone family. Her granddaughter Elizabeth Firestone (b. 1922) composed music for the film Once More, My Darling (1949), which starred Robert Montgomery and

Ann Blyth Ann Blyth (born Anne Marie Blythe; August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. She began her career in radio as a child before transitioning to Broadway, where she appeared in Lillian Hellman, Lillian Hellman’s ''Watch on the R ...

. She died in her sleep at her home, Harbel Manor, after a long illness on July 7, 1954, at age 79 in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

Musical career

She became a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (

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 ...

) in 1948. Her compositions "In My Garden" and " If I Could Tell You" both were featured as theme songs for the program, " Voice of Firestone", a radio and television program of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

from 1928 until 1959. "In My Garden", to lyrics by Lester O'Keefe (18961977), was the opening and ending theme for the program in January 1938 until 1941 when licensing restrictions caused a temporary ban of its use for broadcasting due to it being ASCAP-licensed. The new theme, "If I Could Tell You" to lyrics by Madeleine Marshall (18991993) was introduced in early 1941. Marshall was a singing coach, concert pianist and accompanist who taught English diction at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

for over half a century. The ballad was dedicated to her husband who died in 1938 and her daughter, Elizabeth, who died the following year. Many of Firestone's compositions were published and notated, including four orchestral works and multiple voices. Her work was often recorded and sung by opera singers of the time, including

Richard Crooks Richard Alexander Crooks (June 26, 1900 – September 29, 1972) was an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Biography Crooks was born the second son of Alexander and Elizabeth Crooks on June 26, 1900, in Tren ...

, Lawrence Tibbet, Eleanor Steber, Robert Merrill,

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian spinto soprano, lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-World War II, war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, Teatro di San Carlo, San ...

, and

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

. Her eldest son, Harvey S. Firestone Jr. (18981973) was responsible for managing much of Firestone's later career, especially in regard to copyright issues and dealings with collaborators.

Legacy

On 10 November 1973, through the support of the Harvey S. Firestone Jr. foundation, the Idabelle Firestone Audio Library was built at 290 Huntington Avenue, to house the ''Voice of Firestone'' collection and to provide listening and viewing facilities for the New England Conservatory's students. The Idabelle Firestone School of Nursing at Akron City Hospital opened in 1 October 1929, built through Firestone philanthropy to educate women and provide quality, accessible healthcare for all. The school was demolished on 31 July 2020. After her death, her sons made a sizeable donation to the church for the building of the Idabelle Firestone Memorial Chapel. The organ from Harbel Manor was redesigned and installed in the chapel. The new chapel was consecrated in April, 1958. Harbel Manor was torn down after Idabelle Firestone died, and the remaining property was sold.

Works

* ''If I could tell you'', for voice and piano (1940) Text: Madeleine Marshall * ''In my garden'', for voice and piano (1933) Text: Lester O'Keefe * ''You are the song in my heart'', for voice and piano (1938) Text: Margaret Speaks * ''Bluebirds'', for voice and piano (1941) * ''Melody of love'', for voice and piano (1945) Text: Madeleine Marshall * ''Do you recall?'', for voice and piano (1948) Text: Margaret Bristol

References

External links

Obituary Article on Firestone news. (Gastonia, N.C.) 1952-197?, July 25, 1954
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firestone, Idabelle 1874 births 1954 deaths Firestone family Musicians from Michigan People from Jackson, Michigan 20th-century American composers People from Winona County, Minnesota Musicians from Minnesota 20th-century American women composers