Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) 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 incom ...

who contributed a number of songs to the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" i ...

, including "

Pretty Baby Pretty Baby may refer to: * ''Pretty Baby'' (1950 film), a comedy film featuring Dennis Morgan and Betsy Drake * ''Pretty Baby'' (1978 film), a drama film featuring Brooke Shields ** ''Pretty Baby'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the film ...

", "

Ain't We Got Fun? "Ain't We Got Fun" is a popular foxtrot published in 1921 with music by Richard A. Whiting, lyrics by Raymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn. It was first performed in 1920 in the Fanchon and Marco revue ''Satires of 1920'', then moved into vaudeville ...

", "

Carolina in the Morning "Carolina in the Morning" is a popular song with words by Gus Kahn and music by Walter Donaldson, first published in 1922 by Jerome H. Remick & Co. The song debuted on Broadway in the elaborate and risqué musical revue '' The Passing Show of ...

", "

Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!) Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!) is a 1922 song with music and lyrics by Gus Kahn, Ernie Erdman and Danny Russo, per the credits on the original sheet music cover. Some other sources also credit Ted Fio Rito and Robert King for the song, but mak ...

", " My Buddy" " I'll See You in My Dreams", " It Had to Be You", " Yes Sir, That's My Baby", " Love Me or Leave Me", "

Makin' Whoopee "Makin' Whoopee" is a jazz/ blues song, first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical '' Whoopee!''. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics and Walter Donaldson composed the music for the song as well as for the entire musical. The title refers to ce ...

", " My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I'm Through with Love", "

Dream a Little Dream of Me "Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and also by Wayne King and His Orchestra, with vocals by Ernie Birchill. ...

" and "

You Stepped Out of a Dream "You Stepped Out of a Dream" is a popular song with music written by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Gus Kahn that was published in 1940. The song has become a pop and jazz standard, with many recorded versions. It was a centerpiece in the 1941 mu ...

Life and career

Kahn was born in 1886 in Bruschied, in the Rhine Province of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, the son of Theresa (Mayer) and Isaac Kahn, a cattle farmer. The

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family emigrated to the United States and moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1890. After graduating from high school, he worked as a clerk in a mail order business before launching one of the most successful and prolific careers from

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 ...

. Kahn married

Grace LeBoy Grace Leboy Kahn (September 22, 1890 - May 24, 1983) was an American composer. Born in Brooklyn NY, Leboy was a precocious musician, gaining employment as a pianist by age 15, and fame by age 18 with her song "I Wish I Had A Girl". By age 21 she h ...

in 1916 and they had two children, Donald and Irene. In his early days, Kahn wrote special material 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 ...

. In 1913 he began a productive partnership with the well-established composer

Egbert Van Alstyne Egbert Anson Van Alstyne (March 4, 1878 – July 9, 1951) was an American songwriter and pianist. Van Alstyne was the composer of a number of popular and ragtime tunes of the early 20th century. Biography Van Alstyne was born in Marengo, Il ...

, with whom he created several notable hits of the era, including "Memories" and, along with Tony Jackson, "Pretty Baby." Later, he began writing lyrics for composer and bandleader Isham Jones. This partnership led to one of Kahn's best-known works, " I'll See You in My Dreams," which became the title of a 1951 movie based on his life, starring

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running sitc ...

as Kahn and Doris Day as his wife, Grace LeBoy Kahn. Throughout the 1920s, Kahn continued to contribute to Broadway scores such as ''Holka Polka'' (1925), ''Kitty's Kisses'' (1926), ''Artists and Models'' (1927), ''

Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...

'' (1928), and '' Show Girl'' (1929). He went on to write song lyrics for several movies, primarily for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 ...

. By 1933, Kahn had become a full-time motion picture songwriter, contributing to movies such as ''

Flying Down to Rio ''Flying Down to Rio'' is a 1933 American pre-Code RKO musical film famous for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond received top billing and the leading roles. Among the ...

'', ''

Thanks a Million ''Thanks a Million'' is a 1935 musical film produced and released by 20th Century Fox and directed by Roy Del Ruth. It stars Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak and Fred Allen, and features Patsy Kelly, David Rubinoff and Paul Whiteman and his band with si ...

'', ''

Kid Millions ''Kid Millions'' (1934) is an American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, and starring Eddie Cantor. Its elaborate "Ice Cream Fantasy Finale" production number was filmed in three-strip Technicolor, one ...

