Fred Fisher
Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach; September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher.
Also recorded as Fred Fischer · Jack Hancock
Fred Fisher
https: The Theatre Magazine, January 1916, p. 26 · Public domain
- Name
- Fred Fisher
- Birth Name
- Alfred Breitenbach
- Born
- 30 September 1875
- Birthplace
- Cologne, Germany
- Died
- 14 January 1942
- Place of death
- Manhattan, New York, U.S.
- Occupation
- Songwriter, music publisher
- Full name
- Alfred Breitenbach.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Honours
- Songwriters Hall of Fame.
- Languages
- German and English.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach; September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher.
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Note VALÉORINE
Fred Fisher (1875–1942) was a composer, music publisher and songwriter, of American nationality. The composer was born Alfred Breitenbach in Cologne and died in Manhattan. Fred Fisher was also known as John Hancock. Fred Fisher worked in Tin Pan Alley.
Languages used include English and German. Honours include Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q665595 · wikipedia · Fred Fisher
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Fred Fisher • Birth Name — Alfred Breitenbach • Alias — Fred Fischer • Born — 30 September 1875 • Birthplace — Cologne, Germany • Died — 14 January 1942 • Place of death — Manhattan, New York, U.S. • Occupation — Songwriter, music publisher • Years Active — 1900s–1940 • Associated Acts — Joseph McCarthy
Biography
Biography
Fisher was born in Cologne, Germany. His parents were Max and Theodora Breitenbach. After visiting the United States in 1892, he immigrated in 1900, where he adopted the name Fred Fischer. He founded the Fred Fischer Music Publishing Company in 1907. During World War I he changed his surname to Fisher to make it seem less German. In 1914, Fred Fisher married Ana Fisher (née Davidovitch, later anglicized as Davis; born 1896). Their children – Daniel ("Danny"; 1920–2001), Marvin (1916–1993), and Doris (1915–2003) – also wrote songs professionally. Fisher died by suicide in Manhattan, New York, and was interred at Maimonides Cemetery in Brooklyn. In 1970, Fred Fisher was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Ripley's "Believe It or Not" column credited him with writing more Irish songs than anyone else.
Filmography
Filmography
• My Man (1928) Fanny Brice sings "I'd Rather Be Blue", a Fisher-Billy Rose collaboration that was later covered by Barbra Streisand. • Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949) This film is a fictionalized Hollywood biography featuring many of Fisher's songs. A Tin Pan Alley promoter (Mark Stevens) turns serious composer Fred Breitenbach (S.Z. Sakall) into songwriter Fred Fisher.
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — Come Josephine In My Flying Machine 1910 • Illustration — They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me 1917 • Illustration — Dardanella 1919 • Illustration — Chicago 1922
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Cologne.
Birth place
Manhattan.
Death place
Selected compositions
• "If the Man in the Moon Were a Coon," by Fred Fischer, Will Rossiter (1867–1954) (pub) (1905) (this was his first hit; it combined two then-popular song themes, Moon songs and Coon songs) • "Come Josephine In My Flying Machine," by Fred Fischer, Shapiro (pub) (1910) • "Peg O' My Heart, words by Alfred Bryan, music by Fred Fisher, Leo Feist (pub) (1913) • "Who paid the rent for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle?" words by Alfred Bryan, music by Fred Fischer, Leo Feist (pub) (1914) • "Lorraine (My Beautiful Alsace Lorraine)" lyrics by Alfred Bryan, music by Fred Fisher, McCarthy & Fisher (pub) (1917) • "They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me," words by Joseph McCarthy (1885–1943), music by Fred Fisher, McCarthy & Fisher (pub) (1917) • "The Popular Wobbly," parody of "They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me," words by T-Bone Slim (1880–1942), Industrial Workers of the World (pub) (1920) • "Dardanella," words by Fred Fisher, music by Felix Bernard (1897–1944) & Johnny S. Black (1895–1936), McCarthy & Fisher Inc. (1919) • "Chicago," by Fred Fisher, Fred Fisher (pub) (1922) • "That's When Your Heartaches Begin," by William Raskin, George Brown (Billy Hill), and Fred Fisher, Fred Fisher Music Co. (1940) (an Ink Spots tune recorded in 1957 by Elvis) • "Your Feet's Too Big," by Ada Benson, Fred Fisher, The Four Ink Spots (1936) • "I'd Rather Be Blue," words by Billy Rose, music by Fred Fisher, Irving Berlin (pub) (1928) • "Whispering Grass," words by Fred Fisher, music by Doris Fisher, Mills Music Inc. (pub) (1940) Some of his other songs are; • 1917 "Pull the Cork Out of Erin Let the River Shannon Flow". L: Addison Burkhardt • 1918 "Come Across, Yankee Boy, Come Across". L: Alfred Bryan • 1918 "In the Harbor of My Mother's Arms". L: Monty Brice • 1918 "Little Blue Bonnet Girl" • 1918 "Mister McAdoo". L:Joseph McCarthy & Alfred Bryan • 1918 "Oui, Oui, Marie". L: Alfred Bryan • 1918 "Sink All Your Ships in the Ocean Blue". L: Jack Glogau • 1918 "Wee, Wee, Marie (Will You Do Zis for Me)". L: Joseph McCarthy & Alfred Bryan • 1918 "We're All Comrades Now". L: Joseph McCarthy • 1918 "When Yankee Doodle Sails Upon the Good Ship Home Sweet Home". L: Addison Burkhardt
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Fred Fisher”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q665595: Fred Fisher
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Colin Larkin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guinness Publishing. 867. 1992. 0-85112-939-0.
- 2.Jack Gottlieb, Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish: How Yiddish Songs and Synagogue Melodies Influenced Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, and Hollywood, Volume 1, p. 25, SUNY Press (2004)
- 3.Honor Roll of Popular Song Writers: No. 13 – Fred Fisher, by Jack Burton, Billboard (magazine), p. 48, March 19, 1949
- 4.Songwriters Attend Fred Fisher's Rites: Buck Praises Him for Great Contribution to Music,The New York Times, January 17, 1942
- 5.Hit Songs' Author Suicide by Hanging, The New York Times, January 15, 1942
- 6.Jack Gottlieb, Funny ... , pg 25
- 7.Parker, Bernard S. World War I Sheet Music – Volume 2. McFarland & Company. 489, 547, 586, 758, 764, 787. 2007. 978-0-7864-2799-4.
- 8.Parker, Bernard S. World War I Sheet Music - Volume 1. McFarland & Company. 80, 303, 378, 415. 2007. 978-0-7864-2798-7.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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