Henry Creamer was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 popular song lyricist. He was born in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, often collaborating with Turner Layton

Turner Layton

Turner Layton , born John Turner Layton, Jr., was an American songwriter, singer and pianist. Born in Washington, D.C., in 1894, he was the son of John Turner Layton, "a bass singer, music educator and hymn composer." After receiving a musical education from his father, he attended the Howard...

, with whom he also appeared in vaudeville

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

.

Creamer was a co-founder with James Reese Europe

James Reese Europe

James Reese Europe was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African American music scene of New York City in the 1910s.-Biography:...

 of the Clef Club

Clef Club

The Clef Club was a popular entertainment venue and society for African American musicians in Harlem, achieving its largest success in the 1910s. Incorporated by James Reese Europe in 1910, it was a combination musicians' hangout, fraternity club, labor exchange, and concert hall, across the street...

, an important early African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 musicians and entertainers organization in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Some Famous Works

• "Alabama Stomp" w. Henry Creamer m. James P. Johnson
  James P. Johnson
  James P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...
  
   (1926)
• "'Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
  Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
  "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" is a popular song with music by John Turner Layton, Jr. and lyrics by Henry Creamer. First published in 1922, Creamer and Layton advertised it as "A Southern Song, without A Mammy, A Mule, Or A Moon", a dig at some of the Tin Pan Alley clichés of the era.It was...
  
  " w. Henry Creamer m. Turner Layton (1922)
• "Dear Old Southland" w. Henry Creamer m. Turner Layton (1921) (sung to basically the same tune as Deep River
  Deep River (song)
  "Deep River" is an anonymous spiritual of African American origin. It has been sung in several films, including the 1929 film version of Show Boat, although it was not used in the original show...
  
  )
• "Strut Miss Lizzie" w. Henry Creamer m. Turner Layton (1921)
• "After You've Gone
  After You've Gone (song)
  "After You've Gone" is a 1918 popular song composed by Turner Layton, with lyrics written by Henry Creamer. It was recorded by Marion Harris on July 22, 1918 and released on Victor 18509. It is the basis for many other jazz songs, as it can easily be improvised over...
  
  " w. Henry Creamer m. Turner Layton (1918)
• "Ev'rybody's Crazy 'bout the Doggone Blues, But I'm Happy" w. Henry Creamer m. Turner Layton (1918)
• "The Bombo-Shay" by Henry Creamer (1917)
• "Sweet Emalina My Gal" w. Henry Creamer m. Turner Layton (1917)
• "That's A Plenty" w. Henry Creamer m. Bert A. Williams (1909)
• "If I Could Be with You (One Hour Tonight)
  If I Could Be with You (One Hour Tonight)
  "If I Could Be with You " is a popular song.The music was written by James P. Johnson, the lyrics by Henry Creamer. The song was published in 1926 and first recorded by Clarence Williams' Blue Five with vocalist Eva Taylor in 1927...
  
  " w. Henry Creamer m. James P. Johnson
  James P. Johnson
  James P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...
  
  (1926)

External links

• Henry Creamer, Excellent Lyricist