Don Raye (born Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., March 16, 1909 – January 29, 1985) was an American songwriter, best known for his songs for

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

such as "

Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" is a song written in 1940 by Don Raye, Hughie Prince, and Ray McKinley. It follows the American boogie-woogie tradition of syncopated piano music. Background The title adopts 1940s' hipster slang coined by Raye ...

", " The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Thrill" and "

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" is a World War II jump blues song written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince which was introduced by The Andrews Sisters in the Abbott and Costello comedy film, '' Buck Privates'' (1941). The Andrews Sisters' Decca recording r ...

." The latter was co-written with

Hughie Prince Hugh Durham Prince, also known as Hughie Prince, (9 August 1906 – 15 January 1960) was an American film composer and songwriter. He composed "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" with lyricist Don Raye for the movie comedy, ''Buck Privates'', which was no ...

. While known for such wordy novelty numbers, he also wrote the lyrics to "

You Don't Know What Love Is "You Don't Know What Love Is" is a popular song of the Great American Songbook, written by Don Raye (lyrics) and Gene de Paul (music) for the Abbott and Costello film '' Keep 'Em Flying'' (1941), in which it was sung by Carol Bruce. The song was ...

," a simple, poetic lament of unusual power. He also composed the song "(That Place)

Down the Road a Piece "Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year. Called "a neat little amalgam of bluesy rhythm and vivid, catchy ...

," one of his boogie woogie songs, which has a medium bright boogie tempo. It was written for the

Will Bradley Wilbur Schwichtenberg (July 12, 1912 – July 15, 1989), known professionally as Will Bradley, was an American trombonist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. He performed swing, dance music, and boogie-woogie songs, many of them written b ...

Orchestra, who recorded it in 1940, but the song was destined to become a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

standard, recorded by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

Foghat Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up ...

Amos Milburn Joseph Amos Milburn (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Houston, Texas, and died there 52 years later. One commentator noted, "Milburn excel ...

Harry Gibson Harry "The Hipster" Gibson (June 27, 1915 – May 3, 1991), born Harry Raab, was an American jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He played New York style stride piano and boogie woogie while singing in a wild, unrestrained style. His music car ...

, and countless others. In 1940, he wrote the lyrics for the patriotic song "

This Is My Country "This Is My Country" is an American patriotic song composed in 1940. The lyrics are by Don Raye and the music is by Al Jacobs. Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians were the first to record the song, in 1942. The song has played at the end of Walt ...

". In 1985, Don Raye was inducted into 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 ...

History

Raye started his career as a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

r, going on to win the "Virginia State Dancing Championship." He started work in

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 ...

as a song and dance man often writing his own songs for his act. In 1935, he started work as a songwriter, collaborating with composers

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

and

Saul Chaplin Saul Chaplin (February 19, 1912 – November 15, 1997) was an American composer and musical director. He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York. He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley. In film, he w ...

, and bandleader-saxophonist

Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mi ...

. His great success with "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" (co-written with Bradley's drummer

Ray McKinley Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956. ...

) led Raye to write follow-up songs, in collaboration with Hughie Prince: "Scrub Me Mama, with a Boogie Beat" and "Bounce Me Brother, with a Solid Four." Raye and Prince were signed by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

to score musical comedies with

, The

Ritz Brothers The Ritz Brothers were an American family comedy act who performed extensively on stage, in nightclubs and in films from 1925 to the late 1960s. A fourth brother, George, acted as their manager. Early life The four brothers were born to Austria ...

, and

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

; the Andrews trio recorded some of the Raye-Prince compositions for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. Raye and Prince also penned a risqué, best-selling novelty hit, " She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor." Raye joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1941, and served in

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 opposin ...

. Upon his return he resumed songwriting in Hollywood and worked alongside Gene de Paul at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, penning the

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

hit "Daddy-O, I'm Gonna Teach You Some Blues." Their biggest hit was " I'll Remember April." He and de Paul wrote three original songs for Walt Disney's '' The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' as well as ''

A Song is Born ''A Song Is Born'' (also known as ''That's Life''), starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo, is a 1948 Technicolor musical film remake of Howard Hawks' 1941 movie ''Ball of Fire'' with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. This version was also d ...

''. Raye and de Paul also wrote "Beware the Jabberwock," a song for Disney's '' Alice in Wonderland'', which was not included in the final version of the film. A demo was recorded, and is included on the 2004 and 2010 DVD releases of the Disney movie. Raye co-wrote "

The Ballad of Thunder Road "The Ballad of Thunder Road" is a song performed and co-written by actor Robert Mitchum in 1958, with music by composer Jack Marshall. It was the theme song of the movie '' Thunder Road''. The song made the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 twice, in 1958 an ...

" with its script writer and star,

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

. The Robert Mitchum version of the song did not appear in the 1958 movie '' Thunder Road'', but was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. He co-wrote "The House of Blue Lights" in 1946 with

Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...

, a song which was recorded originally by Freddie Slack with

Ella Mae Morse Ella Mae Morse (September 12, 1924 – October 16, 1999) was an American singer of popular music whose 1940s and 1950s recordings mixing jazz, blues, and country styles influenced the development of rock and roll. Her 1942 recording of "Cow-Cow ...

on vocals, by The Andrews Sisters,

Merrill Moore Merrill Moore (1903 – 1957) was an American psychiatrist and poet. Born and educated in Tennessee, he was a member of the Fugitives. He taught neurology at the Harvard Medical School and published research about alcoholism. He was the aut ...

(1952), Chuck Miller (1955), Chuck Berry, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Asleep at the Wheel, and

Publications

In 1971, the Charles E. Tuttle Company published Raye's ''Like Haiku'', a collection of poems. He called them "not

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...

in the true sense. They are 'like' haiku. An Occidental songwriter's haiku. I have merely used that stringent form to frame my own pictures of wonder, my moments of awareness of those things which have made me ''feel''."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raye, Don 1909 births 1985 deaths Songwriters from Washington, D.C. American male songwriters Vaudeville performers 20th-century American musicians 20th-century male musicians Walt Disney Animation Studios people