Oldies and sometimes not so goodies...
The songs I am focused on are songs from the turn of the century - no last century! It was an interesting time in the music business. A very common form of entertainment in those days was music night. People would buy sheet music and bring it home to play it themselves with their families. Piano rolls were just starting to become available - not sure about popular because player pianos were expensive and radio was still very regional in nature. The music publishing business was primarily about selling sheet music.
Pretty much all of the sheet music I have include advertisements on the inside cover and the back cover. I'll often research the songs in the ads to see if there is some hidden/long forgotten jewel. Sometimes I find something really fun! Sometimes I can't find any evidence the song ever existed. And sometimes I find things that are shocking (which I can live with) or very offensive (which I learn from but will not bring back.) If you go to the National Jukebox on the Library of Congress website to listen to some of these old pieces you might notice the warning about some of the music's offensive lyrics.
I'd love to hear suggestions about old time songs I should look up. I'd love to hear about other people's experience with old time music.
(by the way; I'm working on a piece called "Kiss Me Good-Night! (Out the Window You Must Go)" and there is a line I don't understand. What does, "my father wears a number eight" mean?)
