J. Fred Coots

In 1934, when Gillespie brought him the lyrics to "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", Coots developed the outline of the melody in just ten minutes. Coots took the song to his publisher, Leo Feist, who liked it but thought it was "a kids' song" and didn't expect too much from it. Coots offered the song to Eddie Cantor who used it for his radio show that November and it became an instant success. The morning after the radio show there were orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music and by Christmas sales had passed 400,000.

• Name — J. Fred Coots • Birth Name — John Frederick Coots • Alias — J. Fred Coots Fred Coots • Born — 2 May 1897 • Died — 8 April 1985 • Place of death — New York City, U.S. • Origin — Brooklyn, New York, U.S. • Instrument — Piano • Genre — Tin Pan Alley • Occupation — Composer

Coots was born in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York When he was 17 years old, he began to work for Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. in New York In 1916, his first successful song was published, "Mr. Ford You've Got The Right Idea," words by Ray Sherwood, music by Coots; A. J. Stasny Music Co., publisher In 1919, actor-producer Eddie Dowling gave Coots his first chance at writing a musical score for Friars' Frolics. In 1922, Dowling commissioned Coots to write the songs for Sally, Irene and Mary, a show which ran for two years on Broadway. In 1928, he wrote "Doin' The Raccoon". He relocated to Los Angeles the next year. In 1931, he wrote "Love Letters in the Sand" In 1934, he wrote the songs "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (more than 4 million copies of sheet music sold) and "For All We Know" In 1940, he wrote "The Rangers' Victory Song"; He married Marjorie Decker Jennings on February 18, 1924, in Manhattan. He died in 1985 in a New York City hospital, after a lengthy illness

• "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," words by Haven Gillespie, music by Coots • Leo Feist, Inc., publisher (1934); • © September 27, 1934, Class E unpublished 93634, Leo Feist, Inc., New York • © October 23, 1934, Class E published 44456, October 25, 1934, Leo Feist, Inc. • © Renewal September 27, 1961, R28248025, Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots • © Renewal October 25, 1961, R283907, Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots • "You Go to My Head," words by Haven Gillespie, music by Coots • Remick Music (1938); • "Louisiana Fairy Tale," words and music by Mitchell Parish, Haven Gillespie, and Coots • Mills Music (1935); • © April 5, 1935, Class E 47450, Mills Music, Inc., New York • "For All We Know," words by Sam M. Lewis, music by Coots • Leo Feist, Inc. (1934); • © March 14, 1934, Class E unpublished 84751, Leo Feist, Inc., New York • "I Still Get a Thrill (Thinking of You)," words by Benny Davis, music by Coots • Davis, Coots & Engel (1930); • "There's Honey On The Moon Tonight," words by Haven Gillespie and Mack Davis, music by Coots • Miller Music, Inc. (1938);

• Sally, Irene and Mary, music by Coots, words by Raymond W. Klages (1888–1947), March 23, 1925 – April 4, 1925 & September 4, 1922 – June 2, 1923 • "Kid Days" • "Time Will Tell" • "Pals" • "Stage Door Johnnies" • "I Wonder Why" • "Do You Remember?" • "How I've Missed You Mary" • "Right Boy Comes Along" • "Our Home Sweet Home" • "Peacock Alley" • "Something in Here" • "Opportunity" • "We Are Waiting" • "Clouds Roll By" • "Until You Say Yes" • "Wedding Time" • "Old Fashioned Gown" • "When a Regular Boy Loves a Regular Girl" • "Up on Fifth Avenue Near Central Park" • "Jimmy" • Sons O' Guns, music by Coots, November 26, 1929 – August 9, 1930 • Broadway Nights, featuring songs by Coots, July 15, 1929 – August 17, 1929 • George White's Scandals, musical review, featuring songs by Coots, July 2, 1928 – January 19, 1929 • White Lights, music by Coots, October 11, 1927 – November 5, 1927 • Gay Paree, musical review, music and lyrics by Coots, November 9, 1926 – April 9, 1927 & August 18, 1925 – January 30, 1926 • A Night in Paris, musical review, music by Coots, July 26, 1926 – October 30, 1926 & January 5, 1926 – July 10, 1926 • The Merry World, musical review, music by Coots, June 8, 1926 – August 21, 1926 • Mayflowers, music by Coots, November 24, 1925 – January 30, 1926 • June Days, musical, music by Coots, August 6, 1925 – October 17, 1925 • Artists and Models, musical review, music by Coots, June 24, 1925 – May 7, 1926 • Artists and Models, musical review, music by Coots, October 15, 1924 – May 23, 1925 • Innocent Eyes, musical review, additional music by Coots, May 20, 1924 – August 30, 1924 • Dew Drop Inn, musical comedy, featuring songs by Coots, May 17, 1923 – August 25, 1923 • Spice of 1922, musical review, music by Coots, July 6, 1922 – September 9, 1922