Mack David

Mack David

Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs. He was particularly well known for his work on the Disney films Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland, as well as the original English lyrics for "La Vie en rose", which was translated into French by Édith Piaf and became the signature song of her career. Mack David is the elder brother of American lyricist and songwriter, Hal David. Mack David died in 1993 in his Rancho Mirage, California home and his remains are buried at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

History

Mack David was born to a Jewish family in New York City, New York on July 5, 1912. Mack originally planned to become an attorney and attended Cornell University and St. John's University Law School. Despite these original goals, in the mid-1940s, Mack began writing songs for New York's Tin Pan Alley. These initial successes prompted Mack to move to Hollywood, California to work in the film and television industries. Mack enjoyed considerable success, including eight Academy Award nominations for "Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boo", which he, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston wrote for Disney's Cinderella (1950), followed by the title-songs from The Hanging Tree (1959), Bachelor in Paradise (1961), Walk on the Wild Side (1962), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), The Ballad of Cat Ballou (1965) and "My Wishing Doll" from Hawaii (1966). Mack was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. It is also interesting to note that David's "most remunerative" song "Sunflower", published in 1948 and turned into a hit by Frank Sinatra , used the same melody line as Jerry Herman's hit theme song for Hello, Dolly!, composed over a decade later. When David sued Herman for copyright infringement, Herman settled out of court with Mack (for a reputed $250,000), claiming he had never heard David's "Sunflower" prior to working on "Hello, Dolly!"

Academy Award nominations

• 1950 "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" (with Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman) from Cinderella
• 1959 "The Hanging Tree" (with Jerry Livingston) from The Hanging Tree
• 1961 "Bachelor in Paradise" (with Henry Mancini) from Bachelor in Paradise
• 1961 "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (with Ernest Gold) from It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
• 1962 "Walk on the Wild Side" (with Elmer Bernstein) from Walk on the Wild Side
• 1964 "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (with Frank De Vol) from Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
• 1965 "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" (with Jerry Livingston) from Cat Ballou
• 1966 "My Wishing Doll" (with Elmer Bernstein) from Hawaii

Composer and lyricist of popular songs

In addition to his many Academy Award nominations, Mack David also had a number of hit songs, including:

• "Rain, Rain, Go Away" (1932)
• Duke Ellington's "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" (1939)
• I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine sung by Patti Page in 1950 (with subsequent cover versions)...it was later covered by Elvis Presley as a rockabilly-styled tune in 1954.
• The Shirelles' "Baby It's You" (1961 with Burt Bacharach and Barney Williams)
• It Must Be Him (1967 with Gilbert Becaud)
• Casper the Friendly Ghost theme song (19?? with Jerry Livingston)

Mack David also collaborated with many composers, including Raymond Scott, Al Hoffman, Alex Kramer, Count Basie, Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, and Jerry Livingston, on numerous songs for stage and screen, including Casper the Friendly Ghost, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon Street Beat, Surfside 6 and "This Is It" (for the 1960s The Bugs Bunny Show).

But perhaps David's most popular lyrics were those for "La Vie En Rose", which he translated from the French by Édith Piaf, with music by Louigny (Louis Guglielmi), which had been Piaf's "signature song". The song also became a hit in America with a recording by Louis Armstrong, and has been recorded by over eighty international singers and musicians, and been featured in several dozen motion pictures.

David's song "Candy" (co-written with Whitney and Kramer) was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald for her 1968 album 30 by Ella.

Work on Broadway

• Bright Lights of 1944 (1943) - revue - lyricist
• Gilbert Bécaud on Broadway (1966) - concert - featured lyricist
• Molly (1973) - musical - co-lyricist
• Sophisticated Ladies (1981) - revue - featured songwriter for "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So"
• Swing! (1999) - revue - featured songwriter for "Candy"

Inventor

David had a varied interest in musical composition. In 1975, according to the New York Times in David's obituary: "Mr. David was granted a patent for inventing an electronic system for composing songs from fractional recordings. The system, which included playback units, stored records of lyrics and melodies. The operator selected words and music that fit together and recorded the combination."

External links

• Biography on Songwriters Hall of Fame site
• Discography
• Mack David at the Internet Broadway Database