Joseph P. Skelly

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]

Joseph P. Skelly
Born	(1850-07-29)29 July 1850 Ireland
Died	23 June 1895(1895-06-23) (aged 44) New York City, New York, U. S.
Occupation	Composer

"The Laughing Coon" sheet music, a coon song

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 Climax Records (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

• "Aint You Awful! (1874)^[12]
• "He Isn't a Marrying Man" (1875)^[13][14]
• "Fifth Avenue George" (1876)^[15]
• "My Pretty Red Rose" (1877)
• "I Should Say So!" (1877)^[16]
• "My Love's a Big Drum Major" (1877)^[17]
• "Why Did They Dig Ma's Grave So Deep?" (1880)
• "Goldilocks, Grandpa's Darling. Ballad." (1880)^[3]
• "The Dandy Coon's Parade" (1880)^[18]
• "Keep the Horseshoe Over the Door" (1880)^[19]
• "Since James Put on High Collars" (1880)^[20]
• "The Boogie Man" (1880)^[21]
• "Are You Going to the Ball This Evening?" (1881)
• "Baby's Empty Cradle" (1881)
• "The Old Rustic Bridge by the Mill" (1881)
• "Far From the Old Home!" (1881)
• "De Ole Plantation Coon" (1881)^[22]
• "She Gave Me A Pretty Red Rose" (1883)
• "Little Darling, Dream of Me" (1883)^[23]
• "The Captivating Dude" (1883)^[24]
• "Strolling on the Brooklyn Bridge" (1883)^[25]
• "A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother" (1884)^[26]
• "Columbia's Son" (1889)^[27]
• "The Picture With Its Face Turned to the Wall" (1891)^[3]
• "The Picture With Its Face Turned to the Wall" (1891)^[28]
• "The Laughing Coon" (1891)^[29]
• "Columbus" (1892)^[30]
• "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming" (1893)^[31]
• "O'Reilly, O'Kelly, O'Fogarty" (1895)^[32]

References

1. "Skelly, J. P. 1853-1895 (Joseph P.) [WorldCat Identities]".
2. "Joseph P. Skelly". Discogs.
3. "J. P. Skelly | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu.
4. "Search results from Notated Music, Available Online, Spear". Library of Congress.
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. "Aint You Awful! (Skelly, Joseph Paul) - IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download". imslp.org. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
13. "047.040 - He Isn't a Marrying Man. Comic Song [mutilated copy]. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
14. "133.011 - Harding's Library of Standard and Popular Music. Comic, Serio-Comic and Motto Songs. He Isn't a Marrying Man. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
15. "054.038 - Fifth Avenue George. A Popular Song. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
16. "I Should Say So! (Skelly, Joseph Paul) - IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download". imslp.org. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
17. "133.155 - My Love's a Big Drum Major. Sero Comic Song. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
18. Birnbaum, Larry (April 28, 2013). Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810886384 – via Google Books.
19. Cockrell, Dale (June 17, 2011). The Ingalls Wilder Family Songbook. A-R Editions, Inc. ISBN 9780895796875 – via Google Books.
20. "138.120 - Popular and Standard Comic and Character Songs No. 2. No. 1519. Since James Put on High Collars. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
21. "The Boogie man". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
22. "De ole plantation coon". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
23. "Skelly, J. P. - Discography of American Historical Recordings".
24. "054.021 - The Captivating Dude. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
25. "Strolling on the Brooklyn Bridge". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
26. Rubin, Louis D. Jr (September 1, 1995). A Writer's Companion. LSU Press. ISBN 9780807119921 – via Google Books.
27. "003.016 - America's Great Centennial Song. Columbia's Son. | Levy Music Collection". levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
28. "The picture with its face turned to the wall". NYPL Digital Collections.
29. "The laughing coon". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
30. "Columbus". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
31. "Tell me I'm not dreaming". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
32. "O'Reilly, O'Kelly, O'Fogarty". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 2023-06-14.