Wenrich met him at the dock and Stanley relayed the lyrics for a potential hit song that they immediately wanted set to music. Wenrich did not have a piano available, so went to the manager of Remick's on Broadway and talked the manager into using a piano for 30 minutes.
At the end of that time he was not satisfied with the tune as a whole, and pleaded for another 30 minutes. The manager refused and a noisy exchange occurred. According to Wenrich, Jerome Remick himself came over to see what the fuss was about, and conceded to let the songwriter have another 30 minutes at the piano. Once finished, the composer then rushed to demonstrate the newly minted song for Remick who was on his way out the door for a long weekend in Atlantic City.
Remick was unimpressed with the sentiment of the lyrics, but took the song with him and said he would render a decision on Monday. However the tune kept bouncing around in his head for several days, and Remick finally relented calling Wenrich back in, and telling him with instinctual ego intact , "You must have a hit here. I've never been able to carry a tune, but here's a song even I can sing! Any song that even I can't forget must become a hit. However, he proceeded to prove his point by performing "Put on your old sun bonnet," but kept on singing "grey bonnet.
This song was soon followed by the rousing That Alamo Rag. His next big hit, Red Rose Rag , was written for Connolly, and was also well received. In fact famed comedian George Burns mentions it as one of his early favorites in two of his books of reminiscences, and used it as a theme for many years. Wenrich followed this up with a male quartet favorite, Moonlight Bay. He recalled knocking it off in Atlantic City, New Jersey, while sitting at the Old Vienna Cafe, a meat market he had invested in around Just as I ordered another beer I thought I heard some guy ask the orchestra to play a piece called 'Moonlight Bay.
I also made dough on that piece. However, the business end was too much for him to handle and gave him little time to write, so the company was dissolved in and Percy returned to writing and performing as much as possible with Dolly. His next stop as a contracted writer was at Leo Feist Publishing , who had purchased the Wenrich-Howard catalog.
It didn't start out that way, however, as Wenrich thought it to be a flop. In its first six months the piece hardly moved, then it suddenly became highly popular, ultimately selling over two million copies. Throughout the s until the eventual demise of vaudeville in the late s, Wenrich both wrote for and toured with Dolly, as well as accompanied her during her stint as a recording star with Columbia Records. He contributed to a few stage musicals during that time as well, collaborating with a number of talented lyricists, including Howard Johnson of M-O-T-H-E-R fame.
His first effort consisted of three songs contributed to The Crinoline Girl which ran a respectable 96 performances in , and starred popular female impersonator Julian Eltinge. Eltinge would also star in the short-lived Cousin Lucy in , with a score shared by Percy with none other than Jerome Kern. A lesser known hit of Wenrich was highlighted in the Music Trade Review of April 24, , explaining to some degree how fickle the public can be, and how one performance can make a difference:.
The psychology of song popularity has long been the study of those who have to do with the publishing of the bulk of our music of to-day, the sort known as "popular," though it is not usually referred to in that particular way. The idea of finding out what the public wants and endeavoring to make a good guess at it is the real basis of the music publishing business to-day — the basis upon which sales totals are built, despite all the talk there may be regarding the "forcing of hits.
Some popular songs have sought success and won it. Others have won success through their intrinsic merit, not suddenly and overnight, as it were, but gradually, the sort of success that generally means a long and profitable life. One of the numbers to be included in this category is "When It's Moonlight in Mayo," the beautiful Irish ballad by Jack Mahoney and Percy Wenrich, two of the stars in the music game.
For considerably over a year "When It's Moonlight in Mayo" has been moving along quietly without being featured very strongly. Then one night Percy Wenrich, the composer, and his partner, Dolly Connolly, sang the number while appearing in vaudeville at the Majestic Theater in Chicago so effectively that several of the critics gave more favorable attention to that one song than they did to the balance of the show.
