# Alfred Baldwin Sloane

Alfred Baldwin Sloane, often given as A. Baldwin Sloane, (28 August 1872, Baltimore – 21 February 1925, Red Bank, New Jersey) was the most prolific songwriter for Broadway musical comedies in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Despite his output and success during his lifetime, none of his music has had enduring popularity. Two of his most popular songs were "When You Ain't Got No Money You Needn't Come Around" and "Coming Through the Rye". His most successful hit tune was “Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl" which was first performed by Marie Dressler in the 1910 show Tillie's Nightmare.

## Early Life in Baltimore

Alfred Baldwin Sloane was born in Baltimore, Maryland on August 28, 1872. He was the son of Francis James Sloane and Emma Sloane (née Baldwin); both of whom came from families with musical heritage. His first music lessons were from his mother, and he also studied privately with music teachers in his native city. Despite the strong music background of his parents, they strongly objected to him pursuing a career in music.
Sloane was educated in the Baltimore City Public School System. His parents wished him to pursue a career in business, and in his youth he worked in his native city as an apprentice at a wholesale dry goods dealer. He lost his job there after spending most of his time at work surreptitiously composing music on boxes and other miscellaneous items. He also worked nights as an usher at the Academy of Music, and spent some time as the secretary for a company managing a Baltimore cemetery.
Sloane's interest in lyric theatre led him to take a leading role in the founding of an amateur dramatic group in Baltimore, the Paint and Powder Club (PPC). The club originally began in 1892 at the Maryland Banjo and Mandolin Club with Sloane, Harry Price, Rowland West, and Reece Cassard as its founding members. The club expanded its scope and was transformed into the PPC not long after. Sloane's first songs were written for amateur productions in Baltimore with this group. His first score was written the PPC's production Mustapha; an opera for which Sloane wrote both the music and libretto. It was given its premiere in February 1894 at Ford's Grand Opera House with Sloane himself portraying the title role of the Turkish sultan.
One of Sloane's first songs, "While Strolling Through the Forrest", was published in 1894. In 1895 he ended his connection with the PPC, and founded another amateur Baltimore performing group, the Rouge et Blanc Club. He wrote his second stage work for this group, the burlesque Midas, which was given its premiere at Albaugh's Lyceum Theatre on 5 February 1895 with Sloane once again portraying the title role. His brother, Francis James Sloane Jr., was also in the cast in the role of Antinous.

## New York composer

Sloane moved to New York City not long after the premiere of Midas in Baltimore in 1895. The theatre impresario Edward E. Rice caught a performance of the work while in Baltimore with a touring show he was producing, Robert Barnet's 1492. Impressed by what he heard, he met with Sloane and bought the rights to Midas from him. A number of his songs form this work were interpolated into Rice's next musical Excelsior, Jr.. These included the songs "The Alpine Horn", "Grandpa's Hat", "Hush, Silence", "I Love You Evaline; I'm a Very Fly Conductor", and "My Little Sunday Girl" among others.
The success of Excelsior, Jr., first in Boston and later on Broadway, launched Sloane's career in the New York theatre scene. His first original score for the Broadway stage was in 1896 with the musical Jack and the Beanstalk; a work which featured several well known fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters. It too used lyrics by Barnet and was mounted at the Casino Theatre by producers Klaw and Erlanger. The work was very successful financially between its run in New York and a subsequent national tour, and significantly raised the profile and popularity of actress Madge Lessing in the title role of Jack.
In New York, Sloane quickly adapted his compositional style to what was then the current trend of the Tin Pan Alley publishing houses; a shift which enabled him to be gainfully employed by having his songs interpolated into shows both on the musical stage and in vaudeville. These included several songs by Sloane incorporated into the musical Papa's Wife (1899) which starred Anna Held. His first big hit was the 1898 song "When You Ain't Got No Money, (Well You Needn't Come Round)" which was popularized on the stage by May Irwin. His biggest success as a songwriter was the tune "Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl," which Marie Dressler introduced in Tillie's Nightmare (1910), but none of his songs found enduring popularity.
In 1900 he married Mae Auwerda. His most successful work as a composer in terms of quality was The Mocking Bird (1902).
After 1912, Sloane's composition output declined as he embarked on a second successful career as an exhibition dancer. He did provide much of the music for the The Greenwich Village Follies of 1919 and The Greenwich Village Follies of 1920. He wrote one of his musicals, Lady Teazle, for Lillian Russell when she was at the height of her national popularity. His last score, for the 1925 Broadway production China Rose, was in production at the time of his death. China Rose had been produced in Boston, by Christmas Eve, 1924.
While in the home of his daughter, Mrs. June H. Brackett, Alfred Baldwin Sloane died of heart disease at the age of 52 in Red Bank, New Jersey on 21 February 1925.
At the time of his death, Sloane was the president of Composers' Publishing Company and vice president of Authors and Composers Publishing Company.
He was a member of The Lambs, the Green Room Club, and Old Strollers. He married Lucille Mae Auwerda in Manhattan on February 15, 1900. They had one daughter – June Augusta Sloane (1901–1984) – who married Isaac Hosford Brackett (1901–1976).

