 Jean Schwartz (November 4, 1878 to November 30, 1956) | |
 Compositions | |
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1899
Dusky DudesDusky Dudes (Song) [w/Will A. Heelan] The Raggy-Raggers [0] 1900
Across the Continent: March1901
Loop the Loop: CakewalkSan Anita: Mexican Waltzes Any Old Place I Can Hang My Hat is Some Sweet Home to Me [2] I'm Tired (The Tired Man) [2] When Mister Shakespeare Comes to Town (or I Don't Like Them Minstrel Folks) [1,2] Hold Fast! (The Only Trolley Car Song) [2] It's All Right Mayme [2] Rip Van Winkle Was a Lucky Man [2] The Man Who Plays the Tambourine [2] Nursery Rhymes [2] Don't Put Me Off at Buffalo Any More [2] A Baby's Prayer [w/Henry Myers] The Constitution Follows the Flag [3] 1902
Rag Timers DelightDreamy Lou (Inst) My Dreamy Lou (Song) [2] Susie Anna [2] Just Kiss Yourself Good-Bye [2] The Gambling Man [2] W Won't Go Home Until Morning [2] Please Come Again, Summer Days [2] Mister Dooley [From The Wizard of Oz] [2] Back to the Woods [2] Miss Green, Don't Be So Mean [2] I'm Unlucky (A Most Unlucky Man) [2] My Gypsy Queen [2] In Spotless Town [2] Since Sister Nell Heard Paderewski Play [2] Just a Tender Spot for Father Dear [2] O' O' O'Brien [w/M.B. Kirby] Mister Bluebeard: Musical I'm a Poor Unhappy Maid [2] Julie [2] Hamlet Was a Melancholy Dane [2] 1903
The Pony Ballet DanceMazeppa: Intermezzo Why Don't You Go, Go, Go [2] Stories Adam Told to Eve [2] My Lady of Kentucky [2] He Was a Sailor [2] In a Land That's Far Away [2] Who, Who, Who, Who Hoola Hoolahan [2] When the Stars are Shing Bright [2] She Doesn't Seem to Care About Me [2] In Cincinnati [2] Dear Sing Sing [2] The Dear Old Union Jack [3] The Jersey Lily: Musical Bedelia (The Irish Coon Song Serenade) [2] Mrs. Delaney of Newport: Musical [2] I Want to Break Into Society My Hula-Lula Girl Irish Eyes of Blue The Hobo Solo Band Spain, Beautiful Spain The Latest Thing in Sweel Society Whistling Sue Baby, My Little Baby 1904
Cordalia Malone [2]Down in the Subway [2] When You're Broke [2] Rosie Rosinsky [2] At the Music Hall [w/Edgar Smith] Under the Banana Tree [w/Percy Ford] Piff! Paff! Pouf!!!: Musical Under Our Lovely Umbrella [2] I Have Interviewed the Wide, Wide World [2] The Melancholy Sunbeam and The Rose [2] M.A.C.A.R.O.N.I. [2] I Don't Want Any Wurtzberger [2] We Really Ought to Be Married [2] Under the Goo Goo Tree [2,4] Dear Old Manhattan Isle [2] Pixie's Entrance The Ghost That Never Walked [2] Waltzing with Jane [2] My Unkissed Man [2,4] Good Night, My Own Love [2,4] Love, Love, Love [2] Lutie [2] Barney Donohue [2] I'm So Happy [2] Radium Dance Dolly Dimples [2] For You [2] March of the Flags 1905
Come and Take a Walk with Me [2]Farewell Mister Abner Hemingway [2] Henny Klein [2] What has the Night Time to Do with the Girl? [2] Pa is Rich, So Ma Don't Care [2] The Band of Reubenville [2] I Fell Off the Water Wagon [2] My Indiana Anna [2] Home with the Milk in the Morning [2] My Irish Indian [2] Honey, Love Me All the Time [2] The Athletic Girl Ramblin' Sam [5] Tennessee (That's the Place for Me) [5] Birds of a Feather Flock Together (A Proverb Song) [5] You're All the Candy with Me [5] I'm Getting Seasick [w/George V. Hobart] There's Only One Little Old New York [w/George V. Hobart] A Yankee Circus on Mars [5] Ruben, Tell Your Mandy Hold Your Horse The Bogie Man Milkmaid's Chorus Aurora Borealis Git A Horse Sergeant Brue: Musical [2] My Irish Molly O Sweet Anastasia Brady Lifting the Lid: Musical [2] Lifting the Lid Overture Home With the Milk in the Morning There's Nothing Doing in the Old, Old Town Jerome, the Bogie Man Albany Texas Dan How to Get in Central Park Line it Out, Maginnity Over Sunday Dear Old Dixieland My Syndi-Kate The Ham Tree: Musical [2] Walking Desdie (My Desdemona) The Drummer Song (or Sweethearts in Every Town) The Merry Minstrel Band Good Bye Sweet Old Manhattan Isle A New Way to Play Tennis Honey Love Me All the Time The Ham Tree Barbecue When the Cat's Away On An Automobile Honeymoon Waltzes Fritz in Tammany Hall: Musical [2] In Old New York East Side Lil' My Sweet When You're in Love In Bad Man's Land The Dear Little, Wise Old Bowery East Side Walk I'm a Woman of Importance I Don't Want a Little Canoe Yankee Boodle The Man Behind the Club The Tammany Ball In Tammany Hall The Dear Old Farm My Irish Daisy [w/Maude Nugent] If I Were a King My Wigwam Lady The White Cat: Musical [2] Good-Bye, Maggie Doyle Antonio Highland Mary Henry Klein Get the Money Meet Me on the Fence (Tonight) My Lady of Japan Down the Lane with Arabella 1906
Pony Galop: Skipping Rope DanceMy Irish Rosie [2] Any Old Time at All [2] Ain't You Got Nothing to Say? [2] Percy [2] F-R-I-E-N-D-S [2] Float Me, Charlie [2] Kitty, Pretty Kitty [2] 1907
Handle Me with Care [2]Emmaline [2] Come Back to Old Manhattan, Dearie [2] Miss Killarney [2] In Love [2] Herman [2] Come Along with Me [2] The Teddy Girl [2] My Irish Gibson Girl [2] I'ts a Grand Old Game [2] Lola From Berlin: Musical [2] Madchenlied Altdeutscher Liebersreim I Think of You the Whole Year Round I'd Sooner Be a Has-Been Unter der Linden in Germany Beneath the Moon Just Home from College Poor Little Foolish Man Sings There's Not Another Girlie in the World Like You 1908
The White Wash ManThe White Wash Man (Song) [2] Good-Bye Mr. Ragtime (Since the Merry Widow Waltz Has Come to Town) [2] Don't Go In the Water, Daughter [2] Over the Hills and Far Away [2] Mother Hasn't Spoken to Father Since [2] Good-Bye Carlotta [2] None of Them's Got Anything on Me [2] Wishes [2] Take Your Girl to the Ball Game [2] McGinnis [2] Love Days [2] Meet Me in Rosetime Rosie [2] My Little Benzine Butty [2] Kiss Your Minstrel Boy Good Bye [2] Order Wedding Bells for Two [2] When the Girl You Love Is Loving You [2] I'm Crazy When the Band Begins to Play [2] Kissing Time [2] They Always Follow Me [2] Sandy O' [2] Kiss your Soldier Boy Good-Bye [2] [w/Fred W. Leigh] 1909
That Spooney Dance: Rag IntermezzoThat Cooney Spooney Dance: Song [2] Franco-American Ragtime [2] Honey on Our Honeymoon [2] I'm a Member of the Midnight Crew [2] Happy Days [5] The Hat My Father Wore Upon Saint Patrick's Day [2] Her Name is Mary Donohue [2] McIntyre and Heath In Hayti: Musical [2] The American Monte Carlo A-L-E I'd Like to Correspond with You Everybody's Ragtime Crazy Bamboo Lane The Revolutionary Man Come, Toddle Along Captain Flo Chicken My Haytian Queen Good-Bye Miss Liberty Love Me Just Like Romeo Loved Miss Juliet Mr. Izzy, Always Busy, Rosenstein 1910
