Grant Clarke (May 14, 1891,

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

– May 16, 1931,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. Clarke moved to

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 ...

early in his career, where he worked as an actor and a staff writer for comedians. He began working on

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 ...

, where he contributed music to films such as ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated ...

'' (1927), ''

Weary River ''Weary River'' is a 1929 American romantic drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and William Holden (no relation to William Holden, star of such films as ''Sunset Boulevard''). Produced and distri ...

'' (1928), '' On with the Show'' (1929) and '' Is Everybody Happy?'' (1929). He wrote the lyrics to the show '' Dixie to Broadway'', and also contributed to the 1921 ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

'' and ''

Bombo Bombo may refer to: Music * ''Bombo'' (musical), a 1921 Broadway production starring Al Jolson * "Bombo" (song), by Norwegian singer Adelén *Bombo criollo or just bombo, a family of Latin American drums *Bombo legüero, an Argentine drum *An 18th ...

''. Later in his career he became a charter 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 ...

and was successful in the music publishing business. Clarke was the author of the lyrics to many popular songs of the 1910s and 1920s, working with composers such as

George W. Meyer George William Meyer (January 1, 1884– August 28, 1959) was an American Tin Pan Alley songwriter. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1884. He graduated from Roxbury High School, and began working in accountancy for Boston department stor ...

Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American 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 ...

Al Piantadosi Al Piantadosi (born John Alberto Joseph Piantadosi; August 18, 1882 in New York City – April 8, 1955 in Encino, California) was an American composer of popular music during the of Tin Pan Alley. He started out as a saloon and vaudeville piani ...

Fred Fisher Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach, September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher. Biography Fisher was born in Cologne, Germany. His parents were Max and Theodora Breitenba ...

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

, Arthur Johnston, James Hanley,

Lewis F. Muir Lewis F. Muir, born Louis Meuer (May 30, 1883 – December 3, 1915) was an American composer and ragtime pianist. Biography Originally a Hatmaking, millinery peddler, Muir started as a pianist in St. Louis cafes and played in the St. Louis World' ...

and

Milton Ager Milton Ager (October 6, 1893 – May 6, 1979) was an American composer, regarded as one of the top songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. His most lasting compositions include "Ain't She Sweet?” and “Happy Days Are Here Again”. Biography Ag ...

Selected songs

A list of Clarke's most prominent works: * "Dat's Harmony" (1911) * "

Ragtime Cowboy Joe Ragtime Cowboy Joe is a popular western swing song. The lyrics were written by Grant Clarke and the music was composed by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams. It was copyrighted and published in 1912 by F.A. Mills. Artists The song has been rec ...

" (1912) * " He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under" (1913) * "When You're in Love With Someone" (1915) * "You're A Dangerous Girl" (1916) * "In the Land of Beginning Again" (1918) * "Everything is Peaches Down in Georgia" (1918) * " Second Hand Rose" (1921) * "Oogie Oogie Wa Wa" (1922) * "

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 ...

" (1921) * "I'm a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird" (1924) * " Am I Blue?" (1929)

References

Biography
at Songwriters Hall of Fame

External links

Grant Clarke 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:Clarke, Grant 1891 births 1931 deaths Musicians from Akron, Ohio Songwriters from Ohio 20th-century American musicians