## Musicals and operettas with scores by Sloane

0–9 :
| Work | Type | Year | Premiere | Music | Libretto/Book/Lyrics | Notes | Reference |
| Mustapha | operetta in two acts | 1894 | Baltimore: Ford's Grand Opera House, February 5, 1894 | Sloane | Libretto by Sloane | Performed by the Pain and Powder Club | |
| Midas | operatic burlesque in three acts | 1895 | Baltimore: Albaugh's Lyceum Theatre, February 5, 1895 | Sloane | Libretto by Sloane | Performed by the Rouge et Blanc Club. Toured by them to the National Theatre, Washington, D.C.. | |
| The Strange Adventures of Jack and the Beanstalk (also known as Jack and the Beanstalk) | "fairy extravaganza in three acts" | 1896 | New Haven, Connecticut: Hyperion Theater, October 26, 1896 | Sloane | Libretto by Robert Barnet | Production moved to Broadway's Casino Theatre where it opened on November 2, 1896. It subsequently had a successful tour. | |
| Simple Simon | burlesque | 1897 | Boston: Tremont Theatre, February 8, 1897 | Sloane and George Lowell Tracy | Libretto by Robert Barnet | Performed by The Cadets | |
| The Marquis of Michigan | musical farce in three acts | 1897 | Washington, D.C.: Columbia Theatre, August 2, 1897 | Sloane | book and lyrics by Glen MacDonough and Edward W. Townsend | Performed at the Collingwood Opera House in Poughkeepsie, New York and elsewhere before arriving at Broadway's Bijou Theatre on September 21, 1898 | |
| The Queen's Fan | operetta in one act | 1899 | New York City: Proctor's Twenty-Third Street Theatre, March 6, 1899 | Sloane | libretto by George Totten Smith | The production starred a group of three performers known as the Dresden Trio and toured the United States in performances at theaters owned by Benjamin Franklin Keith. | |
| Broadway to Tokio | musical in three acts | 1900 | Broadway: New York Theatre, January 23, 1900 | Sloane | lyrics and book by George V. Hobart and Louis Harrison | Ended its Broadway run at the Olympia Theatre on April 7, 1900 after 88 performances. The production then toured to Philadelphia, Boston, and Brooklyn. | [37][38] [39][40][41][42] |
| Aunt Hannah | musical in three acts | 1900 | Broadway: Bijou Theatre, February 22, 1900 | Sloane | lyrics by Clay M. Greene; book by Matthew J. Royal | Ended its Broadway run at the Bijou Theatre on March 10, 1900 after 21 performances. | |
| A Million Dollars | musical in three acts | 1900 | Broadway: New York Theatre, September 27, 1900 | Sloane | lyrics by George V. Hobart; book co-authored by Hobart and Louis Harrison | Ended its Broadway run on October 20, 1900 after 28 performances. | |
| Nell-Go-In | "bill of a burlesque, ballet, and vaudeville in three acts" | 1900 | Broadway: New York Theatre, October 31, 1900 | Sloane | lyrics and book by George V. Hobart | Ended its Broadway run on November 17, 1900 after 25 performances. | |
| Madge Smith, Attorney | musical play in three acts | 1900 | Broadway: Bijou Theatre, December 10, 1900 | Sloane, Dave Reed, Francis Bryant, Ernest Hogan, Theodore H. Northrup, and James O'Dea | book by Ramsay Morris; lyrics by many authors | Transferred to the Grand Opera House in Manhattan where it ended its New York run in March 1901 after 46 performances. | [50] [51] |
