Gordon Clifford (lyricist)

Gordon Clifford (1902–1968[1]) was an American lyricist who wrote music for Hollywood films in the 1930s. His best-known songs include Nacio Herb Brown's "Paradise", Alfred Newman's "Who Am I?" and Harry Barris's "It Must Be True" and "I Surrender Dear".[2]

Clifford was born in Rhode Island and started studying the violin as a child. His first success as a songwriter came in the early 1930s, when Bing Crosby recorded "It Must Be True" and "I Surrender Dear" with Gus Arnheim's orchestra. The latter song has been recorded by a large number of artists and is considered a jazz standard. Pola Negri sang Clifford and Nacio Herb Brown's "Paradise" in the 1931 film A Woman Commands. Although the film was unsuccessful, Bing Crosby's cover version of "Paradise" became a hit.[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ Jasen, David A. (1988). Tin Pan Alley: The Composers, the Songs, the Performers and Their Times: The Golden Age of American Popular Music from 1886 to 1956. D.I. Fine. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-55611-099-3.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Burlingame, Sandra. Gordon Clifford. JazzBiographies.com. Retrieved 19 November 2013.

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