The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-04-10
SONGS OF THE DAY.
Ballads That Become Popular with Com
mon Folk---Profts Derived by Auth
ors and Publishers from Recent
TaYorite SONGS.

| Il can answer Your question best by
| telling you little story. Some years
| ago when Rollin Howard composed a
| song and dance, he took his production,
| of which he felt very proud, to Pond &
| Co, and offered to sell it to them. They
looked it over and returned it with the
remark: We do not publish such stuff
as that. Mr.. Howard pocketed his dis
comfiture in silence and sadly wended
| his way homeward. A short time after
this Howard went to Boston, where he
/ was engaged to sing in a minstrel COM
pany. One night Mr. c. A White, the
composer and publisher, heard Howard
and offered to publish his discarded
song. This is how Shoe Fly, Don t
| Bodder Me- came to see the light 1t
soon became popular all over the land.
| The publisher sold over 200, 900 copies
| and with the profits established the well
| known firm of White, Smith & Co A
| song is popular when it catches the
public fancy, and the best songs seldom
| become popular.
Chow do you account for this?''
swell, the popular mind is not edu-
Gated enough for them. Many persons
| have what they call an ear for. music -
They have no special training in order
to appreciate the general beauties of a
| tirst7class song, or the fine, delicate
shades of expression that are the very
soul of the piece The ballad. or comic
ditty is about the extent of popular APP
probation. In these YOU will find a
simple melodic period, such as Wait
Till the Clouds Roll By. Jenny and
Tommy Dodd There is no effort of
the mind to glide, as it were, through
! these.
Tell me some of the popular songs
Just now, Wait Till the Clouds Roll
By Jenny by III. j. Fulmer, has cap
tured the popular fancy, and will CON
tinue to sell for some time. Close on
the heels of this piece comes an answer
to THE Clouds Are Rolling By, Jen-
ny, by Maylath, a much superior song
in every way and likely to be as popular.
Then we have In the Morning by the
Bright Light, by James A. Bland, the
colored song writer, and the best of his
kind. All his pieces have become popu-
lar, and include, keep Dem Gates
Wide Open, Won't We Have a jolly
Time, ooh, Dem Golden Slippers and
DE Angels Am a-Coming Another
piece that is likely to become popular
is Peek a-boo,' sung during the week in
Friend and Foe at the Windsor Thea
tire by William Seaman. In the popu-
lar list is When the Leaves Begin to
Turn, by c. A. White of Boston 1t is
beautiful waltz song. There is fund
of popular songs sung by Harrigan and
Hart. l need only mention Babies in
Our Block, The Skids Are Out To-day,
Whist, the Bogie Man. Little Widow
Dunn, Never Take the Horseshoe from
the Door.
I'm trade we call H. song popular
when it reaches the sale of 10000 copies.
Many editions only reach 5000, and
some do not run beyond 500 copies
There may not appear to be any value
to a song until it goes before the public.
If they catch on then the real value of the
song is assured. Many good pieces-real
gems of song-have been published by
Pond, which do not 60 beyond the art
ist's studio. Among this class is a sweet
thing called: Say Not My Love VIII
Change With Time written by Albert
Revise. When Harrigan and Hart sold
'Mulligan Guards for $50 they did not
expect that it would march to the tune
of 100000 copies. The Hildebrandt
Montrose song they sold for $500,
and the publishers worked off 200,OOG
copies"
s'Who are the leading composers?''
'sYou mean of this class of musici
Well many of our most popular songs
have been written by authors on the
other side of the water. Our homt
names are Harrison Willard, VIII S
Hays, s. G. Foster, j. r. Thomas, I'll.
p. banks, Henry Tucker, w. III. Brock
way, c. A White, j. T. Ordway, f.
Root, j. A Bland G.. Operti, Harry
Birch, b. F. Baker, and others. These
men do not all write their own words
most of them buy the poem. There are
a few good poets, the best, perhaps, be-
ing Mr.. George Cooper. His remunera-
ton is poor, being from s. to $40 for
song outright. Many of them possess
genuine merit. When the composers
sell a song they receive from $50 to
500, and sometimes 5000; some will
only take commission on the sales and
piece reach public favor. When banks
wrote Silver Threads Among the Gold,
he sold it for $40 After it was publish
ed the purchaser sold 100000 copies,
and the piece is still sought for. Har
'rison Willard made money by writing
music. While holding comfortable
position in the custom-house he man
aged to secure a small fortune by his
muse. His Viva FAmerica' brought
him 81, 500, and his song, When the
Tide Comes H. has been worth 81 900
d year. The song Waiting is now
looked upon as stock selling piece,
the publishers disposing of 5000 copies
a wear, while his Under the Daisies
sells at the rate of Z 200 copies .Mollie
Darling has had sale of something like
500, 600 copies
- A Barry composed Little Foot
steps," and sold it for So. The pub
fishers made money and disposed of To-
900 copies. Hays songs, Little Old
Cabin in the Lane, We Parted by the
Riverside each had q sale of 100000
Ordway's song, Dreaming of Home,
Mother reached sale of $4,000 to Co.
900. How the Gates Came Aiar, by
Eastburn, reached sale of 100. 600
Brockway sold the Little Sweetheart,
Come and Kiss Me- for $25, and the
publishers ran out an edition of $1,000
copies. The Old Folks at Home by
Foster reached the sale of 400. 600 cop
les, and still continues to be bought
1.-The Sword of Bunker Hill reached
sale of 100 600 copies, and the famous
temperance song, Father, Come Home,
written by Work. has had a sale of 800,
900 copies.
s.How about the English songs?'
..They are readily sold in this coun-
try. The famous London popular song
Pull Down the Blind had not been
introduced here couple of months
when so, 600 copies were sold Let Me
Dream Again, by Arthur Sullivan, has
reached to 10000 copies and is still a
favorite. What are the Wild Waves
Saying has sold to the number of $780,