| After Office Hours | | 1900 | December 24, 1900 | Sloane | Closed May 11, 1901 | Staged with The Giddy Throng | |
| The Giddy Throng | | 1900 | December 24, 1900 | Sloane | Closed May 11, 1901 | Staged with After Office Hours | |
| In A Japanese Garden | musical in one act | 1901 | Broadway: Casino Theatre, May 3, 1901 | Sloane | lyrics and book by William Gill | | |
| The King's Carnival | musical burlesque in two acts | 1901 | Broadway: New York Theatre, May 13, 1901 | Sloane | lyrics and book by Sydney Rosenfeld | Broadway production closed on October 12, 1901 after a total of 102 performances | |
| Fun on the Beach | musical in one act | 1901 | Broadway: Cherry Blossom Grove, August 4, 1901 | Sloane | lyrics and book by George V. Hobart | | |
| The Supper Club | musical in three acts | 1901 | Broadway: Winter Garden Theatre, December 23, 1901 | Sloane, Mae Anwerda Sloane, J. Rosamond Johnson, Robert Cole, Ben Jerome, William Penn, Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards | book by Sydney Rosenfeld; lyrics by Sydney Rosenfeld, A. Baldwin Sloane, Mae Anwerda Sloane, J. Rosamond Johnson, Robert Cole, Ben Jerome, William Penn, Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards | Broadway production closed on January 25, 1902 after 40 performances | |
| The Hall of Fame | musical in three acts | 1902 | Broadway: New York Theatre, February 5, 1902 | Sloane | lyrics by George V. Hobart; book by Sydney Rosenfeld | Broadway production closed on June 4, 1902 after 137 performances | |
| The Belle of Broadway | musical in one act followed by a vaudeville program | 1902 | Broadway: New York Winter Garden Theatre, March 15, 1902 | Sloane | lyrics by George V. Hobart; book by William H. Post | Broadway production closed on March 29, 1902 after 17 performances | |
| The Wizard of Oz | musical in three acts | 1902 | Chicago: Chicago Grand Opera House, June 16, 1902 | Paul Tietjens and Sloane were the primary composers although others also contributed music | lyrics and book by L. Frank Baum; additional lyrics contributed by others | Original production toured including a lengthy run on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre where it opened on January 20, 1903. It closed there after 293 performances on October 3, 1903. The production later returned for a second Broadway run at the Majestic Theatre from March 21, 1904 – November 25, 1905 where ran for an additional 171 performances. | |
| The Mocking Bird | opera in three acts | 1902 | Syracuse, New York: Wieting Opera House, November 7, 1902 | Sloane | libretto by Sydney Rosenfeld | Broadway run at the Bijou Theatre from November 10, 1902 – Jun 8, 1903. Considered Sloane's best work. | |
| Sergeant Kitty | opera in two acts | 1903 | Brooklyn, New York: Montauk Theatre, November 16, 1903 | Sloane | libretto by R.H. Burnside | Broadway run at Daly's Theatre from January 18, 1904 – March 12, 1904 | |
| Lady Teazle | comic opera in two acts | 1904 | Baltimore, Maryland: Academy of Music, December 19, 1904 | Sloane | Libretto by John Kendrick Bangs and Roderic C. Penfield based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal | Broadway run at the Casino Theatre from December 24, 1904 – February 11, 1905. | |
