"Go West Young Man" was a 1940 song by
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 ...
and
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.[MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...]
film ''
Go West'', originally sung by
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...
, backed by a chorus, who performed solo for the first time in the song. The song was cut from the film. The song was eventually used in the 1947
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
film ''
Copacabana'' when it was sung again by Groucho. He and
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
dueted on the song on Crosby's ''
Philco Radio Time
''Philco Radio Time'' was an old-time radio radio series starring entertainer Bing Crosby. The series ran over ABC Radio with episodes airing from October 16, 1946–June 1, 1949. The series also was syndicated for a period of time over th ...
'' show on February 12, 1947.
The song was recorded by Bing Crosby and
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 ...
on March 26, 1947 and was the lead track for
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
's album ''
Go West Young Man''. The B-side of the single was "
Along the Navajo Trail" by
Larry Markes
Lawrence Wolcott Markes (September 24, 1921 – May 19, 1999) was an American comedian, singer and screenwriter.
Markes was born in Brooklyn, New York, and decided at an early age to become a writer. Soon after graduating from the University ...
,
Dick Charles, and Eddie DeLange.
References
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1940 songs
Songs with lyrics by Bert Kalmar
Songs with music by Harry Ruby
Bing Crosby songs
Songs written for films