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Jean Schwartz

Jean Schwartz (November 4, 1878 – November 30, 1956) was a Hungarian-born Jewish American composer and pianist. He is best known for his work writing the scores for more than 30 Broadway musicals, and for his creation of more than 1,000 popular songs with the lyricist William Jerome. Schwartz and Jerome also performed together on the vaudeville stage in the United States; sometimes in collaboration with Maude Nugent, Jerome's wife, and the Dolly Sisters. Schwartz was married to Jenny Dolly from 1913 to 1921.

With Jerome, Schwartz created a large body of work for both Broadway and Tin Pan Alley, with the majority of their songs written between the years 1901 and 1910. Many of their popular songs were interpolated into Broadway musicals created by others during the 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s. The pair were also the primary creators of eight Broadway musicals, the most successful of which were Piff! Paff!! Pouf!!! (1904) and The Ham Tree (1905). Their most enduring song, "Chinatown, My Chinatown", was written in 1906, interpolated into their final musical together, Up and Down Broadway (1910), and became a jazz standard when a series of recording artists, including Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson, made popular recordings of the work. Their collaborative output slowed significantly after 1910 and came to an end during World War I.

While Schwartz was mainly concerned with writing the music to his songs, he did on occasion work as a lyricist as well. He was a founding member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1914. Schwartz formed a prolific partnership with the lyricist and playwright Harold Atteridge with whom he created more than a dozen Broadway musicals. Many of these shows were also made with the composer Sigmund Romberg. The trio of Schwartz, Atteridge, and Romberg created five of The Passing Show musical revues together as well as the musicals Monte Cristo, Jr. (1919) and Innocent Eyes (1924). Schwartz also created several Broadway musicals in collaboration with the lyricist Alfred Bryan; sometimes in conjunction with Atteridge as musical book writer.

Schwartz collaborated with many other songwriters during his lengthy career. He wrote the 1918 popular standard "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" with Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. In 1930, he intentionally ended his career as a New York City based songwriter with the aptly named "Au Revoir Pleasant Dreams", a work which became the theme song for Ben Bernie and his orchestra. After this, he lived in retirement in Los Angeles and was mostly finished with music making. His final song of significance, the 1937 popular standard "Trust in Me", was written in collaboration with Milton Ager and Ned Wever. That song has been recorded by numerous artists, most recently by Beyonce for the 2008 film Cadillac Records. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Birth and Death Data: Born Budapest (capital and largest city of Hungary), Died November 30, 1956

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1901 - 1941

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, songwriter

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

Recordings (Results 276-300 of 376 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 46729 10-in. 4/21/1916 Are you prepared for the summer? Arthur Fields Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 77186 10-in. 7/5/1917 I'm all bound 'round with the Mason Dixon Line Irving Kaufman Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 77276 10-in. 8/18/1917 Mr. Jazz himself Prince's Band Band composer  
Columbia 77571 10-in. 12/13/1917 Wedding bells (will you ever ring for me?) Al Jolson Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 77572 10-in. 12/13/1917 I'm all bound 'round with the Mason Dixon line Al Jolson Male vocal solo and comic monologue, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 77720 10-in. 3/13/1918 Rock-a-bye your baby with a Dixie melody Al Jolson Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 77753 10-in. 4/3/1918 Hello Central, give me no man's land Al Jolson Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 77796 10-in. 4/29/1918 Why do they all take the night boat to Albany? Marconi Brothers Piano accordion trio composer  
Columbia 78000 10-in. 8/16/1918 Rock-a-bye your baby with a Dixie melody Wilbur Sweatman's Original Jazz Band Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 78043 10-in. 9/9/1918 On the level you're a little devil (but I'll soon make an angel out of you) Lewis James Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 78046 10-in. 9/10/1918 Tell that to the Marines Al Jolson Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 78088 10-in. 10/2/1918 Tell that to the Marines Peerless Quartet Male vocal quartet, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 78193 10-in. 12/6/1918 On the road to Calais Al Jolson Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 78404 10-in. 4/19/1919 Monte Cristo Jr. medley Joseph M. Knecht ; Waldorf-Astoria Dance Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 78446 10-in. 5/23/1919 I'm goin' to break that Mason-Dixon line Harry Fox Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 78583 10-in. 7/21/1919 I'm forever blowing bubbles Henry Burr ; Albert Campbell ; Columbia Saxophone Quartette Saxophone quartet, with male vocal duet composer  
Columbia 79887 10-in. 6/14/1921 When you're in, you're in, in Indiana Nora Bayes Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 80092 10-in. 12/7/1921 Why don't you smile Happy Six Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80331 10-in. 4/28/1922 Lovable eyes Columbians Dance Orchestra De Luxe Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80336 10-in. 5/5/1922 My Yiddisha mammy Irving Kaufman Male vocal solo, with orchestra songwriter  
Columbia 80590 10-in. 10/6/1922 Silver Swanee Eddie Elkins' Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80780 10-in. 1/10/1923 New Hampshire Columbians Dance Orchestra De Luxe Jazz/dance band, with xylophone composer  
Columbia 81190 10-in. 9/4/1923 If I can't get the sweetie I want California Ramblers Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 81193 10-in. 9/5/1923 If I can't get the sweetie I want Frank Crumit Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 81417 10-in. 12/13/1923 When you love Silver Slipper Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
(Results 276-300 of 376 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Schwartz, Jean," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106564.

Schwartz, Jean. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106564.

"Schwartz, Jean." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106564

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