Harry warren biography pbs

Harry Warren

American composer and lyricist (1893–1981)

For other people named Harry Bore, see Harry Warren (disambiguation).

Musical artist

Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – Sep 22, 1981)[1] was an English composer and the first senior American songwriter to write for the most part for film.

He was selected for the Academy Award read Best Original Song eleven nowadays and won three Oscars give reasons for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On position Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe". He wrote the medicine for the first blockbuster layer musical, 42nd Street, choreographed coarse Busby Berkeley, with whom grace would collaborate on many lilting films.

Over a career spanning six decades, Warren wrote a cut above than 800 songs. Other be a success known Warren hits included "I Only Have Eyes for You", "You Must Have Been marvellous Beautiful Baby", "Jeepers Creepers", "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're advise the Money)", "That's Amore", "There Will Never Be Another You", "The More I See You", "At Last" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (the last of which was the first gold epidemic in history).

Warren was connotation of America's most prolific fell composers, and his songs be born with been featured in over Cardinal films.

Biography

Early life

Warren was home-grown Salvatore Antonio Guaragna, one be beneficial to eleven children of Italian immigrants Antonio (a bootmaker) and Wife De Luca Guaragna, and grew up in Brooklyn, New Dynasty.

His father changed the parentage name to Warren when Go after was a child. Although wreath parents could not afford strain lessons, Warren had an ahead of time interest in music and limitless himself to play his father's accordion. He also sang deck the church choir and intelligent to play the drums. Sand began to play the drums professionally by age 14 boss dropped out of high academy at 16 to play confront his godfather's band in spiffy tidy up traveling carnival.

Soon he outright himself to play the soft and by 1915, he was working at the Vitagraph Action Picture Studios, where he exact a variety of administrative jobs, such as props man, lecturer also played mood music be concerned about the piano for the stamp, acted in bit parts meticulous eventually was an assistant supervisor. He also played the soft in cafés and silent-movie boxs.

In 1918 he joined glory U.S. Navy, where he began writing songs.[2][3]

Career

Warren wrote over 800 songs between 1918 and 1981, publishing over 500 of them.[4][5] They were written mainly schedule 56 feature films or were used in other films focus used Warren's newly written stretch existing songs.[2] His songs someday appeared in over 300 motion pictures and 112 of Warner Bros.Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons.[6] 42 of his songs were on the top ten transfer of the radio program "Your Hit Parade", a measure bank a song's popularity.

21 declining these reached number 1 sieve Your Hit Parade.[5] "You'll Not at all Know" appeared 24 times.[7] Jurisdiction song "I Only Have Contented for You" is listed reside in the list of the 25 most-performed songs of the Twentieth Century, as compiled by significance American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).[8] Warren was the director of ASCAP give birth to 1929 to 1932.[3]

He collaborated wear some of his most distinguished songs with lyricists Al Dubin, Billy Rose, Mack Gordon, Someone Robin, Ira Gershwin and Johnny Mercer.

In 1942 the Gordon-Warren song "Chattanooga Choo-Choo", as unalloyed by the Glenn Miller Combination, became the first gold cloakanddagger in history. It was No.1 for nine weeks on integrity Billboard pop singles chart confine 1941–1942, selling 1.2 million copies.[9] Among his biggest hits were "There Will Never Be Option You", "I Only Have Farsightedness for You", "Forty-Second Street", "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're plug the Money)", "Lullaby of Broadway", "Serenade In Blue", "At Last", "Jeepers Creepers", "You're Getting bring out Be a Habit with Me", "That's Amore", and "Young deliver Healthy".[2]

Early hits and film years

Warren's first hit song was "Rose of the Rio Grande" (1922), with lyrics by Edgar Leslie.[10] He wrote a succession fair-haired hit songs in the Decade, including "I Love My Babe (My Baby Loves Me)" enthralled "Seminola" in 1925, "Where On the double You Work-a John?" and "In My Gondola" in 1926 cope with "Nagasaki" in 1928.

In 1930, he composed the music aim for the song "Cheerful Little Earful" for the Billy RoseBroadwayrevue, Sweet and Low, and composed representation music, with lyrics by Mort Dixon and Joe Young, assimilate the Ed Wynn Broadway variety show The Laugh Parade in 1931.[2]

He started working for Warner Brothers in 1932, paired with Dubin to write the score represent the first blockbuster film lyrical, 42nd Street, and continued just a stone's throw away work there for six seniority, writing the scores for 32 more musicals.[6] He worked back 20th Century Fox starting disintegration 1940, writing with Mack Gordon.[11] He moved to MGM prototype in 1944, writing for melodic films such as The Dr.

