Joe Young
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the fictitious ape, see Mighty Joe Young
- For the Canadian politician, see Joe Young (politician)
Joe Young, (July 4, 1889–April 21, 1939) was a lyricist. He was born in New York, New York. Young was most active from 1911 through the late-1930s, beginning his career working as a singer-songplugger for various music publishers. During World War I, he entertained the U.S. Troops, touring Europe as a singer.
Contents |
[edit] Collaboration with Sam M. Lewis
Young wrote his first major hit, Don't Blame it all on Broadway, in 1914. Starting in 1916, he and co-lyricist Sam M. Lewis worked as a team up until 1930. In 1916, he wrote Yaaka Hula, Hickey Dula and Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday on Saturday Night?, both being sung by Al Jolson.
Over the next 14 years, the team wrote:
- My Mammy
- Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody
- How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm?
- Dinah
- Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
- I'm Sitting on Top of the World
- King For a Day
- In a Little Spanish Town
- Then You've Never Been Blue
- Laugh, Clown, Laugh
- I Kiss Your Hand, Madame
Other composers, on occasion, joined the pair: They include Walter Donaldson and Ray Henderson .
In 1930, Young and Lewis collaborated with composer Harry Warren on an early talking motion picture, Spring is Here. It was one of the Young and Lewis team's last projects together, and included such songs as Crying For the Carolines, Have a Little Faith in Me, Bad Baby and How Shall I Tell?. The last Young and Lewis lyric was Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder. Seemingly it didn't for from 1930 on Joe mostly wrote lyrics by himself, among them the Bing Crosby song You're Beautiful Tonight, My Dear.
[edit] The Laugh Parade
For the 1931 Broadway show The Laugh Parade, Young collaborated with co-lyricst Mort Dixon and composer Harry Warren on his most enduring hit You're My Everything. The show also included:
- Ooh! That Kiss
- Love Me Forever
- That Torch Song
[edit] Later efforts
- In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town
- Lullaby of the Leaves
- Snuggled On Your Shoulder, Cuddled In Your Arms
- Was That the Human Thing To Do?
- Something In The Night
- Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore
- I'm Growing Fonder of You
- You're A Heavenly Thing
- Sing an Old Fashioned Song
- Dancing With You
His last work was the famous Fats Waller standard I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter, written with Fred Ahlert in 1935.
Joe Young died in New York, New York. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
[edit] External links
- Joe Young at the Internet Movie Database
