Joseph Deighn Redding (September 13, 1859 – November 21, 1932) was an American composer, librettist, lyricist, lawyer, and civil servant.

The latter work was the first grand opera composed by an American to have its premiere in Europe, an achievement for which Redding was awarded the Legion of Honour by the government of France.

[4] His mother's side of the family had come to California from Massachusetts, and she was a descendant of American Revolutionary War veteran Israel Putnam.

[8] At the time of Benjamin Redding's death in 1882 he was serving a term as commissioner of the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG).

B. Redding's ties to the CDFG dated back to its inception in 1852 and he was an active force in that agency until his death thirty years later.

[4] After graduating from Harvard, Redding joined the San Francisco legal firm of Hall McAllister at the age of 21.

[5] Ultimately Redding established his own law firm with offices in both San Francisco and New York City.

[14] This ruling set an important legal precedent and was frequently cited as a protection for the copyright of sound recordings in California prior to the passage of the CLASSICS Act in 1972.

One of his prominent cases in this area involved the will of American industrialist and railway magnate Collis Potter Huntington.

Redding represented Clara von Hatzfeldt in a suit in which she claimed part of the inheritance under the argument that she was Huntington's adopted daughter.

He later won a $50 prize for winning a tournament in San Francisco in which he beat chess master George H. D. Gossip.

[1] In 1909 Redding was one of the founding board members of the Musical Association (MA), an organization whose purpose was to establish a professional orchestra in San Francisco.

[19] Redding wrote the libretto for Hadley's 1912 musical The Atonement of Pan, another work created for performance by the BC.

[22] Redding wrote the libretto to the 1911 opera Natoma by composer Victor Herbert which starred Mary Garden in the title role at its premiere.

Its story revolves around a love triangle in which Barbara, the daughter of the Spanish conquistador Don Fernando, competes with the Native-American woman Natoma for the affections of the naval officer Paul Merrill.

[25] Andreas Dippel's opera company also toured the work nationally for performances in more than thirty American cities.

[4] Selective arias from Natoma were recorded in April 1912 by American soprano Agnes Kimball ("Spring Song"), baritone Reinald Werrenrath ("Serenade"), and tenor John McCormack ("Paul's address") for the Victor Talking Machine Company.

[29] The aria "Spring Song" proved popular enough that it was later recorded twice for Victor by sopranos Lucy Isabelle Marsh and Alma Gluck.

[33][4] Redding never visited the state of the Hawaii,[33] and wrote this song during a time when Hawaiian music was peaking at a point of high popularity among the wider American public during the mid 1910s.

These included separate recordings made by the Hawaiian entertainers Johnny Noble (with the Olympic swimmer and musician Samuel Kahanamoku), Keaumoku Louis, Prince Lei Lani, and Frank Ferera; the latter of whom recorded the work with guitarist Anthony Franchini.

Their daughter, Josephine Redding, received the Legion of Honor for her work as a nurse in France during World War I.