'', '' A Day at the Races'', ''

Everybody Sing ''Everybody, Sing!'' is a Philippine Musical film, musical game show created, developed, produced and distributed by ABS-CBN, ABS-CBN Entertainment It was hosted by Vice Ganda. The show aired for first season from June 5 to October 10, 2021, ...

'', ''

One Night of Love ''One Night of Love'' is a 1934 American Columbia Pictures romantic musical film set in the opera world, starring Grace Moore and Tullio Carminati. The film was directed by Victor Schertzinger and adapted from the story ''Don't Fall in Love'', by ...

'', ''

Three Smart Girls ''Three Smart Girls'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Barbara Read, Nan Grey, Deanna Durbin (her feature film debut), and Ray Milland. The film's screenplay was written by Adele Comandini and Austin P ...

'', ''

Let's Sing Again ''Let's Sing Again'' is a 1936 American film directed by Kurt Neumann. Plot An orphan (eight-year-old boy soprano Bobby Breen) gets a chance to sing opera in New York. Cast *Bobby Breen as Billy Gordon *Henry Armetta as Joe Pasquale * Ge ...

'', ''

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

'', '' Naughty Marietta'', and ''

Ziegfeld Girl Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls and showgirls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the '' Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), in New York City, which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris. Desc ...

''. He also collaborated with co-lyricist Ira Gershwin and with some of the finest composers, including Grace LeBoy Kahn (his wife), Richard A. Whiting,

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Recor ...

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American 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-billed ...

, Raymond Egan,

Ted Fio Rito Theodore Salvatore Fiorito (December 20, 1900 – July 22, 1971),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 95. known professionally a ...

, Ernie Erdman,

Neil Moret Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American Harry M. Woods Henry MacGregor WoodsIMDb bio for Harry M. Woods
(November 4, 1896 – January 14, 1970) was a

, Edward Eliscu,

Victor Schertzinger Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include '' Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930), ''Something to Sing About'' (1937) with James C ...

, Arthur Johnston,

Bronisław Kaper Bronisław Kaper (; February 5, 1902 – April 26, 1983) was a Polish film composer who scored films and musical theater in Germany, France, and the USA. The American immigration authorities misspelled his name as Bronislau Kaper. He was also va ...

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 ove ...

Walter Jurmann Walter Jurmann (October 12, 1903 - June 17, 1971) was an Austrian-born composer of popular music renowned for his versatility who, after emigrating to the United States, specialized in film scores and soundtracks. Biography Born in Vienna, Jurman ...

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

, and Harry Warren, though his primary collaborator was

Walter Donaldson Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 – July 15, 1947) was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Song ...

. He had a long friendship with

. Their first collaboration was the song '' My Buddy'' in 1922. They went on to compose over one hundred songs together.

Death and legacy

Kahn died in Beverly Hills, California, on October 8, 1941, of a heart attack at age 54. He was interred in the

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries is an American corporation that owns and operates a chain of cemeteries and mortuaries in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties in Southern California. History The company was founded by a group of ...

in Glendale, California. His catalog contained some of the greatest collections of songs from the first half of the 20th century, and it is for this reason that he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, nearly 30 years after his death. He was survived by his son, songwriter and musician Donald Kahn, who died at the age of 89 on April 11, 2008, in Beverly Hills, California. His daughter, Irene, was married to

Arthur Marx Arthur Julius Marx (July 21, 1921April 14, 2011) was an American writer, the son of entertainer Groucho Marx and his first wife, Ruth Johnson. Marx spent his early years accompanying his father around vaudeville circuits in the United States a ...

, the son of Groucho Marx. Gus Kahn's most famous songs include “ My Buddy" (1922) with music by Walter Donaldson; " It Had To Be You" (1924), with music by Isham Jones; and "

" (1928), with music by Walter Donaldson. Kahn was also the lyricist for the

Ted Healy Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy th ...

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

short film ''

Beer and Pretzels ''Beer and Pretzels'' is the second of five short films starring Ted Healy and His Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard) released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on August 26, 1933. A musical-comedy film, the film also featured Bonnie Bon ...

'' (1933), with music by Al Goodhart. Kahn has been incorrectly associated with the song " Side by Side", which has words and music by Harry Woods. Kahn's papers are housed at the

Great American Songbook Foundation The Great American Songbook Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the music of the Great American Songbook. The Songbook Foundation's administrative offices are located on the Gallery lev ...

played Kahn opposite Doris Day as Grace LeBoy in the 1951 film '' I'll See You in my Dreams.''