Black Beauty: RagBaby Blue: Intermezzo The Pop Corn Man The Franco-American Rag The Franco-American Rag (Song) [2] Oh, You Dream [2] Dougherty [2] The Newport Glide [2] Oh You Spearmint Kiddo With the Wrigley Eyes [2] I'll Make a Ring Around Rosie [2] Let's Make Love Among the Roses [2] I'm Only Happy When I am Sad [2] Chinatown, My Chinatown [2] I'm On My Way to Reno [2] Be Careful How You Handle Me [2] Up and Down Broadway: Musical [2] I Am Melpomene Have a Smile with Momus Go On Your Mission Come Down to Earth (My Dearie) I Want a Log of Girlie Girlies I'm The Ghost of Kelly The Pretty Little Girl Inside The Gathering of the Clans Everybody is Bagpipe Crazy That Spanish Fandango Rag Chocolate Soldier In Chinatown The Lily The Ticket Speculators The Military Glide My Operatic Samson 1911
April Fool RagSarah's Hat (Rag Melody) [2] They're All Good American Names [2] He's a Dear Old Pet [2] Ragging the Old Vienna Roll [w/Vincent Bryan] Pots and Pans [w/Charles Grapewin] On An Irish Honeymoon [2] 1912
Rum Tum Tiddle (Dance)New York Isn't Such a Bad Old Town [2] Ring Ting-A-Ling on the Telephone [2,7] When the Henry Clay Comes Steaming into Mobile Bay [2,7] That Chop-Stick Rag (aka Over the River) [7] That Coon Town Quartet [7] There's One in a Million Like You [7] In Banjo Land [7] Ragtime Eyes [7,8] String a Ring of Roses 'Round Your Rosie [7,8] You're the Girl [7,8] Rum Tum Tiddle [9] If it Wasn't for the Irish and the Jews [2] Fol De Rol Doi (A Yiddish Serenade) [9] Mister Yankee Doodle (Do the Doodle Do Do) [6] Whistle It [10] Everyone In Town Likes Mary [w/Sam Ehrlich] 1913
The Rajah Glide [2]Where the Red, Red Roses Grow [2] The Flower Garden Ball [2] When the Twilight Comes to Kiss the Rose Good-Night [2] You Can't Get Away From It [2,7] Sit Down! You're Rocking the Boat [2,7] The Ball Song (Do Come and Play with Me) [6] [w/G. Edith Evelyn] There is One Born Every Minute [6] I Wish You'd Keep Out of My Dreams [7,8] Ever Since You Told Me That You Loved Me [7,8] The Ki-I-Youdleing Dog [w/Irving Berlin] The Honeymoon Express: Musical [6] Tennis Tournament That is the Life for Me When the Honey Moon Stops Shining Syncopatia Land You'll Call the Next Love the First The Ragtime Express That Gal of Mine My Coca-Cola Belle You Are The Someone They Picked for Me I Want a Toy Soldier Man Our Little Cabaret at Home Bring Back Your Love My Raggyadore My Yellow Jacket Girl When Gaby Did the Gaby Glide Carolina Lou I Want the Strolling Good Southern Heart of Mine The Passing Show of 1913: Musical [6,11] My Cinderella Girl It Won't Be the Same Old Broadway My Irish Romeo When I Want to Settle Down Ragging the Nursery Rhymes That Good Old-Fashioned Cakewalk Reflections Won't You Come Into My Playhouse I Must Have My Way The Working Girl North, East, G.A.R., South and West The White House Glide Zatun The Golden Stairs of Love Tangle Footed Monkey Wrench Dance Inauguration Day In Romance Land Whistling Cowboy Joe Strongheart He Blew On His Bugle-e-oo [7,8] Floradora Slide Lights and Shadows The Old Stuff Dance of the Perfume Added to The Passing Show of 1913 [6,11] How Do' Do If You Don't Love Me Why Do You Hang Around Oh, You Tango Midnight Masquerade Le Paradis de Mohamet The Butterfly and the Rose Chiffons! Frou Frous! I'm Looking for a Sweetheart High Lights On the Boat German Cooking 1914
I Love You Just like Lincoln Loved the OldRed, White and Blue [2,12] I Love the Ladies [7] Winter Nights [7] Neptune's Daughter [7] Back To the Carolina You Love [7] When Claudia Smiles: Musical Boys, Boys, Boys [13] It's A Grand Old Life [2] He's a Dear Old Pet [2] 1915
Dance RozsikaShooting the Bull Around the Bulletin Boards [2] In Blinky, Winky, Chinky Chinatown [2] I Wish that I Could Move the Swanee River (Far from the Old Folks at Home) [2] I'm Simply Crazy Over You [2,14] Cute Little Summery Time [2,14] When John McCormack Sings a Song [2,14] Good-Bye, Virginia [7] Hello, Hawaii, How Are You? [8,15] 1916
I'm Going 'Way Back Home (and Have aWonderful Time) [2] When You're In, You're In, In Indiana [2] When You Grow to be Twenty-One [8] Beware of Pink Pajamas [12,16] As We Sat at the Saturday Evening Post [w/Archie Gottler] 1917
America Needs You Like a Mother: WouldYou Turn Your Mother Down? [7] Britannia Needs You Like a Mother: Would You Turn Your Mother Down? [7] Are You Prepared for the Summer? [8,15] I'm All Bound 'Round With the Mason-Dixon Line [12,16] When the Girls Grow Older, They Grow a Little Bolder [12,16] Words and Music: Musical Stop Your Camouflaging with Me [14] They'll Be Whistling It All Over Town [14] 1918
Tell That to the Marines [14] [w/Al Jolson]I'm On a Long, Long Ramble, Over There I'll Be Rambling with You[12,16] Wedding Bells (Will You Ever Ring for Me?) [12,16] Sinbad: Musical Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody [12,16] Why Do They All Take the Night Boat to Albany? [12,16] Hello Central, Give Me No Man's Land [12,16] The Passing Show of 1918: Musical [6,17] I Really Can't Make My Feet Behave My Baby Talking Girl Trombone Jazz |
1918 (Cont)
Oh You Vampire GirlsSquab Farm The Shimmy Sisters On the Level You're a Little Devil (But I'll Soon Make an Angel of You) [12] Bring on the Girls Twit, Twit, Twit Quick Service The Galli Curci Rag My Duchess of the Long Ago Boots Dress, Dress, Dress See You Later: Musical [18,19] Anytime is Dancing Time Desert Island Honeymoon Island I Never Knew I'm Going to Settle Down In Our Little Paradise Isn't It Wonderful It Doesn't Matter Love's a Funny Thing Lover's Quarrels Mother Paris Nerves See You Later, Girls See You Later Shimmy The Train That Leaves for Town You Whispered It Young Man 1919
Just Two Sweethearts - Mother and Dad [10]Oh, My Dear!: Musical [10] Now and Then but Not All the TIme Sas'parilla, Women and Song I Love a Musical Comedy Show Monte Cristo, Jr.: Musical [6,17] Just My Type Sentimental Knights Mi Lady's Dress Fiji Flutter On By My Broadway Butterfly [6] Military Guide Stepping Out To-night Monte Cristo Marseilles A Girl in Every Port Nanette and Rin Tin Tin Toy Dance Jazzamarimba Dance Fast Steppers Jewel Ballet Festive Nights Vampire Dance Carnival Times Empre Days World of Beauty Sugar Baby Indoor Sports Come Back to Me Sahara (We'll Soon Be Dry Like You) [10] I'm Goin' to Break That Mason-Dixon Line (Until I Get to That Girl of Mine) [10] Shubert Gaieties of 1919: Musical [10] I've Made Up My Mind to Mind a Maid Made Up Like You Baby Vampire Land Vamp a Little Lady Please Don't Take Away the Girls For the Freedom of the C's Beautiful American Girl Rainbow Ball What Are We Going to Do? Let Us Keep the Shimmie Cherry Blossom Lane A Little Bull Cosy Corner The Lamp of Love My Beautiful Tiger Girl Valparaiso