| All Around Chicago | "musical extravaganza" in twelve scenes | 1905 | Chicago: McVicker's Theater, April 30, 1905 | Sloane | book and lyrics by Frederic Ranken | Never performed in New York | |
| The Gingerbread Man | musical in two acts | 1905 | Malden, Massachusetts: Auditorium Theatre, November 15, 1905 | Sloane | book and lyrics by Frederic Ranken | Opened on Broadway at the Liberty Theatre on Christmas Day 1905 | |
| Seeing New York | comic opera in one act | 1906 | Broadway: Jardin de Paris, June 5, 1906 | Sloane | libretto by Joseph Hart and Clifton Crawford | Broadway run closed on August 18, 1906 after 75 performances. | |
| The Great Decide | burlesque in three scenes | 1906 | Broadway: Lew Fields Theatre, November 15, 1906 | Gustav Kerker and Sloane | book and lyrics by Joseph Herbert | Parody of William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide. Broadway run closed on December 29, 1906 after 53 performances. | |
| The Mimic and the Maid | musical in three acts | 1906 | New Haven, Connecticut: Hyperion Theater, December 28, 1906 | Sloane | lyrics and book by Allen Lowe | Brief Broadway run at the Bijou Theatre on January 11 and 12, 1907 | |
| Li'l Mose | musical | 1908 | Atlantic City: April 20, 1908 | Sloane | lyrics and book by Owen Davis and George Totten Smith | Never performed in New York | |
| Lo | musical | 1909 | Milwaukee: August 29, 1909 | Sloane | book and lyrics by O. Henry (pseudonym of William Sydney Porter) & Franklin Pierce Adams | Never performed in New York | |
| Tillie's Nightmare | musical in two acts | 1910 | Chicago: Great Northern Theatre, January 2, 1910 | Sloane | book and lyrics by Edgar Smith | Broadway run May 5, 1910 – July 9, 1910 at the Herald Square Theatre. Later returned for further performances at the Manhattan Opera House in December 1911. Later 1926 musical Peggy-Ann by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart was based on this musical. | |
| The Prince of Bohemia | musical in two acts | 1910 | Broadway: Hackett Theatre, January 14, 1910 | Sloane | lyrics by E. Ray Goetz; book by J. Hartley Manners | Broadway run ended after 28 performances in February 1910 | |
| The Summer Widowers | "musical panorama in seven views" | 1910 | Broadway: Broadway Theatre, June 4, 1910 | Sloane | libretto by Glen MacDonough | Broadway run ended after 140 performances on October 1, 1910 | |
| The Hen-Pecks | musical in two acts | 1911 | Broadway: Broadway Theatre, February 4, 1911 | Sloane | lyrics by E. Ray Goetz and Vincent Bryan; book by Glen MacDonough | Broadway run ended after 187 performances on September 23, 1911 | |
| The Never Homes | "musical comedy in six scenes"; two acts | 1911 | Broadway: Broadway Theatre, October 5, 1911 | Sloane | lyrics by E. Ray Goetz; book by Glen MacDonough | Broadway run ended after 92 performances on December 23, 1911 | |