Selected songs

*"I Wish I had a Girl" (1907) *"Everybody Rag with Me" (1914) *"

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

" (1915) *"

" (1916) *" So Long, Mother" (1917). m:

*"Cherry Blossom" (1917). m: Harry Ramond *"On the Road to Home Sweet Home" (1917). m:

*"Scouting in the U.S.A" (1917). m: Edith Goodland Bartlett *"For the Boys Over There" (1918). m:

*" What Are You Going to Do to Help the Boys?" (1918). m:

*" For Your Boy and My Boy" (1918). m:

*" Give a Little Credit to the Navy" (1918). m: Albert Gumble *"It Might as Well Be You" (1918). L:

*"Put Your Hands in your Pocket and Give, Give, Give" (1918). m:

*"Tell the Folks in Dixie I'll Be Back There Some Day" (1918). m:

*"Your Eyes Have Told Me So" (1919) *"I Can't Get Along Without You" (1919). m: Robert Van Alstyne *"I'll Wait for You" (1919). m:

" (1921) *"

" (1922) *"

" (1922) *" My Buddy" (1922) *" On the Alamo" (1922) *"

Swingin' Down the Lane "Swingin' Down the Lane" is a 1923 song composed by Isham Jones with lyrics by Gus Kahn. Jones' instrumental version was second to " March of the Wooden Soldiers" in the list of top songs for 1923. Other popular versions in 1923 were by Ben Bern ...

" (1923) *"

Charley, My Boy "Charley, My Boy" is a song with music by Ted Fio Rito and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The Russo-FioRito Oriole Orchestra introduced the song in 1924. The most popular recording was released by Eddie Cantor. The sheet music was published for voice and pia ...

" (1924) *" I'll See You in My Dreams" (1924) *" It Had to Be You" (1924) *"When You and I Were Seventeen" (1924) *"Sometime" (1925) *"I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight" (1925) *" Yes Sir, That's My Baby" (1925) *"

Ukulele Lady "Ukulele Lady" is a popular standard, an old evergreen song by Gus Kahn and Richard A. Whiting. Published in 1925, the song was first made famous by Vaughn De Leath. It has been recorded by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra with vocals by the Southe ...

" (1925) *"Let's Talk About My Sweetie" (1926) m:

*"Persian Rug" (1927) *" Chlo-e" (1927) *" Love Me or Leave Me" (1928) *"

" (1928) *"Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)" w/ Ira Gershwin (1929) *" Goofus" (1930) *" My Baby Just Cares for Me" (1930) *"I'm Through with Love" (1931) *"

" (1931) *"

Guilty Guilty or The Guilty may refer to: * Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard Law *Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction *Guilt (law) ...

" (1931) *"Thanks for the Pines" (1931) *"

Carioca Carioca ( or ) is a demonym used to refer to anything related to the City of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. The original meaning of the term is controversial, maybe from Tupi language "''kari' oka''", meaning "white house" as the whitewashed stone ...

" (1934) *"San Francisco" or "

Theme from San_Francisco "Theme from ''San Francisco''," also known as "San Francisco," is a song from the 1936 American film ''San Francisco''. It was written by Bronislaw Kaper and Walter Jurmann, with lyrics by Gus Kahn. It is sung by Jeanette MacDonald six times in ...

" (Music: Bronislaw Kaper and Walter Jurmann) (

San_Francisco (1936 film) ''San Francisco'' is a 1936 musical-drama disaster film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, based on the April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The film stars Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy. MacDonald's singing helped make this film ...

) *"My Heart Is Singing" (Music: Bronislaw Kaper and Walter Jurmann) (

, 1936) *"Someone to Care for Me" (Music: Bronislaw Kaper and Walter Jurmann) (

, 1936) *"The Show Must Go On" (Music: Bronislaw Kaper and Walter Jurmann) (

, 1936) *"Waltzing in the Clouds" (1940) *"

" (1940)

References

External links

* *
Gus Kahn at the Songwriters Hall of FameGus Kahn at Jazz Standards

Gus Kahn Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2001)

Gus Kahn recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Gus American musical theatre lyricists Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) German emigrants to the United States 19th-century German Jews Jewish American songwriters Musicians from Koblenz 1886 births 1941 deaths People from the Rhine Province 20th-century American male writers

Life and career

Death and legacy

Selected songs

Further reading

References

External links