[ George Frederick Root ]
b. Aug. 30, 1820, Sheffield, MA, USA, d. Aug. 6, 1895, Bailey Island, Maine, USA.
aka: G. Friedrich Wurzel (used for his Minstrel Songs)
George was born into a family that had two brothers, Ebenezer Towner Root and William A. Root; and five sisters, includng e Francis A. Root , who played and taught piano, sang and gave vocal instruction. The youngest sister was Fannie Root. George's father died in 1866 and his mother (1796-1881) died at age of 85. In 1845, George married Mary Olive Woodman, and the marriage produced two sons, Frederick Woodman Root and Charles Root, and four daughters: Clara Louise [Root] Burnham (who later would collaborate on several cantatas with her father); Arabella M. Root (Madame De L'Armitage); May (a mezzo-soprano) and Nellie (a contralto).

Root was trained by George J. Webb, in Boston. In 1845, Root took up residence in New York City, where he played organ at the Church of the Strangers, and taught music at the Abbott Institute for Young Ladies. In 1850, at age 30, he toured Europe for one year. Upon returning, be began to assist Lowell Mason, at Boston's Academy of Music. Later, he was instrumental in founding the New York Normal Institute, training music instructors.

In 1851, he began writing music, and the lyrics too. He often used the pseudonym of Wurzel, a German word meaning 'Root'.

1853 "The Hazel Dell". His first successful song.
1855 "Rosalie, The Prairie Flower" Root offered the song to his publisher for $100.00 outright. They felt that sales would be limited, so they offered him a royalty plan instead. As a result, Root earned several thousands of dollars on the song.

Other songs, written at this time.
  "Free As A Bird", lyric by Mary S. B. Dana
  "There's Music in the Air", lyric Frances Jane Crosby
  "The Shining Shore", written to verses by Rev. David Nelson

In 1858, his older brother had formed a partnership, Root and Cady, in Chicago, to publish songs. In 1859, George joined him. At the start of the Civil War, George Root began writing war songs.
  1863 "The First Gun Is Fired", was a dismay failure.
  1864 "The Battle Cry of Freedom", this was a huge success. It is still used to this day, as
  a symbol of the Civil War, in plays, films, etc. (See NOTE below)

Root wrote many more war songs, including:
  "Just Before The Battle, Mother", the sequel to this song was:
  "Just After The Battle"
  "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp", the sequel to this song was:
  "On, On, On The Boys Came Marching"
  "The Vacant Chair"

Root continued to work for his brother's firm, Root and Cady, after the war. In 1872, the University of Chicago awarded him the honorary degress of Doctor of Music.

George Root died in 1895, 75 years of age.

   [ Billy Rose ]
b. Sept. 6, 1899, New York, NY, USA, d. Feb. 10, 1966, Jamaica, West Indies
Overview
Besides being a successful lyricist, Billy Rose's career included being a night-club owner, a Broadway producer, and theater owner. During the 1920's, he was most active as a songwriter, parlaying his first $5.00 advance into a $5-million dollar fortune. Tending to surliness, pint-sized and physically unattractive, composer Richard Rodgers characterized him as a man "who never parted with a dime if he didn't have to." One of his marriages was to superstar comedienne Fanny Brice, another was to actress Celeste Holm.

Born on New York's lower East Side, Billy attended Public School 44, where he was the 50 yard Dash champion. While in High School, he studied Shorthand notation under the inventor of the Gregg System. He became the World Champion of Gregg notation taking over 200 words per minute, - writing forwards or backwards with each hand. During World War 1, he worked as a stenographer for the War Industries Board, and became head of the clerical staff.

Hearing of the large royalties, he determined to become a songwriter. While living in a $5-a-week room and eating doughnuts and coffee to satisfiy his hunger, he spent over five months in the New York Public Library analyzing hit songs. This resulted in a job as lyricist with Leo Feist Inc., music publishers, and his first tune, a 1920's novelty, "You Tell Her, I Stutter" (Cliff Friend music), - a big hit for Ernie Jones and Billy Hare, 'The Happiness Boys', both in their vaudeville act and on records.

In 1924, he opened a speakeasy in a second story loft, over a garage. Called the 'Back Stage Club', it had Joe Frisco as MC and Helen Morgan singing while perched on a piano so the crowd could see this diminutive star. He then began to concentrate more and more on the business side of entertainment. He had a club on New York's Fifth Avenue. In 1933, he opened the 'Casino de Paree'. Then he opened his most famous nightclub, the 'Diamond Horseshoe'. In 1935, he produced the show 'Jumbo' at New York's Hippodrome Theater, the last spectacle shown before the theater was destroyed (and replaced by a parking garage). He then became a promoter of colossal outdoor exhibitions such as (1936-7) Fort Worth Frontier Days; (1938) the Great Lakes Expositon at Cleveland; and the (1939) New York World's Fair Aquacade.

Some of his most famous lyrics include:
1920    "You Tell Her, I Stutter", Cliff Friend music
1923    "Barney Google", with Con Conrad melody
   "That Old Gang of Mine"
   "You've Got to See Mama Every Night", a Sophie Tucker hit.
1924    "Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?", with lyric by Rose and Marty Blookm, and music by Ernest Breuer.
1925    "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You", (557 kb). Sung here by Jack Buchanan and Gertrude Lawrence, as they sang it in the show. "The Charlot Revue," which played New York City's Selwyn Theater until March of 1926. (Another version is available on the Roger Wolf Kahn entry in our American Bands Database section.) The lyric was suppled by Billy Rose and Al Dubin.
   "Don't Bring Lulu"
   "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie"
1926    "Tonight You Belong to Me"
   "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder"
1927    "Me and My Shadow"
1928    "Back in Your Own Backyard"
1929    "Great Day"
    "More Than You Know"
    "Without a Song,"
    "Cooking Breakfast For The One I Love", written with Henry Tobias for the picture 'Be Yourself' starring Fanny Brice
1930    "Cheerful Little Earful"
    "Would You Like to Take a Walk?"
    "It Happened in Monterey,"
    "When A Woman Loves A Man", collab. with Ralph Rainger
1931    "I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store)"
1933    "It's Only a Paper Moon"
1934    "Have a Little Dream On Me", collab. with John Murray and Phillip Baxter.

Rose is a member of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.