Somnambula Heart Breakers On My Private Telephone Military Decoration Dance Hello Alexander: Musical [10] Tampa Bay Up in the Air Baseball Pantomime Baseball Those Dixie Melodies Give Me the South All the Time I'm Glad I'm From Dixie Tell Me Mississippi Lullaby At the High Brown Baby's Ball When Those Mason-Dixon Minstrels Hit the Town The Ghost of Old Black Joe The Swanee Glide Two Lips in Georgia An Old Fashioned Rag Pretty Up, Pretty Up, Pretty Baby Oh How Much Good He Does Me Yip! Yip! You're Living Right Next Door to Heaven (When You Live in Dixieland) Juno My Honeymoon Girl Shimmying Everywhere Cleopatra On the Road to Calais My Chocolate Soldier Sammy Boy The Passing Show of 1919: Musical [6] Wine Ballet Seven Ages of Women Tumble In Good-Bye Soloman Roads of Destiny Dreamy Florence [17] Neapolitan Jazz Orient [10] The King's Favorite Shimmy a la Egyptian Water Lily In a Love Boat with You [17] So Long Sing Song Miss Unruly It's Always Summertime in the Winter Garden America's Popular Song Lovable Moon A la Hockey Kiss Burglar 1920
Molly on a Trolley (By Golly With You) [2]Cleopatricola (Cleo-Patrick-Ola) [10] Overalls and Calico [w/Gus Kahn] The Century Revue: Musical [10] Millions of Tunes Shine On, Little Son Shimmy Valentine Marcelle Fig Leaf Number Symphony in Dress Keep Your Weight Down Bottle Up a Pretty Girl Wild Romantic Blues The Sphinx Hold Me The Midnight Rounders of 1920: Musical [10] The Valley of Romance Wild Romantic Blues The Clock Song The Rag Doll [14] Je'ne Com Prom Pa The Mansion of Roses Heartbreakers A Mouthful of Kisses Shimmy-Nods from Chaminade The Swing Beauty is Like a Rose Josephine Three Little Marys Whisper in My Ear O, You Heavenly Body La Veda William Tell it to Me Beautiful Shoulders My Lady of the Cameo The Century Promenande Page Mister Cupid: Musical [20] Love is an Old-Fashion'd Feeling A Little Woman for Two Page Mister Cupid My Little Dancing Heart Why Didn't I Meet You Long Ago There is Life in the Old Boy Yet I Can't Do This and I Can't Do That 1921
Listen [10]Why Don't You Smile? [21] The Passing Show of 1921: Musical [6] Hello Miss Knickerbocker In Little Old New York When There's No One to Love The Charm School [10] Let's Have a Rattling Good Time [10] Silks and Satins She's the Mother of Broadway Rose You May Be a Bad Man My Wife Ta Boo The Lady of the Lamp Smiling Sam Tip Top Toreador Rigoletto Quartette Rubyiats from the Rubyiat [10] The Sweetest Melody Where Is the Beautiful Face? The Midnight Rounders of 1921: Musical [10] Sprinkle Me with Diamonds Blue Blondes Passionettes Keep Them in a Golden Cage Ballet of the Pyramids Picket Fence Perfume and Passion Take a Chance with Me Gold Fish Would You Like to Sleep Upon My Pillow? The Spirit of Java Snap a Wishbone with Me Beautiful Girls are Like Opium Sand Witches The Century Toddle The Mimic World: Musical Any Night on Old Broadway [6] Jazzimova [6] Shakespeare's Garden of Love [6] 1922
Ev'ry Day is Mother's Day [2](I Want to See - I Want to Be in Old) New Hampshire [21] Why Do They Die at the End of a Classical Dance? [21] I'm a Little Waltz (Lonesome Little Waltz) [w/Clarence Senna] Make It Snappy: Musical [6] Blossom Time [10] Goodbye Main Street When the Wedding Chimes are Ringing To Make Them Beautiful Ladies Bouquet of Girls I Learned About Women from Her Humoresquimos The Flapper My Castilian Girl Won't You Buy a Flower? Doing the Eddie Cantor Hootch Rhythm [10] (Tell Me What's The Matter) Lovable Eyes Princess Beautiful My Beautiful Fragonard Girl [10] Desert Rose The Sheik Silver Swanee [22] Gay Butterfly on the Wheel [10] Lamplight Land I'm Wild About Men [10] My Vision in Vermillion [10] Jazza Painted Jazzama-Renos [10] My Yiddisha Mammy [21,22] 1923
Just Like a Diamond [6]Day By Day in Every Way I'm Getting Better Day by Day [2] If I Can't Get the Sweetie I Want, I Pity the Sweetie I Get [12,16] I Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Fondle and Forget ''Em [21] The Passing Show of 1923: Musical [6,17] Passing Show Prologue Kissable Lips My Gaby Doll Go Into Your Dance Rose of the Morning [23] Beautiful and Damned My Dutch Lady A Royal Wedding The Ball Begins The Jewel Song My Little Lotus Flower [23] The Fatal Wedding The French Revolution My Rainbow Birds of Plumage Step On It Dew Drop Inn: Musical Lady [24,25] I'm a Flapper [24,25] Artists and Models of 1923: Musical [23] Golfing Blues [6,17] Jackie Coogan One in a Million to Me Take Me Back to Samoa Some More [23] Music of Love Some How Topics of 1923: Musical [6,26] Oh, Alice When You Love American Dancers The Flowers of Evil Queens of Long Ago Oedipus Rex a la Jazz On a Beautiful Evening Ran Tin Tin The Minuette Diamond Finale Lotus Flower Doing the Apache The Legend of the Woodland Yankee Doodle Ooo-La-La 1924
Louwanna [6,27]Innocent Eyes: Musical [6,17,28] I Loved Her Best of All Our Emblem is the Lily Garden of Love Let's Have a Good Time We'll Have a Bushel of Fun Dear Old Moulin Rouge Love is Like a Pinwheel Day Dreams Chiquette [24,25] Su'l Boul'vard Innocent Eyes [24,25] Organdy Days Peacock Strut Yankee Jazz Inspiration Damn Clever, These Chinese En Douce Hula, Hula, Sailor Man Spoony Croony Tune Surrounded by the Girls Behind Milady's Fan The Passing Show of 1924: Musical [6,17] Joy and Gloom Gold, Silver and Green The Beaded Bag [21] Society Blues Everybody Dance When Knighthood Was in Flower Dublinola Nothing Naughty in a Nightie A Study in Porcelain Mooching Along The Holiday Number [21] 1927
Cornalia [2]Under the Clover Moon [10] A Night in Spain: Musical [10] Argentine International Vamp De Dum Dum The Sky Girl C'est Vous Promenande the Esplanade My Rose of Spain Columbus and Isabella Hot, Hot Honey A Spanish Shawl The Nocturne The Curfew Walk Bambazoola A Million Eyes 1928
Believe in Me [w/Jean Gilbert &Harry B. Smith] Sunny Days: Musical [29] A Belle, A Beau and a Boutonniere One Sunny Day Ginette I'll Be Smiling Really and Truly I've Got to Be Good Hang Your Hat on the Moon So Do I Girls' Brigade Orange Blossoms Trample Your Troubles 1930
Au Revoir, Pleasant Dreams [30]Since My Wife Took Up Miniature Golf [30] Today is the Day [30] One Little Raindrop [30] [w/Harry Richman] 1931
Deep Water [10]Mother Indiana [10] In Old Nantucket by the Sea [10] Feed Me With Love [12] My Kisses are Your Kisses [31] 1932
You're Lovely [w/Jack Scholl]1933
Little You Know [12,31]Okay G-A!: Fox Trot [12,31] Trouble in Paradise [31,32] 1934
In a Little Red Barn (On a Farm Downin Indiana) [12] The Thrill of a Hill Billy Waltz [12] One Little Thing At a Time [12,31] If I Didn't Care [12,31] 1935
