The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-07
MADE RICE By ONE SONG.
The YouEg and Successful Author of
after the Ball.
From the New York Advertiser

AFTER the BAN
From the New York Advertiser.
Milwaukee, Sept lit is a matter of
more than passing interest that a Mil
waukee boy has broken the record, in
these record breaking days, as a song
writer, publisher and seller Everybody
nowadays is singing, "After the Ball 5"
The chorus
After the ball is over, after the break Of morn
After the dancers leaving after the stars
Many a heart is aching, if you could read
them all,
Many the hopes that have vanished after the
ball
is heard everywhere, and is probably the
most successful song of the century over
500, 600 copies having been sold. 1t is said
that no other song ever sold to so large
an extent, and it is certainly fact that
no other song ever netted its composer a
fortune in a few months time.
The story of this song, after the Ball, :"
is full of human interest The words
and music were composed by Charles X.
Harris in few hours, and the most re
markable thing of all, outside of its pep
ularity, is that tne composer
doesn't know one musical note
from another! Harris is of Hebrew
extraction, is twenty-eight years of age,
is self-educated and is the composer of at
least twelve ballads that are now riding
the top-most wave of popularity. He is
Of small stature, with red hair and blue
eyes, and had eked out the usual every
day existence until a few months ago as a
teacher Of the banjo. To-day heis one Of
the rich men of Milwaukee and Is enjoy
ing an income of over 81 900 a day from
the sales of After the Ball"
Harris has struggled with all the phases
of poverty, but one morning about six
mon this ago he awoke to find himself IA
nous.
The composer showed me a record of
forty amusement enterprises that were
using his song as a feature of their en-
tertainments. 1t was first brought to
public notice by a member of Hallen &
Harris company late in the spring Its
refrain has travelled around the world
and is now being sung everywhere. Go
where you may, you can't get out of its
reach. 1t has been dubbed the Column
bian song of the worlds fair, and one has
heard nothing else there. The bands
and even the Dahomeyans and Nuhians
of the Midway who can't speak a word
Of English and the dancing girls of the
Persian and Algerian theaters have
learned to hum the tune.
That almost million copies have been
printed and sold is no surmise or matter
of guesswork. l called on Mr.. Harris,
the composer, yesterday, and he verified
this remarkable statement by showing
me his order books and cash receipts.
Leading dealers are ordering the song in
5000 lots, and Mr.. Harris income has
averaged for several weeks 81 200 a day
from the sale of his song.
Harris told me, and / now give for the
first time the simple story of how the
song was written. Last March the Mil
Waukee bicyclers were preparing to give
an amateur entertainment. Sam Doctor,
a local Singer, called on Harris one morn
ing about week before the show and
asked him to write him a song. Harris
had attended a ball in Chicago the night
before and was lying on n sofa in his
Office when Doctor called. II am too
tired, Sam" said Harris, to try to do
anything just now. I am suffering from
the fatigue OF after the ball" Doctor
urged his claims, and finally Harris con
sented to compose something for his
friend. will tell the rest of the story
in his own language.
The words of my geply, After the
ball. kept ringing IN my ears, ana quick
ly recognized that had a catchy title for
a song. | thought out the verses, and lit
tie by little the tune came to me, and
fitted the words to it. Finally the whole
thing developed, and it came to me like an
inspiration. I hurried to a music house
and ascertained that no music had been
published bearing the same or similar
title to After the Ball. Then L sent for
Joseph Chandler, the orchestra leader, and
pick ed out the piece on the piano for him
! can read or write music, but | can
play anything by ear-and l asked him if
he could write it down for me Chandler
can grasp and write music as quickly as a
stenographer can take a dictatiou, and in
an hour or so l had the words and music
of After the Bali on paper.
"Wen | gave the manuscript to Doctor
and after rehearsing IL he sang it for the
first time at the amateur minstrel show
! sat way back in the house. very nervous
over the outcome. Doctor sang two
verses finely and got tremendous APP
plause. This staggered him and he forgot
the third. / left the house chagrined and
mortified. ! threw the manuscripts in a
drawer with a lot of rubbish, fully deter
timed never to publish or look at it again.
But the people who heard it remembered
the tune and il grew on them. I heard
boys whisting il few days later. Some
Chicago visitors carried it to that city,
and l had two or three inquiries for it.
Two weeks later Ditson of Boston or
dered ten copies | don't know how it
had got that far out. This order induced
me to publish the song and the result is
known. To-day had Geographic order
from this same Boston house for 5000
copies. | expect the circulation to touch
the million mark early in September. l
keep two printing houses at work on my
music, and my bills for press work are
&, 000 per month"