L. Wolfe Gilbert
Encyclopedia
Louis Wolfe Gilbert was a Russia
n-born American
songwriter.
, Russian Empire, Gilbert moved to the United States as a young man and eventually established himself as one of the leading songwriters on Tin Pan Alley
.
Gilbert began his career touring with John L. Sullivan
and singing in a quartet at small Coney Island
café called "College Inn", where he was discovered by English
producer Albert Decourville. Decourville brought him to London
as part of The Ragtime Octet. Gilbert's first songwriting success came in 1912 when F. A. Mills Music Publishers published his song Waiting For the Robert E. Lee (melody by composer Lewis F. Muir
).
Gilbert moved to Hollywood in 1915, and began writing for film, television, and radio (including the Eddie Cantor show
). Gilbert wrote the theme lyrics for the popular children's Television Western
Hopalong Cassidy
, which first aired in 1949 on NBC
. He was an innovator in his field, having been one of the first songwriters to begin publishing and promoting a catalog of his own works. He served as the director of ASCAP from 1941 to 1944, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1970.
He died in Los Angeles, California
on July 12, 1970. His original gravesite was at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
in Culver City (Mausoleum
, Court of Sages, Crypt 223) but he was later reinterred at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City)
near Palm Springs, California.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriter.
Biography
Born in OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Russian Empire, Gilbert moved to the United States as a young man and eventually established himself as one of the leading songwriters on Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
.
Gilbert began his career touring with John L. Sullivan
John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...
and singing in a quartet at small Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
café called "College Inn", where he was discovered by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
producer Albert Decourville. Decourville brought him to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as part of The Ragtime Octet. Gilbert's first songwriting success came in 1912 when F. A. Mills Music Publishers published his song Waiting For the Robert E. Lee (melody by composer Lewis F. Muir
Lewis F. Muir
Lewis F. Muir, born Louis Meuer was an American composer and ragtime pianist.Muir started as a pianist in St. Louis and played in the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. He moved to New York in 1910. His first published composition was "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" from 1910. Vaudeville entertainer...
).
Gilbert moved to Hollywood in 1915, and began writing for film, television, and radio (including the Eddie Cantor show
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
). Gilbert wrote the theme lyrics for the popular children's Television Western
Television Westerns
Television Westerns are a sub-genre of the Western, a genre of film, fiction, drama, television programming, etc., in which stories are set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West, Western Canada and Mexico during the period from about 1860 to the end of the...
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of popular short stories and twenty-eight novels based on the character....
, which first aired in 1949 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. He was an innovator in his field, having been one of the first songwriters to begin publishing and promoting a catalog of his own works. He served as the director of ASCAP from 1941 to 1944, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 1970.
He died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on July 12, 1970. His original gravesite was at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California, USA. Many Jewish people from the entertainment industry are buried here.-Notable interments:*Irving Aaronson, composer...
in Culver City (Mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
, Court of Sages, Crypt 223) but he was later reinterred at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City)
Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City)
Forest Lawn Cemetery , renamed from Palm Springs Mortuary & Mausoleum in 2005, is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California near Palm Springs...
near Palm Springs, California.
Music
- 1912 Waiting For The Robert E. Lee (music Lewis F. MuirLewis F. MuirLewis F. Muir, born Louis Meuer was an American composer and ragtime pianist.Muir started as a pianist in St. Louis and played in the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. He moved to New York in 1910. His first published composition was "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" from 1910. Vaudeville entertainer...
) - 1912 Hitchy-Koo (m. Lewis F. MuirLewis F. MuirLewis F. Muir, born Louis Meuer was an American composer and ragtime pianist.Muir started as a pianist in St. Louis and played in the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. He moved to New York in 1910. His first published composition was "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" from 1910. Vaudeville entertainer...
and Maurice AbrahamsMaurice AbrahamsMaurice Abrahams was a successful American songwriter in the early years of the 20th century.Popular songs co-written by Abrahams included "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" and "He'd Have to Get Under — Get Out and Get Under " ....
recorded by Collins & HarlanCollins & HarlanCollins & Harlan, the team of Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan formed a popular comic duet between 1903 and 1926. They sang ragtime standards as well as what were known as "Coon songs" - music sung by white performers in a black dialect. Their material also employed many other stereotypes of the...
