Hart Pease Danks (April 6, 1834 - November 20, 1903) was an American musician who specialized in composing, singing, and conducting choral groups. He became known for his 1873 composition ''Silver Threads Among the Gold'' .
Danks was born in New Haven, Connecticut and relocated with his family to Saratoga Springs , New York when he was eight years old . He studied music under Dr. E. Whiting and later moved to Chicago where he worked as a carpenter in his father's construction business before embarking on a full-time musical career .
In 1858 he married Hattie R. Colahan. In 1864 he moved to New York City . In 1873 he published his most famous song "Silver Threads Among the Gold " (words of Eben E. Rexford ) which sold over three million copies. After selling the rights to it, he died penniless in a boarding house in Philadelphia. Pease Danks was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 . He wrote over 1,000 songs. [6]
His works also include several operettas , including Zanie (published in 1887, to a libretto by Fanny Crosby ) [7] and Pauline or the Belle of Saratoga (c. 1874).
