There may be reason for confusion over the "Daddy Long
Legs" tune, because there were TWO different tunes
composed in 1919 invloving those exact three words.
Albert Von Tilzer composed "Dear Old Daddy-Long-Legs"
(which I believe is a One-Step; at least it appears as
such on Wurlitzer roll 6557), published June 5, 1919.
Harry Ruby composed "Daddy Long Legs," a waltz
published March 27, 1919 (also on roll 6557).
This may be another the not-so-rare case of one
composer capitalizing on another's marketing success by
riding the coattails of either his tune title or his
musical theme.
A famous case of that sort was the successful suit for
copyright infringement brought by the owners of the
tune "Dardanella" against Jerome Kern, composer of
"Ka-Lu-A." This was the first case involving the issue
of "unconscious copying" and, although Justice Learned
Hand tended to believe Kern's assertion that he was so
familiar with the characteristic eighths pattern of
Dardanella that he imitated it without realizing, Hand
nevertheless found for the plaintiffs and levied
damages for infringement against Kern.
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