The Star and the Rose [12]The Church Bells Told [12,33] Dance and Dream [33] [w/Paul Cunningham] 1936
The Old Country Doctor [12]You Angel [12] Trust in Me [31,32] Out At the Prairie's End [34] Something Came and Got Me in the Spring [34,35] She Changed Her Hi-De-Hi-De-Ho [34,35] 1937
Make Way For Tomorrow [w/Sam Coslow & Leo Robin]1938
There's Rain in My Eyes [31] [w/Joe McCarthy]1939
The Music in My House [36]Let Your Intuition Lead You [36] 1948
All Full of Empty [w/Nick Acquaviva &Don George] Unknown or Unpublished
ProvidenceButtons on Her Shoes [6]
0. as Howard Lipson
1. as Eugene Black 2. w/William Jerome 3. w/G.B. Alexander 4. w/Stanislaus Stange 5. w/Harry H. Williams 6. w/Harold Atteridge 7. w/Grant Clarke 8. w/Edgar Leslie 9. w/Edward Madden 10. w/Alfred Bryan 11. w/Albert W. Brown 12. w/Joe Young 13. w/Anne Caldwell 14. w/E. Ray Goetz 15. w/Bert Kalmar 16. w/Sam M. Lewis 17. w/Sigmund Romberg 18. w/P.G. Wodehouse 19. w/Joseph Szulc 20. w/Blanche Merrill 21. w/Alex Gerber 22. w/Eddie Cantor 23. w/Cyrus Wood 24. w/J. Fred Coots 25. w/McElbert Moore 26. w/Alfred Goodman 27. w/Clifford Grey 28. w/Tot Seymour 29. w/William Carey Duncan 30. w/Jack Meskill 31. w/Milton Ager 32. w/Ned Wever 33. w/Ira Schuster 34. w/Jack Scholl 35. w/Max Rich 36. w/Haven Gillespie |
Jean Schwartz is a great example of a dedicated composer who rose from truly humble beginnings to a position as a fledging writer of ragtime songs, becoming one of the dominant sources of Broadway shows as the genre was gaining recognition throughout the world. The sheer number of pieces he left behind, some of them very memorable standards, plus the roster of musicians and lyricists he worked with speaks volumes about his role in American popular music in the 20th century.
Early Years
Schwartz was born in Budapest, Hungary to Samuel and Celia Schwartz. He was the youngest of three children, including Max (4/1874) and Rosa (8/1876).
When she was young, Rosa took piano instruction briefly from no less than Franz Liszt, therefore becoming the dominant musician in the family at that time, and a professional pianist. From the 1880s to the 1930s, Budapest was a thriving community for members of the Jewish faith, and one of the economic forces in Eastern Europe. Just the same, they were keenly aware of the issues facing their peers in Russia and other locales, and knew that many were migrating to America where more freedoms and better opportunities were supposed to be waiting for them. So like many other Jewish families of the time looking to improve their situation.
When she was young, Rosa took piano instruction briefly from no less than Franz Liszt, therefore becoming the dominant musician in the family at that time, and a professional pianist. From the 1880s to the 1930s, Budapest was a thriving community for members of the Jewish faith, and one of the economic forces in Eastern Europe. Just the same, they were keenly aware of the issues facing their peers in Russia and other locales, and knew that many were migrating to America where more freedoms and better opportunities were supposed to be waiting for them. So like many other Jewish families of the time looking to improve their situation.The Schwartz family arrived in the United States on August 29, 1888, quickly settling in New York City. Unfortunately for them things were not much improved, and they lived in poverty in the general area of the slums of the lower East Side of Manhattan. Rosa worked in the 1890s and beyond as a piano instructor, and Max worked as a waiter and other odd jobs whenever he could. By 1900 Samuel was shown as retired, but it is not certain from what vocation. One of Rosa's star students was her brother Jean starting when he was very young, and the boy quickly became adept with not only playing, but with theory and harmony as well.
Eventually Jean had to pitch in and help support the family. Among his early odd jobs was one as a cashier in a Turkish bath house. But with his musical skills he soon became involved in the New York music scene, working part time as a pianist in a small orchestra in Coney Island. The next important position was as a sheet music demonstrator in the Siegel-Cooper Department store, the first major store in the United States to have its own sheet music department. The management of the Princess Theater on Broadway was in desperate need for a young man to play the piano in a music store scene of the Weber and Fields comedy Hoity Toity. Even though there was no overt visibility to the part, designed only for atmosphere, Schwartz was asked to do the role and did it with such finesse and gusto that he could not be ignored. From there he got hired as a song plugger for Maurice Shapiro and Lou Bernstein's new publishing company, which would soon be joined by fledging writer and publisher Harry Von Tilzer. That was the launching point for Jean to try his hand at composing, starting in the relatively new genre of ragtime.
Jean's first published composition was a cakewalk titled Dusky Dudes, issued by Shapiro, Bernstein & Von Tilzer in 1899. The cover showed a dedication to composer Kerry Mills, who was already become well known for his benchmark At a Georgia Campmeeting, and would garner a few more hits over the next decade. The publishers also saw fit to increase the potential of this piece by releasing it as a song as well. One more piece from that year was the Raggy Raggers, showing promise and potential, but lacking polish. One march was published in 1900, Across the Continent, but marches were common and ragtime was still fresh, so for Jean to graduate from song-plugger to song-writer, he needed something more. In 1900 he was listed in the census as James, still living with his parents and siblings, and working in a music store (either the store at Shapiro, Bernstein and Von Tilzer or Siegel-Cooper).
Quick Rise to Fame
Schwartz's inherent talents were recognized quite early on in his career by those in the business. The following surprisingly accurate prediction appeared in the March 9, 1901 edition of the trade paper The Music Trade Review:
COMING TO THE FOREFRONT
Jean Schwartz, one of the clever young men employed by Shapiro, Bernstein & Von Tilzer, is rapidly coming to the front. His compositions are few but they have all been good. The first two, "Dusky Dudes" cakewalk and "Across The Continent" two-step, have become successes, and although the "San Anita" waltzes have only been out a few weeks, the orders have already begun to come in. Mr. Schwartz will doubtless make a name for himself in the future; he is a man to be watched.
