The Artists, Musicians and Stories Behind Our American Songbook
January 5, 1879: American songwriter, singer and vaudeville performer Jack Norworth was born on this date in 1879. Norworth is credited as co-writer of a number of Tin Pan Alley hits. He wrote the lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (music by Albert Von Tilzer) in 1908, his most long lasting hit. It wasn’t until 1940 that he witnessed a Major League Baseball game. His “Shine On, Harvest Moon” was a bigger hit at the time.
January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995
The middle sister of the iconic trio, the Andrews sisters had their first hit in 1937, after years of “paying their dues” having formed their trio as young children. That first hit was “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,” which vaulted the three sweet girls from Minnesota to fame and fortune. With Patty singing lead, Maxene soprano and La Verne alto, the Andrews Sisters recorded some of the most popular–and a few of the campiest–songs of the swing era, including “Roll Out the Barrel,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right” and “I’ll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time.” The group sold an estimated 80 million records and received numerous accolades, including induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
For a time, they had their own radio show and performed and recorded with Bing Crosby, Gene Krupa, Danny Kaye, Al Jolson, Carmen Miranda, Guy Lombardo and Glenn Miller, among others. Their screen credits included several Abbott and Costello comedies and a 1944 Warner Bros. wartime morale booster called “Hollywood Canteen.”
Along with Hope and Crosby, the Andrews Sisters headlined tours of American military installations and operations around the world. One of their most memorable concerts was in a dirigible hangar in Naples, Italy, in 1945, where the commanding officer asked the sisters to interrupt their songfest to make an announcement to the 5,000 assembled GIs. On the slip of paper he passed to the three women was the news that the war in Japan was over. Wow! Happy Birthday Maxine!
January 1, 1884: Songwriter George W. Meyer was born on this date in 1884! Meyer collaborated with the greatest lyricists of his day including Sam Lewis, Joe Young, Grant Clarke, Roy Turk, Arthur Johnston, Al Bryan, Edgar Leslie, E. Ray Goetz, Pete Wendling, Abel Baer and Stanley Adams. Highlights from the Meyer catalog include such hits as “Lonesome”, “When You’re a Long, Long Way from Home”, “My Mother’s Rosary”, “Come on and Baby Me”, “Since Maggie Dooley Learned the Hooley Hooley”, “There’s a Little Lane Without a Turning”, “Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go with Friday on Saturday Night?”, “For Me and My Gal”, “Everything is Peaces Down in Georgia”, “Bring Back My Daddy to Me”, “In the Land of Beginning Again”, “Beautiful Annabelle Lee”, “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”, “Tuck Me to Sleep in My Old “Tucky Home”, “Sittin’ in a Corner”, “Way Down in Iowa”, “Brown Eyes Why Are You Blue?”, “I’ve a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird”, “Mandy, Make Up Your Mind”, “Dixie Dreams”, “I Believe in Miracles”, “There Are Such Things”, “If I Only Had a Match”, “In a Little Book Shop” and “The Story of Annie Laurie.”
December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998 Francis Albert Sinatra was an American singer and actor, nicknamed the “Voice,” “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes.” He is regarded as one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th Century and perhaps the greatest purveyor of the music of the Great American Songbook. Sinatra is among the world’s best selling music artists, having sold well over 150 million records worldwide. If there is an award in music or entertainment, Frank has won (earned) just about ALL of them – including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Many regard Sinatra as the greatest singer of the 20th Century – and certainly no single person is more closely identified with the iconic music of our American Songbook than Ol’ Blue Eyes! Happy Birthday Francis Albert!
December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981 (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna) Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film and incredibly prolific. . In fact, his songs has been featured in over 300 films. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing “Lullaby of Broadway”, “You’ll Never Know” and “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe”. He wrote the music for the first blockbuster film musical, 42nd Street, choreographed by Busby Berkeley, with whom he would collaborate on many musical films. Warren wrote more than 800 songs. Other well known Warren hits included “I Only Have Eyes for You”, “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby”, “Jeepers Creepers”, “The Gold Diggers’ Song (We’re in the Money)”, “That’s Amore”, “There Will Never Be Another You”, “The More I See You”, “At Last” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (the last of which was the first gold record in history). Happy Birthday Harry! And THANKS for your music!
