J. Fred Coots
John Frederick Coots (May 2, 1897 – April 8, 1985) was an American songwriter. He composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for the biggest hit of either man's career, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." The song became one of the biggest sellers in American history. In 1934, when Gillespie brought him the lyrics to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Coots came up with the outline of the melody in just ten minutes. Coots took the song to his publisher, Leo Feist, who liked it but thought it was "a kids' song" and didn't expect too much from it. Coots offered the song to Eddie Cantor who used it on his radio show that November and it became an instant hit. The morning after the radio show there were orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music and by Christmas sales had passed 400,000. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 2, 1897 (New York City), Died April 8, 1985 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1920 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, songwriter, tenor vocal, lyricist, piano
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 101-125 of 357 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-88776 | 10-in. | 3/6/1935 | Louisiana fairy tale | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-88779 | 10-in. | 3/6/1935 | Whose honey are you? | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-88780 | 10-in. | 3/6/1935 | Whose honey are you? | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | PBS-90320 | 10-in. | 7/22/1935 | Is it just a summer romance? | Lee Bennett ; Jan Garber Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-95030 | 10-in. | 9/14/1935 | It never dawned on me | George Hall ; Hotel Taft Orchestra ; Sonny Schuyler | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-95144 | 10-in. | 9/26/1935 | Santa Claus is comin' to town | Tommy Dorsey Orchestra ; Cliff Weston ; Edythe Wright | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet | composer | |
Victor | BS-95329 | 10-in. | 10/3/1935 | It never dawned on me | Enric Madriguera Orchestra ; Tony Sacco | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-95531 | 10-in. | 10/19/1935 | Santa Claus is comin' to town | California Ramblers ; Eddie Lloyd | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-98154 | 10-in. | 11/26/1935 | A beautiful lady in blue | California Ramblers ; Ted Wallace | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-98362 | 10-in. | 12/9/1935 | A beautiful lady in blue | Al Bowlly ; Ray Noble Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-99222 | 10-in. | 2/19/1936 | A beautiful lady in blue | Smoky Mountain Fiddler Trio | Fiddle (violin), guitar, steel guitar, and male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-99323 | 10-in. | 2/24/1936 | My ball and chain | Bill Boyd ; Cowboy Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-99784 | 10-in. | 3/16/1936 | Una dama en azul | Marimba Pan-Americana | Marimba band | composer | |
Victor | BS-99900 | 10-in. | 3/19/1936 | Yours truly is truly yours | Al Bowlly ; Ray Noble Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-99918 | 10-in. | 3/25/1936 | You started me dreaming | Joe Dixon ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-100884 | 10-in. | 8/4/1936 | Until today | Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-101197 | 10-in. | 4/9/1936 | You started me dreaming | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-101379 | 10-in. | 4/22/1936 | Isn't love the strangest thing | Jerry Cooper ; Eddy Duchin Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-101380 | 10-in. | 4/22/1936 | I'll stand by | Jerry Cooper ; Eddy Duchin Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-101538 | 10-in. | 4/24/1936 | I'll stand by | Dolly Dawn and her Dawn Patrol | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-101562 | 10-in. | 5/5/1936 | Dream time | Carmen Lombardo ; Guy Lombardo ; Royal Canadians | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-101576 | 10-in. | 5/8/1936 | Isn't love the strangest thing? | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-101668 | 10-in. | 6/5/1936 | The more I know you (The more I love you) | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-101670 | 10-in. | 6/5/1936 | Why do I lie to myself about you? | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-102006 | 10-in. | 6/3/1936 | I'm grateful to you | Jack Butler ; Willie Bryant Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Coots, J. Fred," accessed October 16, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106489.
Coots, J. Fred. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 16, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106489.
"Coots, J. Fred." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 16 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: J. Fred Coots
Discogs: J. Fred Coots
Allmusic: J. Fred Coots
IMDb: J. Fred Coots
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Coots, J. Fred, 1897-1985 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n92014476
Wikidata: J. Fred Coots - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1284588
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/5196885
MusicBrainz: J. Fred Coots - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3bcb90e6-c8d9-463d-870a-3cc1e480a060
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