The genesis of Schwartz as a true songwriter happened shortly after this notice was written in 1901 He was befriended by William Jerome, already established as a New York lyricist and the librettist for Star and Garter, another show Jean had played for. One night after the curtain fell they just fooled around on the piano a bit to see what would happen, and they come up with the improvised song Mr. Shakespeare Comes to Town (or I Don't Like Them Minstrel Folks). Feeling it was good enough to publish, the pair submitted the tune and it quickly became a hit, interpolated into The King's Carnival. It was later included to great success in a revival of Hoity Toity. This singular piece was originally published under the pseudonym of Eugene Black, although the reason for this is not clear. Many Jewish writers had Anglicized their names in America, and perhaps this was an unnecessary attempt to do the same. In any case, all future publications had Jean's proper name attached. Almost immediately the new friends set to work and didn't stop for over a decade. Both of them performed on and off in vaudeville early on, and soon started writing together. The team of Jerome and Schwartz set out to make waves in the songwriting world, and a comfortable living doing something they loved as well.
Jerome was married at that time to stage star Maude Nugent, and this connection didn't hurt when pushing Jerome/Schwartz songs for shows. One notable 1902 show was Fred Stone's stage adaptation of the recent book, The Wizard of Oz, for which the pair wrote Mister Dooley for the wizard himself to sing. It was recycled in 1903 in the show Chinese Honeymoon.
The pair also contributed three interpolated pieces into Mister Bluebeard. On July 22, 1902, the Hungarian-born composer would become a United States citizen. The following year would see the next Schwartz and Jerome hit incorporated into The Jersey Lily. Bedelia - The Irish Coon Song Serenade was successfully introduced in the show by star Blanche Ring and subsequently plugged by Mose Gumble of Shapiro Bernstein to the tune of some three million copies within a couple of years.
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Jerome and Schwartz included several numbers in the less successful Mrs. Delaney of Newport before making the move to writing their own complete show in 1904. This was Piff! Paff! Pouf!!! starring popular vaudeville comedian Eddie Foy, an eclectic and unique work that played for 264 performances, impressive for a first effort. It included one gem called The Radium Dance, perhaps capitalizing on the headlines including Marie Curie and her findings in the world of radioactivity. The dance that went with this instrumental featured women in glowing radium outfits that actually were a bit radioactive. But who knew back then? A retooled version of the show late that year ran only 8 nights before closing.
When on a trip to Europe that summer Schwartz checked in on how his music, and American music in general, was doing in Paris. In September he reported on his trip to Music Trade Review:
...All of his time was passed between London and Paris, where he declares American songs "have the call," as he expressed it to The Review. "In London," he said, "the sheet music is certainly American, and our songs are whistled and sung in all the principal music halls and theatres. The same is partly true of Paris and in the cafe chantants our hits appear on all their programmes. We thought of taking "Piff, Paff, Pouff" off at the Casino in November, but it is running to too good business and it will therefore remain indefinitely. I propose interpolating some new numbers, but as they are not written yet cannot give you the titles. The play will be taken to London next season, and will be produced by the original company, in one of the three theatres offered me when I was over there. To-day I signed a contract to write a new musical comedy, what I do not even know, as I haven't been able to find my side partner, Billy Jerome, since returning."
Around the beginning or 1905 Jerome H. Remick, who had been a partner in Shapiro and Bernstein and Remick, separated from the firm to form his own from other companies he had acquired. Remick not only brought along many of the physical assets, inventory and copyrights, but some of the composers as well. Billy and Jean worked with Remick for at least the next year until troubles intervened. However, in 1905 they also started dabbling in publishing themselves, in addition to still performing as headliners in vaudeville and writing popular songs put into print by Remick. The duo contributed to at least four musicals that year, came out with three of their own, and made major contributions to two others including pieces by fellow composers. A Yankee Circus on Mars lasted for 296 performances while yielding no real hits. Lifting the Lid only managed 72 performances. The Ham Tree did only marginally better at 90 nights. The comedy Fritz in Tammany Hall lasted a mere 43 performances with no memorable entries. The same was true for The White Cat at 46 appearances. Yet they did score again with Blanche Ring in Sergeant Brue singing My Irish Molly O.
The drop off of output in 1906 can be partially attributed to an increased presence of the team in vaudeville with Jerome taking on most of the singing and dancing duties, and Schwartz the flashy accompanist providing harmony as well.
Their act is representative of many on the vaudeville stage at that time, being an alternative to the Broadway theater, since some vaudeville houses ran for 24 hours a day with no set format other than continuing stage acts. Acts of the type that Schwartz and Jerome did may be viewed on a few surviving Vitaphone shorts from the late 1920s, but the flavor of what they were was captured to some degree in the opening minutes of the movie Singing In the Rain with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor showing their rise through ranks in front of the footlights. With an output of only a handful of songs, the duo was likely pretty busy that year in their revue Words and Music.
Their act is representative of many on the vaudeville stage at that time, being an alternative to the Broadway theater, since some vaudeville houses ran for 24 hours a day with no set format other than continuing stage acts. Acts of the type that Schwartz and Jerome did may be viewed on a few surviving Vitaphone shorts from the late 1920s, but the flavor of what they were was captured to some degree in the opening minutes of the movie Singing In the Rain with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor showing their rise through ranks in front of the footlights. With an output of only a handful of songs, the duo was likely pretty busy that year in their revue Words and Music.Schwartz and Jerome made major contributions in 1907 to a German-themed musical comedy, Lola from Berlin. One of their non-stage pieces, Emmaline, had a nice shelf life and became somewhat popular. But 1907 brought troubles as well. Having abandoned the firm of Jerome H. Remick for Francis, Day & Hunter, Jerome and Schwartz sued Remick, who they had severed a relationship with in the spring of 1906. The asked that the publisher be enjoined from continuing to sell any of their material until they received at least $25,000 in royalty payments that they insisted were due to them under their agreement with the previous owners. The court ended up finding for the defendant based on the transfer of copyrights and protections afforded to them, so the composers simply moved forward to rebuild their song base and financial base. They were again working for Shapiro and Bernstein's newly revived firm, but also had works issued by Cohan & Harris. They would be reunited with Remick the following spring, this time severing their relationship with Francis, Day & Hunter in March 1908.
Jean finally reached the status of ragtime composer in 1908 with The White Wash Man, a technically interesting and worthy rag to which Jerome added lyrics for a song version as well. They were starting to become important as publishers, but distributed their works to other New York houses as well. No notable contributions to Broadway shows were made that year, but one piece, When the Girl You Love Is Loving You, made it to the newly minted Ziegfeld Follies, their first of many contributions to that yearly spectacular production.
The era of ragtime instrumentals was nearing its peak from 1909 to 1912, and Schwartz made his own mark on the genre. That Spooney Dance was also released as a song, That Cooney Spooney Dance in 1909, and in 1910 he would come out with the intricate Black Beauty, his eclectic The Pop-Corn Man, and the dynamic Franco American Rag. With Jerome he wrote and staged In Hayti in 1909. It ran for only 56 performances, but it helped raise the bar for the pair in their goals for writing shows around tighter themes rather than just revues of interpolated pieces. Their next success in 1910 was Up and Down Broadway, making it to 72 performances in its first run. With so many shows now opening weekly in the theater district, this was not all that bad in perspective. This was followed up with one of their first mega-hits, Chinatown, My Chinatown, which would eventually become a jazz standard. The 1910 census listed Jean as a music composer living in Manhattan, but with no employer listed. Late in the year he went on a twenty week tour with singer and lyricist Harry Williams, frequent partner of Egbert Van Alstyne.
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The following year brought forth April Fool Rag from Jean, but the partners were again very busy so not too much else. After years of dabbling the boys finally decided that if they wanted to keep their royalties they'd have to go into business for themselves. So they started their own firm, Jerome & Schwartz, and started turning out hits of the same quality as they had through Remick, Shapiro & Bernstein and Cohan & Harris, albeit a bit more slowly at first given that they were also business men now. They would soon hire Ted S. Barron as their general manager, and then the duo would get back to composing. One piece of note was Pots and Pans composed with stage comedian Charley Grapewin who many people now remember as Uncle Henry in the 1939 movie version of The Wizard of Oz. It was included in the 1911 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies. This was also around the time when the team first met the Dolly Sisters for which Jean soon became an accompanist.
