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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. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pro ...
– May 16, 1931, California) 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 ge ...
. Clarke moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
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 isola ...
'' (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 distr ...
'' (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 A ...
'' and '' Bombo''. 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,
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 ...
, Al Piantadosi, Fred Fisher,
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 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 A ...
.


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 ...
" (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 (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 lyricis ...
" (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