Title: Irving Caesar Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1905-1972

Creator:

• Caesar, Irving, born 1895

Call Number: U.S. Mss 151AN; Disc 109A

Quantity: 1.2 c.f. (4 archives boxes) and 6 disc recordings

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

See the catalog item for information on possible additional materials and shelf locations.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Photocopied papers of Irving Caesar, a lyricist and composer of popular songs and Broadway musicals and a pacifist. The majority of the collection relates to Caesar's early career and his social concerns. Songs, 1937-circa 1970, include lyrics satirizing the military-industrial complex; songbooks and recordings of compositions for children about safety, friendship, and the United Nations; and sheet music for the Pledge of Allegiance. Correspondence includes exchanges with George Gershwin, Aldous Huxley, Lyndon B. Johnson, George Seldes, I. F. Stone, Lyle Stuart, Upton Sinclair, William English Walling, and Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Writings include an early journal, articles on the Cold War for the New York Independent, speeches, and papers regarding his Peace by Wireless plan. Also included are an undated autobiography, an article about song writing, and a transcript of an oral history interview, 1971, for the William E. Wiener Oral History Library of the American Jewish Committee.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0151an

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Irving Caesar is a writer of popular songs and Broadway musical comedies; he is also a pacifist with a social conscience who has devoted much of his time and energy to improving society. He was born Isaac Caesar on July 4, 1895 in New York City. His father had been exiled from Rumania for his socialist beliefs; in the United States he earned a law degree, but made his living as a teacher, bookseller, and bookkeeper. In his youth Isaac changed his name first to Isidore, then to Irving Caesar. A child prodigy, he could play difficult piano pieces when he was five; and when he was eight, he had poems published in the New York papers. Caesar participated in activities of the University Settlement Society of New York City and worked as a part-time typist for writer and civic leader William English Walling. He attended a Quaker school, graduated from a New York high school in 1914, and in 1915 attended the College of the City of New York. Quitting the university, he served under Louis Lochner as a stenographer with the Ford Peace Expedition and was briefly a press correspondent. Both William English Walling and writer Ella Wheeler Wilcox considered Caesar a protegé.

Caesar's career in the theater has been long and successful. He and George Gershwin wrote the song Swanee which Al Jolson sang in Sinbad (Winter Garden, February 14, 1918). He and John Murray Anderson wrote the lyrics for The Greenwich Village Follies (Shubert, September 12, 1922; Winter Garden, September 20, 1923); Cole Porter worked with them on the Follies show that opened at the Winter Garden on November 24, 1924. No! No! Nanette! featured lyrics by Caesar and Otto Harbach. After writing lyrics for ten more musical comedies, Caesar contributed sketches and lyrics to the tenth edition of George White's Scandals (Apollo, September 23, 1923). Into the early 1940's Broadway generally featured a musical comedy with his lyrics, although 1930 was his most prolific season, with three openings.

His popular songs include the following:

• “Tea for Two,” “I Want to Be Happy,” and “Sometimes I'm Happy” (with Vincent Youmans)
• “Crazy Rhythm” (with Joseph Meyer and Roger Kahn)
• “Yankee Doodle Blues” (with George Gershwin)
• “Is It True What They Say About Dixie? ” (with Sammy Lerner and Gerald Marks)
• “That's What I Want for Christmas” (with Gerald Marks)

His writings and his songs reflect his lifelong commitment to social service. In 1939 he originated a “Peace By Wireless” plan, a protocol for an intergovernmental radio guarantee agreement which received world-wide recognition in 1939 and again in 1945. In the late 1950's and early 1960's he wrote front page articles for a New York newspaper, The Independent, on such topics as “The Cold War Is the Class Struggle” and “Payola, Uncle Sam, and Ivan.” His music for the Pledge of Allegiance was accepted by the U.S. Congress in 1954. The songs in his children's songbooks -- Sing a Song of Safety, Sing a Song of Friendship, Songs of Health, and Songs for the United Nations -- have been sung in classrooms throughout the United States and have been translated into numerous foreign languages. And he feels that his popular songs like “I Want to Be Happy” have offered people a valuable perspective on life.

Caesar is a member of ASCAP and served on its board of directors, 1930-1946, 1949 to the present. He also belongs to AFTRA, the Dramatists Guild, the Friars, AGVA, and AGAC (formerly the Songwriters Protective Association).

The Irving Caesar Papers, 1905-1972, mainly document the very early development of his talents and various aspects of his social service commitment. There is almost no information on his career as a writer of popular songs or musical comedies. The material is arranged alphabetically by type of document and includes clippings, correspondence, scrapbook pages, songs, speeches, writings, and disc recordings. All the correspondence has been Xeroxed and the originals returned to Caesar; some other material was in such poor condition that it was Xeroxed or photostated, and the originals were discarded.

The CORRESPONDENCE includes letters of general information, 1905-1924 and undated, about his activities and the development and implementation of his social service philosophy. These, however, are better documented in the alphabetical files of correspondence, especially the files on the Campus Courageous project, Upton Sinclair, William English Walling, and Ella Wheeler Wilcox. There are also five folders on George Seldes' efforts to have his Great Quotations book published and later revised for a new edition; Caesar raised funds for the first edition.

