Johnny Marks

John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (a hit for Gene Autry and others), "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (a hit for Brenda Lee), "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (recorded by the Quinto Sisters and later by Burl Ives), "Silver and Gold" (for Burl Ives), and "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" (introduced by Bing Crosby). He is also credited with writing "Run Rudolph Run" (recorded by Chuck Berry) but this is due to his trademark of the Rudolph character, rather than any input in the writing of the song.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 10, 1909 (Mount Vernon), Died September 3, 1985 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: songwriter, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-101383 10-in. 4/22/1936 Summer holiday Eddy Duchin Orchestra ; Lew Sherwood Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-102375 10-in. 7/1/1936 Summer holiday Wingy Manone Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor PBS-09885 10-in. 12/16/1937 Neglected Fats Waller and his Rhythm Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-018150 10-in. 1/13/1938 Neglected Palmer Brothers ; Larry Wynn Male vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Victor BS-024075 10-in. 7/22/1938 Don't cross your fingers, cross your heart Jimmy Brown ; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-024456 10-in. 8/5/1938 Don't cross your fingers, cross your heart Johnny Messner ; Music Box Band ; Three Jacks Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio songwriter  
Victor BS-037685 10-in. 6/26/1939 Address unknown Red Nichols Orchestra ; Marion Redding Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-067887 10-in. 9/19/1941 Who calls? Alvino Rey Orchestra ; Bill Schallen Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-067929 10-in. 9/25/1941 Who calls? Allan DeWitt ; Jan Savitt ; Top Hatters Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-068312 10-in. 11/14/1941 Who calls? Barry Wood Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-071798 10-in. 2/10/1942 She'll always remember Dinah Shore Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band songwriter  
Victor BS-071849 10-in. 2/13/1942 She'll always remember Carl Denny ; Hal McIntyre Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-071862 10-in. 2/18/1942 She'll always remember Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and mixed vocal ensemble songwriter  
Victor BS-073459 10-in. 3/19/1942 She'll always remember Earl Hines Orchestra ; Madeline Green ; Three Varieties Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and male vocal trio songwriter  
Victor E0VB-4637 10-in. 5/19/1950 Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer Wilf Carter Male vocal solo, with string band composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Marks, Johnny," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107948.

Marks, Johnny. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107948.

"Marks, Johnny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107948

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