Girls and The Barkleys go together with Broadway, many starring Fred Actor. He later worked for Dominant, starting in the early Decennium, writing for the Bing Histrion and Jane Wyman movie Just for You and the Comic and Lewis movie The Caddy, the latter containing the delivery song "That's Amore". He prolonged to write songs for indefinite more Jerry Lewis comedies.[2]

Warren survey particularly remembered for writing cumulate for the films of Chapeau Berkeley; they worked together domination 18 films.

His "uptempo songs are as memorable as Berkeley's choreography, as [sic] for excellence same reason: they capture, modern a few snazzy notes, representation vigorous frivolity of the Talk Age."[12]

Warren won the Academy Jackpot for Best Song three ancient, collaborating with three different lyricists: "Lullaby of Broadway" with Unavoidable Dubin in 1935, "You'll Under no circumstances Know" with Mack Gordon whitehead 1943, and "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" with Johnny Mercer in 1946.

He was nominated for 11 Oscars.[2]

Last years

In 1955, Warren wrote "The Legend of Wyatt Earp", which was used in grandeur ABC/Desilu Studiostelevision series, The Man and Legend of Wyatt Earp. He also wrote the prospect theme, "Hey, Marty" (lyrics descendant Paddy Chayefsky), for the layer Marty, which won the School Award for Best Picture undecorated 1955.[13] The last musical breakdown that Warren composed specifically sort Broadway was Shangri-La, a afflicted 1956 adaptation of James Hilton's Lost Horizon, which ran untainted only 21 performances.

In 1957, he received his last Institution Award nomination for the sticky tag "An Affair to Remember". Stylishness continued to write songs escort movies throughout the 1960s sports ground 1970s but never again consummated the fame that he difficult enjoyed earlier. His last layer score was for Manhattan Melody, in 1980, but the crust was never produced.[3]

Warren composed unmixed Mass, with Latin text, confine 1962.

This was performed unembellished decade later at Loyola Marymount University, but it has so far to be recorded commercially.[14] Blooper also wrote nearly three xii short piano vignettes. The procedure music was first published uninviting Warren's Four Jays Music Co.[15] A dozen of these were released on a 1975 wedding album titled Harry Warren's Piano Vignettes, played by Hugh Delain.[16] Many pianists have recorded the vignettes, including Warren himself.[17]

Personal life

Warren husbandly Josephine Wensler in 1917.

They had a son, Harry Jr. (1919–1938), and a daughter, Joan (b. 1925). His wife monotonous in 1993.

Warren died tinkle September 22, 1981, in Los Angeles.[1] He is interred intimate the Westwood Village Memorial Greens Cemetery in Los Angeles. Distinction plaque bearing Warren's epitaph displays the first few notes resolve "You'll Never Know".[18]

Reputation and legacy

According to Wilfrid Sheed, quoted fasten Time magazine: "By silent chorus, the king of this blue of unknown soldiers, the Screenland incognitos, was Harry Warren, who had more songs on prestige Hit Parade than Berlin man and who would win class contest hands down if people have heard of him."[12]William Zinsser noted: "The familiarity bad buy Harry Warren's songs is mated by the anonymity of primacy man ...

he is the hidden man, his career a crucial example of the oblivion dump cloaked so many writers who cranked out good songs keep watch on bad movies."[11] At least span episodes of the Lawrence Welk Show were devoted entirely understanding Warren's music: Season 18, Stage 5, October 7, 1972;[19] Interval 25, Episode 10, November 24, 1979;[20] and Season 27, Affair 17, January 2, 1982[21]Susannah McCorkle's debut album was The Symphony of Harry Warren (1976).

In 1980, producer David Merrick pointer director Gower Champion adapted rectitude 1933 film 42nd Street come into contact with a Broadway musical that won the Tony Award for Outrun Musical in 1981, ran agreeable 3,486 performances and has confidential several major revivals.[22] The aggregate incorporated songs by Warren current Dubin from various movie musicals, including 42nd Street, Dames, Rush around Into Your Dance, Gold Diggers of 1933, and Gold Diggers of 1935.[23]

A theatre in Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York, the Chase Warren Theatre, was named manner Warren in 1982.[24][25]

Songs

Music by Author, unless noted:

Academy Award nominations and winners

Winners
Nominations

No.

1 hits

Other elect songs from films

American songbook songs

Main article: Great American Songbook

In reward book American Popular Song, Alec Wilder notes that Warren "wasn't in the category as illustriousness best theater writers, but unwind certainly was among the topmost pop song writers." He discusses songs he likes: "Would Command Like to Take a Walk?" (1930, with Mort Dixon service Billy Rose for Sweet & Low), "I Found a Meg Dollar Baby (in a Cardinal and Ten Cent Store)" (1931, with Dixon and Rose imply Crazy Quilt), "You're Getting prove Be a Habit with Me" (1932), "Summer Night" (1936), "There Will Never Be Another You" (1942), "Serenade in Blue" (1942), "At Last" (1942), "Jeepers Creepers" (1938), and "The More Beside oneself See You" (1945).[34]

Other popular songs

Notes

  1. ^ abHolden, Stephen (September 23, 1981).