) - 1912 Ragging The Baby To Sleep (music Lewis F. MuirLewis F. MuirLewis F. Muir, born Louis Meuer was an American composer and ragtime pianist.Muir started as a pianist in St. Louis and played in the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. He moved to New York in 1910. His first published composition was "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" from 1910. Vaudeville entertainer...
) - 1912 Take Me To That Swanee Shore (m. Lewis F. MuirLewis F. MuirLewis F. Muir, born Louis Meuer was an American composer and ragtime pianist.Muir started as a pianist in St. Louis and played in the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. He moved to New York in 1910. His first published composition was "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" from 1910. Vaudeville entertainer...
) - 1914 By Heck (m. S. R. Henry)
- 1914 She's Dancing Her Heart Away (m. Kerry MillsKerry MillsKerry Mills was an American composer of popular music during the Tin Pan Alley era. His stylistically diverse music ranged from ragtime to cakewalk to marches. He was most prolific between 1895 and 1918....
) - 1915 My Sweet Adair (m. Anatole Friedland)
- 1916 My Hawaiian Sunrise (m. Carey Morgan r. Henry BurrHenry BurrHenry Burr was a Canadian singer of popular songs from the early 20th century, an early radio performer and producer...
and Albert C. Campbell) - 1917 Are You From Heaven? (m. Anatole Friedland)
- 1917 Lily Of The Valley (m. Anatole Friedland)
- 1921 Down YonderDown Yonder"Down Yonder" is a popular song with words and music by L. Wolfe Gilbert. It was first published in 1921. Four characters from Gilbert's 1912 lyric to "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" returned in this song...
- 1924 O, Katharina (m. Richard Fall)
- 1925 Don't Wake Me Up, Let Me Dream (m. Mabel WayneMabel WayneMabel Wayne was an American songwriter. She is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, where she is credited as being the first woman composer to publish a hit song....
) - 1925 I Miss My Swiss (m. Abel Baer)
- 1926 Hello, Aloha, How Are You? (m. Abel Baer)
- 1928 Are You Thinking Of Me Tonight? (m. Harry AkstHarry AkstHarry Akst was an American songwriter, who started out his career as a pianist in vaudeville accompanying singers such as Nora Bayes, Frank Fay and Al Jolson.-Life and career:Akst was born in New York, United States....
& Benny DavisBenny DavisBenny Davis was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. He composed the classic 1926 standard "Baby Face" with Harry Akst.-Life and career:...
r. Al Bowlly with John Abriani's Six) - 1928 RamonaRamona (song)"Ramona" is a 1928 song, with lyrics written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and music by Mabel Wayne.-History:It was created as the title song for the 1928 adventure film-romance Ramona . The song was used again in the 1936 remake of the movie...
(m. Mabel WayneMabel WayneMabel Wayne was an American songwriter. She is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, where she is credited as being the first woman composer to publish a hit song....
r. Whispering Jack Smith, Paul WhitemanPaul WhitemanPaul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
Orchestra featuring Bix BeiderbeckeBix BeiderbeckeLeon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...
, and Gene AustinGene AustinGene Austin was an American singer and songwriter, one of the first "crooners". His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "The Lonesome Road" became pop and jazz standards.-Career:...
) - 1931 Marta (m. Moises Simons) r. (Arthur TracyArthur TracyArthur Tracy was an American vocalist, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s...
, The Street Singer) - 1931 Mama Inez (music Eliseo GrenetEliseo GrenetEliseo Grenet Sánchez was a Cuban pianist and a leading composer/arranger of the day. He composed music for stage shows and films, and some famous Cuban dance music. Eliseo was one of three musical brothers, all composers, the others being Emilio and Ernesto...
)
Further reading
- Bierley, Paul E.; Rehrig, William H. The heritage encyclopedia of band music. Composers and their music, Integrity Press 1991.
- Bloom, Ken. American song. The complete musical theater companion: 1877-1995. Volume 2: T-Z. Second edition. Schirmer Books 1996.
- Larkin, Colin. The encyclopedia of popular music, third edition. Macmillan 1998.