Ballard MacDonald

American Tin Pan Alley lyricist and film short writer.
Born October 15, 1882, Portland, Oregon.
Died November 17, 1935, Forest Hills, New York.

Among his songwriting credits: "Beautiful Ohio", "Rose of Washington Square", "Second Hand Rose", "Parade of the Wooden" "Soldiers, Back Home Again in Indiana", "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine", "Play That Barbershop Chord", "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!", "Somebody Loves Me", "Bend Down, Sister", "Down in Bom Bombay", and "On the Mississippi".
He charted 38 times between 1910-1929 in the U.S. and an additional five times between 1948-1996 (3 of them in the U.K. He had five #1 songs, beginning with "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" by Bert Williams in 1910 (co-written by Lewis F. Muir (as Lewis Muir) & William Tracey), "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" in 1913 by Henry Burr & Albert Campbell (co-written by Harry Carroll), "Beautiful Ohio" by The Waldorf-Astoria Dance Orchestra in 1919 (co-written by Robert King), "Beautiful Ohio" by Henry Burr in 1919, and "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra in 1923 (co-written by Leon Jessel).
He also wrote film shorts. He was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.