Harry Link (born John Harry Linkey, January 25, 1896,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

– July 5, 1956,

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 ...

) was an American

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 ...

actor and

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 ...

. He wrote and co-wrote several well-known

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

Career

Link studied at the

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

but was already publishing songs by his late teens; in 1914, he co-wrote "Along Came Ruth" 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 ...

. He attempted a career in acting, appearing in the 1916 film ''

The Masked Rider The Masked Rider is the primary mascot of Texas Tech University. It is the oldest of the university's mascots still in existence today. Originally called "Ghost Rider", it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became ...

'', but had little luck and soon gave it up for a sustained career in music publishing. In 1929, he co-wrote "

I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling" is a popular song with music by Fats Waller and Harry Link and lyrics by Billy Rose, published in 1929. In 1929, right after its publication, a very large number of different recordings were made (see below); afte ...

" with

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with sh ...

and

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

. Waller turned the song into a hit;

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

recorded the tune, as did many others. Link and Waller also co-wrote "Gone" with

Andy Razaf Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". Biography Razaf was born in Washi ...

and "I Hate to Leave You Now" with Dorothy Dick ''(née'' Dorothy Dickenshied; 1895–1986), whom Link married in 1916 in Philadelphia. Armstrong also recorded a version of "I Hate to Leave You Now". Link and Dick went on to collaborate extensively. Among their songwriting credits (often in tandem with other writers) are "By My Side", "Until We Meet Again Sweetheart", and "Peelin' the Peach". He wrote music for ''

Blondie of the Follies ''Blondie of the Follies'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding and written by Anita Loos and Frances Marion. Plot In a crowded New York tenement on the upper east side, Blondie and Lottie are neighbors and best f ...

'' in 1932. In 1936 he wrote "

These Foolish Things "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" is a standard with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, writing under the pseudonym Holt Marvell, and music by Jack Strachey, both Englishmen. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer; his input ...

" along with Jack Strachey and

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, and desc ...

, which became one of the year's biggest numbers; hit versions include one by

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

and another by

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

. After 1937 Link concentrated on the business end of the publishing industry.

References

Harry Link Harry Link (born John Harry Linkey, January 25, 1896, Philadelphia – July 5, 1956, New York City) was an American vaudeville actor and songwriter. He wrote and co-wrote several well-known jazz standards. Career Link studied at the Wharton S ...

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Link, Harry 1896 births 1956 deaths Songwriters from Pennsylvania Musicians from Philadelphia 20th-century American musicians