Will Callahan was a celebrity in Northern Michigan at the beginning of the 20th Century, writing lyrics to more than 300 songs and singing locally with the Tunesters at Juilleret’s in Harbor Springs and at the Argonne Super Club in Charlevoix. In 1917, Callahan penned the words to his most famous song Smiles. Smiles sold 5 million copies worldwide and has since been recorded by many of American’s greatest singers and instrumentalists. Jerome Remick Publishers, the largest publisher of sheet music in the world, paid Callahan $100,000 in 1918 for his next song, Tell Me.

Join author and historian Mary Jane Doerr to learn more about this talented, blind lyricist on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 5:30 pm. The talk takes place on the second floor of the Harbor Springs History Museum and costs $10 per person. Advanced registration is required, click the button below or call 231-526-9771 to register. Cookies and coffee will be provided and copies of Doerr’s book on Callahan will be available to purchase for $35.

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Mary Jane Doerr is the author of State History Award Winner Bay View, An American Idea. Her second book, J. Will Callahan, Tin Pan Alley’s Blind Lyricist, came out in June 2o22 and is available for purchase at the Harbor Springs History Museum.

Miss Doerr began her writing career at the Petoskey News-Review in 1979 as a freelance writer and continued until recently. She has published with numerous magazines and newspapers throughout Michigan on history and Northern Michigan. She is a retired Special Education Teacher and former English Tutor at Oakland Community College. She holds a Master of Education Degree from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Michigan State University.