"Pretty Baby" is a song written by Tony Jackson during the Ragtime era. The song and lyrics apparently referred to one of Jackson's male lovers. The song was remembered as being prominent in Jackson's repertory before he left New Orleans in 1912, but was not published until 1916. The background as to how the song came to be published has been confused over the years but the truth appears to be that composer Egbert Van Alstyne and lyricist Gus Kahn were writing partners and whilst Egbert was Chicago manager of music publishers, Jerome H. Remick & Company, they heard Tony Jackson singing the song one evening at a Chicago nightspot. They liked the melody but the lyrics were unsuitable for mass consumption. So Jackson was paid $250 for the rights to the tune and Kahn re-wrote the lyrics with Van Alstyne adding a verse, which he took from one of his earlier songs which had not been successful. Jackson's name was included on the sheet music. The song was quickly interpolated into the Broadway show "A World of Pleasure" and was then used in the showThe Passing Show of 1916 where it was sung by Dolly Hackett. In London, the song was included in the musical Houp La! which opened on 23 November 1916 and it was sung by Gertie Millar. Billy Murray recorded the song on June 22, 1916 for Victor Records and it was a huge hit.
Other notable recordings
1930 Louisiana Rhythm Kings - recorded on January 27, 1930 as part of a series of hot instrumental versions of older songs by this Brunswick studio group, usually with Red Nichols as director.
In 2008, British soap operaEastEnders long-time character Dot Branning had the show's first monologue episode, during which she starts singing "Pretty Baby" and telling the tape recorder about her childhood, saying the song was always sung for her as a child by her beloved uncle.
Lyrics
Here is the way early recording star Billy Murray covered it in 1916: Verse 1 Verse 2 Chorus
