Ethel Smith American Organist Antique Hand Signed Autograph Page

CHAU4764  This is a rare opportunity to secure this antique hand signed autograph page for Ethel Smith - Please note it has lower right corner piece missing and some fraying to sides - lightly aged - otherwise very good allowing - but surely one of the earliest autograph opportunities for this historic organist.

Ethel Smith was an American organist who played primarily in a pop or Latin style on the Hammond organ. In the 1940s, she had founded the Ethel Smith Music Corporation for the publication of sheet music. She had a long recording career and appeared in many films including George White's Scandals (1945) and Melody Time (1948). In these appearances, she was known for her colorful, elaborate costumes, especially her hats. 

Her rendition of "Tico Tico" became her best-known hit. She performed it in the MGM film Bathing Beauty (1944), after which her recording reached the U.S. pop charts in November 1944, peaked at #14 on January 27, 1945, and sold nearly two million copies worldwide. Her recording of "Monkey on a String" became the theme song for Garfield Goose and Friends, a popular children's television show in Chicago that ran from 1952 until 1976.