Joseph P. Skelly

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O'Reilly, O'Kelly, O'Fogarty (NYPL Hades-463898-1255441).jpg
Tell me I'm not dreaming (NYPL Hades-449048-1157601).jpg
"The Laughing Coon" sheet music, a coon song

Joseph Paul Skelly, also abbreviated J. P. Skelley, (29 July 1850 — 23 June 1895) was a composer of music.[1][2] He arranged the music for songs published as sheet music. For other songs he composed the words and music. The Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection at Johns Hopkins University has sheet music for many of the songs he composed.[3] The Library of Congress has several of his works in its collection.[4]

Skelly was born in Ireland and died in New York City. He wrote more than 1,000 songs.[5]

His song "Little Darling, Dream of Me" was recorded by the Climax Quartet on (an early Columbia Records label).[6] He wrote the song "A Boy's Best Friend Is His Mother".[7] It was sung by William Raymond of Thatcher, Primrose and West's Minstrels.[8] Vernon Dalhart recorded the song at Columbia Records in 1925.[9]

He wrote the 1876 comical Irish musical sketch The Hash Brigade.[10][1] Various artists including Ernest Pike and Elizabeth Spencer recorded his songs on cylinders in the decades after his death.[11]

Recorded works[]

  • "I Isn't a Marrying Man"
  • "Fifth Avenue George"
  • "My Pretty Red Rose" (1877)
  • "Why Did They Dig Ma's Grave So Deep?" (1880)
  • "Goldilocks, Grandpa's Darling. Ballad." (1880)[3]
  • "The Dandy Coon's Parade" (1880)[12]
  • "Keep the Horseshoe Over the Door" 1880[13]
  • "Are You Going to the Ball This Evening?" (1881)
  • "Baby's Empty Cradle" (1881)
  • "Far From the Old Home!"
  • "She Gave Me A Pretty Red Rose" (1883)
  • "A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother" (1884)[14]
  • "The Picture With Its Face Turned to the Wall" (1891)[3]
  • "The Picture With Its Face Turned to the Wall" (1891)[15]
  • "The Laughing Coon" (1891)
  • "Little darling, dream of me"[16]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Skelly, J. P. 1853-1895 (Joseph P.) [WorldCat Identities]".
  2. ^ "Joseph P. Skelly". Discogs.
  3. ^ a b c "J. P. Skelly | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu.
  4. ^ "Search results from Notated Music, Available Online, Spear". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
  5. ^ Brooks, William (2001). "Skelly, Joseph P(aul)". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.46892. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
  6. ^ Posted to YouTube as of January 2020
  7. ^ "Dalhart, Vernon - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu.
  8. ^ "136.028 - The Immensely Popular Song. A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu.
  9. ^ Record posted to YouTube as of January 2020
  10. ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (June 17, 1918). "Dramatic Compositions Copyrighted in the United States, 1870 to 1916 ..." U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Results for "" | Alexandria Digital Research Library".
  12. ^ Birnbaum, Larry (April 28, 2013). Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810886384 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Cockrell, Dale (June 17, 2011). The Ingalls Wilder Family Songbook. A-R Editions, Inc. ISBN 9780895796875 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ Jr, Louis D. Rubin (September 1, 1995). A Writer's Companion. LSU Press. ISBN 9780807119921 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ "The picture with its face turned to the wall". NYPL Digital Collections.
  16. ^ "Skelly, J. P. - Discography of American Historical Recordings".


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