Born Today In Music
October 15th

1922 - Tommy Edwards
American singer and songwrite Tommy Edwards, who had the 1958 US & UK No.1 single with 'Its All In The Game'. The song was written by US Vice President Charles Dawes. Edwards died on 23 October {1969}, aged 47.

Tommy Edwards



Background information
Birth name: Thomas Jefferson Edwards
Born: October 15, 1922; Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Died: October 23, 1969 (aged 47); Henrico County, Virginia, U.S.

Thomas Jefferson Edwards (October 15, 1922 – October 23, 1969) was an American singer and songwriter. His most successful record was the multi-million-selling song "It's All in the Game", becoming the first African-American to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

{snip}

Television appearances

• Sing It Again (1951)
• Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (1951–1952)
• Songs for Sale (1952)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1958)
• The Arthur Murray Party (1958)

{snip}

It's All in the Game (song)

Written: 1911 (music); 1951 (lyrics)
Published: 1912 by Gamble Hinged Music Co. (Melody); 1951 by Remick Music
Composer(s): Charles G. Dawes
Lyricist(s): Carl Sigman

"It's All in the Game" is a pop song whose most successful version was recorded by Tommy Edwards in 1958. Carl Sigman composed the lyrics in 1951 to a wordless 1911 composition titled "Melody in A Major", written by Charles G. Dawes, who was later Vice President of the United States under Calvin Coolidge. It is the only No. 1 single in the U.S. to have been co-written by a U.S. Vice President or a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (Dawes was both).

The song has become a pop standard, with cover versions by dozens of artists, some of which have been minor hit singles.

Edwards' song ranked at No. 47 on the 2018 list of "The Hot 100's All-Time Top 600 Songs".

"Melody in A Major"

Dawes, a Chicago bank president and amateur pianist and flautist, composed the tune in 1911 in a single sitting at his lakeshore home in Evanston. He played it for a friend, the violinist Francis MacMillen, who took Dawes's sheet music to a publisher. Dawes, known for his federal appointments and a United States Senate candidacy, was surprised to find a portrait of himself in a State Street shop window with copies of the tune for sale. Dawes quipped, "I know that I will be the target of my punster friends. They will say that if all the notes in my bank are as bad as my musical ones, they are not worth the paper they were written on."

The tune, often dubbed "Dawes's Melody", followed him into politics, and he grew to detest hearing it wherever he appeared. It was a favorite of violinist Fritz Kreisler, who used it as his closing number, and in the 1940s it was picked up by musicians such as Tommy Dorsey.

{snip}

In summer 1951, the songwriter Carl Sigman had an idea for a song, and Dawes's "Melody" struck him as suitable for his sentimental lyrics. Dawes had died in April of that year. It was recorded that year by Dinah Shore, Sammy Kaye and Carmen Cavallaro, but the first release was by Tommy Edwards in August. Edwards's version reached No. 18 on the Billboard Records Most Played by Disk Jockeys survey dated September 15, 1951. The range of the melody would have been "difficult to sing", so required rearrangement. A jazz arrangement was recorded by Louis Armstrong (vocals) and arranger Gordon Jenkins, with "some of Armstrong's most honey-tinged singing". In 1956, Jenkins would produce a version with Nat King Cole along the same lines.

In 1958, Edwards had only one session left on his MGM contract. Stereophonic sound recording was becoming viable and it was decided to cut a stereo version of "It's All in the Game" with a rock and roll arrangement. The single was released in July and became a hit, reaching number one for six weeks beginning September 29, 1958, making Edwards the first African-American to chart at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It would also be the last song to hit number one on the R&B Best Seller list. In November, the song hit No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. The single helped Edwards revive his career for another two years.

{snip}

Tommy Edwards "It’s All In The Game" on The Ed Sullivan Show, September 14, 1958

The Ed Sullivan Show
877K subscribers

21,132 views Apr 4, 2022 #EdSullivan #EdSullivanShow #TommyEdwards
Tommy Edwards "It’s All In The Game" on The Ed Sullivan Show, September 14, 1958. Subscribe now to never miss an update: https://ume.lnk.to/EdSullivanSubscribe

{snip}