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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 51-75 of 356 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-64610 10-in. 11/5/1930 I miss a little miss George Bias ; McKinney's Cotton Pickers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BVE-67849 10-in. 1/22/1931 She's a gorgeous thing! Doc Daugherty Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with vocal solo composer  
Victor PBVE-68398 10-in. 10/29/1932 Cannot tell you why Ray Hendricks ; Jimmie Grier Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor ABRC-69944 10-in. 6/16/1931 Moonlight sweetheart Carl Graub Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BRC-70184 10-in. 8/27/1931 Love letters in the sand Tom Brown ; Ted Black Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BRC-70188 10-in. 8/27/1931 Red-headed baby Gene Kardos Orchestra ; Dick Robertson Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BRC-70222 10-in. 9/9/1931 Love letters in the sand Gene Austin Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BVE-70638 10-in. 12/2/1931 She's so nice Parker Gibbs ; Ted Weems Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BRC-70904 10-in. 10/23/1931 A hot dog, a blanket and you Gene Kardos Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus composer  
Victor BRC-70921 10-in. 10/29/1931 I should have known better Dick Robertson ; Ted Black Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BRC-70948 10-in. 11/6/1931 Mary (I'm in love with you) High Hatters ; Frank Luther Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BRC-71911 10-in. 3/3/1932 Strangers Mildred Bailey Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BSHQ-71938 10-in. 3/10/1932 Strangers John Dickens ; Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BRC-72288 10-in. 4/14/1932 Gosh darn! Fran Frey ; George Olsen and his Music ; Ethel Shutta Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet composer  
Victor BVE-72686 10-in. 7/6/1932 There's oceans of love by the beautiful sea Alex Bartha ; Hotel Traymore Orchestra ; Carl White Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal chorus songwriter  
Victor BSHQ-73006 10-in. 6/14/1932 There's oceans of love by the beautiful sea Carl Snyder Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BSHQ-73189 10-in. 8/10/1932 Here's hoping Jack Fulton ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra Jazz/dance band (take 3); with male vocal solo (takes 1 and 2) composer  
Victor BS-73845 10-in. 10/20/1932 Ah, but I've learned George Olsen and his Music ; Ethel Shutta Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo composer  
Victor LBS-73846 10-in. (33-1/3 rpm) 10/20/1932 Ah, but I've learned George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-73852 10-in. 10/21/1932 I wouldn't trade the silver in my mother's hair (For all the gold in the world) Luther-Stokes Trio Mixed vocal trio, with instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Victor BS-73862 10-in. 10/25/1932 You'll get by (With the twinkle in your eye) Pennsylvanians ; Fred Waring Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio composer  
Victor LBS-73863 10-in. (33-1/3 rpm) 10/25/1932 You'll get by (With the twinkle in your eye) Pennsylvanians ; Fred Waring Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor LBS-73942 10-in. (33-1/3 rpm) 11/10/1932 Dance selections Pennsylvanians ; Fred Waring Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solos and chorus composer  
Victor BS-73990 10-in. 11/23/1932 Ah, but I've learned Sid Peltyn and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-75242 10-in. 2/16/1933 The sidewalk waltz Don Hall Trio Mixed vocal trio, with piano composer  
(Results 51-75 of 356 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Coots, J. Fred," accessed April 18, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106489.

Coots, J. Fred. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 18, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106489.

"Coots, J. Fred." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 18 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106489

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

FAST: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/299065

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