Joe Burke (composer)

Joseph A. Burke (March 18, 1884 – June 9, 1950) was an American composer and pianist.

Burke was born in Philadelphia and died in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music and started as a pianist accompanying silent movies and an arranger in a music publishing firm. It was during this time that he started writing songs for publication. After he had a few hits he started composing full-time. He partnered with some great lyricists; Benny Davis ("Carolina Moon") and Walter Donaldson ("'Just the Same") and Joseph McCarthy ("Rambling Rose"). However, the partners he had the most successes with were, Al Dubin ("Tiptoe Through the Tulips", "I'm Painting the Clouds with Sunshine", "For You") and Edgar Leslie ("On Treasure Island", "A Little Bit Independent", "In a Little Gypsy Tea Room", "Moon Over Miami", "It Looks Like Rain on Cherry Blossom Lane") He spent most of his professional career on the East Coast but, for a short time in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he lived in Los Angeles where he composed film scores and several songs for movies. These include:

His hit songs include:

He wrote numerous songs, including:

Some of the artists who have recorded his songs include: Dean Martin, Kate Smith, Perry Como (Carolina Moon), Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Ray Charles ("Moon over Miami"), Fats Waller ("A Little Bit Independent"), Rudy Vallee ("Dancing With Tears in My Eyes"), Doris Day, Frank Sinatra ("Oh, How I Miss You Tonight"), Ricky Nelson ("For You"), Twiggy ("I'm Painting the Clouds With Sunshine"), Chet Atkins, Eydie Gorme, Nick Lucas and, of course, Tiny Tim ("Tiptoe Through the Tulips"). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

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