# James Brockman

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James Brockman Born Jacob Brachman (1886-12-08)December 8, 1886 Russian Empire Died May 22, 1967(1967-05-22) (aged 80) Santa Monica, California, United States Genres Broadway musicals, revues, show tunes Occupations Songwriter, composer

Musical artist

**James Brockman** (December 8, 1886 – May 22, 1967) was an American songwriter. Born in [Russia](/source/Russia), he emigrated to New York by himself at the age of 9 or 10.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] His given name was Jacob Brachman but he changed the spelling of the last name because it was mis-pronounced and the rest of the family followed with the change.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Brockman began his career as a comedian in [vaudeville](/source/Vaudeville) and musicals in the early 1900s. He was a partner, along with [James Kendis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Kendis&action=edit&redlink=1), of the [Kendis-Brockman Music Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kendis-Brockman_Music_Company&action=edit&redlink=1).

He wrote the lyrics to *[Down among the Sheltering Palms](/source/Down_among_the_Sheltering_Palms)* with music by composer and Chicago music publisher [Abe Olman](/source/Abe_Olman). Oldman's marketing of the song led to [Leo Feist](/source/Leo_Feist) acquiring it and encouraging [Al Jolson](/source/Al_Jolson) to perform on stage.[1]

In 1919, he was a co-writer of the song "[I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles](/source/I'm_Forever_Blowing_Bubbles)", which years later would become the anthem of the [English](/source/England) [football](/source/Football_(soccer)) club [West Ham United](/source/West_Ham_United_F.C.).[2] Also in 1919, he co-wrote "I'm Like a Ship Without a Sail". He also co-wrote, with [Abe Olman](/source/Abe_Olman), the song "[Down Among The Sheltering Palms](/source/Down_Among_The_Sheltering_Palms)", published in 1914 and popularized by the [Boswell Sisters](/source/Boswell_Sisters) in the early 1930s.

He went on to work in [Hollywood](/source/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles) as a songwriter for films, and wrote the score for [Happy Days](/source/Happy_Days_(1929_film)). He died in [Santa Monica, California](/source/Santa_Monica%2C_California) in May 1967, aged 80, and was inducted into the [Songwriters Hall of Fame](/source/Songwriters_Hall_of_Fame) in 1970.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Jasen2_1-0)** Jasen, David A. (1988). *Tin Pan Alley: the Composers the Songs the Performers and their Times*. New York: Donald I. Fine. p. 91. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1556110995](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1556110995).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Jasen_2-0)** Jasen, David A. (1988). *Tin Pan Alley: the Composers the Songs the Performers and their Times*. New York: Donald I. Fine. p. 183. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1556110995](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1556110995).

## External links

- [James Brockman](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0110696/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [James Brockman](http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_home_page.asp?exhibitId=209) at the [Songwriters Hall of Fame](/source/Songwriters_Hall_of_Fame) Virtual Museum

- [James Brockman recordings](https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106540) at the [Discography of American Historical Recordings](/source/Discography_of_American_Historical_Recordings).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Brockman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brockman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brockman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.