Tom Glazer

b. September 3, 1914 / Philadelphia, PA
d. February 21, 2003 / Philadelphia, PA

Singer / Songwriter / Author

Like many modern folk artists, Tom Glazer's creative efforts go far beyond ballad singing. His compositions have become staple items in both folk and popular domains....

Glazer was first introduced to folk music at home, where his mother often sang traditional ballads to him. While attending grade and high school in Philadelphia. he studied widely in all areas of music, including the classics. He learned a range of instruments during the years, including guitar, string bass, and tuba. In 1929, he made his first professional appearance....

After three years of college [City College, New York, NY], Glazer left and for the next few years played tuba and bass in military and jazz bands. He also continued his choral work. By the start of the 1940s, he had begun to concentrate more and more on collecting and singing folk music. At first it was a sideline, but in 1943 he became a full-time ballad singer. He gained a reputation as a folk artist in the next few years and also devoted much of his time to developing special material for children. His recording activities in this area won him the Annual Record Music Award for children's records in 1947.

He did not abandon adult audiences during these years. In 1945, he began his own program on ABC radio, "Tom Glazer's Ballad Box," that remained a highly popular show for the two years of its existence. His radio activities expanded, as well, to acting and/or singing on such programs as "We The People,'' "Listening Post,'' "True Story,'' and "Theatre Guild on the Air''....

His creative contributions during the 1950s and '60s included acting, singing, and writing for both movies and TV. His movie work included the job of balladeer-narrator for an RKO film, ''Sweet Land of Liberty'' and composer of the score for the Andy Griffith vehicle "A Face in the Crowd''....

Glazer's voice was featured on many records in the years after World War II..... His records for children were produced for Young People's Records, Inc. Through the 1960s, total sales ran to more than a million.

Glazer's songwriting activities included so diverse numbers as the comic parody "On Top of Spaghetti'' and the strident "Skokiaan.'' His other compositions include "A Dollar Ain't a Dollar Anymore,'' "More,'' "Till We Two Are One,'' ''Ballad for the Babe,'' "Worried Man," "Old Soldiers Never Die,'' "Mama Guitar," ''Melody of Love,'' "Care,'' and "Don't Weep, Don't Mourn, Don't Worry.'' -- Irwin Stambler & Grelun Landon, Encyclopedia of Folk, Country and Western Music, New York, NY, 1969, pp. 107-108. (http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/glazer.html)

Courtesy of a Todd Everett posting to the Crossroads board on 2/26/2003, 11:56 am .

Obituary:

Tom Glazer, 88, a folk singer and songwriter best known for his whimsical children's songs, died Feb. 21 in Philadelphia. Along with Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Josh White and Burl Ives, he was one of a loose coalition of performers who made folk music a national phenomenon in the 1940s, presaging its commercial popularity in the 1960s.

Oscar Brand, curator of the Songwriters Hall of Fame who sang with him, said Glazer was such a fine guitarist that he played chords other folk musicians hardly knew existed.

Glazer's best-remembered achievement was writing "On Top of Spaghetti," a hit novelty song in 1963. Sung to the tune of "On Top of Old Smoky," it featured a chorus of children singing lines like "On top of spaghetti all covered with cheese." A wayward meatball is the star. In 1957 he composed songs and background music for "A Face in the Crowd," a film directed by Elia Kazan. His song "Talking Inflation Blues" was recorded by Bob Dylan on his "Minnesota Party Tape" in 1960.

As well as performing and recording, Glazer wrote books, most about music; composed songs recorded by Frank Sinatra¹, Perry Como² and the Kingston Trio³, and was the host of music programs on New York radio stations.
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Tom Glazer also wrote "Because All Men Are Brothers," which was recorded by The Weavers and Peter, Paul and Mary and Pete Seeger, to name a few.
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¹ "Melody Of Love" music (1903) by Hans Englemann
² "More" music by Alex Alstone
³ "A Worried Man" music by Dave Guard

SOURCE: http://www.startribune.com/stories/466/3719337.html

A longer one, from the NYT:

Tom Glazer, Folk Singer, Is Dead at 88
By DOUGLAS MARTIN

Tom Glazer, a folk singer and songwriter best known for his whimsical children's songs — particularly one about a mountain of spaghetti — died on Friday at his home in Philadelphia. He was 88.

Along with Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Josh White and Burl Ives, Mr. Glazer was a Big City folk singer, one of a loose coalition of performers who made folk music a national phenomenon in the 1940's, presaging its commercial popularity in the 1960's.

Pete Seeger, a member of the group, remembered Mr. Glazer yesterday as a solid performer who worked well with entertainers of different styles and political beliefs

"He wasn't fancy," Mr. Seeger said in an interview. "He was just straightforward. He had a good sense of humor."

Oscar Brand, who also sang with Mr. Glazer and who is curator of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, said Mr. Glazer was such a fine guitarist that he played chords other folk musicians hardly knew existed. Mr. Brand said Mr. Glazer, who was formally educated in music, had "a soft, easy voice that did not sound trained."

As well as performing and recording, Mr. Glazer wrote books, most about music; composed songs recorded by Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and the Kingston Trio; and was the host of music programs on New York radio stations.

But his best-remembered achievement — though not Mr. Glazer's favorite — was writing "On Top of Spaghetti," a hit novelty song in 1963. Sung to the tune of "On Top of Old Smoky," it featured a chorus of children singing lines like "On top of spaghetti all covered with cheese." A wayward meatball is the star.

Thomas Zachariah Glazer was born in Philadelphia on Sept. 2, 1914, his son Peter said. His father, Jacob, left Russia for the United States to avoid the draft, but returned to find a wife, Sophie. They settled in Philadelphia, where Jacob worked as a carpenter in a shipyard.

Jacob died in the influenza pandemic of 1918. Thomas and his two brothers lived with their mother and other relatives, as well as in an orphanage. Thomas hitchhiked to New York when he was 17 and got a job at Macy's. He finished high school at nights and then attended City College for three years.

He went to Washington, where he worked at the Library of Congress and befriended Alan Lomax, who established the library's Archive of American Folk Song.

Mr. Glazer bought a cheap guitar, learned some strums from Lomax and began to perform. Eleanor Roosevelt invited him to play at a White House concert for soldiers working there as guards.

Mr. Glazer's formal debut came on Jan. 8, 1943, at Town Hall in Manhattan. In 1945 he started a show on ABC Radio, "Tom Glazer's Ballad Box," and in the 1960's he was host of a weekly concert show for children on WQXR radio in New York.

In 1957 he composed songs and background music for "A Face in the Crowd," a film directed by Elia Kazan. His song "Talking Inflation Blues" was recorded by Bob Dylan on his "Minnesota Party Tape" in 1960.

Mr. Glazer is survived by his sons Peter, of Berkeley, Calif., and John, of Rochester; his sister, Victoria G. Tovim of Philadelphia; and two granddaughters. His marriage to the former Miriam Reed Eisenberg ended in divorce in 1974.

His brother, who spelled his name Sidney Glazier, died in December. He produced the 1968 movie version of "The Producers."

Tom Glazer occasionally speculated about meeting St. Peter at the Pearly Gates and being asked what he accomplished in music. Mr. Glazer mumbles that he wrote "On Top of Spaghetti."

"Sorry, buster, you can't enter," the imagined St. Peter replies.

Songs Credited to Tom Glazer	Song Title
1.	On Top of Spaghetti
2.	A Worried Man (with Dave Guard)


Last revised: February 23, 2006.