Chris Smith
b. Oct. 12, 1879, Charleston SC, USA d. 1949, New York, NY, USA.
This black composer taught himself to play the piano and the guitar. His first appearances on the stage was with Elmer Bowman, who had a medicine show. Bowman never paid him, and he had to walk back home to Charleston. At some point, Chris traveled to New York, and in 1900, he began to write popular songs.

His first published songs were to lyrics by Cecil Mack. Between 1900 and 1910, the pair wrote:
        "Never Let The Same Bee Sting You Twice", lyric by Cecil Mack
        "Good Morning, Carrie", music in collaboration with J. Tim Brymm.
        "He's A Cousin of Mine", music in collaboration with Silvio Hein, and interpolated into the Broadway musical show 'Marrying Mary'.

        "All In, Down, And Out"
        "You're in the Right Church, but the Wrong Pew"
        "Down Among the Sugar Cane" (Avery and Hart)
        "If He Comes In, I'm Going Out"

In 1911, Chris found an interest in Ragtime music, and published a piano solo entitled "Monkey Rag".

In 1913, Chris Smith had his career hit song, "Ballin' the Jack", lyric by Jim Burris. It has never lost it's popularity.

Some other tunes written by Chris Smith are:
        "Jasper Johnson, Shame on You", lyric by John Larkins
        "Fifteen Cents", lyric by Chris Smith.
        "After All That I've Been To You", Lyric by Jack Drislane
        "Beans, Beans, Beans", lyric by Elmer Bowman

After WW1, Smith stopped writing. He lived in an apartment in Harlem's St. Nicholas Avenue, in seclusion and neglect. He died in 1949, age 70.

   Edgar Smith
b. 1857, d. 1938
Currently no information available for this Lyricist.
Edgar was very active writing for the Broadway musical stage at the turn of the XX century. He wrote both the book and lyrics for his first show in 1899 In Gay Paree. His last show was Hello Paris which opened on Broadway on Nov 15, 1930 . In between these two were perhaps 40 others. He may also be the Edgar Smith who wrote two plays, both of which were made into early films; Tillie's Nightmare, (For films, renamed Tillie's Punctured Romance, and several other names as well (1914), and for the 1915 film, Old Dutch. On May 29, 1916, Step This Way opened at New York's Shubert Theater. The show's book and lyric was by Smith (with music by E. Ray Goetz and Bert Grant). The 1945 film The Naughty Nineties used the song "Ma Blushin' Rosie (Rosie, You Are Ma Posie)" which had his lyric (he was uncredited). Without a doubt, his best known work is "Heaven Will Protect The Working Girl", written with composer A. Baldwin Sloane

   Harry B. Smith
b. 1860, Buffalo, NY, USA, d. 1936, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.
Overview
Harry was active writing at the turn of the century (1900).Harry Smith may be America's most prolific lyricist-librettist. In the years before 1920, he wrote over 120 Broadway musical plays Harry was still active in the 1920's and even into the thirties. < br>Among his works are:
1921, for the Broadway show, 'Make It Snappy', he wrote
        "The Sheik of Araby", Francis Wheeler was co-lyricist, and Ted Snyder wrote the music.
Harry Smith is a member of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.

   Ted Snyder
b. Aug. 15, 1881, Freeport, Illinois, USA. d. 1965, Hollywood, CA, USA.
Overview:
Ted Snyder is the person who gave Irving Berlin his start by hiring him in 1909 as staff pianist for his publishing company. But Snyder is also recalled for composing such hits as "The Sheik of Araby" (1921) and "Who's Sorry Now?" (1923).

Little is known of Ted's early life, other than he attended the public schools in Boscobel, WI., and as a very young man, he posted theater bills for a living. Later, he was a cafe pianist, and then a staff pianist and song plugger in Chicago and New York music publishing houses.

Brief Chronology:
1907 "There's a Girl in This World for Every Boy", lyric Will D. Cobb.
        1908 "If You Cared For Me", lyric by Ed Rose. In this same year, Ted formed his own publishing firm, and this was the first issue.
        1909 "Beautiful Rose", lyric George Whiting and Carter De Haven, was an interpolation in Broadway show 'Mr. Hamlet of Broadway'.
In 1909, a young Irving Berlin was in the employ of the Ted Snyder Company. Ted wrote the tunes, and Berlin wrote the lyrics. This team became one of Tin Pan Alley's top songwriting teams. Some of the songs that Snyder published include:
        "Sweet Italian Love"
        "Kiss Me, My Honey, Kiss Me"
        "Next To Your Mother, Who Do You Love?"

1910 The Schuberts employ the team to appear in the revue 'Up and Down Broadway' to sing their own hit songs.
        1911 "That Beautiful Rag"
        1912 "Take a Little Tip from Father"
        1913 "My Wife's Gone to the Country", lyric Berlin and George Whiting

In 1913, Irving Berlin was writing his own melodies, as well as his own lyrics. The firm is re-organized and is called, Waterson, Berlin and Snyder. Ted Snyder also continued writing his own melodies, often with other lyricists such as Bert Kalmar and Edgar Leslie. Among the songs he wrote then, are:
With Bert Kalmar as lyricist:
        "Moonlight on the Rhine", lyric by Kalmar and Leslie, interpolated into the 1914 Broadway show 'One Girl in a Million'.
        "In The Land of Harmony"
        "The Ghost of the Violin"

At the close of World War 1, Snyder continued his writing with such songs as:
       "How'd You Like To Be My Daddy", lyric Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. Heard in the Winter Garden Theater production of 'Sinbad', starring Al Jolson.

1921 for the Broadway revue,'Make It Snappy', the song,
       "The Shiek of Araby", lyric Harry B. Smith and Francis Wheeler. (Song was inspired by the Rudolph Valentino film.)
       "I Wonder If You Still Care For Me", lyric by Smith and Wheeler

        1923 "Who's Sorry Now", lyric by Kalmar and Ruby.

Some of Snyder's other songs with other kyricists include:
        "My Guitar"
        "Piano Man"
        "I Want To Be In Dixie"
        "Dreams, Just Dreams"
        "My Dream of the U.S.A."
        "Under the Moon"

In 1930, Ted Snyder retired from the songwriting business, settled in Hollywood, CA., and went into the restaurant business. He died in Hollywood. He is a member of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

   Alberto Salgan
Currently no information on this Argentine Composer.

   José del Refugio Sánchez Saldana
b. May 3, 1921, Altamira, Tamaulipas, Mexico, d. Oct. 5, 2000, Mexico City, México D.F., Mexico. (pneumonia with Liver failure complications)
Currently no information on this Mexican Composer.
In 1940, he was signed by Mexico's largest media company, who used his acting talents in movies and TV programs. Sanchez composed some 200 songs over his 6 decades long career, which were translated into 27 languages.. (He wrote his first one at age 13.) Included among his hits were "Anoche estuve llorando", "Buenas noches mi amor", "Con la misma moneda", "Fallaste corazon", "Mi chata", "No soy monedita de oro", "Oigame compadre", and "Que manera de perder". He also wrote for the movies.

   Edward Shearmur
b. ca. 1966, London, England, UK
Currently no information available.
Music scholar at Eton College

   David Snell
b. Sept. 10, 1897, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, March 27, 1967, Los Angeles County, California, USA.
Currently no information available.
Snell contributed musical scores and incidental music to many films. He also worked as an orchestrator and musical director.