He teamed with English Emigre pianist Harry Revel to write some music for the 1931 Ziegfeld Follies, and were subsequently offered a contract by Paramount Pictures. His lyrics were first heard in motion pictures starting in 1929 ("Ain'tcha" in Paramount's talkie 'Pointed Heels'). In 1933, Universal again teamed Gordon with composer Harry Revel to write the music for a Russ Columbo film. In 1939, Gordon and Revel parted company, and Mack started working with composer Harry Warren. Gordon occasionally worked independently and wrote the music and lyrics for such hits as "Here Comes Cookie," "My Heart is an Open Book," and "This is the Beginning of the End."
Among the songs that Gordon composed are:
Escaping a Russian pogrom, the Gorney family emigrated, in 1906, to Detroit. Jay attended Cass Technical High School, and very soon began to show his musical aptitude. He studied the piano, led the school orchestra, and even earned some extra money by playing the piano on weekends for the local silent movie theaters. Curiously, in spite of all this background, Jay originally wanted to have a career in the Law. He studied Law at the Univ. of Michigan. Yet, he also studied such basic music theory as Harmony, Counterpoint and Orchestration, in the school's music department, with Prof. Earl V. Moore. Even while studying for the law, he found time to organize the school's jazz band. He graduated from the University of Michigan with B.A. and LL.B degrees, and did practice law for a year or so after graduation. At that point in his life, he realized that he really wanted to make music his career.
In 1961, Gorney, and E.Y. Harburg, adapted the music of Jacques Offenbac for the Broadway show The Happiest Girl In The World. Also in 1961, Gorney, and lyricist John W. Block, wrote a group of original scores for NBC-TV, entitled Frontiers of Faith.
Mack Gordon
b. June 21, 1904, Warsaw, Poland, d. March 1, 1959, New York, NY, USA.
né: Morris Gittler
Here's an interesting photograph of Mack and his partner Harry Warren, shown talking to bandleaders Glenn Miller, Sammy Kaye, and Harry James. Mack was born in Warsaw, Poland. His parents emigrated to New York City (ca 1908) when he was a young child. He entered show business as a boy soprano in a minstrel show. In time, he developed comedy routines and eventually became a singing comic on the vaudeville circuit.
Among Gordon's best lyrics:
1930 "Time on My Hands", with Harold Adamson as co-lyricist.
1934 "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?"
"Love Thy Neighbor"
"Stay as Sweet as You Are"
"With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming"
1941 "Chattanooga Choo Choo"
1942 "At Last"
"I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo"
"I Had the Craziest Dream"
"There Will Never Be Another You"
1943 "My Heart Tells Me"
"You'll Never Know"
1945 "The More I See You"
"I Can't Begin to Tell You";
1946 "You Make Me Feel So Young"
1947 "Mam'selle."
Gordon was arguably the most successful of all the screen lyric writers.
Over 120 of his songs were major hits.
Fanny Gordon
née: Faina Cwietkowska,
b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, d.
Currently no information available.
Here's a photo (source unknown) of Fanny Gordon, who, with the Russian revolution, and the overthrow of the Czar, fled to Poland. where she found work writing for the theatre "Morskie Oko".in Warsaw. There she composed the opera "Yacht Miłości" (1933), and Podróż na księżyc, and others/ ,
"Abdu Bej" (sł. Ludwik Szmaragd)
"Bal na Gnojnej" music: Fanny Gordon lyric: Julian Krzewiński, Leopold Brodziński
"Bal u Starego Joska" (with: Julian Krzewiński/Leopold Brodziński)
"Betty" (with: J. Krzewiński/L. Brodziński) - 1933
"Caballeros z Granady" (from: "Szer-Szeń" (with: Jan Brzechwa))
"Dla Mej Kochanki" (with: Andrzej Włast) - 1931
" Gdy Miłość Zapuka Do Drzwi - 1939
"I Tak Mi Ciebie żal", ("As it is me thee sorrow", music: Fanny Gordon, lyric: Valerian Jastrzębiec-Kozłowski, 1932
"Na duszę Smutek Padł" (with: J. Krzewiński/L. Brodziński) - 1933
"New York Baby" (with: J. Krzewiński/L. Brodziński) - 1933
"Nietoperze" (from: Szer-Szeń) - 1930
"Ostatnia Noc" (with: L. Szmaragd)
"Przy Samowarze":, (359 kb): English title: "By the Samovar". (with: A. Żusławska)
"Siemieczki" (with: A. Włast)
"Skrwawione Serce" (with: Walery Jastrzębiec-Rudnicki) - 1931
"Złudzenie" (with: A. Włast)
"Złudzenie":, (438 kb) (English Title: "Illusion" ). Mieczysław Fogg, backed by the Syrena Rekord Orchestra, Rec'd: Syrena Rekord, 1937, Warsaw, Poland. ( Composed by Fanny Gordon and A. Włast)
Jay Gorney
b. Dec. 12, 1896, Bialystok, Russia d. USA
né: Daniel Jason Gorney
Jay is greatly recalled today as the composer of the 1932 Depression-era hit song "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?". Otherwise, he wrote music for several Hollywood movies from the mid-1930's through the 1940's. While most of his songs proved unimportant, several have stood the test of time, some even growing in stature over time.
