Jerome Hosmer Remick (15 November 1867 – 15 July 1931), was a
Detroit music publisher, philanthropist and businessman from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.
Early life
Jerome Remick was born in
Detroit,
Michigan. He was the son of James Albert Remick and Mary Amelia Hosmer.
Career
thumb|left|Sheet music cover for "Oh, You Beautiful Doll"Jerome graduated from the
Detroit Business University in 1887, before joining the Whitney-Remick lumber firm, a family business started by his grandfather, Royal C. Remick. Jerome's interests, however, lay in the developing popular sheet music industry and in 1898 he bought out the small, struggling firm of
Whitney-Warner Publishing Company in Detroit. He turned the company into an extraordinarily successful sheet music publishing house. In 1902 Remick with associate Maurice Shapiro founded
Shapiro-Remick & Company, selling several million copies in 1905 of the enormously successful
"In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree," written by
Harry Williams and
Egbert van Alstyne. The partnership was dissolved in 1906, and Remick started his own firm
Jerome H. Remick & Co. Van Alstyne continued with Remick and a string of hits followed including
"Pretty Baby" and
"Your Eyes have Told Me So."Remick's published songs influenced popular music trends, and included hundreds of hits such as
"Baby Face," "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover," "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" and
"Bye Bye Blackbird," all of which contributed greatly to American heritage and culture.
In 1909 the company published three ballads that sold more than a million copies -
"Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet.",
"Moonlight Bay" in 1912 and
"When You Wore A Tulip" in 1914. The firm also published
ragtime music such as
"Dill Pickles Rag" and
"Black and White Rag".
George Gershwin joined Remick in 1914 and composed many songs, but left the firm shortly after they published "
Rialto Ripples" in 1917. To stay competitive Remick began to sign up unknown writers such as
Harry Warren,
Al Dubin,
Gus Kahn and
Richard A. Whiting, ushering in the golden era of the
Roaring Twenties music. Changes were in the air, though. The arrival of talking pictures obliged
Warner Brothers to invest in publishing houses, leading to their acquisition of Jerome H. Remick and Company in 1929, gaining Remick's catalogue and staff writers, including Harry Warren and Al Dubin who created hits such as "
42nd Street" and "
I Only Have Eyes For You."
While competing publishing houses were located in Michigan, New York City and Chicago, Jerome H. Remick & Co. held sway in Detroit, also running a successful printing plant from there. The firm maintained branch offices in New York City and Chicago, with agencies all over the world, and started hundreds of music outlets under the name
Remick Song Shops throughout the United States. Oddly, Remick could not read music at all, but had a natural understanding of public tastes.
Remick was an enthusiastic gentleman farmer, and owned a 2,200 acre estate on
Gratiot Avenue, growing fruit and vegetables, and raising chickens. His livestock included a herd of prize
Holsteins, leading to a controlling interest in the
Detroit Creamery Co.
thumb|Sheet music cover for "Cleopatra Finnegan : an Afro-Celtic intermezzo"Remick was one of the influential patrons of the
Detroit Symphony, repeatedly serving as President. His fundraising helped to create
Orchestra Hall in 1919. His contributions also enabled the expansion of Detroit's orchestra to 90 players so as to persuade
Ossip Gabrilowitsch,
Mark Twain's son-in-law, to become Detroit Symphony's conductor. Remick also served as director on the Boards of the pharmaceutical firm,
Parke-Davis & Co., the
Paige Motor Co., the
Detroit Savings Bank, and the
Union Trust Co. He also acted as secretary of the
Whitney Land Co., which operated in Oregon and he had an interest in the
Detroit Free Press. He was president of the
Big Four Gold and Copper Mining Co. in Colorado, owning claims covering 11 acres north of the Little Jonnie Mine in the
Leadville district.
In 1928, because of ill-health, Remick sold the company to his Vice-President, Jerome Keit. The new firm was called "The Remick Corporation," and was finally taken over by the
Warner Brothers conglomerate. Remick was survived by his wife, his children, and several grandchildren.
Personal
Remick married Miss Adelaide McCreery at
Flint, Michigan on June 26, 1895.
He is buried along with his wife in Elwood Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.
See also
