James W. Blake

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James W. Blake
Born(1862-09-23)September 23, 1862
New York City, New York, United States
DiedMay 24, 1935(1935-05-24) (aged 72)
New York City, New York, United States
GenresPopular music
Occupation(s)lyricist
Years activec. 1885–1935

James William Blake (23 September 1862 – 24 May 1935) was a lyricist who is most famous for the words to the 1894 song, "The Sidewalks of New York".

Early years and family

Blake was one of seven children of Michael and Elizabeth Blake, immigrants from

Charles F. Murphy and James A. Foley, was first a news reporter, then went to law school, joined his former classmates and Tammany Hall, and became a City Court judge for 20 years.[1]

Career, songwriting, and lyrics to Sidewalks

Blake became a hat salesman, and songwriting was only a hobby, which he turned to when sales were slow. One day in 1894, Charles Lawlor, a friend who was also a well-known vaudevillian and singer, walked into John Golden's hat store on Third Avenue between East 13th and East 14th Streets to visit Blake, humming the melody that became The Sidewalks of New York. Blake took a liking to the 3/4 tune, and had him repeat it several times. "You get the music on paper," he told Lawlor, "and I'll write the words for it." Lawlor returned to the store in about twenty minutes with the musical notes on paper, and Blake was halfway through the lyrics, having been interrupted by a customer. He finished the words in another half-hour. The tune and words became extremely familiar and well-known throughout New York City. It was first made famous by Lottie Gilson, and it had staying power because the melody was catchy and easy to sing.[1][2][3][4]

The words were a shared vision of Lawlor and Blake, and recall their childhood neighborhoods and those who grew up with them. It was a universal longing for youth, yesteryear, and place, although it was also idealized because both Lawlor and Blake had grown up quite poor. Lawlor said that he envisioned a "big husky policeman leaning against a lamppost and twirling his club, an organ grinder playing nearby, and the east side kids with dirty faces, shoes unlaced, stockings down, torn clothes, dancing to the music, while from a tenement window an old Irish woman with a checkered cap and one of those old time checkered shawls around her shoulders, looking down and smiling at the children."[3] The children's names in the lyrics were those of Blake's childhood friends. The song became popular right after it was published, and decades later had a huge renaissance when Al Smith used it as his theme during his three failed presidential campaigns in 1920, 1924, and 1928.[1][3]

Over the years, Blake wrote the words to many songs, including some others with Lawlor, such as "Pretty Jenny Slattery", "Every Boy Has Quarreled with His Sweetheart", "The Best in the House is None Too Good for Reilly", "I Did My Drinking When The Drinking Was Good", but none came even close to matching the popularity of "The Sidewalks of New York".[1][2]

Personal life and later years

The rest of Blake's life was much tougher than his big hit suggested. He married a girl from Brooklyn named Ida McBurney and they had two children, but both died in infancy and Ida died after only two years of marriage. He and Lawlor sold the rights to "The Sidewalks of New York" for $5,000 to the music publishers

velvets, and related items, including at Macy's and at Shendell and Co.[1][2]

In 1932, Blake joined his two surviving siblings, Mary and John, in an apartment on Walton Avenue in

St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City, where he died of stomach cancer several weeks later.[1][2][5]

He was buried in a family plot in

Queens.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Jas. W. Blake Dead — Wrote Famed Song — Author of 'Sidewalks of New York' Succumbs at 72 in St. Vincent's Hospital — Smith His Benefactor — In Later Days of Adversity the Former Governor Saw to It That He Was Provided For". New York Times. May 25, 1935. p. 15. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sidewalks' Bard Saved From Want — J.W. Blake, Who Wrote Words of Famous Song, Gets Relief as Smith Aids Him — Hesitated to Ask for Help — Destitute at 70, He is Assured of Pension to Care for an Aged Sister and Blind Brother". New York Times. January 17, 1933. p. 21. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Composer Tells of Sidewalks Song — Charles B. Lawlor, Now Blind, Wrote It 30 Years Ago and Got $5,000 for It — Linked With Gov. Smith — Not a Copy of It Available, Although It Was Sung at the Democratic Convention". New York Times. June 28, 1924. p. 7. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  4. ^ Adams, Mildred (September 9, 1928). "Story of "The Sidewalks of New York" — The Song That Charles Lawlor Wrote Thirty-four Years Ago Has Lived to Become a Smith Campaign Hymn". New York Times (magazine section ed.). p. 8. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Smith Aids Author of 'Sidewalks,' Ill — He Orders Aged Writer of Song About New York Sent to Hospital for X-Rays — Lost 18 Pounds in 8 Days — But J.W. Blake Was Too Proud to Reveal Plight — Brother and Sister Penniless Too". New York Times. May 7, 1935. p. 25. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  6. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4
    . Retrieved 27 November 2016.
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