George A. Norton

George Addison Norton (April 18, 1880 – November 18, 1923), usually credited as George A. Norton, was an American lyricist and composer of popular songs.

Sheet music cover for "The Passion Flower" by Norton and Casey (shown bottom left), 1901

Biography

He was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His earliest credits came in 1899, with "In the Shenandoah Valley" and "Sing Me a Song of the South", both written with composer James W. Casey (1875–1964).[1][2] The latter song reputedly sold over one million copies as sheet music.[3] In 1903, Norton's song "Mary from Maryland" was used in a Broadway show, The Girl from Dixie.[4] He found employment with Theron C. Bennett, a music publisher with offices in New York, Memphis, and Denver, and in 1912, at Bennett's request, he rewrote the lyrics to W. C. Handy's "The Memphis Blues", described as "the first commercial blues ever published".[5]

The same year, Norton rewrote the lyrics to another song, "Melancholy", which had been written by a married couple, Maybelle and Ernie Burnett, before they divorced. Retitled "My Melancholy Baby", the revised song was introduced by William Frawley in Denver and was later recorded successfully by Al Bowlly, Bing Crosby and many others.[6][7] Norton also wrote "I'm Goin' Back to Memphis, Tennessee", recorded by Collins & Harlan.[8] In 1917, he was credited with writing both words and music for "Round her Neck She Wears A Yeller Ribbon (For Her Lover Who is Fur Fur Away)",[9] one of the inspirations for the 1973 song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree".[10]

Norton died from tuberculosis in Tucson, Arizona, in 1923, aged 43.[11]

References
  1. "Sing me a song of the South", New York Public Library. Retrieved 26 April 2019
  2. Complete Catalogue of Music published by M. Witmark & Sons. Retrieved 26 April 2019
  3. "James Casey, Composer, Realtor Dies", Star News, Pasadena, July 2, 1964, p.17, at Findagrave.com. Retrieved 26 April 2019
  4. "The Girl from Dixie", Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 26 April 2019
  5. Philip Furia, Laurie Patterson, The American Song Book, Oxford University Press, 2016, p.102
  6. Furia, Patterson, op.cit., p.88
  7. Don Tyler, Hit Songs, 1900–1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era, McFarland, 2007, pp.157-158
  8. "I'm goin' back to Memphis, Tennessee", Library of Congress National Jukebox. Retrieved 26 April 2019
  9. "154.099 - Round her Neck She Wears A Yeller Ribbon (For Her Lover Who is Fur Fur Away). - Levy Music Collection". Levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  10. Pete Hamill. "Going Home" (PDF). Christsbondservants.org. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  11. George A. Norton death certificate, Arizona Department of Health Services. Arizona Death Records., Ancestry.com. Retrieved 26 April 2019


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