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 176-200 of 357 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | D7VB-2191 | 10-in. | 12/13/1947 | I still get a thrill | Harry Zimmerman Orchestra ; Betty Jane Rhodes | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer | |
Victor | D7VB-2714 | 10-in. | 12/19/1947 | Encore, cherie | Garry Stevens ; Tex Beneke Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | D8VB-4083 | 10-in. | 12/20/1948 | I wouldn't trade the silver in my mother's hair (for all the gold in the world) | Eddy Arnold | String band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | VA-MVE-3091-1 | 16-in. | 2/11/1929 | Why be good? | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with male vocal quartet | composer | |
Victor | BVE-Test-131 | 10-in. | 9/10/1928 | Doing the raccoon | J. Fred Coots | Male vocal solo, with piano (self-accompaniment) | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, tenor vocal | |
Columbia | 80058 | 10-in. | 11/9/1921 | My Hawaiian melody | Ferera and Franchini | Steel guitar duet (Hawaiian) | composer | |
Columbia | 80541 | 10-in. | 9/14/1922 | Time will tell | Black and White Melody Boys ; Ray Miller | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | 80600 | 10-in. | 10/11/1922 | Time will tell | Happy Six | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | 81335 | 10-in. | 11/8/1923 | Home town blues | Georgians | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Columbia | W140768 | 10-in. | 7/15/1925 | Remembering you | Alexander Gray | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | W140869 | 10-in. | 8/27/1925 | The promenade walk | Sam Lanin Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | 141943 | 10-in. | 4/9/1926 | Florida low down | Original Indiana Five | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Columbia | W142069 | 10-in. | 4/21/1926 | That Florida low down | Francis Craig Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Columbia | W146626 | 10-in. | 7/5/1928 | Moonlight madness (Then you were gone) | Pete Woolery | Male vocal solo, with instrumental quartet | composer | |
Columbia | 146640 | 10-in. | 7/13/1928 | It was the dawn of love | Astorites ; Tom Frawley | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Columbia | W146733 | 10-in. | 7/17/1928 | Moonlight madness | Ted Lewis and his Band | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | W146742 | 10-in. | 7/18/1928 | My little dream boat | Ted Lewis and his Band | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | 146806 | 10-in. | 7/26/1928 | Moonlight madness (Then you were gone) | Jim Andrews ; Arthur Ross and his Westerners | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | 146869 | 10-in. | 8/21/1928 | 'Round evening | Barney Trimble and his Oklahomans [California Ramblers] ; Robert Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | W146914 | 10-in. | 8/28/1928 | 'Round evening | Jan Garber Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | W147044 | 10-in. | 10/8/1928 | Doin' the raccoon | The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | [W]147118 | 10-in. | 10/10/1928 | Doin' the raccoon | Connecticut Yankees ; Rudy Vallée | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | 147475 | 10-in. | 11/21/1928 | A love tale of Alsace-Lorraine | Bar Harbor Society Orchestra [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Tommy Weir | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | W147705 | 10-in. | 12/17/1928 | A love tale of Alsace Lorraine | Leo Reisman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | 147723 | 10-in. | 12/20/1928 | A precious little thing called love | Tom Frawley ; Lou Gold Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male 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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