The SONGS material includes lyrics of “Mister Boodle,” which satirizes the military-industrial complex; songbooks for his children's songs of safety, of friendship, and for the United Nations; and sheet music for the “Pledge of Allegiance.” Some of these same works are represented in the DISC RECORDINGS.

Among his WRITINGS are some of Caesar's earlier efforts such as an undated autobiography, and a journal, poems, and essays written while he was in his middle teens. Photostats of some of his articles printed in The Independent, 1958-1960, and a protocol, prospectus, and four folders of correspondence re his “Peace By Wireless” plan offer more insights into his concept of social service. In the article “Ten Popular Songs I Wish I Had Written,” one can see by what criteria Caesar considered a popular song successful. Also included are speeches and a lengthy transcript of an oral interview taped in 1971 for the William E. Wiener Oral History Library of the American Jewish Committee.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Irving Caesar, New York, New York, 1971, 1974, 1977. Accession Number: 71-054, 71-06o, 71-073, 74-080, 77-055

Processing Information

Processed by Eleanor McKay, 1974; additions processed by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, 1985.

U.S. Mss 151AN Box   1 Folder   1	Series: Clippings, 1940, 1968-1973
	Series: Correspondence	⇧
	General
Box   1 Folder   2	1905-1916
Box   1 Folder   3	1917-1924
Box   1 Folder   4	undated
	Alphabetical
Box   1 Folder   5	John Barry, 1916-1922
Box   1 Folder   6	Campus Courageous Project, undated
Box   1 Folder   7	James H. Hamilton, 1906-1925
Box   1 Folder   8	Lyndon B. Johnson, 1941
	George Seldes and Great Quotations Project
Box   1 Folder   9-10	George Seldes, 1955-1971
Box   1 Folder   11	I.F. Stone, 1958-1965
Box   1 Folder   12	Lyle Stuart, 1957-1964
Box   1 Folder   13	Miscellaneous, 1958-1964
Box   1 Folder   14	Upton Sinclair, 1953-1964
Box   2 Folder   1	William English Walling, 1910-1922
Box   2 Folder   2	Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1906-1918
Box   2 Folder   3	Series: Scrapbook, 1904-1910, undated	⇧
	Series: Songs	⇧
Box   2 Folder   4	“Mister Boodle,” lyrics, late 1960's
Box   2 Folder   5	“Pledge of Allegiance,” sheet music, 1954 Note: See also Disc 109A/2.
Box   2 Folder   6	Sing a Song of Friendship, songbook, 1946 Note: See also Disc 109A/3.
Box   2 Folder   7	Sing a Song of Safety, songbook, 1937 Note: See also Disc 109A/4.
Box   2 Folder   7	Songs for the United Nations, lyrics, 1946
Box   2 Folder   8	Series: Speeches, 1934, 1941, 1951	⇧
Box   4 Folder   6	“Radio and Its Reaction on Buying Power,” Note: Address delivered before the Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C., November 8, 1934
Box   4 Folder   6	“Song Writers vs. Radio Monopoly,” January 13, 1941
Box   4 Folder   6	“One Hundred Years of Swanee River,” undated
Box   4 Folder   6	“A Plan to Eliminate the Surprise Attack and Create an Atmosphere in Which Progressive Steps Towards Disarmament Can be Undertaken,” undated
	Series: Writings	⇧
Box   2 Folder   9	Autobiography, undated
Box   2 Folder   10	“The Cold War Is the Class Struggle,” 1958
Box   2 Folder   11	“Disarmament Can Be Undertaken,” 1939
Box   2 Folder   12	Journal, 1910
Box   2 Folder   13	“Payola, Uncle Sam, and Ivan,” 1960
	“Peace By Wireless”
Box   2 Folder   14	Protocol and Prospectus, 1939, 1945
Box   2 Folder   15	Correspondence quoted in Prospectus, 1945
Box   2 Folder   16	Correspondence with organizations, 1939
Box   2 Folder   17	Correspondence with politicians and personalities, 1945
Box   3 Folder   1	Correspondence with press and radio figures, 1939, 1945
Box   3 Folder   2	Poems and essays, 1910-1911; undated
Box   3 Folder   3	“Readin', Ritin', and Revolution,” 1958
Box   3 Folder   4	“Ten Popular Songs I Wish I Had Written,” 1972
	Transcript of an Oral Interview taped for the William E. Wiener Oral History Library of the American Jewish Committee
Box   4 Folder   1	Pages 1-137, March 25, 1971
Box   4 Folder   2	Pages 138-224, April 1, 1971
Box   4 Folder   3	Pages 225-386, April 6, 1971
Box   4 Folder   4	Pages 387-452, April 13, 1971
Box   4 Folder   5	Pages 453-536, April 22, 1971
Disc 109A	Series: Disc Recordings	⇧
No.   1	And Then I Wrote. Coral Records CRL 57083. MG4938T1 and MG4939T3. Physical Description: 12 inch LP
No.   2	“Pledge of Allegiance,” CRC-4399A and GRC-4399B. Physical Description: 7 inch 45 rpm
No.   3	Sing a Song of Friendship. Playwell Records. L80P-4377-1A and L80P-4378-1A. Physical Description: 12 inch LP
No.   4	Sing a Song of Safety. Playwell Records. LO-7P-1379 and LO-7P-1380. Physical Description: 12 inch LP
No.   5 8 6	Songs of Health. MGM Records L6A. 50012A and 50012B; 50013-A and 50013-B