Bobby Worth
Encyclopedia
Bobby Worth was an American
songwriter
. His best known songs are "Do I Worry?", "'Til Reveille", "Tonight We Love", and "Don't You Know?
".
Worth was considered a child prodigy
, performing in classical concerts at ten years of age. In his teens he was performing in Gus Edwards
' vaudeville
acts. In 1940, at age 28, he moved to Hollywood, California. There he teamed up with songwriter Stanley Cowan in 1941, and began writing for movie studios.
From the 1940s onwards, songs by Worth were recorded by prominent artists including Bing Crosby
, Frank Sinatra
, and Ella Fitzgerald
. In collaboration with bandleader Freddie Martin, and with Ray Austin
, Worth composed the song "Tonight We Love". Worth also co-composed the popular 1941 World War II
tune "(Lights Out) 'Til Reveille".
Worth also appeared as an actor in the 1945 film Penthouse Rhythm.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. His best known songs are "Do I Worry?", "'Til Reveille", "Tonight We Love", and "Don't You Know?
Don't You Know?
"Don't You Know?" is a 1959 popular song by written by Bobby Worth, and hit record for singer Della Reese.The song was adapted from an aria from Puccini's La Boheme. It became Reese's biggest hit, reaching number two on the U.S. Pop chart and number one on the U.S. R&B chart...
".
Worth was considered a child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
, performing in classical concerts at ten years of age. In his teens he was performing in Gus Edwards
Gus Edwards (songwriter)
Gus Edwards was an American songwriter and vaudevillian. He also organised his own theatre companies and was a music publisher.-Early life:...
' vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
acts. In 1940, at age 28, he moved to Hollywood, California. There he teamed up with songwriter Stanley Cowan in 1941, and began writing for movie studios.
From the 1940s onwards, songs by Worth were recorded by prominent artists including Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
. In collaboration with bandleader Freddie Martin, and with Ray Austin
Ray Austin
Ray Austin, formally known as Raymond Austin or Baron DeVere-Austin of Delvin, is a British television director...
, Worth composed the song "Tonight We Love". Worth also co-composed the popular 1941 World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
tune "(Lights Out) 'Til Reveille".
Songs in films
Films to which Worth contributed songs:- 1939 Sunset Trail
- 1942 Pardon My SarongPardon My Sarong-Plot:Tommy Layton , a wealthy bachelor, rents a city bus and rides it from Chicago to Los Angeles. Once there he intends to participate in a yacht race to Hawaii. The drivers of the bus, Algy and Wellington , are then chased by a detective who was hired by the bus company. They escape capture by...
- 1943 Honeymoon Lodge
- 1944 Abbott and Costello In Society
- 1946 Blue BayouBlue Bayou"Blue Bayou" is the title of a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison.-Roy Orbison version:A plaintive ballad, it was originally released by Orbison as a 45rpm single on the Monument Records label in August 1963 ."Blue Bayou" also appears on Orbison's 1963 album, In Dreams...
- 1946 Make Mine MusicMake Mine MusicMake Mine Music is an animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on August 15, 1946. It is the eighth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series....
- 1947 Fun and Fancy FreeFun and Fancy FreeFun and Fancy Free is a 1947 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures on September 27, 1947. It was one of the "package films" that the studio produced in the 1940s...
- 1948 Melody TimeMelody TimeMelody Time is a 1948 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of several sequences set to popular music and folk music, the film is, like Make Mine Music before it, the popular music version of Fantasia Melody Time is a 1948...
- 1949 An Old Fashioned Girl
Worth also appeared as an actor in the 1945 film Penthouse Rhythm.