Songwriters Hall of Fame

‘The High Hat Tragedian of Song’ bandleader Ted Lewis was born Theodore Friedman in Circleville, Ohio on June 6, 1892. He organized his first band in 1910 performing on the vaudeville circuit where he perfected his color style as a clarinetist, singer and entertainer.

Lewis was unique among the big band leaders of his era, singing most of the vocals. Among the nearly 100 hit recordings are the top ten hits ‘Blues (My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me)’ (#5, 1920), ‘When My Baby Smiles at Me’ (#1, 1920), ‘I’ll See You in C-U-B-A’ (#4, 1920), ‘Fair One’ (#9, 1921), ‘Margie’ (#4, 1921), ‘All By Myself’ (#1, 1921), ‘Second Hand Rose’ (#2, 1921), ‘Everybody Step’ (#3, 1922), ‘O! Katharina’ (#1, 1925), ‘Where’d You Get Those Eyes?’ (#3, 1926), ‘I Love You (My Love Song)’ (#3, 1929), ‘Lady Luck’ (#3, 1929), ‘Yellow Dog Blues’ (#4, 1930), ‘Just a Gigolo’ (#1, 1931), ‘Somebody Loves You’ (#2, 1931), ‘An Ev’ning in Caroline’ (#2, 1931), ‘In a Shanty In Old Shanty Town’ (#1, 1932) and ‘Lazybones’ (#1, 1933).

While Lewis’ theme became his 1920 hit song ‘When My Baby Smiles at Me,’ he became most famous for his slogan ‘Is Everybody Happy?’

Ted Lewis died on August 25, 1971 at the age of 79.