| Hanky Panky | musical in two acts and 3 scenes | 1911 | Chicago: Lew Fields American Music Hall, October 31, 1911 | Sloane | lyrics by E. Ray Goetz; book by Edgar Smith | Toured in 1911-1912 prior to coming to Broadway. Played at the Broadway Theatre in New York from August 5, 1912 – November 2, 1912. | |
| Hokey-Pokey (staged with Bunty, Bulls and Strings) | referred to as a grouped work as "a pot-pourri of reminiscences in two acts" | 1912 | Broadway: Broadway Theatre, February 8, 1912 | Sloane, John Stromberg, and William T. Francis | lyrics by Edgar Smith and E. Ray Goetz; book by Edgar Smith | Closed on May 11, 1912 after 108 performances | |
| Bunty, Bulls and Strings (staged with Hokey-Pokey) | referred to as a grouped work as "a pot-pourri of reminiscences in two acts" | 1912 | Broadway: Broadway Theatre, February 8, 1912 | Sloane | lyrics by E. Ray Goetz; book by Edgar Smith | Closed on May 11, 1912 after 108 performances. Contained the song "Alexander's Bag-Pipe Band" which Sloane and Goetz wrote with Irving Berlin. | |
| Roly Poly (staged with Without the Law) | a "musical play in two acts" | 1912 | Broadway: Weber and Fields' Broadway Music Hall, November 21, 1912 | Sloane and E. Ray Goetz | lyrics by Sloane and Goetz; book by Edgar Smith | Ran on Broadway until January 11, 1913 when it closed after 60 performances. | |
| Without the Law (staged with Roly Poly) | a "burlesque in three scenes"; one act | 1912 | Broadway: Weber and Fields' Broadway Music Hall, November 21, 1912 | Sloane | lyrics by E. Ray Goetz; book by Edgar Smith | A parody of Bayard Veiller's Within The Law. Ran on Broadway until January 11, 1913 when it closed after 60 performances. | |
| The Sun Dodgers | musical in two acts | 1912 | Albany, New York: Harmanus Bleecker Hall, October 18, 1912 | Sloane | lyrics by E. Ray Goetz; book by Edgar Smith | Ran on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre from November 30, 1912 – December 14, 1912 | |
| Ladies First | musical in three acts | 1918 | Broadway: Broadhurst Theatre, October 24, 1918 | Sloane | lyrics and book by Harry B. Smith | Story adapted from Charles H. Hoyt's A Contented Woman. Broadway run transferred to the Nora Bayes Theatre where it closed on March 15, 1919 after 164 performances. | |
| The Greenwich Village Follies | musical revue | 1919 | New York: Greenwich Village Theatre, July 15, 1919 | Sloane | lyrics by John Murray Anderson and Arthur Swanstrom; book by Philip Bartholomae | Transferred to Broadway's Nora Bayes Theatre where it ran from September 9, 1919 - January 31, 1920 | |
| The Greenwich Village Follies of 1920 | musical revue | 1920 | New York: Greenwich Village Theatre, August 30, 1920 | Sloane | lyrics by John Murray Anderson and Arthur Swanstrom; book by Thomas J. Gray | Transferred to Broadway's Shubert Theatre where it ran from September 20, 1920 – March 5, 1921 | |
| China Rose | operetta in two acts | 1924 | Boston: Hollis Street Theatre, December 24, 1924 | Sloane | libretto by Harry L. Cort and George E. Stoddard | Opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on January 19, 1925. Transferred to Wallack's Theatre on February 23, 1925. Ended its Broadway run at the Knickerbocker Theatre on May 9, 1925 with a collective New York run of 120 performances. | |