From that time on "When It's Moonlight in Mayo" has enjoyed a high place among popular music in the West. Before the Wenrich triumph, however, Van and Schenk, the popular pair of vaudeville artists, were singing the number while on their tour of the Keith houses in the Eastern cities, and winning encores at every performance. The greatest tribute to the value of "When It's Moonlight in Mayo" as a song, however, came recently when Fiske O'Hara ran across it accidentally and introduced it in his Irish comedy drama "Jack's Romance," which is proving one of the most successful vehicles in which Mr.
O'Hara has ever appeared. The theatrical critics were quick to show their appreciation of the value of the new number in their reviews of "Jack's Romance," and a writer in the New York American went so far as to say:. Like all successful ballads it combines great beauty of melody with simplicity of form. The tune haunts your ear like some witching folk song you've learned as a child, yet not suggesting any definite one, because it is purely original and not in the least an imitation…". Dolly and Percy generally got good press and reviews wherever they performed.
One example from the Toronto World of February 22, , as part of a visiting show read: A number sung for the first time in Toronto, 'Sweet Cider [Time],' which is both catchy and musical, proved the 'hit' of the performance. Composer and singer had to respond to several recalls and an encore was insisted upon…". Wenrich as his wife. The Wenrichs were found in Manhattan for the enumeration with Percy listed as a music composer and Dolly as a theatrical actress. However, his birth state was incorrectly shown as Iowa.
The remaining demographics were correct. The s are the time when Wenrich became most active on Broadway. With Raymond Peck he created the musical Maid to Love in , which opened in Atlantic City and toured around the country, but did not do at all well. They revamped the story while keeping most of the songs, and in introduced The Right Girl starring Dolly as a main character. It fared better when it reached Broadway, falling just two short of performances.
The musical was reviewed in the New York Times on March 16, the reviewer insisting that "Percy Wenrich's score as several high spots - 'Love's little Journey' was good for half a dozen encores last night, and there were several other numbers to set the feet tapping. Dolly Connolly, come from vaudeville, sang several of the best numbers vivaciously…". Some Party from was more of a revue, and it closed in about two weeks.
In Percy and Raymond came up with Castles in the Air which ran a good performances on Broadway in mid, but without Dolly in the cast. As noted in the Music Trade Review of December 5, If the audiences at the first few shows and the newspaper critics are any judges it will prove one of the greatest musical successes of years. Such captions as "Looks like another 'Nanette,'" and "the best operetta in years," followed by "looks like a substantial portion for its promoters," appeared in the dailies following the opening.
The book is by Raymond W. Peck and the music is by Percy Wenrich. The Chicago Journal said that the music by Wenrich gives him a place beside the late lamented Victor Herbert when that composer was writing at the very top of his inspiration…. Percy and Dolly ventured to France in spring of after Castles in the Air closed, the only clear evidence of any European excursions they made. His output nearly ceased during this period. However, The Bells of St. Gabriel's became a minor sensation for singer and composer Ernest R.
Ball during a West Coast tour. Wenrich's last apparent Broadway contribution was Who Cares in the summer of With the Great Depression settling in, it was apparent that few actually did care, and it closed after three weeks. In Wenrich was listed as a guest at a Broadway hotel and the expected profession of a composer of music. However, his age was shown as five years younger than his actual 45, and Dolly was not found in the same residence but at the Hotel Belvedere on E. This may have been either a separation or a temporary situation while he was engaged with Who Cares , as they co-wrote an unusual advertisement song that year in praise of a farm combine of all things.
Not much is available on the Wenrichs in the s. They occasionally appeared on WEAF radio from to in New York with Percy playing and Dolly singing 15 to 30 minutes of usually older songs per appearance. They did make a couple of special dinner club events in New York that in , after which Percy was reported to have retired from writing and performance in once they moved out west to Hollywood, California.
There are some reports that Dolly was in failing mental health by that time, which may have prompted the decision to partially retire.