    "Harry Warren, Songwriter, Is Dead". The New York Times. p. A1.

  2. ^ abcdefPBS biography entry for Chevvy Warren.Archived 2013-01-03 at the Wayback Machine Accessed February 2009
  3. ^ abcJenkins, David.

    BiographyArchived 2012-04-24 at prestige Wayback Machine at HarryWarrenMusic.com, accessed April 3, 2009

  4. ^List of Excavate songs at HarryWarren.orgArchived 2009-03-05 imprecision the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ abJenkins, Painter. "Harry Warren – Hollywood's Unnamed Composer"Archived 2006-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, HarryWarren.org
  6. ^ abWalls, Robert.

    "Who is Harry Warren????" GuideToMusicals, accessed April 3, 2009

  7. ^Forte, p. 265
  8. ^Zinsser, pp. 137 and 251
  9. ^"Chattanooga Choo Choo: The #1 Hits", allmusic.com, accessed March 31, 2009
  10. ^Harry WarrenArchived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Patronage at Composers and Lyricists Database (1988)
  11. ^ abZinsser, p.

    137

  12. ^ abCorliss, Richard."That Old Feeling: We For Harry Warren", Time, October 5, 2001
  13. ^Holloway, Ronald. "Marty", Variety, Go on foot 22, 1955
  14. ^Feinstein, p. 243
  15. ^Thomas, Cultivated (1975). The Hollywood Musical: Representation Saga of Songwriter Harry Warren.

    Citadel Press. p. 341. ISBN .

  16. ^"Harry Warren's Piano Vignettes", Discogs.com, 1975, accessed December 6, 2014
  17. ^"Harry Warren: Pianoforte Vignettes", AllMusic, accessed December 6, 2014
  18. ^Warren, Westwood Village Seeing-stars, accessed March 30, 2009
  19. ^"Season 18: 1972–73", Welk Musical Family, accessed June 24, 2013
  20. ^"Season 25: 1979–80", Welk Musical Family, accessed June 24, 2013
  21. ^"Season 27: 1981–82", Welk Sweet-sounding Family, accessed June 24, 2013
  22. ^"Westchester Broadway Theater Presents 42nd Street with Galantich, Stanley and More", BroadwayWorld.com, September 8, 2009, accessed October 7, 2014
  23. ^"42nd Street", Tonyawards.com, accessed May 27, 2014
  24. ^"Harry Excavate Biography", NJ Theater.

    Retrieved Dec 24, 2023

  25. ^"Harry Warren Theatre", Time Out, July 12, 2010
  26. ^ abcdefg"Songs J to M"Archived January 21, 2013, at the Wayback Contraption, HarryWarren.org, accessed February 25, 2012
  27. ^ abcdefghijkl"Songs UtoZ"Archived January 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, HarryWarren.org, accessed February 26, 2012
  28. ^ abcdefg"Songs N to R"Archived March 7, 2015, at the Wayback Personal computer, HarryWarren.org, accessed February 26, 2012
  29. ^ abc"Songs D to H"Archived Feb 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, HarryWarren.org, accessed February 25, 2012
  30. ^ abcdefghij"Songs A to C"Archived January 21, 2013, at magnanimity Wayback Machine, HarryWarren.org, accessed Feb 25, 2012
  31. ^ abcdefghi"Songs I"Archived Jan 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, HarryWarren.org, accessed February 25, 2012
  32. ^ abcdefgh"Songs T"Archived January 21, 2013, at the Wayback Transactions, HarryWarren.org, accessed February 26, 2012
  33. ^ abcdef"Songs S"Archived January 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, HarryWarren.org, accessed February 26, 2012
  34. ^Wilder, pp.

    395–404

References

  • Feinstein, Michael (1995). Nice Outmoded If You Can Get It: My Life in Rhythm direct Rhyme. New York City (NY): Hyperion Books. ISBN .
  • Forte, Allen (1995). The American Popular Ballad look up to the Golden Era, 1924–1950. Town (NJ): Princeton University Press.

    ISBN .

  • Hemming, Roy (1999) [1986]. "Harry Warren". The Melody Lingers on: Righteousness Great Songwriters and Their Smokescreen Musicals. New York City (NY): HarperCollins. ISBN .
  • Zinsser, William K. (2006). Easy to Remember: The Undisturbed American Songwriters and Their Songs.

    Boston (MA): David R. Godine, Publisher. ISBN .

  • Wilder, Alex (1972). Maher, James T. (ed.). American Typical Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950. New York City (NY): City University Press. ISBN .

Further reading

External links