Some Alabama Songs from the Early 20th Century

You just never know where some history will pop up. A few months ago wife Dianne and I visited our daughter Becca Leon and husband Matt in Tuscaloosa. On this trip we took in the Black Warrior Brewing Company since we have done Druid City several times. One wall downstairs near the bar features large framed sheet music covers of three old songs related to Alabama in some way. Here's what I found about those tunes and a few others after a bit of research.

Alabama has inspired many songs over the decades by natives, residents and people who have never even visited the state. In June 2014 I wrote a post on some songs related to Birmingham. I'll be returning to this rich topic at some point in the future as well. 

As noted at the end, these images come mostly from digital collections at the U.S. Library of Congress. The University of Alabama digital collections include the Wade Hall Collection of Southern History and Culture: Sheet Music which has numerous examples of songs related to Alabama.

"Alabama Lullaby" is subtitled "A Unique, Dreamy Southern Song." The piece was written by Cal DeVoll and published by the New York City firm of Leo Feist in 1919. Feist, who died in 1930, became one of the largest publishers of popular music in the world. The only other bit of information I've discovered so far about composer DeVoll is that his "The Hello Song" was used in the 1990 film Crazy People. 

"Alabama Moon" was published in 1917 by Jerome H. Remick's firm in Detroit. Between 1914 and 1917 George Gershwin composed many songs for the company. The lyrics for this piece were written by J. Will Callahan; he died in 1946. One of his best know songs is "Smiles". Egbert Van Alstyne was a very popular composer of music for songs until about the time this one appeared. Among his many hits were "Navajo", "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" and "Pretty Baby." He continued composing into the 1930's and died in 1951.  

Below I'm including pages 2,3 and 4 of this song's publication to give an idea of what complete published song sheets looked like. Sorry the clarity is not better. You can find the pages here on the Library of Congress' web site if you'd like to enlarge and read the lyrics.



Source

Another "Alabama Moon" appeared in 1920, written by George Hamilton Green. He was a xylophonist, composer and recording artist very popular in the early 20th century. Green died in 1970. The Sam Fox company was founded in Cleveland in 1906. In addition to numerous popular songs, the company was the first in the U.S. to publish film scores. According to Ryan Lewis' dissertation on Green, "Alabama Moon" became one of the most popular songs in 1920 both in print and as a recording. The song was part of a post-World War I boom in songs that depended on utopian visions of the antebellum South. Publisher Fox heavily promoted the song, using cotton fields, farmhouses, moons with smiling faces and minstrels in black face in his advertising. The waltz was recorded by several different groups featuring Green on different labels in 1920. 



  

This 1913 song has music composed by Rennie Cormack and lyrics by Douglas Bronston. The Joe Morris Music Company in New York published it. I have found very little on the two individuals or the music company; links give some more of Cormack's compositions and other songs published by Morris. I'm as yet unsure if this Bronston is the same one credited with writing a number of film scripts between 1915 and 1928. More info about that Bronston is here. He was born in 1887 and died in 1951.

"In Alabama" appeared in 1900. Composer Charles B. Lawlor was a vaudeville performer and composter who immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland in 1869. Perhaps his most famous song melody was "The Sidewalks of New York" from 1894. The song gained another round of popularity from its use at the 1928 Democratic National Convention in the city. I have not found much on Carroll Fleming except references to other songs for which he provided the lyrics. One of those is the 1901 "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Rules the World."

I have also found very little on the Lyric Music Publishing Company. This song sheet cover gives New York City as its location; another song sheet from 1918 I saw on the net gave Seattle. Perhaps the company relocated after "In Alabama" was published.

I haven't yet found anything on Ellen Orr, one of the composers of this "novelty song" published in 1915. I did find some information about Harry DeCosta on the Internet Movie Data Base. He was born in 1885 and died in 1964. A pianist for music publishers, he also wrote and composed for radio programs. His song "Tiger Rag" has appeared in a number of films, including Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005. The song's publisher was Marcus Witmark & Sons, founded in New York City in 1886. The company was a major publisher of tunes for New York City's Tin Pan Alley until its purchase by Warner Brothers in 1929. 

