Henriette Blanke-Belcher

Henriette Blanke-Belcher (February 16, 1882 – March 1958), also known as Henrietta Blanke-Belcher and later as Henriette B. Melson, was an American composer of popular music, especially waltzes and ragtime tunes. Early life Henriette Berger Blanke was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the eldest of four daughters of Max Blanke and Dora Berger Blanke. Her father was an immigrant from Romania; her mother was from New York City. Henriette was raised in Chicago, and Detroit; her father died in the latter city when she was a teenager. Career Henriette Blanke worked for Whitney-Warner Publishing Company and Jerome H. Remick, music publishing companies in Detroit. They published many of her compositions. She performed in vaudeville in 1909, and a number of recordings of her compositions were made between 1905 and 1926. “I want to become known as a waltz writer exclusively,” she said in 1902, but she also wrote ballads and novelty songs. Compositions by Blanke-Belcher included “Lazarre Waltzes” (1901), “Francezka Waltzes” (1902, named for the novel by Molly Eliot Seawell), “Hearts Courageous: Waltzes” (1902), “Cubanola: A Spanish Love Serenade” (1902), “Hearts’ Haven Waltzes” (1905), “When th