Melville Gideon

Melville J. Gideon (May 21, 1884 – November 11, 1933) was an American composer, lyricist and performer of ragtime music, composing many themes for hit Broadway musicals including The Co-Optimists and The Beauty Spot. He was also a director, producer and performer. He was born in New York City, and died in London, aged 49.

Among the songs he composed were "Arizona" (1916, lyrics by James Heard), "Washington Square" (1920, lyrics by Cole Porter and Ray E. Goetz), "I Never Realized" (1921, lyrics by Porter) and "Crinoline Gown" (1924, lyrics by Clifford Seyler).

Birth and Death Data: Born New York City (most populous city in the United States), Died November 11, 1933 (London (capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1908 - 1934

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, tenor vocal, piano, songwriter, arranger

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

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 62 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-6598 10-in. 11/12/1908 Take plenty of shoes Billy Murray Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-6710 10-in. 1/11/1909 The Yankiana rag Billy Murray Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-6714 10-in. 1/12/1909 Oh, you kid Ada Jones ; Billy Murray Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-8073 10-in. 6/24/1909 The billiken man Blanche Ring Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-11012 10-in. 9/26/1911 Mammy's shufflin' dance American Quartet Male vocal quartet, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-23968 10-in. 4/23/1920 Det vet man aldrig Charles G. Widdén Male vocal solo, with orchestra songwriter  
Victor B-25000 10-in. 3/4/1921 Underneath Hawaiian skies Paul Whiteman Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BVE-40190 10-in. 10/19/1927 The hours I spent with you Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble vocalist, tenor vocal  
Victor BVE-40191 10-in. 10/19/1927 My heart stood still Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble vocalist, tenor vocal  
Victor BVE-41188 10-in. 12/20/1927 Here am I, broken-hearted Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble vocalist, tenor vocal  
Victor BVE-41189 10-in. 12/20/1927 Diane (I'm in heaven when I see you smile) Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble vocalist, tenor vocal  
Victor BVE-41527 10-in. 1/9/1928 Little boy blues Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, tenor vocal  
Victor BVE-41528 10-in. 1/9/1928 Persian rosebud Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, tenor vocal  
Columbia 3939 10-in. approximately 1908 Honor bright, I loves yer right, old pal Henry Burr Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 4002 10-in. between January and March 1909 Oh! that Yankiana rag Billy Murray Male vocal solo and female vocal chorus, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 38437 10-in. 11/22/1912 Mammy's shufflin' dance Collins and Harlan Male vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 80398 10-in. 6/13/1922 If winter comes Paul Biese’s Novelty Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 6891 12-in. approximately 1916 The loving to-to-lo Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, tenor vocal, composer  
Columbia 6892 12-in. approximately 1916 My honolulu girl Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, tenor vocal, composer  
Columbia 65522 10-in. approximately 1916 Firelight glow Melville Gideon ; Dorothy Shale vocalist, tenor vocal  
Columbia 65523 10-in. approximately 1916 Where the water melons grow Melville Gideon vocalist, tenor vocal  
Columbia 65525 10-in. approximately 1916 It's a lonesome melody Melville Gideon ; Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with piano and orchestra vocalist, tenor vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 65724 10-in. approximately 1916 Arizona Melville Gideon Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, tenor vocal, composer  
Columbia 74179 12-in. approximately 11/9/1920 It'll be all the same Leslie Henson ; Willie Redstone ; Winter Garden Theatre Orchestra Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 75912 12-in. approximately May 1917 Have you forgotten? Philip Braham ; Comedy Theatre Orchestra ; Jack Hulbert ; Phyllis Monkman Vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
(Results 1-25 of 62 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gideon, Melville," accessed January 5, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102823.

Gideon, Melville. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 5, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102823.

"Gideon, Melville." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 5 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102823

External Sources

Wikipedia: Melville Gideon

Discogs: Melville Gideon

RISM: Melville Gideon

IMDb: Melville Gideon

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Gideon, Melville - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80072527

Wikidata: Melville Gideon - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1919768

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/6232993

MusicBrainz: Melville Gideon - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5b528a68-f80e-427c-92f3-fd5971f32fe4

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

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