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 251-275 of 356 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OKeh | S-7610 | 10-in. | Oct. 1920 | Sweet Cuban love | Harry Raderman's Jazz Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| OKeh | S-7670 | 10-in. | Nov. 1920 | Just another kiss | Okeh Marimba Band | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| OKeh | S-70255 | 10-in. | October 1921 | Hawaiian eyes | Ferera and Franchini | Guitar duet (Hawaiian) | composer | |
| OKeh | S-70357 | 10-in. | Dec. 1921 | My Hawaiian melody | Virginia Burt ; Frank Ferera ; Anthony J. Franchini | Guitar duet (Hawaiian), with Hawaiian guitar vocal effect | composer | |
| OKeh | S-70369 | 10-in. | Dec. 1921 | My Hawaiian melody | Virginia Burt ; Lewis James ; Elliott Shaw | Male vocal duet, with orchestra and Hawaiian guitar vocal effect | songwriter | |
| OKeh | S-70884 | 10-in. | Oct. 1922 | Time will tell | Markel's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| OKeh | S-72414 | 10-in. | Mar. 1924 | Innocent eyes | Lanin's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| OKeh | 73514 | 10-in. | July 1925 | The promenade walk | Tickle Toe Ten | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| OKeh | W401169 | 10-in. | 9/29/1928 | 'Round evening | Dorsey Brothers Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
| OKeh | W401248 | 10-in. | 10/18/1928 | Doin' the raccoon | Billy Hays' Cathay Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
| OKeh | W401412 | 10-in. | 11/28/1928 | A love tale of Alsace Lorraine | Smith Ballew | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
| OKeh | W401580 | 10-in. | 2/1/1929 | A precious little thing called love | Smith Ballew ; Detroiters ; Milt Shaw | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
| OKeh | W401656 | 10-in. | 2/25/1929 | A precious little thing called love | Noel Taylor | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
| OKeh | W401813 | 10-in. | 4/18/1929 | Just another kiss | Smith Ballew Orchestra | Jazz/dance band with male vocal solo | composer | |
| OKeh | W402257 | 10-in. | 1/24/1929 | A love tale of Alsace Lorraine | Gus Arnheim ; Cocoanut Grove Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| OKeh | W404469 | 10-in. | 10/10/1930 | I'm proud of you | Lanin’s Famous Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
| OKeh | W404584 | 10-in. | 12/20/1930 | I miss a little miss | Seger Ellis | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Brunswick | 6968-6969 | 10-in. | approximately Dec. 1921 | My Hawaiian melody | Irene Audrey ; Emily Earle | Female vocal duet, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Brunswick | E27471 | 10-in. | 5/4/1928 | My little dream boat | Eddy Thomas | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
| Brunswick | E27490 | 10-in. | 5/7/1928 | It was the dawn of love | Herbert Gordon’s Adelphia Hotel Whispering Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | composer | |
| Brunswick | E28092 | 10-in. | 8/15/1928 | Moonlight madness (Then you were gone) | Scrappy Lambert | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Brunswick | E28148 | 10-in. | 8/24/1928 | Moonlight madness | Harry Richman | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
| Brunswick | E28154 | 10-in. | 8/27/1928 | Moonlight madness (Then you were gone) | Arrowhead Inn Orchestra ; Francis Luther | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) | composer, lyricist | |
| Brunswick | E28248 | 10-in. | 9/17/1928 | Moonlight madness (Then you were gone) | Harold Lambert | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Brunswick | E28600 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | Round evening | Kenn Sisson Orchestra ; Eddy Thomas | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Coots, J. Fred," accessed May 1, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106489.
Coots, J. Fred. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106489.
"Coots, J. Fred." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 May 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
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.