Edward Madden (July 17, 1878 – March 11, 1952) was an American

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

Early life

Madden was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and graduated from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. After graduation, he wrote for singers including

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. S ...

, as well as for

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. Later, he would write songs for

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

Career

During his career, Madden worked with Ben Jerome,

Dorothy Jardon Dorothy Jardon (born Mary Jardon;''1900 United States Federal Census'' June 1, 1883 – September 30, 1966)''California, Death Index, 1940-1997'' was an American soprano and actress. She sang the role of the gypsy in the operetta ''The Wedding Tr ...

, Joseph Daly, Gus Edwards,

Julian Edwards Julian Edwards (December 11, 1855 - September 5, 1910) was an English composer of light operatic music, who composed many successful Broadway shows in the Progressive Era. He attempted to introduce new levels of musical sophistication to the genre. ...

Louis Hirsch Louis Achille Hirsch, also known as Louis A. Hirsch and Lou Hirsch (November 28, 1887 – May 13, 1924), was an American composer of songs and musicals in the early 20th century. Life and career Hirsch was born in New York City. In his senior ...

Theodore Morse Theodore F. Morse (April 13, 1873 – May 25, 1924) was an American composer of popular songs. Biography Born in Washington, D.C., Morse was educated at the Maryland Military & Naval Academy. He went on to study both violin and piano. He and ...

Percy Wenrich Percy Wenrich (January 23, 1880 – March 17, 1952) was an American composer of ragtime and popular music. Personal life and career Born in Joplin, Missouri to Daniel Wenrich and Mary Ray, he left for Chicago in 1901 where he attended classe ...

and

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

. Madden produced such standards as “ By the Light of the Silvery Moon”, “ On Moonlight Bay”, “Down in Jungle Town”, “Blue Bell”, “Look Out for Jimmy Valentine”, “Aren't You the Wise Ole Owl”, “My Only One”, “What Could Be Sweeter?”, “The World Can't Go ‘Round Without You”, “Red Rose Rag”, “Silver Bell”, “Arra Wanna”, “I've Got a Feelin' for You”, “A Little Boy Called Taps”, " It Takes the Irish to Beat the Dutch" and “I'd Rather Be a Lobster Than a Wise Guy”. He and composer

wrote the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

song "

Two Little Boys "Two Little Boys" is a song written by American composer Theodore F. Morse and lyricist Edward Madden. It was written in 1902 and became a popular music hall song of the time, especially by Scottish singer Harry Lauder. It describes the story of ...

". Madden's songs have been included in several films, including '' Turn Back the Clock'', ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work f ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Bullets for O'Hara ''Bullets for O'Hara'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by William K. Howard, written by Raymond L. Schrock, and starring Joan Perry, Roger Pryor, Anthony Quinn, Maris Wrixon, Dick Purcell and Richard Ainley. It was released by Warner Bros ...

'', ''

Birth of the Blues ''Birth of the Blues'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy. The plot loosely follows the origins and breakthrough success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band i ...

'', ''

Ship Ahoy ''Ship Ahoy'' is a 1942 American musical-comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring Eleanor Powell and Red Skelton. It was produced by MGM. Background ''Ship Ahoy'' was the first of two films in which Powell and Skelton co-starred. It ...

'', '' On Moonlight Bay'' and '' By the Light of the Silvery Moon''. He was also a contributing lyricist to several Broadway musicals, including ''

Lonesome Town "Lonesome Town" is a song written by Baker Knight. A version sung by Ricky Nelson became a hit single in the United States, reaching #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #15 on the R&B chart in 1958. The song was featured on his 1959 album, ''R ...

'' (1908), '' The-Merry-Go-Round'' (1908), the ''

Ziegfeld Follies of 1909 Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

'', and ''

Little Boy Blue "Little Boy Blue" is an English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11318. Lyrics A common version of the rhyme is: Little Boy Blue, Come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn. Where is ...

'' (1912) among others. Madden 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 ...

in 1970.

Personal life

Madden married his colleague, Dorothy Jardon. He had a son, Edward Madden Jr.

Death

Madden died in

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, ...

in March 1952 at the age of 73.

References

External links

Songwriters Hall of Fame
* *
Edward Madden 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:Madden, Edward 1878 births 1952 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) Fordham University alumni