Flower Girl
There was also the currency of his writing, which he discussed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 4, About a year ago Irving Berlin told the writer [Douglas Gilbert] beer and repeal [of national prohibition] would bring back the old, singable melodies. His prediction proved unfounded. The Broadway melodeers still stay specialized, turning out trick tunes and orchestrated novelties…. Wenrich, expanding on the trend of popular tunes the other day at the Lambs [Club], "that writing for crack bands, good musicians and professional singers has improved our popular music technically.
But I can't see any melodic improvement. It modulates from three flats to five sharps. Similarly, the contemporary Mamies can't play Berlin's 'Heat Wave.
Says, 'Percy, all the war tunes the boys sang in the past were just rum-ti-tum gags having nothing to do with fighting. Go ahead and knock one out and beat the rest of 'em to it.
Allan's dance album. No. 11 [music]. - Version details - Trove
The next day he brought down a verse and chorus. But these times, with their jittery tunes and scherzo scores, it'd take a [pianist lik Walter] Gieseking to play and a [soprano like Lily] Pons to sing, have not been kind to Percy. Published by Jerome H. Remick, New York and Detroit. Berlin, Irving, and Snyder, Ted. Published by Ted Snyder Co. Bestor, Donald, and Lee, Marvin. Dream of a "Funeral: Denotes speedy marriage [ Song words by Irving Berlin.
Words by Alfred Bryan. Published by Leo Feist, New York. Published by Vandersloot Music Pub. Published by Will Rossiter, Chicago.
Intermezzo March Two-Step
Published by Sam Fox Pub. Two Step and Buck Dance. Published by Daly Music Publisher, Boston. Published by Stark Music Co. Rag, March, and Two-Step. Dedicated to the Loyal Order of Moose. Published by Brehm Bros. The New Ball Room Dance. Published by Charles I. Jenkins Son's Music Co. Published by Theodore Morse Music Co. Fred Helf, New York.
Published by The Colonial Music Pub. Published by Walter Jacobs, Boston. Published by Grinnell Bros. Published by Joseph Flaner, Milwaukee. Song in which a swain ponders the watchfulness of the moon. Published by Harold Rossiter Music Co. Van Alstyne, Egbert, and Williams, Harry. Published by Head Music Pub. Published by Sunlight Music Co. Two-Step and Buck Dance. Published by Victor Kremer Company, Chicago. Barn Dance and Song.
Princeton University Library
Published by Goffe Bros. Published by Forster, Chicago. Published by Vandersloot Pub. One- or Two-Step or Tango. Burnett, Ernie, and Norton, Geo. Published by Joe Morris Music Co. Polla alias Powell , W. Grand Galop de Concert. Published by Eclipse Publishing Co. A nice rag; but what is the "April fool" in it? Violinsky with Coogan, Jack, and Burkhart, Maurice. Von Tilzer, Harry with Dillon, Will. Published by Frank K. This copy signed by Chas. Published by Harry Williams Music Co. Botsford, George with Havez, Jean. That Lovey Dovey Glide.
Ferguson, Harry with Brady and Mahoney.
Published by Vandersloot Music Publ. Harold Rossiter Music Company, Chicago. Rubber-stamped with his name numerous times by C. Dean Humberd, and dated March 4, Humberd evidently also used the last page as a stand-alone piece, as he has cut it out and handwritten above it its title, etc. Genre not indicated, but clearly a Barn Dance. Signed twice by Chas. Dean Humberd, and dated by him July 9, A splendid and very sophisticated piece which sounds to this ear as if Scott Joplin assisted.
Published by Stark Music Company, St.
Published by Morrison Music Publisher, Indianapolis. Morse, Theodore with Esrom, D. As the unique phenomenon discussed in the song may be of interest to naturalists, we take this opportunity to describe it: It appears that when said Joe performs said action, everybody starts a-swaying to and fro, Mammy waddles all around the cabin floor, indeed requesting more of said action from said Joe, and folks come a-running when they hear the sound, singing and dancing until they shake the ground.