Although his life was brief, Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901) made a lasting impression on turn of the century America. Trained as a pianist, Nevin turned out many serious works for piano or for piano and orchestra, the most famous of which, Narcissus from his Water Scenes from 1891, is still instantly recognizable by most concert audiences. But Nevin's fame as a serious composer was eclipsed by his fame as a composer of popular songs like "Wynken, Blynken & Nod," "Little Boy Blue," "Might Lak' a Rose," and, most popular of all, "The Rosary," with lyrics by Robert Cameron Rogers. Composed in 1898, "The Rosary" is a sentimental tear-jerker of the first water, with a melody that could melt stone and lyrics that could make a strong man weep. After his death, Nevin's song inspired a book by Florence L. Barclay, a Broadway play by Edward E. Rose, and a silent movie by Jerome Storm. Nevin himself inspired a pair of short stories by Willa Cather, "Uncle Valentine" and "A Death in the Desert," and even a 10-cent stamp by the United States Postal Service in its "Great American Composers" series.

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