Brief chronology:
1920's: All the below were written with E.Y.Harburg as lyricist.
1923 "I've Been Wanting You" in Broadway revue Dancing Girl
1924 The show, Greenwich Village Follies, had three of his songs
He wrote the full score for the show Top Hole
1927 Wrote the score for Merry-Go-Round
1929 Wrote the score for The Sketch Book, two notable hits were
"Like Me Less, Love Me More", and "Kinda Cute"
1930 Wrote the score for The Earl Carroll Vanities, two notable
hits were "I Came To Life", and "One Love"
1931 Some songs interpolated into Ziegfeld Follies
1931 Some songs interpolated into Shoot The Works
1932 Wrote score for Americana, the big hit from this show was
Gorney and Harburg's "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime". This
song played throughout the Great Depression years, and is
still used as a symbol of hard economic times.
1930's. In 1929, and 1930, Gorney started writing for the films, at
first with Paramount Pictures, New York Offices, and later in
Hollywood with Columbia and Fox studios.
For the film, The Battle of the Sexes, G.Lawrence starred.
"What Makes My Baby Blue", Lyric Howard Dietz
"When I'm Housekeeping With You", lyric by Dietz
For the film, Roadhouse Nights, starring Helen Morgan
"Just A Melody for a Memory"
"It Can't Go on Like This", lyric Harburg
For the film, Glorifying the American Girl
"What Wouldn't I Do For That Man"
In 1933, he went to Hollywood, where he was engaged to work for Fox
studios.
From the film, Moonlight and Pretzels (filmed in Astoria,
N.Y.C.)
"Ah, But Is It Love", and "Moonlight and Pretzels" (Harburg)
From the film, Stand Up and Cheer
"Baby, Take a Bow", lyric Lew Brown
From the film, Jimmy and Sally
"You're My Thrill", lyric Sidney Clare
From the film, Springtime for Henry,
"Forbidden Lips"
From the film, Romance in the Rain
"Love At Last"
From the film, Marie Galante
"Song of a Dreamer", lyric Jack Yellen
In 1939, Gorney produced the revue, Meet The People. This show then
toured the U.S. for about a year, and finally arrived on Broadway in
December of 1940. The lyricists for this show were Edward Eliscu and
Henry Myers.
The show featured such tunes as:
"In Chichicastanango"
"The Stars Remain"
"A Fellow and a Girl"
"The Bill of Rights"
"The Same Old South"
After this Broadway stay, the show went back on the road for two
years. In 1943 and again in 1944, two new productions of the show
were mounted, but were unable to tour because of wartime
restrictions.
In 1942 and 1943, Gorney was at Columbia films, where he produced
such films as: Hey Rookie; The Gay Senorita, and The Heat's On.
In 1948, THe Dramatic Workshop, of New York's New School for Social
Research, invited Gorney (and his wife Sondra) to create a stage
musical workshop. The Gorney's continued the work until 1951.
In 1948, Gorney worked on the score for Heaven On Earth, two numbers
"You're The First Cup of Coffee in the Morning"
"So Near and Yet So Far"
In 1949, Gorney worked on the show, Touch and Go. Two notable numbers
were
"Wish Me Luck"
"Funny Old, Little Old World"
In the 50's, Gorney worked as a producer-composer for CBS-TV, and also
worked with the fculty of the American Theater Wing.
