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This is my grandfather, the previous bio was simply not his Bio. This is one compiled by EMI Music Publishing as an email blast earlier this year.
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'''James Francis McHugh''' ([[July 10]] [[1894]] - [[May 23]] [[1969]]) was a [[United States|U.S.]] [[composer]]. One of the greatest and most prolific [[songwriter]]s from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs.
'''James Francis McHugh''' ([[July 10]] [[1894]] - [[May 23]] [[1969]]) was a [[United States|U.S.]] [[composer]]. One of the greatest and most prolific [[songwriter]]s from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs.


<The popular singers from the 20th century, whether crooners like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, stage and screen veteran Judy Garland, jazzy songbirds Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, or seductive sirens June Christy and Peggy Lee, could not have asked for a better friend or resource than Boston-born songsmith Jimmy McHugh. With a pen as melodious as any woodwind, Jimmy McHugh created tunes that thrilled and enthralled, from bandstand and cinema screen to Victrola and stereo hi-fi, from The Cotton Club to the Las Vegas Strip and Broadway in between.
McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents ran a stock theatre company, but the family quit the stage around 1930. His brother [[Frank McHugh]] became part of the [[Warner Bros.]] stock company of the 30s and 40s, his brother [[Matt McHugh]] played bit parts in over 200 films, his sister Kitty was an actress as well, and another brother, Ed,<ref>{{ibdb name|93294|Ed A. McHugh}}</ref> became an agent in New York.<ref>[http://morethanyouneededtoknow.typepad.com/the_unsung_joe/page/2/ The Unsung Joe]</ref>

After struggling in a variety of jobs, including rehearsal pianist for the Boston Opera House and pianist/song plugger for Irving Berlin’s publishing company, in 1921, at the age of 26, McHugh relocated to New York City. Eventually finding employment as a professional manager with the prominent music publisher Jack Mills Inc., it was here that McHugh published his first song “Emaline”, and briefly teamed up with Irving Mills as The Hotsy Totsy Boys to write the hit song “Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now”. This songwriting partnership was just the first of McHugh’s many illustrious collaborations, among them Ted Koehler (“I’m Shooting High”), Al Dubin (“South American Way”) and the great Harold Adamson (“It’s a Most Unusual Day”). As impressive as these master lyricists were, perhaps McHugh’s best symbiotic musical relationship was with the school teacher and poet Dorothy Fields. Having written material for many of Harlem’s Cotton Club revues, it was no coincidence that their first combined triumph would be the score for the all-black Broadway musical Blackbirds of 1928, which jumpstarted the fledgling duo’s career with the memorable songs “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” “Diga Diga Doo” and “I Must Have That Man.” Other hits written for the stage were soon to follow – including what is arguably their most famous composition, 1930’s “On The Sunny Side of The Street” for Lew Leslie’s International Revue, which also contained the favorite “Exactly Like You”; “Blue Again” for The Vanderbilt Revue; and in 1932, “Don’t Blame Me,” which was featured in the Chicago revue Clowns In Clover.
<!--spacing, please do not remove-->
With the lights of Broadway already shining brightly in their eyes, it was not long before the spotlights of the Hollywood movie musical would prove too alluring to resist. Making the move out west, the prodigious pair would meet the challenge with vigor, crafting song after song for numerous major studios. McHugh and Fields contributed wonderful title songs for films such as Cuban Love Song, Dinner at Eight and Hooray For Love, as well as “I Feel A Song Comin’ On” and “I’m In The Mood For Love” from 1935’s Every Night At Eight. In the artistically fruitful years 1930 through 1935, the force that was McHugh/Fields wrote over 30 songs for the film world, captivating and comforting audiences during the bleakest days of the Great Depression.
>


==Works==
==Works==
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* 1940 - ''[[Keep Off The Grass]]'' (lyrics by Dubin and [[Howard Dietz]])
* 1940 - ''[[Keep Off The Grass]]'' (lyrics by Dubin and [[Howard Dietz]])
* 1948 - ''[[As the Girls Go]]'' (lyrics by [[Harold Adamson]])
* 1948 - ''[[As the Girls Go]]'' (lyrics by [[Harold Adamson]])
* 2985 - "[[Sugar Babies]]

There was a medley of his songs in the 1979 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] show ''[[Sugar Babies]]'', which starred [[Ann Miller]] and [[Mickey Rooney]]. The songs included were "[[I Can't Give You Anything But Love]]", "[[I'm Shooting High]]", "[[Roll Your Blues Away]]" and "[[On the Sunny Side of the Street]]".
There was a medley of his songs in the 1979 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] show ''[[Sugar Babies]]'', which starred [[Ann Miller]] and [[Mickey Rooney]]. The songs included were "[[I Can't Give You Anything But Love]]", "[[I'm Shooting High]]", "[[Roll Your Blues Away]]" and "[[On the Sunny Side of the Street]]".


