L. Wolfe Gilbert
L. Wolfe Gilbert | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Louis Wolfe Gilbert |
| Also known as | Wolfie Gilbert[1] |
| Born | August 31, 1886 |
| Origin | Odessa, Ukraine, Russian Empire |
| Died | July 12, 1970 (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Traditional pop |
| Occupation | Songwriter |
| Years active | 1912 - 1945 |
Louis Wolfe Gilbert (August 31, 1886 – July 12, 1970) was a Russian-born American songwriter.
Biography
Born in Odessa, Russian Empire, Gilbert moved to the United States as a young man and eventually established himself as one of the leading songwriters on Tin Pan Alley.[2]
Gilbert began his career touring with John L. Sullivan and singing in a quartet at small Coney Island café called "College Inn", where he was discovered by English producer Albert Decourville. Decourville brought him to London as part of The Ragtime Octet.
Gilbert's first songwriting success came in 1912 when F. A. Mills Music Publishers published his song Waiting For the Robert E. Lee (melody by composer Lewis F. Muir).[3]
Gilbert moved to Hollywood in 1929, and began writing for film, television, and radio (including the Eddie Cantor show).[3][4]
During the 1930s, Gilbert worked on Cuban songs that helped to popularize the rumba in America. Some of these hits for which he wrote English lyrics include The Peanut Vendor, Mama Inez, and Maria My Own.[5][6]
Gilbert wrote the theme lyrics for the popular children's Television Western Hopalong Cassidy, which first aired in 1949 on NBC. He was an innovator in his field, having been one of the first songwriters to begin publishing and promoting a catalog of his own works. He served as the director of ASCAP from 1941 to 1944,[3] and again in 1953.[4] He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.[7]
Personal life
Known as "Wolfie," Gilbert and his wife Rose lived in Beverly Hills and he and his family were members of Temple Israel of Hollywood.
Death and legacy
He died in Los Angeles, California on July 12, 1970.[8] His original gravesite was at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City (Mausoleum, Court of Sages, Crypt 223) but he was later reinterred at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City) near Palm Springs, California.
Songs
- 1912 Waiting For The Robert E. Lee (music Lewis F. Muir)
- 1912 Hitchy-Koo (m. Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams recorded by Collins & Harlan)
- 1912 Ragging The Baby To Sleep (music Lewis F. Muir)
- 1912 Take Me To That Swanee Shore (m. Lewis F. Muir)
- 1913 Mammy Jinny's Mubilee (m. Lewis F. Muir)
- 1914 By Heck (m. S. R. Henry)
- 1914 She's Dancing Her Heart Away (m. Kerry Mills)
- 1915 My Sweet Adair (m. Anatole Friedland)
- 1916 My Hawaiian Sunrise (m. Carey Morgan r. Henry Burr and Albert C. Campbell)
- 1917 Are You From Heaven? (m. Anatole Friedland)
- 1917 Lily Of The Valley (m. Anatole Friedland)
- 1917 Set Aside Your Tears (Till the Boys Come Marching Home) (with Malvin Franklin and Anatole Friedland )
- 1921 Down Yonder
- 1924 O, Katharina (m. Richard Fall)
- 1925 Don't Wake Me Up, Let Me Dream (m. Mabel Wayne)
- 1925 I Miss My Swiss (m. Abel Baer)
- 1926 Hello, Aloha, How Are You? (m. Abel Baer)
- 1928 Are You Thinking Of Me Tonight? (m. Harry Akst & Benny Davis r. Al Bowlly with John Abriani's Six)
- 1928 Ramona (m. Mabel Wayne r. Whispering Jack Smith, Paul Whiteman Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke, and Gene Austin)[8]
- 1928 Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time (m. Nathaniel Shilkret), recorded by over a hundred artists
- 1928 Zindele Meins (Zindele mayns) the Yiddish version of "Sonny Boy" sung by Pesach Burstein
- 1931 Marta (m. Moises Simons) r. (Arthur Tracy, The Street Singer)
- 1931 Mama Inez (music Eliseo Grenet)
Lyrics for Broadway productions
- 1912 The Girl from Brighton[9]
- 1912-1913 (From) Broadway to Paris[9]
- 1916-1917 The Century Girl[9]
- 1917 Doing Our Bit[9]
- 1919 Oh, What A Girl![9]
- 1931 The Singing Rabbi[9]
References
- ^ "Wolfie Gilbert in Chicago". Billboard. 29: 14. June 16, 1917.
- ^ http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C11
- ^ a b c http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C11
- ^ a b c "L. Wolfe Gilbert".
- ^ Shaw, Arnold (1987). The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920's. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 114. ISBN 0195038916.
- ^ Firmat, Gustavo Pérez (2010). The Havana Habit. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780300168761.
- ^ "L. Wolfe Gilbert".
- ^ a b "L. Wolfe Gilbert, Composer, Dead. Wrote 'Ramona' and Many Other Successful Songs". New York Times. July 13, 1970. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
L. Wolfe Gilbert, composer of more than 250 songs, including 'Ramona,' the first motion picture theme song, died today of a stroke. He was 83 years old.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e f League, The Broadway. "L. Wolfe Gilbert – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB".
- Bibliography
- Firmat, Gustavo Pérez (2010). The Havana Habit. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300168761.
- Shaw, Arnold (1987). The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920's. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195038916.
Further reading
- Bierley, Paul E.; Rehrig, William H. The heritage encyclopedia of band music. Composers and their music, Integrity Press 1991. ISBN 0918048087
- Bloom, Ken. American song. The complete musical theater companion: 1877-1995. Volume 2: T-Z. Second edition. Schirmer Books 1996.
- Gilbert, L. Wolfe. Without Rhyme or Reason, Vantage Press 1956. OCLC 1295930
- Larkin, Colin. The encyclopedia of popular music, third edition. Macmillan 1998. ISBN 1561592374
External links
- "L. Wolfe Gilbert". Composer, Lyricist, author, publisher. Find a Grave. June 6, 2004. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
