J. Fred Helf
Encyclopedia
J. Fred Helf was an American composer
and sheet music
publisher during the early 20th century.
Helf was born in Maysville
, Kentucky
. He went to seek his fortune in New York City
at the age of 31. There he composed over 100 songs, some in collaboration with Will A. Heelan
.
In October 1910 his music publishing company, J. Fred Helf Music, filed for bankruptcy with Elihu Root, Jr.
acting as receiver. All the company's property and assets were sold at auction on March 12, 1913 in New York.
He retired from the music business five months before he died due to an illness. He died in Liberty
, New York
at the age of 45 leaving a widow and a daughter.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
publisher during the early 20th century.
Helf was born in Maysville
Maysville, Kentucky
Maysville is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,993 at the 2000 census, making it the fiftieth largest city in Kentucky by population. Maysville is on the Ohio River, northeast of Lexington. It is the principal city of the Maysville...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. He went to seek his fortune in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the age of 31. There he composed over 100 songs, some in collaboration with Will A. Heelan
Will A. Heelan
Will A. Heelan was an American lyricist during the early 20th century. He collaborated with a number of composers and lyricists including E. P. Moran, Seymour Furth, J...
.
In October 1910 his music publishing company, J. Fred Helf Music, filed for bankruptcy with Elihu Root, Jr.
Elihu Root
Elihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman and the 1912 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the prototype of the 20th century "wise man", who shuttled between high-level government positions in Washington, D.C...
acting as receiver. All the company's property and assets were sold at auction on March 12, 1913 in New York.
He retired from the music business five months before he died due to an illness. He died in Liberty
Liberty (town), New York
Liberty is a town in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 9,632 at the 2000 census.The Town of Liberty contains a village of Liberty. The village is bisected by state route 52 and 55, and is crossed by New York State Route 17....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at the age of 45 leaving a widow and a daughter.
Credits
His credits as composer or co-composer include- 1898: "Please Mr. Conductor Don't Put Me Off the Train"; "Tillie Tootie The Coney IslandConey IslandConey Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
Beauty"; "We All Grow Old in Time" - 1899: "I ain't got no happy home to leave"; "A Picture No Artist Can Paint"; "Only a Hard Boiled Egg From Home"
- 1900: "Absent But Not Forgotten"; "Every Race Has a Flag but the CoonEvery Race Has a Flag but the Coon"Every Race Has a Flag but the Coon" was a 1900 coon song written by Will A. Heelan and J. Fred Helf that was popular in the U.S. and Britain. The song followed the previous success of "All Coons Look Alike to Me", written in 1896 by Ernest Hogan. H.L. Mencken cites it as being one of the three...
" [ which resulted in the creation of the Red, black and green flag by the UNIAUniversal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities LeagueThe Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey. The organization enjoyed its greatest strength in the 1990s, prior to Garvey's deportation from the United States of America, after which its...
]; "The Fatal Rose of Red"; "I Ain't Got No Happy Home To Leave!"; "In the House of Too Much Trouble"; "There Are Two Sides To A Story"; "Tobie I Kind O' Likes You" - 1902: "If Money Talks, It Ain't On Speaking Terms With Me"; "I'll Be Your Rain-Beau"; My Mother Was a Northern Girl"
- 1903: "Ev'ry Man Is A Volunteer"; "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep"; "Since Sally Left Our Alley"
- 1904: "The Battle of the Daisies & the Ferns"; "A Bit O'Blarney"; "Stingy"; "When the Coons have a Dreamland of Their Own"
- 1905: "Everybody Works But FatherEverybody Works but Father"Everybody Works but Father" is a popular song published in 1905, with words and music by Jean Havez. It is sung from the point of view of the son, lamenting that he, his sister and his mother all work, while his father lounges all day: "Everybody works at our house but my old man."The song was...
"; "I'll Be Waiting in the Gloaming, Sweet Genevieve"; "Someone Thinks of Someone"; "The Waltz Must Change to a March Marie" - 1906: "Ain't You Coming Back to Old New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, Molly?"; "The Bee That Gets The Honey Doesn't Hang Around The Hive"; "Captain Baby Bunting Of The Rocking Horse Brigade"; "Colleen Bawn"; "Here's To Our Absent Brothers"; "When the Whip-poor-willWhip-poor-willThe Eastern Whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus, is a medium-sized nightjar from North and Central America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less often seen because of its superior camouflage...
sings Marguerite"; "When You Know You're Not Forgotten by the Girl You Can't Forget" - 1907: "I'm Tying the Leaves So They Won't Come Down"; "Neath The Old Acorn Tree, Sweet Estelle"; "Somebody's Always Willin' To Do Somethin' For Somebody"; "Tipperary"; "When it's Moonlight Mary Darling 'neath the old Grape Arbor Shade"; "When Summer Tells Autumn Good-Bye"; "When The Bluebirds Nest Again Sweet Nellie Gray"; "When the Sheep are in the Fold, Jennie Dear"; "When The Springtime Brings The Roses, Jessie Dear"; "Won't You Come Over To Chilly Willie?"
- 1908: "The Booker T'sBooker T. WashingtonBooker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
are on parade to-day"; "Daddy's Little Tom Boy Girl"; "Feed The Kitty"; "Make A Noise Like A Hoop And Roll Away"; "Mister Dinkelspiel"; "When Darling Bess First Whispered Yes"; "When We Listened to The Chiming of The Old Church Bell" - 1909: "When the Bloom Is On the Cotton Dixie Lee"; "When the Evening Bells Are Chiming Songs of Auld Lang SyneAuld Lang Syne"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
" - 1910: "The Morning After the Night Before"; "When A Boy From Old New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
Loves A Girl From TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area... - 1911: "Texas Tommy's Dance"
- 1912: "Lincoln'sAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
College Flag" - 1913: "Fables"; "On a Barnyard Honeymoon"; "When God Gave Me You"
- 1914: "My Love Would Fill a Thousand Hearts"; "Pick Up The Pieces And Bring Them Home"