Bay View’s Blind Lyricist: The Songs of J. Will Callahan

Noted historian Mary Jane Doerr will explore the life and career of blind Tin Pan Alley lyricist J. Will Callahan, who built a cottage on Forest Avenue in Bay View in 1909. His song, "Smiles," written in 1917, sold 5 million copies of sheet music during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic and World War I. He published 300 songs during his time in Bay View.