December 10, 1906: American lyricist Harold Adamson was born on this date in 1906! His Broadway stage scores include: “Smiles”; “Earl Carroll’s Vanities” (1931); “Banjo Eyes”; and “As The Girls Go”. For Jones Beach: “Around The World In Eighty Days”. He came to Hollywood in 1933, writing many film songs and themes. His chief musical collaborators included Hoagy Carmichael, Lou Alter, Peter DeRose, Walter Donaldson, Vernon Duke, Duke Ellington, Burton Lane, Jimmy McHugh, Vincent Youmans, and Victor Young. His songs include: “Time On My Hands”; “Sittin’ In The Dark”; “Tony’s Wife”; “Like Me A Little Bit Less (Love Me A Little Bit More)”; “Everything I Have Is Yours”; “Heigh-Ho, the Gang’s All Here”; “Your Head On My Shoulder”; “Everything’s Been Done Before”; “It’s Been So Long”; “You”; “You Never Looked So Beautiful Before”; “Did I Remember?”; “There’s Something In The Air”; “With A Banjo On My Knee”; “Where Are You?”; “You’re A Sweetheart”; “You’re As Pretty As A Picture”; “It’s A Wonderful World”; “The Thrill Of A New Romance”; “720 In The Books”; “We’re Having A Baby”; “The Music Stopped”; “I Couldn’t Sleep A Wink Last Night”; “A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening”; “Comin’ In On A Wing And A Prayer”; “How Blue The Night”; “A Hubba Hubba Hubba”; “As The Girls Go”; “I Got Lucky In the Rain”; “It’s A Most Unusual Day”; “When Love Goes Wrong”; “You Say The Nicest Things, Baby”; “My Resistance is Low;” “Around The World”; “An Affair to Remember”; “Ferryboat Serenade”; and “Too Young To Go Steady”.
December 10, 1893: Lyricist Lew Brown was born on this date in 1893! Brown was born as Louis Brownstein in Odessa, Russian Empire. His family emigrated to the United States in 1898 and settled in The Bronx of New York City. Brown wrote lyrics for many of the top Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the day, including Albert Von Tilzer, Con Conrad, and Harold Arlen. He was one third of a successful songwriting and music publishing team with Ray Henderson and Buddy DeSylva from 1925 until 1929. Brown also wrote or co-wrote several Broadway shows. He was portrayed by Ernest Borgnine in the 1956 film The Best Things in Life Are Free, about the songwriting team of Brown, De Sylva and Henderson. Lew Brown died in New York City.
December 3, 1909: Composer and lyricist Dana Suesse was born on this date in 1909! Often referred to as “the girl Gershwin”, Suesse wrote songs such as “My Silent Love”, “Ho-Hum”, and “You Ought to Be in Pictures”.
December 2, 1914: American lyricist and playwright Adolph Green was born on this date in 1914! Along with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, he penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed’s production unit at MGM, during the genre’s heyday. Many people thought the pair were married; they were not, but they shared a unique comic genius and sophisticated wit that enabled them to forge a six-decade-long partnership that produced some of Hollywood and Broadway’s greatest hits.
December 1, 1896: American songwriter Ray Henderson was born on this date in 1896! He was one third of a successful songwriting and music publishing team with Lew Brown and Buddy DeSylva from 1925 through 1930, responsible for several editions of the revue called George White’s Scandals and such book musicals as Good News, Hold Everything!, and Follow Thru. Henderson’s biggest hit songs included “Annabelle” (both 1923), “Bye Bye Blackbird”, “Has Anybody Seen My Girl?” (a/k/a “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue”), “I’m Sitting on Top of the World” (all 1925), “The Birth of the Blues” (1926), “The Varsity Drag” (1927), “You’re The Cream In My Coffee” (1928), “Button Up Your Overcoat”, “You Are My Lucky Star” “I’m A Dreamer, Aren’t We All”, “Keep Your Sunny Side Up” (1929), “The Thrill Is Gone”, and “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries” (1931).
