When Irish Eyes Are Smiling: A Song History
"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" is a 1912 popular song with music by Ernest R. Ball and words by Chauncey Olcott and George Graff.[1] All three were under contract to the New York publisher M. Witmark & Sons, which secured the copyright on 12 August 1912.[2] Ball, a Cleveland native trained at the city's conservatory, had worked as a vaudeville pianist before writing hits such as "Mother Machree" and Broadway scores, one of them for the tenor Olcott.[3] An archival biography at McGill University calls this his best-known song and says it was first written for Olcott's show The Isle o' Dreams.[4] That production reached Broadway from late January to late February 1913, with Olcott himself in the role of Ivor Kelway.[5]
Belleek Pottery, Urn (cachepot), porcelain, ca. 1880. Belleek porcelain made in Ireland about 1880, shown for the Irish title of the song; the urn has no connection to the song.
The record companies took it up quickly: Harry Macdonough recorded it for Victor in March 1913, and John McCormack made his Victor recording in September 1916.[6] In London the tenor George F. Murray, backed by the Century Quartette, recorded it for Columbia around 1914.[7]
The song later landed at the center of a copyright dispute after Graff sold his renewal rights to Witmark in 1917 and then, in 1939, assigned them again to Fred Fisher Music Co.[2] In Fred Fisher Music Co. v. M. Witmark & Sons (1943), the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Witmark, ruling that an author could sell renewal rights before the renewal term arrived.[2] Judy House includes it in Favorite Sing-Along Songs For The Mountain Dulcimer, an 85-page downloadable book of familiar, fun and easy songs arranged for mountain dulcimer.[8]
Sources
- Mississippi State University Libraries, Charles H. Templeton Sr. Sheet Music Collection: "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling".
- Justia, U.S. Supreme Court: "Fred Fisher Music Co. v. M. Witmark & Sons, 318 U.S. 643 (1943)".
- Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western Reserve University: "Ball, Ernest R.".
- McGill University Archival Collections: "Ball, Ernest R., 1878-1927".
- Internet Broadway Database: "Chauncey Olcott".
- Discography of American Historical Recordings: "George Graff".
- Discography of American Historical Recordings: "Columbia matrix 29253. When Irish eyes are smiling / Century Quartette ; Geo. F. Murray".
- Judy House: "Favorite Sing-Along Songs For The Mountain Dulcimer".
- Image: Belleek Pottery, Urn (cachepot), porcelain, ca. 1880. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.