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 151-175 of 357 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-026856 | 10-in. | 9/12/1938 | I'm madly in love with you | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Merle Turner | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-026858 | 10-in. | 9/12/1938 | Miss Hallelujah Brown | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-031242 | 10-in. | 1/6/1939 | Let's stop the clock | Jeanne D'Arcy ; Johnny Messner ; Music Box Band | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-031882 | 10-in. | 2/2/1939 | Let's stop the clock | Stuart Allen ; Richard Himber Rhythmic Pyramids Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-043973 | 10-in. | 12/6/1939 | I beg your pardon | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-048676 | 10-in. | 4/9/1940 | Wait till I catch you in my dreams | Blue Barron ; Three Blue Notes | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | composer | |
Victor | BS-048718 | 10-in. | 4/4/1940 | Poor ballerina | Mitchell Ayres ; Fashions-in-Music ; Tommy Taylor | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-051510 | 10-in. | 6/17/1940 | I'll wait for you forever | Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-051551 | 10-in. | 6/24/1940 | You go to my head (Theme song of Mitchell Ayres) | Mitchell Ayres ; Fashions-in-Music | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-057015 | 10-in. | 10/21/1940 | I'm in a lovable mood tonight | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-057024 | 10-in. | 10/24/1940 | Wrap your dreams in the red, white and blue | Rose Blane ; Californians ; Abe Lyman | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal trio | composer | |
Victor | BS-057084 | 10-in. | 11/6/1940 | I'm gonna salt away some sugar (for my sugar and me) | Fats Waller and his Rhythm | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | PBS-061316 | 10-in. | 6/25/1941 | A beautiful lady in blue | Californians ; Abe Lyman ; Larry Stewart | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | PBS-061752 | 10-in. | 10/24/1941 | Santa Claus is comin' to town | Alvino Rey Orchestra ; Four King Sisters | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal quartet | composer | |
Victor | BS-068482 | 10-in. | 12/16/1941 | Good-bye, Mama (I'm off to Yokohama) | Dick Judge ; Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet and vocal ensemble | composer | |
Victor | BS-070656 | 10-in. | 1/5/1942 | Goodbye Mama (I'm off to Yokohama) | Art Jarrett Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble | composer | |
Victor | BS-071432 | 10-in. | 9/30/1941 | Under your window | Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | E0VB-3614 | 10-in. | 4/19/1950 | Me and my teddy bear | Roy Rogers | Male vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and string band | composer | |
Victor | E0VB-5503 | 10-in. | 8/21/1950 | Santa Claus is coming to town | Eddy Arnold | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer | |
Victor | D5VB-0591 | 10-in. | 8/30/1945 | I lost my job again | Kaydets ; Chubby Silvers ; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye ; Billy Williams [1913-2001] | Male vocal duet, with female vocal group and jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | D5VB-1062 | 10-in. | 6/9/1945 | You go to my head | Dorothy Allen ; Artie Shaw Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | PD6VB-2570 | 10-in. | 8/1/1946 | Santa Claus is comin' to town | Perry Como ; Russ Case Orchestra ; The Satisfiers | Male vocal solo, with vocal group and instrumental ensemble | composer | |
Victor | D6VB-3492 | 10-in. | 12/20/1946 | I can't believe it was all make-believe (last night) | Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | D7VB-0169 | 10-in. | 2/24/1947 | You go to my head | Leslie Scott | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | D7VB-0792 | 10-in. | 8/12/1947 | Arkansas | Ernie Lee ; Midwesterners (Ernie Lee) | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | 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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