Background
Charles Harris was born on May 1, 1867, in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States, the son of Jacob and Rachel Harris. When he was about a year old his parents moved to Saginaw, Michigan.
(Excerpt from How to Write a Popular Song Choice of good ...)
Excerpt from How to Write a Popular Song Choice of good singable words in the writing of lyrics is also vital. Words with harsh consonants, many syllabled words, words or phrases that do not seem to speak or sing smoothly, should be studiously discarded. Tell your tale tersely, make it as strong as possible, and let it almost sing itself as you recite it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from After the Ball: Forty Years of Melody; An Au...)
Excerpt from After the Ball: Forty Years of Melody; An Autobiography At that time it seemed to me that no nobler profession existed than that of a banjo player. I dare say there are few of us who during our fanciful childhood failed to cherish some longing for what we wanted to do when we reached manhood. Chil dren, when asked about their ambitions for the fu ture, have often expressed a desire of becoming policemen, firemen, locomotive engineers, and even President of this country; I, being less celestial in my childhood, adopted the career of a banjo player. What distinguished me from the other children is that years afterward, as will presently be shown, I actually realized my ambition by rising to the lofty heights of a banjo player, whereas most children on attaining their majority have given up their youthful ambitions. In those days there were no music stores in Sagi naw and consequently no banjos could be purchased there. I conceived the idea of making one out of a flat tin oyster can and part of an Old broom handle. I unwound the wire which held the broom together and, making some wooden keys, strung it up. In a rather crude way, I was soon strumming a tune. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(I'm wearing my Heart away for you. Song. Words and music ...)
I'm wearing my Heart away for you. Song. Words and music by C. K. Harris. Arranged by Jos. Clauder unknown_binding Harris, Charles Kassell Jan 01, 1902 ...
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Excerpt from The Barker Freda takes a great fancy to the Professor, while the old Professor simply idolizes her, never dreaming that it is his own daughter, and so fate has brought them all together under the same tent. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Charles Harris was born on May 1, 1867, in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States, the son of Jacob and Rachel Harris. When he was about a year old his parents moved to Saginaw, Michigan.
Charles attended school in East Saginaw, and after school hours, perched on a fence between his father’s tailor shop and the town hotel, he would watch variety entertainers rehearse their acts.
When Charles was fourteen his family moved to Milwaukee. Two years later a disappointment in love inspired his first song, “Can Hearts So Soon Forget, ” which remained in manuscript until he himself published it, years later. During the following years he wrote a number of songs of the ballad type. He was not a trained musician, but he was apt at inventing melodies, and while he picked out his tunes by ear at the piano, a friend transcribed them and provided an accompaniment.
One of the most outstanding songs written by Harris was “Break the News to Mother” (1897), supposed to have been suggested by a line in the play, Secret Sendee. It languished for a time and then the Spanish-American War gave it a sudden vogue. Two schoolboy songs, “Always in the Way” (1903), and “Kiss and Let’s Make Up” (1891), were also widely sung; and his “Hello, Central, Give me Heaven” (1901), sung in vaudeville by Charles Horwitz, was the first of a long line of telephone songs. Among the others which won more than momentary popularity were “Mid the Green Fields of Virginia, ” “I’ve a Longing in my Heart, Louise, ” “The Old Homestead, ” and “Only a Tangle of Golden Curls. ”
Harris remained a firm believer in the sentimental popular ballad and claimed that the jazz song was merely a passing fad. In his later years, however, he himself wrote no songs that caught the popular fancy as had his earlier works.
Harris established publishing houses in Chicago and New York. In 1903 he moved to the latter city and spent the rest of his life there. As a publisher, aside from putting out his own songs, he will claim remembrance for having brought out Edgar Smith's and A. Baldwin Sloane’s “Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl’’ (1909), sung by Marie Dressier in Tillie’s Nightmare. He wrote several scenarios, one of which was based on “After the Ball. ” His autobiography, After the Ball - Forty Years of Melody (1926), vividly reflects his sincere, naive pride in the achievements which permanently identified his name with American popular song writing. Harris died at his home in New York after a brief illness.
(Excerpt from The Barker Freda takes a great fancy to the...)
(Excerpt from After the Ball: Forty Years of Melody; An Au...)
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(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
(I'm wearing my Heart away for you. Song. Words and music ...)
On November 15, 1893, Harris married Cora (Lehrberg) Harris, of Owensboro, Kentucky.