New Partners and New Challenges
Identical twins, Roszika and Jansci (or Yansci) Deutsch were also from Budapest, born October 25 1892. Their family came over to Brooklyn in 1897. They trained in ballet for a time and learned stage etiquette. With their names anglicized to Rosie and Jennie, they adopted the last name of Dolly allegedly because of a friend who said they were as cute as dolls. Managed by their uncle, the Dolly Sisters made their stage debut in 1907 but were quickly banned from New York due to their age. The sisters worked outside of the city on the Orpheum circuit for two years, then in New York City for the Keith theaters, working their way quickly up to the Ziegfeld Follies in 1911 where they would enjoy a few years of success.
Florenz Ziegfeld, in his continuing quest to glorify the beautiful girls, chose to give the Dolly Sisters an Asian mystique by dressing them in elaborate pagoda headdresses and a kimono with a shared skirt, thus casting them as Siamese twins. They would use this as part of their act for most of their career. Among their admirers was the gambler "Diamond Jim" Brady who lavished them with gifts, including a Rolls Royce. Another one was their accompanist, Jean Schwartz. Working in that role as well as with Jerome through 1912 Schwartz turned out a few more minor hits, including Rum Tum Tiddle. He also began a long-time collaboration with lyricists Grant Clarke and Harold Atteridge, composing with both of them that year.
While touring with Clarke in the Berkshires in July, trying to derive some inspiration for new material, Schwartz's automobile struck and slightly injured a woman and her child. He had to pawn a large diamond ring to raise bail, and the pair quickly retreated back to New York City, having been duly inspired as well as shaken.
While touring with Clarke in the Berkshires in July, trying to derive some inspiration for new material, Schwartz's automobile struck and slightly injured a woman and her child. He had to pawn a large diamond ring to raise bail, and the pair quickly retreated back to New York City, having been duly inspired as well as shaken.Having also worked as a sometimes accompanist and writer, and an increasingly frequent companion to the Dolly sisters, Jean finally married fellow Hungarian export Roszika Dolly in 1913. He would continue to accompany the sisters on stage as his writing relationship with Billy Jerome started to wind down. Jansci would marry stage comedian Harry Fox the following year. These two unions would eventually impact Schwartz in years to come in a way that he could not anticipate.
Jerome and Schwartz more or less stopped performing as a duo in 1913, but continued to issue songs. Since it was announced in the trades late in 1911 that they had stopped writing as a team, some of the issues of 1912 and 1913 were perhaps older tunes, or the simply got together from time to time for a new one. However, Schwartz had his next major collaboration with Atteridge when they wrote the musical comedy The Honeymoon Express for the Winter Garden Theater. Starring his friend Al Jolson, the show ran for 156 performances and had some minor hits in New York, plus one bit of product placement via the song My Coca-Cola Belle. My Raggyadore was perhaps the most clever piece in the show, a play on the Toreador Song from Bizet's Carmen. With contributions from Albert Brown, Atteridge and Schwartz assembled The Passing Show of 1913, the first of many for them. This politically themed show was expanded during its run of 58 performances, and many pieces were published from the show that may or may not have been included on stage for more than a few nights.
After that, 1914 through 1916 were relatively slow years for Schwartz. He became one of the original twelve charter members of ASCAP formed in 1914. Then with Clarke he turned out Back to the Carolina You Love to good sales, and made a splash with Jerome with In Blinky, Winky, Chinky Chinatown [Please note that ethnic stereotypes of this sort, while unacceptable in the 21st century, were common back then. To ignore them or sweep them under the rug is to pretend they never happened, and we need to remember how far we've come. No malice was meant by the composers, who were only catering to a public that often fed on such stereotypes, good or bad.] Yet another interesting tune was a tribute to the finest recording Irish tenor of that time, John McCormack, who had his own fine career singing Irish-themed songs.
In his continuing work with his wife and sister-in-law, Schwartz was not committing any effort to stage shows except for the occasional commissioned song for interpolation, so 1916 was somewhat of a dry year for the composer. Jerome and Schwartz abandoned their business in 1916, after which Jean signed a two-year exclusive contract with Waterson, Berlin & Snyder in September.
He would provide them with a number of fine hits over the next few years. Another bit of notoriety and small fortune fell upon Jean the following year. Upon his death in 1917, Diamond Jim Brady left many of his friends, including Jean and both of the Dolly sisters, one or more of his treasured items. As mentioned in Brady's will, Jean got a "sporting scarfpin."
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There was one popular pair which did help bring additional fame to Schwartz and his collective lyricists of the time. McIntyre and Heath was comprised of James McIntyre and Thomas Kurton Heath. They met in Texas in the 1870s while playing in minstrel shows, and by the early 1900s were highly regarded for their comic acts, which were often done in blackface. One of the first Schwartz vehicles they picked up was The Ham Tree in 1905, which also included one of the early American performances by juggler, later comedian William C. Fields who had been working in Europe through that time. They had a another relatively minor hit with Schwartz's songs in In Hayti (to which they applied their names to the title) in 1909. In spite of a relatively short runs the first time around, the aging duo revived these musicals and took them on the road in the mid-1910, garnering much better reviews the second time around. The pair also became an influence for Al Jolson who appeared in blackface frequently during that time period and beyond, often singing Schwartz tunes as well. By 1911 Jolson had become a big fan of Schwartz, and within the decade the composer would provide Jolie with nearly his biggest hit of all.
With the advent of The Great War (World War One) and America's inclusion in 1917, entertainers and songwriters played an increased role in providing musical morale for both the troops and those left behind.
Schwartz and Clarke brought out America Needs You Like a Mother: Would You Turn Your Mother Down?, which was quickly adapted in an alternate lyric for Britannia as well. Teaming with E. Ray Goetz, Jean worked a couple of pieces into the play Words and Music. This may have whet his appetite to get back to composing musicals because he would come back in a big way in 1918. His draft card shows him as a music composer employed by Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, as his own firm with Jerome was by now dissolved. It also lists his wife as Rosia Schwartz, but the couple had no children indicated there, confirming that none came from their marriage.
Schwartz and Clarke brought out America Needs You Like a Mother: Would You Turn Your Mother Down?, which was quickly adapted in an alternate lyric for Britannia as well. Teaming with E. Ray Goetz, Jean worked a couple of pieces into the play Words and Music. This may have whet his appetite to get back to composing musicals because he would come back in a big way in 1918. His draft card shows him as a music composer employed by Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, as his own firm with Jerome was by now dissolved. It also lists his wife as Rosia Schwartz, but the couple had no children indicated there, confirming that none came from their marriage.In 1918 Schwartz, along with Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis, would contribute three songs to the contrived show Sinbad starring mega-entertainer Al Jolson. This was a pivotal time for Jolson and for those who gave him good material. It was Jolson who helped make George Gershwin a star in his own right with the song Swanee around this same time. The same would happen with two of the three pieces. Hello Central, Give Me No-Man's Land was a war tune about a child trying to connect with their father fighting somewhere in the trenches of Verdun, France, which was named no-man's land. The second, a piece that would become one of the top five signatures for Jolson, was Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody. What could have been a simple maudlin ballad was turned into a passionate tribute to the south in Jolson's dynamic stage performances and a subsequent recording of the piece, which was revived by him in the 1940s, and again in the early 1960s by singer Judy Garland. It would be the biggest hit ever from the pen of Schwartz, but he was just getting started again on Broadway so there was much more to come.
