James Royce Shannon (May 13, 1881 – May 19, 1946), born James Royce, was an Irish-American composer and lyricist. He was nationally prominent and active at the time of

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

Biography

He was born in

Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County, Michigan, Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 5th congressional district. The c ...

. He is known chiefly for writing the lyrics to " The Missouri Waltz" (the state song of Missouri) and for composing the song " Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral" ("Irish Lullaby"). He began his musical writing career in collaboration with his mother, Eliza Shannon. His first significant composition was "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral" which was one of the songs composed by Shannon for Chauncey Olcott's musical '' Shameen Dhu'' that successfully debuted in New York City in February 1914. The "Irish Lullaby" became more famous decades later when it was included in the film ''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest ...

''. It reached # 4 on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

, sold over a million copies, and was included in one of

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

's albums. Residing primarily in Detroit during his career, he owned and operated a theatrical company that toured both in the U.S. and in Europe. He was the manager for a chain of music stores in Michigan, the assistant manager for Detroit's

Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished *Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed by ...

, and served as a drama critic for the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

''.

Selected works

*Shannon, J. R. ''Dixie Lou''. Detroit: Grinnell Bros. Music Pub, 1913. *Shannon, J. R., and Frederic Knight Logan. ''Hush-a-Bye, Ma Baby: The Missouri Waltz''. Chicago: Forster Music, 1916. *Shannon, J. R., and Charles L. Johnson. ''I'll Be Waiting for You''. Chicago: F.J.A. Forster, 1915. *Shannon, J. R., and Fred Ziemer. ''There's a Red Bordered Flag in the Window''. Vandersloot Music Pub. Co., 1918. *Shannon, J. R. ''Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral: That's an Irish Lullaby: Sung by Bing Crosby in the Paramount Picture Going My Way''. New York: Witmark, 1944. *Shannon, J. R. ''Where That Ragtime River Flows''. Detroit: Grinnell Bros, 1912. *Shannon, J. R., and Fred Ziemer. ''Yankee Boy''. Williamsport, Pa: Vandersloot Music Pub. Co, 1918.

References

External links

*
List of Works by James Royce Shannon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, James Royce 1881 births 1946 suicides 1946 deaths American male composers American lyricists American people of Irish descent Musicians from Michigan 20th-century American composers People from Adrian, Michigan Suicides in Michigan American theater critics Songwriters from Michigan 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters