A Will R. Anderson Hit

On February 27, 1908, the Los Angeles Herald published an article in which Will R. Anderson revealed his secrets for writing a hit song:

Will R. Anderson, the author of Just Someone, by far the catchiest little song, both to melody and words that has been offered the American public in some years, has at last come out of his long, deep silence and told how he did it.

This is not Mr. Anderson's first lucky strike as the author of a popular song. Some years ago when the Silver Slipper was playing at the Broadway Theater, New York City, to indifferent business, the management interpolated a little number of his called Tessie, and within a week all New York was singing it, and within a surprisingly short period of time its popularity had spread over the entire country.  Just Someone, though published but a short time, bids fair to eclipse not only Tessie but every other song in the field at the present time.

Mr. Anderson, who is not a professional song writer, but is engaged as advertising man with one of the largest chemical houses in the country, explains the art of writing a singable song in these words: 

'The first step in the construction of a song that the public is going to like and take to at first hearing, is tunefulness; next to this in importance is simplicity.  I believe that my entire success with Just Someone is due to its simple and tuneful little melody.

'Next comes the words or rhyme.  Here again simplicity plays an important part--simplicity and sentiment--the former to make it popular with the masses who do not care to spend too much of their time in memorizing a song, and the later for the ladies, who are the real purchasers of our music after all.  Take the very first lines of Just Someone for example; they are simplicity itself, and yet they are sentimental and hold out a promise of more to come:

When you're happy and contented,
And your sky is clear and blue,
It's kind of nice to know there's someone,
Glad to share it all with you.

'These opening lines, I honestly believe, were responsible for M. Witmark & Sons publishing the song.  When I submitted it to them, they declared that they had all the sentimental songs they cared for--I read the first lines to them, they became interested--I played the music over, then sang the words and walked out of the place with my contract.  Again I say, simplicity, sentiment and tunefulness--get these and you have a popular song.'

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