Other well known songs of his include "[[I'm in the Mood for Love]]", "[[A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening]]", "[[Cuban Love Song]]", and hundreds more.
Other well known songs of his include "[[I'm in the Mood for Love]]", "[[A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening]]", "[[Cuban Love Song]]", and hundreds more.
BLUE AGAIN – Louis Armstrong (McHugh/Fields) (Okeh/Sony BMG)
COMIN’ IN ON A WING AND A PRAYER – Bing Crosby (McHugh/Adamson) (Decca/UMG)
CUBAN LOVE SONG – Edmundo Ros (McHugh/Stothart/Fields) (London/WMG)
DIGA DIGA DOO – The Mills Brothers w/ Duke Ellington (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
DOIN’ THE NEW LOW DOWN – Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
DON’T BLAME ME – The Everly Brothers (McHugh/Fields) (Warner Bros./WMG)
EXACTLY LIKE YOU – Aretha Franklin (McHugh/Fields) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH ME – Dean Martin (McHugh/Gaskill) (Capitol/EMI)
I CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE – Judy Garland (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI)
I COULDN’T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT LOVE – Dinah Washington (McHugh/Adamson) (Mercury/UMG)
I MUST HAVE THAT MAN – Billie Holiday (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
I’M SHOOTING HIGH – Ann Richards (McHugh/Koehler) (Capitol/EMI)
IT’S A MOST UNUSUAL DAY – Andy Williams (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI)
SOUTH AMERICAN WAY – The Andrews Sisters (McHugh/Dubin) (Capitol/EMI)
TOO YOUNG TO GO STEADY – Nat King Cole (McHugh/Adamson) (Capitol/EMI)
WARM AND WILLING – Nat King Cole (McHugh/Livingston/Evans) (Capitol/EMI)
WHEN MY SUGAR WALKS DOWN THE STREET – Peggy Lee (McHugh/Austin/Mills) (Capitol/EMI)
WHERE ARE YOU? – Johnny Mathis (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
Great Themes for Synch:
A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING – June Christy (McHugh/Adamson) (Capitol/EMI)
DREAM DREAM DREAM – Joni James (McHugh/Parish/Melle/Mottier) (MGM/UMG)
HAPPY TIMES – Hal Kemp & His Orchestra (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
I CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE – Judy Garland (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI)
I COULDN’T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT LOVE – Dinah Washington (McHugh/Adamson) (Mercury/UMG)
I LOVE TO WHISTLE – Fats Waller (McHugh/Adamson) (RCA/Sony BMG)
I MUST HAVE THAT MAN – Billie Holiday (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
I’VE GOT MY FINGERS CROSSED – Louis Armstrong (McHugh/Koehler) (Decca/UMG)
IT’S A MOST UNUSUAL DAY – Andy Williams (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Fields) (EMI)
THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE AIR – Ruth Etting (McHugh/Adamson) (Decca/UNI)
WHEN MY SUGAR WALKS DOWN THE STREET – Peggy Lee (McHugh/Austin/Mills) (Capitol/EMI)
Creative research & bio by Mike Moeller and Marty Fernandi


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 22:06, 6 September 2008

James Francis McHugh (July 10 1894 - May 23 1969) was a U.S. composer. One of the greatest and most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs.

<The popular singers from the 20th century, whether crooners like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, stage and screen veteran Judy Garland, jazzy songbirds Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, or seductive sirens June Christy and Peggy Lee, could not have asked for a better friend or resource than Boston-born songsmith Jimmy McHugh. With a pen as melodious as any woodwind, Jimmy McHugh created tunes that thrilled and enthralled, from bandstand and cinema screen to Victrola and stereo hi-fi, from The Cotton Club to the Las Vegas Strip and Broadway in between.

After struggling in a variety of jobs, including rehearsal pianist for the Boston Opera House and pianist/song plugger for Irving Berlin’s publishing company, in 1921, at the age of 26, McHugh relocated to New York City. Eventually finding employment as a professional manager with the prominent music publisher Jack Mills Inc., it was here that McHugh published his first song “Emaline”, and briefly teamed up with Irving Mills as The Hotsy Totsy Boys to write the hit song “Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now”. This songwriting partnership was just the first of McHugh’s many illustrious collaborations, among them Ted Koehler (“I’m Shooting High”), Al Dubin (“South American Way”) and the great Harold Adamson (“It’s a Most Unusual Day”). As impressive as these master lyricists were, perhaps McHugh’s best symbiotic musical relationship was with the school teacher and poet Dorothy Fields. Having written material for many of Harlem’s Cotton Club revues, it was no coincidence that their first combined triumph would be the score for the all-black Broadway musical Blackbirds of 1928, which jumpstarted the fledgling duo’s career with the memorable songs “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” “Diga Diga Doo” and “I Must Have That Man.” Other hits written for the stage were soon to follow – including what is arguably their most famous composition, 1930’s “On The Sunny Side of The Street” for Lew Leslie’s International Revue, which also contained the favorite “Exactly Like You”; “Blue Again” for The Vanderbilt Revue; and in 1932, “Don’t Blame Me,” which was featured in the Chicago revue Clowns In Clover.