## Musicals and operettas with interpolated music by Sloane

* Excelsior, Jr., musical; music by George Lowell Tracy; libretto by Robert Barnet; opened at Hammerstein's Olympia on November 29, 1895. Multiple songs and instrumental numbers interpolated into the show by Sloane.
* Stranger in New York (1897), musical; music by Richard Stahl; book and lyrics by Charles H. Hoyt. Used the two songs by Sloane: "Won't You Speak to Sister Mary?" and "Walker's Dancing School"
* Papa's Wife (1899)
* A Chinese Honeymoon (1901), musical in two acts; libretto by George Dance; music by Howard Talbot. Sloane's song "Little Street in Heaven They Call Broadway" was interpolated into the 1902 Broadway production.
* The Liberty Belles (1901), musical; music by John W. Bratton; lyrics and book by Harry B. Smith. Sloane contributed the songs "A Little Child Like Me", "My Filipino Pet", "Spring Hat" and "Shopping Chorus".
* The Little Duchess, additional music by Sloane, October 14, 1901 – April 1902
* George W. Lederer's Mid-Summer Night Fancies, additional music Sloane, June 22, 1903 – July 18, 1903
* Red Feather (1903), comic opera in two acts; music by Reginald De Koven, libretto by Charles Klein; lyrics by Charles Emerson Cook. Sloane contributed the song "There's A Little Street in Heaven They Call Broadway"
* The Girl from Dixie (1903), musical in two acts; libretto by Harry B. Smith; music by various composer. Sloane composed the music for the song "The Dissipated Kitten".
* Glittering Gloria (1903), musical in three acts; music by Bernard Rolt; book by Hugh Morton; lyrics by Morton and Rolt. Premiered at Wyndham's Theatre, London in 1903. The 1904 Broadway production at Daly's Theatre featured the song "Susan" with lyrics by Edward S. Abeles and music by Sloane.
* Girls Will Be Girls (1904), musical in three acts; music and lyrics by Joseph Hart; book by R. Melville Baker. Sloane contributed the song "Swinging" to the national touring production in 1906.
* The Rollicking Girl (1905), musical in three acts; music by William T. Francis; lyrics and book by Sydney Rosenfeld. Sloane contributed the song "Bored" with lyrics by Frederick Ranken.
* About Town (1906), musical in two acts; music by Melville Ellis and Raymond Hubbell; book and lyrics by Joseph Herbert. The opening chorus added to the production in Boston in 1907 after its Broadway run ended is attributed to Sloane.
* Fascinating Flora (1907), musical in two acts; music by Gustav Kerker; lyrics by: R. H. Burnside; book by R. H. Burnside and Joseph W. Herbert. Sloane's song "Romance and Reality" with lyrics by Louis Harrison was interpolated into the musical.
* The Beauty Spot (1909), musical in two acts; music by Reginald De Koven; book and lyrics by Joseph W. Herbert. Sloane wrote the music for the "Entrance of the Flower Girls", and his song "Foolish Questions" with lyrics by William Lee was interpolated into the show.
* Hello, Paris (1911), musical revue in one act; music by J. Rosamond Johnson; lyrics by J. Leubrie Hill; book by William Le Baron. Sloane contributed the song "Sentimental Tommy" with lyrics by E. Ray Goetz.
* All Star Gambol (1913), revue starring Marie Dressler with Dressler serving as playwright and lyricist and Frederick Schwartz as her musical director. Dressler used pre-existing songs for this show by a variety of composers. Sloane's song "Great Big Girl Like Me" with lyrics by Edgar Smith was interpolated into the show.
* A Fantastic Fricassee (1922), musical revue in fifteen scenes; Prologue attributed to Sloane.
* Sing Out, Sweet Land (1944), A Salute to American Folk and Popular Music; music arranged by Elie Siegmaster. Used Sloane's "Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl".

## Filmography

Soundtrack
* 1952: Somebody Loves Me, Toddling the Todalo lyrics by Sloane
* 1940: Strike Up the Band, Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl, music & lyrics by Sloane (uncredited)
* 1939: Frontier Marshal Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl, music & lyrics by Sloan (uncredited)
Writer
* 1914: Tillie's Punctured Romance, Tillie's Nightmare (uncredited)
Self
* 1914: Our Mutual Girl, Sloane plays himself (episode 10)

## Selected sheet music

William Pilling, New York (publisher)
* He Cert'ny Was Good To Me, lyrics by Jean C. Havez, music by Sloane (1898)
M. Witmark & Sons
* Susie, Mah Sue, music & lyrics by Sloane (lyricist) (1900) – from the musical Broadway to Tokio
* Lazy Bill, A Volunteer Of Rest, music by Sloane, lyrics by Glen MacDonough (1897) - from the musical The Marquis of Michigan
Joseph W. Stern & Co., New York
* There's a Little Street in Heaven That They Call Broadway, lyrics by James T. Waldron & Sloane, music by Sloane (1903) OCLC 26005231
Charles K. Harris, Chicago
    The Gingerbread Man (musical)
    Book & lyrics by Frederic Ranken, music by Sloane (1905)
   * The Evil Eye
   * The Beautiful Land of Bon Bon
   * John Dough
   * Moon Song