It's reported that Mankato, Kansas instituted a 50 cent fine to any person guilty of whistling or singing “After the Ball.” Others questioned the song's merits, calling it hackneyed and unoriginal. Some merely expressed dismay after hearing the song played countless times. Of course, much like pop hits today, the song and even Harris himself had their fair share of detractors. Performances of his song at the 1893 Chicago World Fair, led by John Philip Sousa, further exposed the song to a larger and international audience and cemented the song’s legacy for ages. In a matter of weeks, he found himself with extreme wealth and immense popularity. Harris, who was spurned by previous industry relationships, was already in the business of self-publishing his music. In a short amount of time, orders for over 75,000 music sheets came in. The song was received well in Milwaukee and the travelling performer continued to sing it on his tour of the east coast, where it exploded in popularity.
In the case of “After the Ball,” he hired another talented Milwaukee musician, Joseph Clauder, for which he paid him a small sum of $10. Then he would hire someone else to properly arrange it on page for piano or orchestra. Harris, although a talented banjoist, could not actually read or write music, and often formed his songs by writing down lyrics and humming or whistling a simple melody. Aside from telling a gripping story, he knew his songs must contain a melody that was both memorable and hummable. Harris was a shrewd businessman, and he was in the business of selling songs. It was tragic narratives like this one which endeared the works of Harris to the public, earning him the moniker “king of the tear jerkers.”īut the success of the song counted on more than its emotional hook. Years later, he discovers that the other man he saw in the arms of his true love, on that eventful night, was in fact her brother. “After the Ball” is a sentimental ballad, composed as a waltz, that tells the story of an old man who was left heartbroken by his fiancé and never again found love. Harris, was written and first performed right here in Milwaukee. Then in 1892 came the first song to explode in popularity and reach 1,000,000 copies of sheet music sold. GOODNIGHT LOVELL Just Say You Dont Care Red Teenage Melody Alone GOODNIGHT LOVELL PINK WITCH / LESSON Lethal Presence Alone I Heard You Were Looking For Me Bottom Top Pay Me BAD KID Whoever U Are Counting Down the List Human (feat. Towards the end of the 19th century, enterprising musicians saw an untapped market and began to write and sell popular music directly aimed at the people-distinct from the operas and religious songs that were meant to be performed by professionals.
If you heard a song you liked and wanted to hear it again, you would have to buy the sheet of music and perform it yourself, often done in the company of friends and family. Before Billboard charts, radio broadcasts or record sales, the commercial success of a song was measured by the number of music sheets sold.
0 kommentar(er)
