Cliff Hess

Cliff Hess (June 19, 1894 – June 8, 1959) was a musician who composed songs including for numerous theatrical and film productions.

Life and career

Cliff Hess was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 19, 1894. While a young teenager, he began his career as a pianist on passenger riverboats traversing the Mississippi River. He got a job in the Chicago branch of the music publisher Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc. where he met the songwriter Irving Berlin. By 1911 he was working as Berlin's secretary, and was performing on Broadway as Berlin's accompanist with Berlin singing his own tunes.

Hess served as Berlin' s secretary until 1918. Berlin, while an exceptional pianist, played entirely by ear and could not read or write music notation. It was Hess's job to translate what Berlin played by ear onto the page in order to make printable sheet music possible. However, Hess's job went beyond simple transposition and he was essentially Berlin's music editor. Their process involved Hess transposing Berlin's songs into easier keys and simplifying tunes so that they could be more accessible for commercial sale. Musicologist Charles Hamm noted that Hess likely contributed significantly to the finished product of Berlin's tunes written during this period. Hamm stated the following:

"It would be impossible to document precisely what Hess contributed to the final versions of Berlin's songs. The piano accompaniments were, in all likelihood, mostly his work. Lyrics and tunes were Berlin's inventions, and various accounts agree that he knew what harmony he wanted as well."

He relocated to New York City where he worked on the staff of several Tin Pan Alley music publishing firms, and later as an executive for multiple record labels.

Hess became a member of ASCAP in 1919. His most successful tunes were "Homesickness Blues" (1917) and "Freckles. Other songs he wrote included "Don't You Remember the Day", "Huckleberry Finn", "I'm in Heaven (When I'm in My Mother's Arms)", "I Used to Call Her Baby", "Sweet Marimba", "When Alexander Takes His Ragtime Band to France", and "While the Years Roll By".

He recorded with Victor Records and Columbia Records.

Hess lived in East Orange, New Jersey for several years. He died in Cameron County, Texas on June 8, 1959.

References

Bibliography

• Jasen, David A.; Jones, Gene (2000). That American Rag: The Story of Ragtime from Coast to Coast. Schirmer Books. ISBN 9780028647432.
• McNamara, Daniel I., ed. (1952). "Hess, Cliff". The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors and Publishers. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
• Rehrig, William H (1991). "Hess, Cliff". In Bierley, Paul E. (ed.). The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music: Composers and Their Music. Integrity Press.
• Magee, Jeffrey (2012). Irving Berlin's American Musical Theater. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195398267.
• Kimball, Robert; Emmet, Linda, eds. (2001). The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin. Alfred A. Knopf.
• Graham, Philip; Wood (1998). Irving Berlin : A Life in Song. Schirmer Books.

External links

• Cliff Hess at IMDb
• Cliff Hess at the Internet Broadway Database