Schwartz, Atteridge and composer Sigmund Romberg would collaborate for The Passing Show of 1918, featuring two of the latest fads in entertainment - jazz and the shimmy. This salacious dance that offended those who cared to see something evil in the motion was largely an upper torso shake, best achieved by women wearing fringe or tassels to accentuate the effect. This was not lost on Schwartz and his lyricists who turned out several shimmy songs over the next three years. At 14 performances during war time the revue could hardly be deemed a success.
The shimmy would emerge in the next production, a return for Jean to stage musicals, See You Later. Many of the songs in these two shows were throwaways, but most made it into print for sale in the lobby as well as in the stores. The trio would hit their stride the following year with Monte Cristo, Jr., which survived for a run of 254 shows. The hit of this post-war pre-prohibition show actually comically opined about the upcoming Federal ban on alcohol. Sahara, which compared the dryness of the Egyptian desert with the reality of what was coming in the United States, was a good seller and recorded by many artists, including the prolific Billy Murray in his inimitable comic style. This song, unlike most of the rest of the show, was composed with Alfred Bryan. So Schwartz and Bryan followed this effort with The Shubert Gaieties of 1919 which ran for nearly 3 months.
The shimmy would emerge in the next production, a return for Jean to stage musicals, See You Later. Many of the songs in these two shows were throwaways, but most made it into print for sale in the lobby as well as in the stores. The trio would hit their stride the following year with Monte Cristo, Jr., which survived for a run of 254 shows. The hit of this post-war pre-prohibition show actually comically opined about the upcoming Federal ban on alcohol. Sahara, which compared the dryness of the Egyptian desert with the reality of what was coming in the United States, was a good seller and recorded by many artists, including the prolific Billy Murray in his inimitable comic style. This song, unlike most of the rest of the show, was composed with Alfred Bryan. So Schwartz and Bryan followed this effort with The Shubert Gaieties of 1919 which ran for nearly 3 months.They teamed up again for a stage musical, Hello Alexander, capitalizing on the popularity of the many "Alexander and his ____ band" songs that were spawned by Irving Berlin's Alexander's Ragtime Band of 1911, and based in part on the Schwartz/Jerome show The Ham Tree. It included the popular themes of baseball and Egyptology, although focused largely in the south, with Dixie eternally being a favorite topic of Broadway in the 1910s. There was a shimmy piece slipped in for good measure as well. Starring McIntyre and Heath, the déjà-vu of the recycled plot was not lost on the Broadway critics who revealed the thinly veiled repurposing of the older show in their reviews. The production ultimately ran for only 56 performances.
Post War Successes and Struggles
The Passing Show of 1919, composed with Atteridge, combined the shimmy with Egyptology in one piece, and Italy with jazz in another. The short term hit of the show was It's Always Summertime in the Winter Garden, referring to the theater in which the Passing Shows were staged. This particular edition had lasting power, ultimately running for 280 performances.
Schwartz seems to have been missed in the 1920 census in spite of diligent efforts to locate him there. Perhaps he was sleeping in his office during this exceedingly busy period. There is also a chance he was in Paris with his wife during that first month of 1920, although evidence to support this is hard to find, even though there is clear evidence that she was most certainly there. The new decade saw Schwartz gearing up for another busy few years with an almost relentless output of material in a city overflowing with theatrical shows and revues . It started out with The Century Revue hosted by the Shuberts, composed largely by Schwartz and Bryan. To compound things, they also wrote the late night show in the same theater, The Midnight Rounders of 1920. The earlier show ran 150 performances from July through January, and the late night 120 through November. Neither had any standout numbers, but both were well received. Then with Blanche Merrill, a prodigious entertainer and songwriter in her own right, he came up with Page Mister Cupid, a cute romantic comedy, but not the usual caliber of Jean's work. It played off-Broadway for a very short run, but never made it any further. However, as usual, another project was in the works.
The Passing Show of 1921, which included contributions by Atteridge and Bryan, did fairly well, running around six months at 191 performances.
He followed this with another round of Midnight Rounders for 1921 with Bryan which was mostly light fare, and made it through a mere 49 appearances. One other show, The Mimic World, also did not fare well with the critics in spite of its star, an evolving Mae West who was still seeking out her persona. Critics found it to be a disappointing hodgepodge of material, and some even singled out Schwartz as capable of better material. The show evaporated after only a few appearances. But somebody else in his life was making a disappearance. In April 1921, a few months after the fact, the trades announced that Jerome had once again partnered with Schwartz and that the pair were "now submitting works to various publishers." The reunion was short-lived, and apparently yielded only two songs that were picked up for distribution, the last they would write together for six years.
He followed this with another round of Midnight Rounders for 1921 with Bryan which was mostly light fare, and made it through a mere 49 appearances. One other show, The Mimic World, also did not fare well with the critics in spite of its star, an evolving Mae West who was still seeking out her persona. Critics found it to be a disappointing hodgepodge of material, and some even singled out Schwartz as capable of better material. The show evaporated after only a few appearances. But somebody else in his life was making a disappearance. In April 1921, a few months after the fact, the trades announced that Jerome had once again partnered with Schwartz and that the pair were "now submitting works to various publishers." The reunion was short-lived, and apparently yielded only two songs that were picked up for distribution, the last they would write together for six years.Even in the early days of Broadway, show business marriages could be tenuous due to the strain of constantly having to be "on," whether on stage or producing new material. In 1920 the Dolly Sisters wanted to follow the crowds to post-war Europe where many American performers had migrated. It seems that their marriages held them back. So Jennie first divorced Harry Fox, then the following year Rosie left Jean. They went on to London, then to Paris where they found renewed fame as the almost Siamese twins. They also became well known for scandalous affairs and gambling habits, including one trick where they gave all their jewelry to a friend for safekeeping and then sat at the gambling tables pretending they had lost every last dime. More often than not this resulted in a fresh supply of jewelry and lavish gifts. Together and separately the Dolly Sisters facilitated the downfall and ruin of many men. Their lifestyle that would eventually impact them horribly, and through happenstance would also have a future effect on Jean's life.
In 1922 Jean managed to fall in with top entertainer Eddie Cantor for a show, Make It Snappy, again largely with Atteridge and Bryan, but with contributions by Cantor as well, and a relative newcomer, Alex Gerber. It did fairly well at 96 performances, and capitalized in part on the latest entertainment finds, namely The Sheik, which had seen great success in both song and film the previous year, and the flapper, which was paradigm for the young ladies in the city in the 1920s.
Bolstered by the success that Cantor brought to the show, Schwartz moved on into a busy and creative 1923. Among the shows were the Shubert's annual Passing Show of 1923 with Atteridge and Romberg (118 performances), the Shubert's Topics of 1923 with Atteridge and producer Alfred Goodman (154 performances),
contributions to the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923, and a couple of tunes for the semi-popular Dew Drop Inn. But one of the 1923 shows that got the most attention was Artists and Models of 1923, also staged by the Shuberts. This show tried to equal Ziegfeld in pageantry, but top him with the use of semi-nude dancers on the stage for the sake of art. Needless to say that at 312 performances it saw a great measure of success, and was followed by seven other editions. Jean's best contribution to it was clever Take Me Back to Samoa Some More penned with Cyrus Wood.
contributions to the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923, and a couple of tunes for the semi-popular Dew Drop Inn. But one of the 1923 shows that got the most attention was Artists and Models of 1923, also staged by the Shuberts. This show tried to equal Ziegfeld in pageantry, but top him with the use of semi-nude dancers on the stage for the sake of art. Needless to say that at 312 performances it saw a great measure of success, and was followed by seven other editions. Jean's best contribution to it was clever Take Me Back to Samoa Some More penned with Cyrus Wood.There was no letting up in Shubert shows for 1924, starting with the original production of Innocent Eyes composed with Atteridge, Romberg and pioneering female lyricist Tot Seymour. Only average in musical content, it still ran for 126 nights. It was followed by yet another edition of the Shubert's Passing Show of 1924 written with Atteridge and Romberg, plus a couple of numbers with Gerber. It passed for an average run of 106 shows. One fine tune, Louwanna, was interpolated into Ziegfeld's Annie Dear late in the year, and sold fairly well. Then, after a quarter century of constant work and composition, Jean Schwartz stepped back for a while and took a much needed break from the daily grind of composing and accompanying and working with productions.
