Bobby Worth (September 25, 1912 in Cleveland, Ohio – July 17, 2002 in Mission Hills, California) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

. His best known songs are "Do I Worry?", "'Til Reveille", "Tonight We Love", and "

Don't You Know? "Don't You Know?" is a 1959 popular song written by Bobby Worth, and hit record for singer Della Reese. The song was adapted from an aria ("Musetta's Waltz") from Puccini's ''La bohème''. The song was Reese's first single on her new label RC ...

". Worth was considered a child prodigy, performing in classical concerts at ten years of age. In his teens, he performed in Gus Edwards'

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

acts. In 1940, at age 28, he moved to

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, and teamed with songwriter Stanley Cowan in 1941 to begin writing for movie studios. From the 1940s onward, songs by Worth were recorded by prominent artists including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

. In collaboration with bandleader

Freddy Martin Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Early life Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...

and Ray Austin, he composed the song "Tonight We Love". He also co-composed the popular 1941

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

tune, "

(Lights Out) 'Til Reveille Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian singer-son ...

Songs in films

Films to which Worth contributed songs include: *1939 ''

Sunset Trail ''Sunset Trail'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander, written by Norman Houston, and starring William Boyd, George "Gabby" Hayes, Russell Hayden, Charlotte Wynters, Jan Clayton, Robert Fiske and Kenneth Harlan. It was ...

'' *1942 ''

Pardon My Sarong ''Pardon My Sarong'' is a 1942 comedy film starring Abbott and Costello. Plot Tommy Layton, a wealthy bachelor, rents a city bus to take him from Chicago to Los Angeles to participate in a yacht race to Hawai’i. The bus drivers, Algy and Welli ...

'' *1943 ''

Honeymoon Lodge ''Honeymoon Lodge'', also known as ''Second Honeymoon'', is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by Edward C. Lilley for Universal Pictures and starring David Bruce, Harriet Hilliard, June Vincent, and Rod Cameron. Plot Cast * David ...

'' *1944 ''

In Society ''In Society'' is a 1944 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It was the first of five Abbott and Costello films to be directed by Jean Yarbrough. It was re-released in 1953. Plot Eddie Harrington and Albert Mansfield are plumb ...

'' *1946 ''

Blue Bayou "Blue Bayou" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt's signature song, with which she scored a Top 5 h ...

'' *1946 ''

Make Mine Music ''Make Mine Music'' is a 1946 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eighth Disney feature animated film, released on April 20, 1946. During World War II, much of Walt Disn ...

'' *1947 ''

Fun and Fancy Free ''Fun and Fancy Free'' is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy package film produced by Walt Disney and released on September 27, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the ninth Disney animated feature film and the fourth of the package films th ...

'' *1948 ''

Melody Time ''Melody Time'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated musical film produced by Walt Disney. The tenth Disney animated feature film, it was released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of seven segments set to popular mu ...

'' *1949 ''

An Old-Fashioned Girl ''An Old-Fashioned Girl'' is a novel by Louisa May Alcott first published in 1869. The first six chapters of the novel were serialised in the '' Merry's Museum'' magazine between July and August 1869. Alcott added another thirteen chapters bef ...

'' Worth acted in the 1945 film, ''

Penthouse Rhythm ''Penthouse Rhythm'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Stanley Roberts and Howard Dimsdale. The film stars Kirby Grant, Lois Collier, Edward Norris, Maxie Rosenbloom, Eric Blore, Minna Gombell and Edwa ...

''.

References

External links

List of Bobby Worth's songs registered with ASCAPVariety magazine's obituary of Bobby Worth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worth Songwriters from Ohio 1912 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American composers