Songwriters Hall of Fame

Nora Bayes was born Leonora Goldberg in 1880. Singer, comedienne and songwriter, she was perhaps the most popular female entertainer in vaudeville for much of the first quarter of the 20th century.

She began her career in Chicago and made her Broadway debut at 21 in 1901. In 1908, she rose to stardom in shows with her second husband Jack Norworth. Together the duo wrote several ppular songs, particularly the #1 hit ‘Shine on Harvest Moon’. With her extraordinary stage presence, Bayes was once called “the life of every production with which she is connected.”

Bayes recorded for both the Victor Talking Machine Company and Columbia Records during the late teens and early 20's. Among her 40 top ten recordings, Bayes had #1 hits with ‘Over There’ and ‘Make Believe.’ She was also profiled in the bio-pic, Shine on Harvest Moon, about her and Norworth.

Nora Bayes died on March 19, 1928.