"On Mobile Bay" appeared in 1910 with lyrics by Earle C. Jones and music by Charles N. Daniels. I haven't found anything on these gentlemen, but the song's publisher was the major Detroit form of Jerome H. Remick. 

This image is the label from a 1919 recording featuring tenors Charles Hart and Lewis James. Hart is still a mystery, but James was a very busy singer into the 1930's. Born in 1892, he died in 1959. Ballard MacDonald [1882-1935] was a lyricist associated with New York City's Tin Pan Alley. "Mary Earl" was one of several pseudonyms used by the prolific composer Robert King. The conductor of the orchestra was French-Canadian Rosario Bourdon, who spent most of his career at the Victor Talking Machine Company.



And now we come to our final example of this post, a "ragtime two step" by Scott Joplin from 1902. Born in 1867 or 1868, Joplin became famous as a ragtime pianist and composer before his death in 1917. He was living in St. Louis at the time he wrote "A Breeze from Alabama" and the other songs listed on the cover sheet demonstrate his popularity. The song was one of more than 40 he composed in addition to a ballet and two operas. 

One question to ask about all these songs is whether any of the lyricists or composers ever visited Alabama or even the South. Scott Joplin was born in Texas, so at least one of them got that close! This phenomenon of popular songs about the South written by outsiders is explored in John Bush Jones' book, Reinventing Dixie: Tin Pan Alley's Songs and the Creation of the Mythic South published by Louisiana State University Press in 2015. I've recently purchased this book and hope it will be a rich source of information about the songs and their lyricists, composers and other personnel as well as the companies involved.

In a future post I'll examine some more songs related to Alabama from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Unless otherwise noted, all sheet music covers etc. are taken from two digital sources via the U.S. Library of Congress, Historic Sheet Music Collection 1800-1922 or the Celebrates the Songs of America .




Father's Days Past in Alabama

Like the day that honors mothers, Father's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. In the United States the day was formally recognized as the third Sunday of June with a proclamation by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966 and a law establishing a national holiday signed by President Richard Nixon in 1972.

However, efforts to start a recognition for fathers began in the U.S. soon after similar efforts for mothers early in the 20th century. According to a Wikipedia article, the first Father's Day observance occurred on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia. Efforts to create a Mother's Day began in the same state two months earlier. 

As with all holidays in America, Father's Day is a heady mix of sentiment, commercialism and leisure activities. You can read 7 facts about Father's Day here.

A 1964 Father's Day promotion from the Alabama Cattlemen's Association

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections

Governor John Patterson and members of the Alabama Cattlemen's Association with cuts of beef for a Father's Day promotion on May 28, 1962. The State Archives Digital Collections has similar photographs in other years featuring Governors George Wallace, Lurleen Wallace and Albert Brewer. 

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections 

This photograph of a 1970 promotion by the Alabama Cattlemen's Association was probably taken in a Montgomery grocery store. I'm sensing a theme here--father's are supposed to like beef!

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections 

I include the two images below only because of their relevance to this post and with only one comment: War Eagle!

Amos Jasper Wright, Jr. 
1926-2003

We miss you, dad!!

Alabama on U.S. Postage Stamps (2): More African-Americans

Recently I posted the first item in this series about stamps related to Alabama. That one featured some of Alabama's great African-Americans; others are below. Subsequent posts will be devoted to other topics and people. 

More about U.S. stamps and postal history can be found here. 




The "Queen of the Blues" was born in Tuscaloosa in 1924 and died in 1963. She was one of the most popular black female singers of the 1950's. Washington has been inducted into both the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Issued June 16, 1993




Cole, who died in 1965, was a popular figure in American music during the 1940's and 1950's. Born in Montgomery, this jazz composer, pianist and singer entered the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He was the first African-American in the United States to host his own network television show that ran on NBC in 1956 and 1957. 

Issued September 1, 1994





Known as the "Brown Bomber," Joe Louis is considered one of the greatest heavyweights to ever enter the ring. In the 1930's he and another of the state's great athletes, Jesse Owens, demonstrated to Hitler that the "Aryan race" was not invincible. 

