Edgar Leslie (December 31, 1885 – January 22, 1976) was an American songwriter.

Biography

Edgar Leslie was born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, in 1885. He studied at the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

in New York. He published his first song in 1909, starting a long prolific career as a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

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 ...

. He died in 1976.

Musical career

Leslie's first song, "Lonesome" (1909), was an immediate success, recorded by the Haydn Quartet and again by

Byron G. Harlan Byron George Harlan (August 29, 1861 – September 11, 1936) was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan". Solo rec ...

. Other notable artists recorded his early works. Among them were

Nat M. Wills Nat M. Wills (born Louis McGrath Wills; July 11, 1873 – December 9, 1917) was a popular American stage star, vaudeville entertainer, and recording artist at the beginning of the 20th century. He is best known for his "tramp" persona and for per ...

Julian Rose Sir Julian Day Rose, 5th and 4th Baronet (born March 1947) is a British aristocrat and exponent of organic farming. He changed the Hardwick Estate in South Oxfordshire to conform with the standards of organic farming in 1975. Rose succeeded t ...

Belle Baker Belle Baker (December 25, 1893 in New York City – April 29, 1957 in Los Angeles) was an American singer and actress. Popular throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Baker introduced a number of ragtime and torch songs including Irving Berlin's " Bl ...

Lew Dockstader Lew Dockstader (born George Alfred Clapp; August 7, 1856 – October 26, 1924) was an American singer, comedian, and vaudeville star, best known as a blackface minstrel show performer. Dockstader performed as a solo act and in his own popula ...

, James Barton and Joe Welch.''Tin Pan Alley: an encyclopedia of the golden age of American song'' by David A. Jasen, (New York: Routledge, 2003.) p. 248-249
/ref> A founding member of

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

in 1914. In 1927, he traveled to England and collaborated with

Horatio Nicholls Frederick Lawrence Wright (15 February 1888 – 19 May 1964) was a British songwriter, music publisher, and the founder of the music journal '' Melody Maker''. He used the ''pseudonyms'' Horatio Nicholls and Everett Lynton for his songwriting ...

on several songs, most notably "

Among My Souvenirs "Among My Souvenirs" is a 1927 song with words by Edgar Leslie and music by Horatio Nicholls (pseudonym of British composer Frederick Lawrence Wright). Original version The earliest known version of "Among My Souvenirs" was recorded by The Kit ...

". Leslie served as its director from 1931 to 1941 and from 1947 to 1953. His most enduring success of the era was probably 1935's " Moon Over Miami". He 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 1972.Edgar Leslie biography.
''songwritershalloffame.org''. Retrieved: April 29, 2013. Leslie's best-known songs include "

", "

Come On Papa Come may refer to: *Comè, a city and commune in Benin *Come (Tenos), an ancient town on Tenos island, Greece Music *Come (American band), an American indie rock band formed in 1990 *Come (UK band), a British noise project founded in 1979 **Come ...

", " For Me And My Gal", "Getting Some Fun Out of Life", "

Hello, Hawaii, How Are You? Hello, Hawaii, How Are You? is a song written in 1915, by Jean Schwartz, Bert Kalmar and Edgar Leslie. The song was inspired by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company's recent successful radio (then commonly called "wireless") telephone trans ...

", "

Girls of France "Girls of France" is a World War I era song released in 1917. Al Bryan and Edgar Leslie wrote the lyrics. Harry Ruby composed the music. The song was published by Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co. of New York, New York. Artist Albert Wilfred Barbelle ...

", and " Moon Over Miami".Edgar Leslie song catalog.
''songwritershalloffame.org''. Retrieved: April 29, 2013.

Selected works

* 1913 "

He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile) "He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)" is one of the lengthier titles in the history of popular songs. The song was published in 1913, with music by Maurice Abrahams and lyrics by Grant Clarke and Edgar Leslie ...

