American popular music composer, author and music publisher.
Born in Poughkeepsie, New York May 1, 1865.
Died in New York City December 2, 1930 (aged 65).
He began his career as a songwriter and banjo player for vaudeville acts. He became a music publisher in Chicago, Illinois and also wrote silent film scripts and plays.
One of the early pioneers of Tin Pan Alley, charting thirteen times (all top 10) between 1901 and 1917 in the U.S., including two #1's, five #2's, and two #3's songs. His first #1 was Hello Central, Give Me Heaven by Byron G. Harlan in 1901. His second #1 was The Lights of My Home Town by The Peerless Quartet in 1916. Still, he is perhaps best known for his song After the Ball, a popular waltz that was a flop at first, but became a huge hit when it was interpolated into the 1891 play, A Trip To Chinatown. The song became the most successful of its era, selling over two million copies of sheet music in 1892 and over five million copies overall, making it the biggest seller in Tin Pan Alley's history.
He gained the unflattering moniker of The King of the Tear-Jerker for all the sentimental songs he wrote. His middle name is sometimes spelled Kassell, including on his book How to Write a Popular Song (1906). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.