Issued June 22, 1993




Paige was a dominating pitcher in the Negro baseball leagues and late in his career pitched in the Major Leagues. He appeared in more than 2500 games, including three scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox when he was 59. 

Issued July 6, 2000


.

Hurston is a writer known for such works as the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. In addition to writing fiction, Hurston was a journalist, folklorist and playwright. 


Issued January 24, 2003




Anderson was the Chief Flight Instructor for the famed Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. 

Issued March 14, 2013



You can learn more about the Boycott here and Rosa Parks here. 



Issued February 4, 2013





You can find out the fascinating story of the Gee's Bend quilters here. 

Issued August 24, 2006

Birmingham Photos of the Day (33): Holy Family Hospital

In February 1941 four nurses---three of them nuns---from Nazareth, Kentucky, arrived in Ensley to open a clinic to serve poor blacks in the area. For a little over $12,000 they bought land, a duplex for the convent and "a little Negro hut" for the clinic. Interns from St. Vincent Hospital donated their services two days a week to the free clinic.

After the U.S. entered World War II, the Sisters of Charity were unable to obtain materials to build a clinic, so they added two more "huts" to the complex. In 1946 seven black physicians formed the first official medical staff, and fund raising efforts began in the city for a new building. By July 1950 some $250,000 had been raised.

On January 10, 1954, the new structure, Holy Family Hospital, was dedicated. After an expansion in 1964, the hospital had 83 beds and a staff of 130. Four years later the Sisters sold the facility and the new owners renamed it Community Hospital. After another sale and renaming to Medical Park West, the hospital closed in 1988. 

Further details can be found at BhamWiki. Currently vacant, the building at 1915 19th Street is owned by Faith Chapel Christian Center and was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2008. The Birmingham News published an article about the purchase of the hospital by Faith Chapel on October 13, 2006, pp. 1H and 8H, "Church shares new vision for historic hospital." The article includes three photos, two contemporary ones of the outside and inside a hallway of the facility. A third photo show Mervyn Sterne, John P. Newsome, Col. Wiliam S. Pritchard, and E.H. Gilmore at the groundbreaking in September 1952. Gilmore was a Jefferson County Commissioner.  

Below the photos is an article about the hospital published in the January 1963 issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association.




The hospital occupied this building in 1953. This postcard is from the 1950's.

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History

These photos of the front and back of the hospital were taken on December 6, 1954, for the Jefferson County Board of Equalization. 

Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections 

Here's a photograph of the front of the hospital taken in 2010.

Source: BhamWiki

Valhermoso Springs

Valhermoso Springs is a small community on Alabama Highway 36 in Morgan County. Although unincorporated, the place does have its own post office. There is also a cemetery. 

Mineral springs were discovered in the area by Lancelot Chunn around 1813. James Manning from Madison County operated a hotel at the site from 1818 until 1823. A post office opened in 1834 when the area was known as White Sulphur Springs; the present name was adopted in 1857. 

The previous year Jean J. Giers bought the hotel and turned it into a nationally known resort. The hotel finally closed in 1923 and was destroyed by tornado in 1950. The resort is described in some detail in James F. Sulzby's wonderful book, Historic Alabama Hotels and Resorts (1960).  

Further Reading

Walde, Megan N.. A 'vale of beauty,' a cornucopia of history. Tiny Valhermoso Springs, where people cam for their health, has a long and storied history. Huntsville Time 30 July 2001

Lawley, Jim. Valhermoso remembers: Healing haven in 1800s awarded historical marker. Decatur Daily 31 July 2001

This advertisement extolling the resort's qualities appeared in the Memphis Daily Appeal 17 May 1873 along with ads for other similar health springs. The ad appeared in numerous issues of that paper in 1872 and 1873.

Source: Library of Congress Chronicling America

Another site in Valhermoso Springs is the First Christian Church property featuring a "Trail of Scriptures" and a shaded picnic area. 