With the lights of Broadway already shining brightly in their eyes, it was not long before the spotlights of the Hollywood movie musical would prove too alluring to resist. Making the move out west, the prodigious pair would meet the challenge with vigor, crafting song after song for numerous major studios. McHugh and Fields contributed wonderful title songs for films such as Cuban Love Song, Dinner at Eight and Hooray For Love, as well as “I Feel A Song Comin’ On” and “I’m In The Mood For Love” from 1935’s Every Night At Eight. In the artistically fruitful years 1930 through 1935, the force that was McHugh/Fields wrote over 30 songs for the film world, captivating and comforting audiences during the bleakest days of the Great Depression. 

>

Works

Broadway credits

There was a medley of his songs in the 1979 Broadway show Sugar Babies, which starred Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney. The songs included were "I Can't Give You Anything But Love", "I'm Shooting High", "Roll Your Blues Away" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street".

Other well known songs of his include "I'm in the Mood for Love", "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening", "Cuban Love Song", and hundreds more. BLUE AGAIN – Louis Armstrong (McHugh/Fields) (Okeh/Sony BMG) COMIN’ IN ON A WING AND A PRAYER – Bing Crosby (McHugh/Adamson) (Decca/UMG) CUBAN LOVE SONG – Edmundo Ros (McHugh/Stothart/Fields) (London/WMG) DIGA DIGA DOO – The Mills Brothers w/ Duke Ellington (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) DOIN’ THE NEW LOW DOWN – Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) DON’T BLAME ME – The Everly Brothers (McHugh/Fields) (Warner Bros./WMG) EXACTLY LIKE YOU – Aretha Franklin (McHugh/Fields) (Columbia/Sony BMG) I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH ME – Dean Martin (McHugh/Gaskill) (Capitol/EMI) I CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE – Judy Garland (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI) I COULDN’T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG) I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT LOVE – Dinah Washington (McHugh/Adamson) (Mercury/UMG) I MUST HAVE THAT MAN – Billie Holiday (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) I’M SHOOTING HIGH – Ann Richards (McHugh/Koehler) (Capitol/EMI) IT’S A MOST UNUSUAL DAY – Andy Williams (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG) ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI) SOUTH AMERICAN WAY – The Andrews Sisters (McHugh/Dubin) (Capitol/EMI) TOO YOUNG TO GO STEADY – Nat King Cole (McHugh/Adamson) (Capitol/EMI) WARM AND WILLING – Nat King Cole (McHugh/Livingston/Evans) (Capitol/EMI) WHEN MY SUGAR WALKS DOWN THE STREET – Peggy Lee (McHugh/Austin/Mills) (Capitol/EMI) WHERE ARE YOU? – Johnny Mathis (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)

Great Themes for Synch:

A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING – June Christy (McHugh/Adamson) (Capitol/EMI) DREAM DREAM DREAM – Joni James (McHugh/Parish/Melle/Mottier) (MGM/UMG) HAPPY TIMES – Hal Kemp & His Orchestra (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) I CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE – Judy Garland (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI) I COULDN’T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG) I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT LOVE – Dinah Washington (McHugh/Adamson) (Mercury/UMG) I LOVE TO WHISTLE – Fats Waller (McHugh/Adamson) (RCA/Sony BMG) I MUST HAVE THAT MAN – Billie Holiday (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) I’VE GOT MY FINGERS CROSSED – Louis Armstrong (McHugh/Koehler) (Decca/UMG) IT’S A MOST UNUSUAL DAY – Andy Williams (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG) ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Fields) (EMI) THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE AIR – Ruth Etting (McHugh/Adamson) (Decca/UNI) WHEN MY SUGAR WALKS DOWN THE STREET – Peggy Lee (McHugh/Austin/Mills) (Capitol/EMI)

Creative research & bio by Mike Moeller and Marty Fernandi


References

Bibliography

  • Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre by Stanley Green. Published by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York 1976.
  • The Oxford Companion to Popular Music by Peter Gammond. Published by Oxford University Press 1991.

Notes


Template:Great American Songbook

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