Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose".

Biography

Razaf was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, United States. His birth name was Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo. He was the son of Henri Razafinkarefo, nephew of Queen

Ranavalona III Ranavalona III (; 22 November 1861 – 23 May 1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from 30 July 1883 to 28 February 1897 in a reign marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the go ...

of the

Imerina The Merina Kingdom, or Kingdom of Madagascar, officially the Kingdom of Imerina (–1897), was a pre-colonial state off the coast of Southeast Africa that, by the 19th century, dominated most of what is now Madagascar. It spread outward from I ...

kingdom in Madagascar, and Jennie Razafinkarefo (née Waller), the daughter of John L. Waller, the first African American consul to

. The French invasion of Madagascar (1894-95) left his father dead, and forced his pregnant 15-year-old mother to escape to the United States, where he was born in 1895. He was raised in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and at the age of 16 he quit school and took a job as an elevator operator at a

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

office building. A year later he penned his first song text, embarking on his career as a lyricist. During this time he would spend many nights in the

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

bus station in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

, and would pick up his mail at the Gaiety Theatre office building, which was considered the black Tin Pan Alley. Some of Razaf's early poems were published in 1917–18 in the

Hubert Harrison Hubert Henry Harrison (April 27, 1883 – December 17, 1927) was a West Indian-American writer, orator, educator, critic, race and class conscious political activist, and radical internationalist based in Harlem, New York. He was described by a ...

-edited ''Voice'', the first newspaper of the "

New Negro Movement The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...

". Razaf collaborated with composers

Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote '' Shuffle Along'', one of the first B ...

Don Redman Donald Matthew Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964) was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader, and composer. Biography Redman was born in Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia, United States. His father was a music teacher ...

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

, Harry Brooks, and

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

. Among the best-known Razaf-Waller collaborations are " Ain't Misbehavin'", " Honeysuckle Rose", "The Joint Is Jumpin'", "Willow Tree", "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" and " (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue". His music was played by other

musicians, as well as

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

, Eubie Blake,

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

and many others. He was a contributor and editor of the

Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant to the United States, and Amy Ashwood Garvey. The Pan-African o ...

's ''

Negro World ''Negro World'' was the newspaper of the Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA). Founded by Garvey and Amy Ashwood Garvey, the newspaper was published weekly in Harlem, New York, and distr ...

'' newspaper. He also wrote quite a number of raunchy 'character' blues-type songs for many of the women blues singers of the 1920s. He also made a number of records as vocalist (both as solo and as vocalist for jazz groups, including a handful by James P. Johnson and Fletcher Henderson). He was married to Jean Blackwell Hutson from 1939 to 1947. In 1972, Razaf was recognized by his Tin Pan Alley peers in the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

Death

Razaf died in

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...

from

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

, aged 77.

Songs

The Songwriters Hall of Fame entry on Andy Razaf lists 215 compositions, giving co-writers and publishers. He had many unpublished songs; Singer's biography lists more than 800, published and unpublished (but without giving lyrics). Some notable lyrics include: * "Baltimo", composed at the age of 17, was sung by members of ''The Passing Show of 1913'' at the Winter Garden, New York. * "Mound Bayou", named for Mound Bayou an independent Black community in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, the original song was sung by

Maxine Sullivan Maxine Sullivan (May 13, 1911 – April 7, 1987), born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer. As a vocalist, Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just b ...

, and was on an album dedicated to his work, ''A Tribute to Andy Razaf''. * " Ain't Misbehavin'" * "

Black and Blue ''Black and Blue'' is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records. This album was the first recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor qu ...

" * "Garvey! Hats Off to Garvey" * "

Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" is a 1929 song written by Andy Razaf and Don Redman. It was recorded by the Redman-led McKinney's Cotton Pickers on Victor on November 5, 1929 as "Gee, Ain't I Good to You." King Cole Trio recording Nat King ...

" with

(1929) * " Honeysuckle Rose" * "

In the Mood "In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by E ...

" * " A Porter’s Love Song to a Chambermaid" * "The Joint Is Jumpin'" * "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" * "Louisiana" * "

Stompin' at the Savoy "Stompin' at the Savoy" is a 1933 jazz standard composed by Edgar Sampson. It is named after the famed Harlem nightspot the Savoy Ballroom in New York City. History and composition Although the song is credited to Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Edgar ...

" * " That's What I Like About the South" * "UNIA"

Recordings

Although Razaf's songs are found on hundreds of recordings, there are only two albums devoted exclusively to his compositions: *

, ''A Tribute to Andy Razaf'', 1956, produced by

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

,> re-issued in 2006 as ''My Memories of You'' with two additional non-Razaf tracks. *

Bobby Short Robert Waltrip Short (September 15, 1924 – March 21, 2005) was an American cabaret singer and pianist, who interpreted songs by popular composers from the first half of the 20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold ...

, ''Guess Who's in Town: Bobby Short Performs the Songs of Andy Razaf'', 1987, re-released in 2001 in tandem with ''Bobby Short Loves Cole Porter''.

Poems

* ''Wired, Hired, Fired'', an expression of grief and sorrow that color bars one fitted to position (that is, one otherwise qualified for, or well suited to the job, is barred on the basis of race). * ''Jack Johnson'', touching on defeat with honor.

References

Bibliography

* ''Black and Blue: The Life and Lyrics of Andy Razaf'' by Barry Singer, Foreword by Bobby Short, * ''Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs'; by William Zinsser, David R. Godine Publisher, 2006, * ''The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America's Great Lyricists'' by Philip Furia, * ''Who's Who of the Colored Race, Memento Edition Half-Century Anniversary of Negro Freedom in U.S.'', reprinted by Gale Research Company, Book Tower Detroit, 1976.

External links

*
FBI file on Andy Razaf
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Andy Razaf recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Razaf, Andy 1895 births 1973 deaths African-American musicians American people of Malagasy descent Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery Deaths from cancer in California Musicians from Washington, D.C. Musicians from New York City People from Harlem Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League members 20th-century American musicians