J. Fred Coots

J. Fred Coots
Background information
Also known asJ. Fred Coots
Fred Coots
Born
John Frederick Coots

(1897-05-02)May 2, 1897
OriginBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 8, 1985(1985-04-08) (aged 87)
New York City, U.S.
GenreTin Pan Alley
OccupationComposer
InstrumentPiano

John Frederick Coots, better known as J. Fred Coots or Fred Coots, (May 2, 1897 – April 8, 1985) was an American songwriter. He composed more than 700 popular songs and more than a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for the biggest success of either man's career, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." The song became one of the biggest sellers in American history.

In 1934, when Gillespie brought him the lyrics to "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", Coots developed the outline of the melody in just ten minutes. Coots took the song to his publisher, Leo Feist, who liked it but thought it was "a kids' song" and didn't expect too much from it. Coots offered the song to Eddie Cantor who used it for his radio show that November and it became an instant success. The morning after the radio show there were orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music and by Christmas sales had passed 400,000.[citation needed]

Biography

Coots was born in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York When he was 17 years old, he began to work for Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. in New York In 1916, his first successful song was published, "Mr. Ford You've Got The Right Idea," words by Ray Sherwood, music by Coots; A. J. Stasny Music Co., publisher OCLC 726927577 In 1919, actor-producer Eddie Dowling gave Coots his first chance at writing a musical score for Friars' Frolics. In 1922, Dowling commissioned Coots to write the songs for Sally, Irene and Mary, a show which ran for two years on Broadway. In 1928, he wrote "Doin' The Raccoon". He relocated to Los Angeles the next year. In 1931, he wrote "Love Letters in the Sand" In 1934, he wrote the songs "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (more than 4 million copies of sheet music sold) and "For All We Know" In 1940, he wrote "The Rangers' Victory Song"; OCLC 812404397 He married Marjorie Decker Jennings on February 18, 1924, in Manhattan. He died in 1985 in a New York City hospital, after a lengthy illness

Selected songs

Leo Feist, Inc., publisher (1934); OCLC 21070165, 11064929
© September 27, 1934, Class E unpublished 93634, Leo Feist, Inc., New York
© October 23, 1934, Class E published 44456, October 25, 1934, Leo Feist, Inc.
© Renewal September 27, 1961, R28248025, Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots
© Renewal October 25, 1961, R283907, Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots
Remick Music (1938); OCLC 44053966, 858643370
Mills Music (1935); OCLC 27211518
© April 5, 1935, Class E 47450, Mills Music, Inc., New York
Leo Feist, Inc. (1934); OCLC 21070175, 40509506
© March 14, 1934, Class E unpublished 84751, Leo Feist, Inc., New York
Davis, Coots & Engel (1930); OCLC 13168438
Miller Music, Inc. (1938); OCLC 22925119

Selected musicals

  1. "Kid Days"
  2. "Time Will Tell" OCLC 39975531, 224102588
  3. "Pals"
  4. "Stage Door Johnnies"
  5. "I Wonder Why" OCLC 20597875
  6. "Do You Remember?"
  7. "How I've Missed You Mary" OCLC 891128783
  8. "Right Boy Comes Along"
  9. "Our Home Sweet Home"
  10. "Peacock Alley"
  11. "Something in Here"
  12. "Opportunity"
  13. "We Are Waiting"
  14. "Clouds Roll By" OCLC 498831287
  15. "Until You Say Yes"
  16. "Wedding Time"
  17. "Old Fashioned Gown" OCLC 755811220, 498526150
  18. "When a Regular Boy Loves a Regular Girl" OCLC 755811215, 497282681
  19. "Up on Fifth Avenue Near Central Park"
  20. "Jimmy" OCLC 497894150

Notes and references

Notes

  1. 1 2 Several biographies state that John Frederick Coots was born in Brooklyn. He married Marjorie Decker Jennings on February 18, 1924, in Manhattan. Their marriage license states that he was born in Brooklyn. Also, his World War I Draft Registration Card states that he was born in Brooklyn. However, an April 6, 1930, New York Times article, "In the Spotlight's Glare," states that he was born in Keene, New Hampshire.
  2. ↑ Harry Engel (1894 Vienna, Austria – 1965 Los Angeles) had been a sheet music traveling salesman for Richmond-Robbins, Inc. — Maurice Aaron Richmond (1878–1965) and nephew, John J. (Jack) Robbins (1894–1959) — then Robbins-Engel, Inc., the Irving Berlin; then after his affiliation with Davis, Coots & Engel, Inc., he later became head of West Coast Operations for BMI

Original copyrights

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3 Musical Compositions, New Series, Library of Congress, Copyright Office

Copyright renewals

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3, Musical Compositions, Third Series, Library of Congress, Copyright Office
  1. ↑ Vol.  15, Part 5, No. 2, July–December 1961, pg. 246, pg. 1706

Inline citations

  1. ↑ "In the Spotlight's Glare," New York Times, April 6, 1930
  2. ↑ The Annual Obituary, Margot Levy (ed.), St. James Press (1985); OCLC 153294307
  3. ↑ Biography Index, H.W. Wilson Co.; ISSN 0006-3053
         Vol. 14: Sep. 1984 – Aug. 1986 (1986); OCLC 30457106
         Vol. 15: Sep. 1986 – Aug. 1988 (1988); OCLC 30326307
         Vol. 16: Sep. 1988 – Aug. 1990 (1990); OCLC 30326352
  4. ↑ Songwriters: A Biographical Dictionary with Discographies, by Nigel Harrison, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. (1998); OCLC 38964064
  5. ↑ The New York Times Biographical Service, Vol. 16, Nos. 1–12, Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International (1985); ISSN 0161-2433
  6. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories, 1890–1954, Record Research (1986); OCLC 15252908
  7. ↑ "The Story of the song 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,'" The Kiwanis Magazine December 1956; ISSN 0023-1975 (excerpt)
  8. 1 2 "Honor Roll of Hits," Billboard, March 18, 1950
  9. ↑ "Obituaries". New York: United Press International. April 11, 1985. Retrieved November 1, 2025.