November 29, 1932 – January 4, 1998 John Gary was an American popular singer, gifted musical theater actor and so much more! With an amazing 3 1/2 octave range, John easily shifted from a deep baritone to a lofty high tenor voice. Besides being a “Singer’s Singer” John was a Marine, a boxer, a champion archer, and set records for holding his breath underwater! He also hosted his own television show as a summer replacement for the Danny Kaye Show. Though he enjoyed a marvelous career, in some ways, John came on the scene at the end of the era of great male vocalists – he would’ve been in line to become the next Sinatra or Crosby, but pop music was changing so much in the 1960s and 70s. He probably should’ve been a much bigger star. John was a tremendous interpreter of our American Songbook. Take a listen to John’s version of “Once Upon a Time” or his signature song, “Danny Boy”… – you’re in for a real treat! Happy Birthday John!
November 25, 1900: American composer and film producer Arthur Schwartz was born on this date in 1900. Among the Broadway musicals for which Schwartz wrote the music are: Three’s a Crowd (1930), The Band Wagon (1931), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1951), By the Beautiful Sea (1954), The Gay Life (1961), and Jennie (1963). His films include the MGM musical The Band Wagon (1953) with lyricist Howard Dietz. Schwartz also worked as a producer, for Columbia Pictures. His work includes the musical Cover Girl (1944) and the Cole Porter biographical film Night and Day (1946). Schwartz collaborated with some of the best lyricists of his day, including Dietz, Dorothy Fields, Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein II, Edward Heyman, Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Leo Robin, and Al Stillman.
November 23, 1925 – June 29, 2020 Johnny Mandel was a tremendous composer, musician and arranger of popular songs, jazz and film scores. Johnny studied music at both the Manhattan School of Music as well as Julliard. In the early 1940s, early in his career, Johnny played trumpet and trombone iin several well known big bands, including Joe Venuti, Boyd Raeburn, Buddy Rich, and Count Basie. Even though he was a fine “sideman” Johny made substantial contributions as a composer/arranger. After leaving the Basie Band in the early 1950s, Johnny played his horns down and concentrated in composing and arranging (he figured playing with Basie was as good as it was ever gonna get)! He went on to work with just about every major vocalist of the 1950s until his passing. Some of Johnny’s movie theme songs include Theme from M.A.S.H (Suicide Is Painless)., the incredible Them from The Sandpipers (Shadow of Your Smile) and Theme from the Americanization of Emily (Emily) were just a few of Johnny’s contribution to our American Songbook. He won 5 GRAMY Awards (nominated for 17), nominated for Academy Awards and on and on. Happy Birthday Johnny! https://youtu.be/exnIqFkO6Ps?si=F3KcA11kPakxPfIi
Hoagy Carmichael was a tremendous songwriter, composer, an accomplished actor and an iconic, American Musical treasure! Although Hoagy wrote many of his most famous songs over seventy years ago, and yet the interest in his music is greater than ever. Music was his consuming interest, and he considered himself a guy who was a “craftsman”; a tunesmith, who loved working to find the melody that he felt fit one of the many song ideas that were forever buzzing around in his head. Some of Hoagy’s numerous hits include “Georgia On My Mind,” “Rockin’ Chair,” “Lazy River.” and “Stardust.” He was often in demand as much as an actor as he was as a songwriter. He was even parodied in a FLINTSTONES cartoon episode! Check out the wonderful website Hoagy.com for more info and inspiration! Happy Birthday Hoagy!
November 20, 1925 – June 21, 1990 June Christy was an American singer, best known for her work in “cool jazz” with her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer and early hits were with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Her hit recording with Kenton included the million-seller “Tampico” and “How High The Moon.” She pursued a solo career from 1954 and is best known for her debut album Something Cool. After her death, she was hailed as “one of the finest and most neglected singers of her time.” Give her a listen – it will be. marvelous treat! Happy Birthday June!
November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956 Tommy Dorsey was a legendary jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the “Sentimental Gentleman of Swing” because of his smooth-toned trombone playing. Tommy’s incredible musicianship continues to influence trombonists even today. Frank Sinatra, who was for some time the “boy singer” with the Dorsey band, often credited learning how to breath and phrase as a vocalist from his years on the bandstand, watching and listening from Dorsey’s trombone playing. Some of Tommy’s hit recordings include “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You, (his theme song),” “Opus One,” “Marie,” “Deep River,” Song of India,” “Hawaiian War Chant,” and “I’ll Never Smile Again (featuring Sinatra).” Happy Birthday to our Sentimental Gentleman of Swing, who left an indelible mark in our American Songbook.