Riverchase Middle School Then & Now

In a previous post I covered the long history of schools in Pelham. The city created its own school system last year and new schools are on the horizon. Pelham Ridge Elementary is currently under construction on Applegate Parkway. Beginning in 2016 Valley Intermediate School will become Pelham Oaks Elementary.

A new middle school, Pelham Park, will open in 2017. Thus the public school future of Riverchase Middle School is growing shorter. As an article back in February noted, RMS has been sold to Shades Mountain Christian School. The 2016-17 school year will be the last one for Riverchase.

Both our children attended RMS, which opened in 1977. Daughter Becca was there 2000-2002; son Amos before that. On a recent Saturday Becca and I visited the RMS campus to take a little trip down memory lane. The photos below are hers; the comments are mine.

We immediately noticed the "rebranding" of the school; RMS used to be the Rams. Apparently all Pelham City Schools are now using the mascot and colors of the high school.



Here's what you see upon arrival at RMS; not much has changed there!



Here's the spot on the side of the school where students were dropped off and picked up when Amos and Becca were there. That process has been moved to the back of the school. 

Here and below are the field house and parts of the track which Becca said looked pretty much the same as when she was on the track team--except for the field house rebranding. 

Behind the school near a small creek we found this pair of Canada geese; three babies were also there and well camouflaged! 


UPDATE 1 October 2017

Pelham Ridge Elementary and Pelham Park Middle schools are both now open; the 2016-17 year was thus the last at Riverchase Middle. The original buyer, Shades Mountain Christian [now Heritage Christian] was eventually unable to purchase the campus due to financing issues. Instead Hoover City Schools has purchased RMS, and the finalization of that plan is currently underway. That school system is currently investigating the possibility of creating a Riverchase Center for Career Innovation on the site. Perhaps the middle school building will survive.

UPDATE 26 January 2019

On January 22 an article appeared in the Shelby County Reporter updating the status of the Hoover Schools' Riverchase Career Connection Center, or "RC3". The Center is expected to open in August. The Center will offer instruction in five areas: building sciences, culinary arts and hospitality, cyber innovation, health sciences, and fire and emergency services.

Source: Shelby County Reporter

On a final personal note, I remember paging through several RMS scrapbooks that were available for perusal in the waiting area just outside the school office. I wonder what has happened to those historical items. 

Update 3 August 2019: The new facility was dedicated on August 1 and opens August 8. You can read more about it here and see 50 photos of the ceremony and "new" facility. 

Source: Hoover Sun



Memorial Days Past in Alabama

The holiday now known as Memorial Day has a convoluted history, but the purpose has always been to honor war dead. Ceremonies began after the Civil War in northern states and were known as "Decoration Day" for many years. On that day graves of military men who had died in that war were decorated with flowers. In 1873 New York became the first state to formally recognize the day. Southern states had their own celebrations on a different day until after World War I when the holiday changed to honor all American military personnel who had died in war. Many towns in the U.S. claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. 

Originally Memorial or Decoration Day was held on May 30, but in 1971 Congress passed the National Holiday Act which moved it to the last Monday in May. Several southern states celebrate Confederate Memorial Day, which in Alabama is now the fourth Monday in April. That day was formally recognized by the state in 1901. 

As Americans can do so well, Memorial Day is now one of those holidays in which patriotism, capitalism and fun are all available.  

A few images and comments are below. 

This article appeared in a newspaper published in Hawaii on 30 May 1912. The piece discusses celebrations around the country, including Alabama. 

Source: Library of Congress Chronicling America digital collection

This item appeared in a Minnesota newspaper on 26 April 1912. 

Source: Library of Congress Chronicling America digital collection

A newspaper published in Kansas on 18 September 1919 credited a woman in Georgia with creating Confederate Memorial Day.

Source: Library of Congress Chronicling America digital collection

This article from a South Dakota newspaper published on 28 May 1897 credits "the women of Alabama" for giving Memorial Day to the nation.

Source: Library of Congress Chronicling America digital collection 

Balloons in the 1980's at Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic, a Memorial Day festival held at Point Mallard Park in Decatur. The event began in 1978.

Source: Alabama Department of Archives and History Digital Collections