" (m:

Maurice Abrahams Maurice Abrahams (March 18, 1883 – April 13, 1931) was an American songwriter and music publisher, who was successful in the early years of the 20th century. Biography Abrahams was born in Odessa, Russia, and emigrated to the US as a child in ...

) * 1915 "America, I Love You" (m: Archie Gottler) * 1915 "Cheer Up, Better Times Will Soon Be Here" with Joe Young * 1915 "

" with

Jean Schwartz Jean Schwartz (November 4, 1878 – November 30, 1956) was a Hungarian-born American songwriter. Schwartz was born in Budapest, Hungary. His family moved to New York City when he was 13 years old. He took various music-related jobs including dem ...

and

Bert Kalmar Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter. Biography Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early ag ...

* 1916 "Are You Prepared for the Summer" with Bert Kalmar (m: Jean Schwartz) * 1916 "Letter That Never Reached Home, The" (m: Archie Gottler) * 1917 "The Dixie Volunteers" with

Harry Ruby Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. * 1917 "Girls of America (We All Depend on You)" with Bert Kalmar (m: Harry Ruby) * 1917 "I've Got a Red Cross Rosie Going Across with Me" with Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby * 1917 " Let's All Be Americans Now" with

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

& Geo. W. Meyer * 1917 " For Me And My Gal" with George W. Meyer and

E. Ray Goetz Edward Ray Goetz (June 12, 1886 – June 12, 1954) was an American composer, lyricist, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical producer. A Tin Pan Alley songwriter, he published more than 500 songs during his career; many of them origin ...

* 1918 "American Beauty" with Albert Bryan (m: M. K. Jerome) * 1918 "Big Chief Killahun" with Alfred Bryan (m: Maurice Abrahams) * 1918 "Girl He Left Behind Him Has the Hardest Fight of All, The" with Al Brayan (m:

" with Alfred Bryan & Harry Ruby * 1919 "

Come on Papa Come may refer to: *Comè, a city and commune in Benin *Come (Tenos), an ancient town on Tenos island, Greece Music *Come (American band), an American indie rock band formed in 1990 *Come (UK band), a British noise project founded in 1979 **Come ...

" with Harry Ruby * 1919 "Come on and Play Wiz Me (My Sweet Babee)" with Bert Kalmar (m: Harry Ruby) * 1919 "Down the Lane and Home Again" with Bert Kalmar (m: M. K. Jerome) * 1921 "

Dirty Hands, Dirty Face "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face" (or "Dirty Hands! Dirty Face!") is a song from the 1921 musical '' Bombo''. The lyrics were written by Grant Clarke and Edgar Leslie; with music by James V. Monaco. Al Jolson is often credited as a lyricist; it was commo ...

" with

Grant Clarke Grant Clarke (May 14, 1891, Akron, Ohio – May 16, 1931, California) was an American songwriter. Clarke moved to New York City early in his career, where he worked as an actor and a staff writer for comedians. He began working on Tin Pan Alley, ...

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

(m:

James V. Monaco James Vincent Monaco (January 13, 1885 – October 16, 1945) was an Italian-born American composer of popular music. Life and career Monaco was born in Formia, Italy. His family emigrated to the United States when he was six, and he grew up i ...

) * 1927 "

" (m:

) * 1935 " Moon Over Miami" (m: Joe Burke) * 1936 "Midnight Blue" * 1936 "In a Little Gypsy Tearoom" * 1936 "Were You Foolin?"

References

External links

Songwriters Hall of Fame - Edgar LeslieEdgar Leslie bio at Parlor SongsEdgar Leslie
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

.
Edgar Leslie at the Sheet Music Consortium.Edgar Leslie in July 15, 1967 edition of ''Billboard.''

Edgar Leslie 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 ...

. Streaming audio
Edgar Leslie
on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

.
Edgar Leslie
on

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important player in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by Edison's found ...

.
Edgar Leslie
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, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Edgar 1885 births 1976 deaths American songwriters Musicians from Stamford, Connecticut Cooper Union alumni

Biography

Musical career

Selected works

See also

References

External links