November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976 Johnny Mercer was a composer, lyricist, singer and American Songbook icon! From the light-hearted “You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby” and “Jeepers Creepers” to the romantic “Laura,” “Dream” and “I Remember You”…from the big band “And The Angels Sing” to the dramatic “Blues In The Night,” “Come Rain Or Come Shine” and “One For My Baby”…from the sassy “Satin Doll” and “Tangerine” to the cinematic “Hooray for Hollywood” and “On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe”…not to mention the timeless standards of “That Old Black Magic,” “Glow Worm,” “Days Of Wine And Roses,” and “Moon River.” Johnny Mercer’s poetic genius continues to reflect the romantic yearnings, the wit, the energy, and the personality that is our American dream.
Please visit the johnnymercerfoundation.org for an enjoyable visit with our favorite “Huckleberry Friend.” Happy Birthday, Johnny! Thanks for adding so much to the soundtrack of our lives!
November 15, 1905 – March 30, 1980 Annunzio Paolo Mantovani was an Italian-British conductor, composer and light-orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. Although he success was worldwide, and originally in Europe, Mantovani was a tremendous hit in the United States. He was a tremendous purveyor of the American Songbook,. Some of Mantovani’s biggest recording hits were “Theme from MOULIN ROUGE,” “Cara Mia” (composed by Mantovani), “Around the World,” “Exodus,” and of course, his ground-breaking international hit, “Charmaine.” Mantovani and his Orchestra toured the world and the US annually for decades. He also had his own television show in England! Happy Birthday Maestro!
November 12, 1917 – July 16, 2008 This legendary vocalist enjoyed a career that spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Though Jo was classically trained, she gravitated towards pop singing and by 1955 had achieved more worldwide record sales than any other female artist. Her 1952 song “You Belong to Me” topped the charts in the United States and United Kingdom, becoming the second single to top the UK Singles Chart and the first by a female artist to do so.
Having been a performer as a young California native girl, Jo eventually fell in with a small group of singers which would become the Pied Pipers. They would soon become hired by Tommy Dorsey to tour and record with his big band/orchestra. There was another young male vocalist hired about that same time – Frank Sinatra. In addition to backing up Sinatra on such iconic hits as “I’ll Never Smile Again”‘ Jo was also a featured soloist. Eventually the Pied Pipes left the Dorsey Orchestra, as did Sinatra. Jo went on to enjoy a very successful career as a solo artist. Ironically, her only GRAMMY Award was for Best Comedy Album of the Year – for a musical parody act she and her second husband, orchestra leader Paul Weston and she had developed. Jo Stafford was simply one of the most original voices of the Great American Songbook. Happy Birthday Jo!
November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004 Billy May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for The Green Hornet (1966), The Mod Squad (1968), Batman (with Batgirl theme, 1967),[1] and Naked City (1960). May wrote arrangements for many top singers, including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Anita O’Day, Peggy Lee, Vic Damon, Bobby Darin, Johnny Mercer, Jack Jones, Rosemary Clooney and many others. As a trumpet player in the 1940s Big Band era, May toured and recorded with Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, with Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra and later his own band. Billy’s tremendous sizzling brass oriented arrangements could propel an orchestra and yet he could score the strings as tenderly as the best of the best. Billy made an indelible mark on the American songbook! And his music still inspires us today!
November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999 Al Hirt was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of “Java” and the accompanying album Honey in the Horn (1963), and for the theme music to The Green Hornet. Hirt had various nicknames including “Jumbo” and “The Round Mound of Sound”.
After a stint as a bugler in the US Army during World War II, Hirt performed with various swing big bands including those of Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. .
In 1950, Hirt became first trumpet and featured soloist with Horace Heidt’s Orchestra. After spending several years on the road with Heidt, Hirt returned to New Orleans working with various Dixieland groups and leading his own bands.
He received eight GRAMMY nominations during his lifetime, including winning the GRAMMY Award in 1964 for his version of “Java”. Al Hirt left an incredible legacy of of trumpet mastery blended with his own marvelous style. He continues to inspire musicians all over the world, generation after generation. Happy Happy Birthday Jumboi! We still love ya!
November 7, 1904: On this date in 1904, the timeless anthem “Give My Regards to Broadway” was sung for the very first time on the stage in George M. Cohan’s Little Johnny Jones. The story of an American jockey in England ran for just 52 performances but racked up another 153 performances in two return engagements in 1905.