It would be over two years before Jean started writing anything again that would be published. He traveled a bit during this period, and generally just enjoyed the collective fruits of his labors. But in 1927 Schwartz was once again engaged by the Shuberts to write a show with Bryan, and came up with A Night in Spain with the book written by Atteridge. This was a more evolved musical than many of the previous revues, and was well received, playing for nearly 6 months on Broadway. My Rose of Spain was one of the standout tunes of the production. Schwartz and Bryan also wrote a separate hit for the general market, and Under the Clover Moon was well covered on stage and in recordings. In May, his old partner Billy Jerome opened up a new publishing house, and Jean co-wrote one final song with him, Cornalia. Unfortunately it fell flat and did not sell. Few copies can be found today.
The following year, Schwartz would team up with William Carey Duncan for Sunny Days. In a year when Flo Ziegfeld was dominating Broadway with no less than four shows with big stars, a run of 101 performances of this adaptation of a French play could be considered a success. It yielded a moderate hit, Hang Your Hat on the Moon. One of the struggles of composers who had been working as long as Jean was that of currency in musical trends. However, a review of Sunny Days in the New York Times addressed this by stating, "In composing the music Jean Schwartz has not scorned the blurting fashions of the day or the patterns of other current songs. Although frequently reminiscent, the score sets a rapid pace for musical comedy in general. When you are bidden to 'Hang Your Hat on the Moon' or 'Trample Your Troubles' you do not expect the slow motion of the formal waltz and you are not disappointed. For 'Sunny Days' beats the pace that invigorates before it kills." Following this triumph and after nearly 30 years as a professional composer that Schwartz, now 50, hung up his Broadway hat and went into semi-retirement.
After a year of inactivity, one that saw the onset of the Great Depression, Jean teamed with Jack Meskill for one more lasting hit for the Great American Songbook. This would Au Revoir, Pleasant Dreams, which would become band leader Ben Bernie's theme song on radio. Jean may have also been considering dabbling in Hollywood for a while, as in 1930 he was found renting a house in Beverly Hills. Also present in the house was Sarah Louise "Sally" Long (she or the enumerator spelled it Salley) of Missouri, born around 1902. She was divorced and listed in the census as his niece, although their true relationship was unclear. Her children, Louis (1918) and Anne (1920), also lived there. By the mid-1930s Jean would wed Sally, who was 23 years his junior. In the meantime, he was back living temporarily in New York City by mid-1931, having traveled to Europe for a while, and then in Stanford, Connecticut during the mid-part of the decade.
Winding Down and Setting Things Straight
The next several years would see a smattering of Schwartz numbers with varying lyricists, including some pieces that got a fair amount of radio play, but no lasting hits of note except If I Didn't Care in 1936 Joe Young and Milton Ager.
Some of his best material from this time was composed with Ager, including the hit Trouble in Paradise, and with Haven Gillespie who would himself help write Santa Claus is Coming to Town in 1934. Trust In Me with Ager and Ned Wever made the hit parade in 1937. However, by 1939 Jean was all but done with writing, and retired for good in Los Angeles, California, where he and Sally were listed in the 1940 census along with his stepchildren, Louis and Ann Long. Although he still listed himself as a music composer, there would be only one other known piece appearing in 1948. But there was at least one more chapter of his life yet to unfold.
Some of his best material from this time was composed with Ager, including the hit Trouble in Paradise, and with Haven Gillespie who would himself help write Santa Claus is Coming to Town in 1934. Trust In Me with Ager and Ned Wever made the hit parade in 1937. However, by 1939 Jean was all but done with writing, and retired for good in Los Angeles, California, where he and Sally were listed in the 1940 census along with his stepchildren, Louis and Ann Long. Although he still listed himself as a music composer, there would be only one other known piece appearing in 1948. But there was at least one more chapter of his life yet to unfold.The Dolly Sisters lived rather large in Europe and also lived dangerously at times. Finally, in 1933, Jennie was in a serious automobile accident in France that severely scarred her face and destroyed her spirit. After eight long years of surgeries and incomplete recovery, in spite of moral support from her twin, Jennie took her own life in 1941. Rosie decided their story needed to be told, and/or perhaps needed the money as her income had dried up, so she sold the rights of the Dolly Sisters saga to 20th Century Fox.
As was common in that time, Fox screenwriters took the truth and suppressed what they didn't like (including Jennie's suicide) and made up things they did like. This included making them twins separated at birth by two years, and showing the well-known brunettes as blondes instead. To make even more entertaining fiction out of apparently superfluous fact, the writers totally ignored the first two marriages of Rosie, including her most substantial one to Jean Schwartz, focusing more on Jennie and her relationship with Harry Fox. Then they made Harry the songwriter, not the stage comedian he had actually been. They even had Jennie fully recover from the devastating accident, which was just as about much whitewashing as they did with Cole Porter in his biopic, ignoring his penchant for men.
After the film was released in 1945, both Harry Fox and Jean Schwartz filed suits against Fox and Rosie. Harry claimed his reputation had been damaged by being portrayed as a "lowly songwriter," a punch in the gut to Jean. Schwartz claimed mental damages because the husband of Jenny in the film was actually based on him. They all went to court for five weeks in a well-covered trial, due to the number of star entertainers and movie executives that were called to testify. In the end, the suit was dismissed. Twentieth Century Fox head producer Darryl F. Zanuck made it clear at the trial that the purpose of the film was to "give the public the glamorous magic" of the lives of the Dolly Sisters, not to present a true biography. This was also evidenced in other films of the time about George Gershwin and Al Jolson, so certainly in line with their philosophy. Even Jean's sometimes friend and stage entertainer George Jessel concurred that such a presentation does justice to the legend, and the unpleasant fact detract from the magic of their lives.
After the trial was over, the Los Angeles Times reported that Schwartz may have lost his suit, but did not miss "on the incidental spotlighting by any means." A proposal for a biopic on him was being shopped around to the studios. The screen play by Jack Scholl was titled The King of Tin Pan Alley. However, it simply did not garner enough interest during a fickle period in Hollywood in which nostalgia was prevalent, but authenticity was less so, and the movie was never made. By 1950, however, his song Chinatown, My Chinatown had already been included in an unprecedented 23 films at the very least, putting it in a unique category with relatively few other entries, including At a Georgia Campmeeting.
Schwartz spent the final years of his life in relative seclusion in the San Fernando Valley, living a simple life on Rand Court in Sherman Oaks with his wife Sally. He died just after his 78th birthday, survived by Sally and his sister Rosa, who was still living in New York. On the day of his funeral, taking a sad situation and compounding it, the Schwartz home was robbed and $3,700 of Sally's jewelry was stolen. The publicity around the ill-timed theft had an effect on the burglar's conscience, and ten days later the stolen goods were all returned in the mail along with a newspaper clipping about the incident. Jean Schwartz left behind a magnificent legacy of music and memories, having not only contributed to New York ragtime, but to the essence of the progression of Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s.