Charles Kassel Harris (1867 – 1930) was a well regarded American songwriter of popular music. During his long career, he advanced the relatively new genre, publishing more than 300 songs, often deemed by admirers as the "king of the tear jerkers". He is one of the early pioneers of Tin Pan Alley. Harris was the first songwriter to create a multi-million seller and the first songwriter to corner the market on his own product. A man whose songwriting career spanned forty years and over 300 published songs, Harris could neither read nor write music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_K._Harris
http://parlorsongs.com/bios/ckharris/ckharris.php
The title of this book is taken from his most popular song, After the Ball written in 1891. The song is a classic waltz in 3/4 time. In the song, an older man tells his niece why he has never married. He saw his sweetheart kissing another man at a ball, and he refused to listen to her explanation. Many years later, after the woman had died, he discovered that the man was her brother. "After the Ball" became the most successful song of its era, which at that time was gauged by the sales of sheet music. In 1892 it sold over two million copies of sheet music. Its total sheet music sales exceed five million copies, making it the best seller in Tin Pan Alley's history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_the_Ball_(song)
Features: Signed by author no. 190 of 550.
