(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey

1902 popular song by Hughie Cannon (Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey BillBailey1902Cover.jpg 1902 sheet music cover, words and music written by Hughie Cannon published by Howley, Haviland and Dresser song Al Hirt Hughie Cannon Howley, Haviland and Dresser 1902 Dixieland jazz, jazz standard "(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey", originally titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please.... Come Home?" is a popular song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "Bill Bailey". The words and music were written by Hughie Cannon, an American songwriter and pianist, and it was published by Howley, Haviland and Dresser. It is still a standard with Dixieland and traditional jazz bands. The simple 32-bar chord sequence of its chorus also underpins many other tunes played mainly by jazz bands, such as "Over the Waves", "Washington and Lee Swing", "Bourbon Street Parade", "My Little Girl", and the final themes of "Tiger Rag" and "The Beer Barrel Polka". Origin thumb|upright=1.2|May 1902 Victor Monarch recording of Dan W. Quinn performing "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" Cannon worked as a pianist in Jackson, Michigan, where he reportedly drew inspiration for the song from local musician Willard "Bill" Bailey and his wife Sarah (née Siegrist).Edwards Bill Hugo "Hughie" Cannon https://ragpiano.com/comps/hcannon.shtml 2026-10-10 RagPiano.com en According to accounts of the song's origins, Cannon was inspired from Bailey's habait of staying out late and his strained marriage to Sarah and reportedly intended the song as a joke, although Sarah did not appreciate the lyrics. Cannon sold the rights to the song outright and later died of cirrhosis in 1912, aged 35. Willard and Sarah Bailey divorced, and Willard later lived in Los Angeles with their daughter Frances. He died in April 1954, while Sarah died in 1978, aged 104. Popular recordings In 1902, the first recording; sung and played by Arthur Collins on piano.Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3seUny2pB8/ YouTube 16 February 2013 May 30, 2023 In December 1952, the song featured in the film Meet Me at the Fair, directed by Douglas Sirk.Meet Me at the Fair https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50571-MEET-MEATTHEFAIR 2026-10-10 AFI Catalog of Feature Films American Film Institute In 1960, Bobby Darin recorded the song, where it went to No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 Whitburn Joel Joel Whitburn 2013 Record Research 216 No. 13 in Canada,http://chumtribute.com/60-07-04-chart.jpg CHUM Hit Parade - July 4, 1960 JPG Chumtribute.com and No. 34 on the UK singles chart.Bobby Darin https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6337/bobby-darin/ Officialcharts.com December 14, 2021 In 1966, the Tokyo Happy Coats performed the song live on the Ed Sullivan Show.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFkO52hSH9A Tokyo Happy Coats "Bye Bye Blues & Bill Bailey" on The Ed Sullivan Show 2024-03-23 The Ed Sullivan Show 2025-06-08 YouTube In 1987, garage rock- punk blues band the Gun Club released a version of the song as the opening track on their album Mother Juno.https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&q=Mother+Juno+gun+club&pg=PP467 The Rough Guide to Rock Peter Buckley October 9, 2003 Rough Guides 9781843531050 Google Bookshttps://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-gun-club-mn0000091438/biography The Gun Club | Biography & History AllMusic Parodies Allan Sherman recorded a parody of the song titled "Won't You Come Home Disraeli?", included on his 1963 album My Son, the Celebrity.14 September 1963 Record Reviews https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/63/Record-Mirror-1963-09-14-S-OCR.pdf 10 October 2026 World Radio History Record Mirror Magazine (PDF) In the "Miss Solar System", an episode of The Jetsons, first broadcast on February 3, 1963,Watch The Jetsons Online Season 1 (1962) TV Guide https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-jetsons/episodes-season-1/1030004761/ 2026-10-10 www.tvguide.com en Jane Jetson performs "Won't You Fly Home Bill Spacely", a parody of the song.1963-02-10 Miss Solar System - The Jetsons (Series 1, Episode 20) https://tv.apple.com/gb/episode/miss-solar-system/umc.cmc.58wv1kgwqdiwv3xemmin6dyt9?showId=umc.cmc.qkgo1wa9zr9gc56rcnuy6imn 2026-10-10 Apple TV en-GB In The Simpsons episode "Whacking Day", Grampa Simpson recalls posing as a female carabret singer in Nazi Germany and performing a version of the song for Adolf Hitler, replacing "Bill Bailey" with "Franz Brauder".PodScripts.co Talking Simpsons - Talking Simpsons - Whacking Day Transcript and Discussion https://podscripts.co/podcasts/talking-simpsons/talking-simpsons-whacking-day 2026-10-10 podscripts The 1980 Smurfs album Smurfing Sing Song includes a version of this song titled "Smurf Baby", in which the chorus is repeated with the name "Bill Bailey" replaced with "Smurf Baby".The Smurfs - Smurfing Sing Song 1980 https://www.discogs.com/release/9783282-The-Smurfs-Smurfing-Sing-Song 2026-10-10 en2020-09-07 This Is Most Definitely Not An Appreciation Thread - Part 25 - Page 758 https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2310477/this-is-most-definitely-not-an-appreciation-thread-part-25/p758 2026-10-10 Digital Spy #18935 en-GB Sandler & Young recorded a "Bill Bailey Medley" for their 1968 album The In Person Album, featuring arrangements in various styles, including those associated with Nashville sound, Italian opera, Johann Sebastian Bach and Tel Aviv.The CD Collection https://sandlerandyoung.com/cd/ 10 October 2026 Sandler & Young The Capitol Steps recorded a parody titled "Won't You Go Home Bill Bradley", referring to Bill Bradley's campaign for the 2000 Democratic Presidential Primary. It appeared on their album It's Not Over 'Til the First Lady Sings! (2000).Songs of The Capitol Steps https://www.capsteps.com/albums/songs.html 2026-10-10 www.capsteps.comIt's Not Over 'Til the First Lady Sings! https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/its-not-over-til-the-first-lady-sings!-mr0001442382 2026-10-10 AllMusic en In P.G. Wodehouse's 1906 novel Love Among the Chickens, the narrator, Jeremy Garnet, refers to the song while lamenting his romantic troubles: "Why did Bill Bailey leave home? Once more, because of a woman".Love Among the Chickens (1906) https://madameulalie.org/circle/Love%20Among%20the%20Chickens%201906.html 2026-10-10 madameulalie.org See also List of pre-1920 jazz standards Bill Bailey (British comedian nicknamed after the song) References External links Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home? http://www.perfessorbill.com/lyrics/lybailey.htm (lyrics) http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/n/n09/n0971/ https://web.archive.org/web/20110608154604/http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/n/n09/n0971/ 2011-06-08 (traditional arrangement from "Historic American Sheet Music") Category:1902 songs Category:1900s jazz standards Category:Blackface minstrel songs Category:Songs written by Hughie Cannon Category:Al Hirt songs Category:Little Willie John songs Category:Dixieland jazz standards Category:Songs about marriage