Don R. George (August 27, 1909 – 1987) was an American lyricist of
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
. His songs include "
The Yellow Rose of Texas"
"
I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (1937), "
I'm Beginning to See the Light
"I'm Beginning to See the Light" is a popular song and jazz standard, with music written by Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James and lyrics by Don George and published in 1944.
1945 recordings
*Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots featu ...
" (1944) and "
Everything but You" (1945).
George has also written lyrics for film songs.
He was a personal friend
and occasional lyricist of
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
composer
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
, whom he followed closely from 1943 until Ellington's death in 1974.
It was with Ellington that he wrote many of hist best-known songs.
George wrote a 1981 biography of Ellington titled ''Sweet Man: The Real Duke Ellington''.
Notes
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Don
American lyricists
1909 births
1987 deaths