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 126-150 of 357 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-104066 | 10-in. | 8/7/1936 | My day begins and ends with you | Dolly Dawn ; George Hall ; Hotel Taft Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-0340 | 10-in. | 9/9/1936 | Copper colored gal | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-0341 | 10-in. | 9/9/1936 | I'm at the mercy of love | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-0419 | 10-in. | 9/11/1936 | Copper colored gal | Dolly Dawn and her Dawn Patrol | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-0423 | 10-in. | 9/11/1936 | Alabama barbecue | Tempo King ; Kings of Tempo ; Queenie Ada Rubin | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and piano solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-0424 | 10-in. | 9/11/1936 | That's what you mean to me | Tempo King ; Kings of Tempo ; Queenie Ada Rubin | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and piano solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-0491 | 10-in. | 9/25/1936 | Who loves you? | Nick LaRocca ; Original Dixieland Jazz Band | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-0649 | 10-in. | 9/17/1936 | Who loves you? | George Hall ; Hotel Taft Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-02109 | 10-in. | 10/8/1936 | Doin' the Suzi-Q | Amanda Randolph Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-02171 | 10-in. | 10/18/1936 | Another perfect night is ending | Leonard W. Joy ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-010134 | 10-in. | 5/7/1937 | In your own little way | Charlie Barnet Orchestra ; Kathleen Lane | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-011835 | 10-in. | 8/2/1937 | Southland | Hod Williams Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-013348 | 10-in. | 9/7/1937 | I'm always in the mood for you | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-013349 | 10-in. | 9/7/1937 | She's tall, she's tan, she's terrific | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-013808 | 10-in. | 9/15/1937 | I'm always in the mood for you | Shep Fields ; Bobby Goday ; Rippling Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-013811 | 10-in. | 9/15/1937 | She's tall, she's tan, she's terrific | Shep Fields ; Bobby Goday ; Rippling Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-021025 | 10-in. | 2/24/1938 | You go to my head | Larry Clinton Orchestra ; Bea Wain | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-023489 | 10-in. | 6/10/1938 | Dream dust | Connecticut Yankees ; Rudy Vallée | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-023548 | 10-in. | 6/8/1938 | One more dream | Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye ; The Three Barons | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | composer | |
Victor | BS-023760 | 10-in. | 7/1/1938 | There's honey on the moon tonight | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | PBS-026074 | 10-in. | 9/1/1938 | Summer souvenirs | Phil Hanna ; Paul Martin's Soothing Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-026574 | 10-in. | 9/1/1938 | If I loved you more | Burt Shaw ; Willie Farmer Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-026645 | 10-in. | 8/25/1938 | You go to my head | Carlotta Dale ; Jan Savitt ; Top Hatters | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-026683 | 10-in. | 9/1/1938 | If I loved you more | Bob Allen ; Hal Kemp Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-026686 | 10-in. | 9/1/1938 | Summer souvenirs | Larry Clinton Orchestra ; Bea Wain | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer |
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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