November 6, 1886 – October 8, 1941 Kahn was an American lyricist/songwriter who contributed a number of songs to our Great American Songbook including “Pretty Baby“, “Ain’t We Got Fun?“, “Carolina in the Morning“, “Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo’ Bye!)“, “My Buddy” “I’ll See You in My Dreams“, “It Had to Be You“, “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby“, “Love Me or Leave Me“, “Makin’ Whoopee“, “My Baby Just Cares for Me“, “I’m Through with Love”, “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and “You Stepped Out of a Dream.” After success on Tin Pan Alley and several hit Broadway Shows, Kahn moved to Hollywood and settled into writing songs for film. Throughout his incredible career, He also collaborated with co-lyricist Ira Gershwin and with some of the finest composers, including Grace LeBoy Kahn (his wife), Buddy DeSylva, Al Jolson, Raymond Egan, Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin, Bronislaw Kaper, Jerome Kern, Sigmund Romberg, and Harry Warren among several others though his primary collaborator was Walter Donaldson. Kahn and Donaldson’s first collaboration was in 1922, “My Buddy,” (personal favorite). The Kahn/Donaldson Team went on to write over 100 songs together. In 1951, a movie based on Kahn’s life and career, “I’ll See You In My Dreams” was released starring Danny Thomas and Doris Day, Kahn’s catalog contained some of the songs from the first half of the 20th century, Kahn was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, nearly 30 years after his death. Happy Happy Birthday Gus! Thanks for the music!
October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008
Neal Hefti was a gifted trumpet player, having played with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd Big Band, among others, but his man contributions to the American Songbook were as a much sought after arranger and composer. He did numerous arrangements and albums with Frank Sinatra, Harry James, Buddy Rich, Count Basie to name but a few (winning GRAMMY Awards with Basie). He composed exceptional, brilliant TV Show and movie themes including the ODD COUPLE show and his iconic BATMAN theme, as well as scores as well as movies like Sex and the Single Girl, Barefoot in the Park, Duel at Diablo and others. Neal’s most recognizable tunes include the iconic drum feature, Cute, Lil’ Darlin’, and the very popular, Girl Talk. Neal made an indelible mark on our American Songbook. And his son, Paul, a marvelous guitarist and vocalist, continues to carry on the Hefti Family Legacy with his own swinging ensemble. Happy Birthday Neal!
October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991
Charlie Barnet was a tremendous musician (tenor sax), composer and big band leader through the 1930s and into the 1950s. He transformed, disbanded, reorganized and resurrected his hard swinging band numerous times throughout his career. He was a tremendous champion of both the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands, He had major recording hits with “Cherokee, arranged by Billy May) ” “Skyliner” (arranged by Neal Hefti). As well as several other hits, all contributed to our American Songbook.
October 21st is Dizzy and Don Rader’s birth date.
(I mistakenly posted their birthdays as Oct. 20th)
Happy birthday to these kings.
October 21, 1959: On this date in 1959, Oscar Hammerstein II completed his work on “Edelweiss,” his 1,589th and last lyric, written for the Sound of Music.
Howdy fellow Music Lovers! This site is mainly to serve a the host for our blogs that celebrate the Artists, Composers, Songwriters, Musicians and Stories behind the iconic music of Our American Songbook. In addition we hope to also introduce you to our GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK ORCHESTRA project. Check out our new phone app, GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK and also our website at lovejazz.org. You can also find these blogs on our Facebook pages, Special thanks to our amazing contributors, archivers and amazing experts, Don Romano and Jason Bennett! Enjoy!
October 14, 1977: Let’s remember American singer and actor Bing Crosby today. On this date in 1977, at the La Moraleja Golf Course near Madrid, Crosby played 18 holes of golf. His partner was World Cup champion Manuel Piñero; their opponents were club president Cesar de Zulueta and Valentin Barrios. At about 6:30 pm, Crosby collapsed about 20 yards from the clubhouse entrance and died instantly from a massive heart attack. On October 18, following a private funeral Mass at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Westwood, Crosby was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Crosby’s trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him the best-selling recording artist of the 20th century, having sold over one billion records, tapes, compact discs and digital downloads around the world.
American Songbook Blogs 