Sam Coslow
Sam Coslow (December 27, 1902 – April 2, 1982) was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher and market analyst. Coslow was born in New York City. He began writing songs as a teenager. He contributed songs to Broadway revues, formed the music publishing company Spier and Coslow with Larry Spier and made a number of recordings as a performer. With the explosion of film musicals in the late 1920s, Hollywood attracted a number of ambitious young songwriters, and Coslow joined them in 1929. Coslow and his partner Larry Spier sold their publishing business to Paramount Pictures and Coslow became a Paramount songwriter. One of his first assignments for the studio was the score for the 1930 film The Virtuous Sin. He formed a successful partnership with composer Arthur Johnston and together they provided the scores for a number of films including Bing Crosby vehicles. Coslow became a film producer in the 1940s and won the Academy Award for Best Short Film for his production Heavenly Music in 1943. He was married to actress Esther Muir from 1934 to 1948, and they had a daughter, Jacqueline Coslow, who also worked as an actress. In 1953 he married cabaret singer, Frances King, of Cafe Societie duo Noble & King. Sam and Frances remained married until his death in 1982. Together they had a daughter, Cara Coslow, who gained notoriety as Head of Casting for Carsey Werner Productions and the Producer of the television series Dante's Cove. Cara Coslow is also an author of two books. During the 1960s Coslow's work shifted from music and film to market analysis. During this time Coslow founded the publishing company Investor's Press, which published investing books and the newsletter "Indicator Digest." During the 1970s Coslow wrote two books, "Cocktails for Two" which focused on his musical career and "Super Yields" which focused on investing. He died in Bronxville in 1982, aged 79. |
Birth and Death Data: Born New York City (most populous city in the United States), Died April 2, 1982 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1033 - 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, composer, songwriter, tenor vocal, speaker
Notes: Sam Coslow credited in Victor ledgers as "The Broadway minstrel."
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 226-250 of 431 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | W142927 | 10-in. | 11/10/1926 | Hello! Swanee—hello! | Four Aristocrats | Male vocal quartet, with steel guitar, ukulele, and piano | lyricist | |
| Columbia | W142928 | 10-in. | 11/10/1926 | She's still my baby | Four Aristocrats | Male vocal quartet, with steel guitar, ukulele, and piano | lyricist | |
| Columbia | W142988 | 10-in. | 12/4/1926 | Hello! Swanee, hello! | Art Kahn Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | lyricist | |
| Columbia | 143138 | 10-in. | 11/22/1926 | Hello! Swanee, hello! | Night Club Orchestra ; Tom Stacks | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
| Columbia | W143709 | 10-in. | 3/25/1927 | (Does she love me?) Positively—absolutely | Aunt Jemima ; Mal Hallett Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 144005 | 10-in. | 4/7/1927 | (Does she love me?) Positively, absolutely | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Jack Wilson | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Columbia | W144043 | 10-in. | 4/25/1927 | One summer night | Frank Harris ; The Knickerbockers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
| Columbia | 144156 | 10-in. | 5/17/1927 | I adore you | Arthur Hall ; Royal Troubadours | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
| Columbia | 145594 | 10-in. | 1/30/1928 | Some day you'll know | Broadway Bellhops | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
| Columbia | 145595 | 10-in. | 1/30/1928 | I don't believe you | Broadway Bellhops | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Columbia | W145637 | 10-in. | 2/15/1928 | Was it a dream? | Mull Downey ; Jan Garber Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
| Columbia | 145730 | 10-in. | 3/5/1928 | Was it a dream? | Melody Waltz Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Columbia | W145817 | 10-in. | 3/20/1928 | Chloe | Sam Coslow ; Tracy-Brown's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
| Columbia | W145818 | 10-in. | 3/20/1928 | Sh-h! Here comes my sugar | Sam Coslow ; Tracy-Brown's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
| Columbia | W145820 | 10-in. | 3/20/1928 | Joline | Tracy-Brown's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
| Columbia | W145915 | 10-in. | 3/24/1928 | Was it a dream? | Ed Lowry | Male vocal solo, with violin, cello, and piano | composer | |
| Columbia | W146392 | 10-in. | 6/4/1928 | Was it a dream? | Seger Ellis | Male vocal solo, with instrumental quartet | composer | |
| Columbia | 146432 | 10-in. | 6/12/1928 | Was it a dream? | Frank Ferera's Hawaiian Trio ; Annette Hanshaw | Instrumental trio, with female vocal solo | composer | |
| Columbia | W146494 | 10-in. | 6/28/1928 | When Erastus plays his old kazoo | Garden Dancing Palace Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
| Columbia | W146510 | 10-in. | 7/9/1928 | Was it a dream? | Emil Velazco | Organ solo | composer | |
| Columbia | 146522 | 10-in. | 7/11/1928 | Heartbroken and lonely | The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] ; Irving Kaufman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
| Columbia | W146608 | 10-in. | 7/2/1928 | 'Cause I feel low-down | Leo Reisman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
| Columbia | W146609 | 10-in. | 7/2/1928 | I still belong to you | Leo Reisman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Columbia | W146974 | 10-in. | 9/10/1928 | My window of dreams | Emil Velazco | Pipe organ solo, with male vocal solo | vocalist, tenor vocal | |
| Columbia | W147041 | 10-in. | 10/4/1928 | Heartbroken and lonely | Ipana Troubadours ; Sam Lanin | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Coslow, Sam," accessed January 6, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104876.
Coslow, Sam. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104876.
"Coslow, Sam." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 6 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Sam Coslow
Discogs: Sam Coslow
Allmusic: Sam Coslow
Grove: Sam Coslow
IMDb: Sam Coslow
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Coslow, Sam, 1902-1982 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85085839
Wikidata: Sam Coslow - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7407350
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/86468770
MusicBrainz: Sam Coslow - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/be84697f-d834-4ed7-9a00-16a129f6d1e3
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/164443 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/164443
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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