Jack Selig Yellen (Jacek Jeleń; July 6, 1892 – April 17, 1991) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He is best remembered for writing the lyrics to the songs "

Happy Days Are Here Again "Happy Days Are Here Again" is a 1929 song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen. The song is a standard that has been interpreted by various artists. It appeared in the 1930 film '' Chasing Rainbows'' and was the campaign song for ...

", which was used by

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

as the theme song for his successful 1932 presidential campaign, and "

Ain't She Sweet "Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like ''Happy ...

", a

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 ...

standard.

Early life and education

Born to a

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 in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

and began writing songs in high school. He graduated with honors from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1913 where he was a member of the

Pi Lambda Phi Pi Lambda Phi (), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters (44 active chapters/colonies). The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapte ...

fraternity. After graduating he became a reporter for the ''

Buffalo Courier The ''Buffalo Courier-Express'' was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 19, 1982. History The ''Courier-Express'' was created in 1926 by a merger of the ''Buffalo Daily Courier'' and the ''Buffalo Morning ...

'', continuing to write songs on the side.

Career

Yellen's first collaborator on a song was

George L. Cobb George Linus Cobb (August 31, 1886 – December 25, 1942) was an American composer. He composed over 200 pieces of music, including ragtimes, marches, and waltzes. He also wrote columns for music trade publications. Career Cobb attended the Sch ...

, with whom he wrote a number of Dixie songs including " Alabama Jubilee", " Are You From Dixie?", and "All Aboard for Dixieland". He is best remembered for his collaboration with composer

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 ...

. He and Ager entered the music publishing business as part owners of the Ager-Yellen-Bornstein Music Company. Yellen also worked with many other composers such as Sammy Fain and

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

. Yellen's collaboration with vaudeville star, Sophie Tucker, for whom he was retained to write special material, produced one of Tucker's most well known songs, "

My Yiddishe Momme "My Yiddishe Momme" is a song written by Jack Yellen (words and music) and Lew Pollack (music), first recorded by Willie Howard, and was made famous in Vaudeville by Belle Baker and by Sophie Tucker, and later by the Barry Sisters. Tucker began s ...

", a song in English with some Yiddish text. Yellen wrote the lyrics which were set to music by

Lew Pollack Lew Pollack (June 16, 1895 – January 18, 1946) was an American song composer and musician active during the 1920s and the 1930s. Career Pollack was born in New York City where he went to DeWitt Clinton High School and was active as a boy sopr ...

. Yellen wrote the lyrics to more than 200 popular songs of the early 20th century. Two of his most recognized songs, still popular in the 21st century, are "

" and "

". Yellen's screenwriting credits included ''

George White's Scandals ''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. Fi ...

'', '' Pigskin Parade'', ''

Little Miss Broadway ''Little Miss Broadway'' is a 1938 American musical drama film directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay was written by Harry Tugend and Jack Yellen. The film stars Shirley Temple in a story about a theatrical boarding house and its occupants ...

'', and ''

Submarine Patrol ''Submarine Patrol'' is a 1938 film directed by John Ford and starring Richard Greene, Nancy Kelly and Preston Foster. The supporting cast features George Bancroft, Elisha Cook, Jr., John Carradine, Maxie Rosenbloom, Jack Pennick, Ward Bond an ...

''.

Awards and legacy

Yellen was one of the earliest members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (

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 served on its board of directors from 1951 to 1969. In 1972 he was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

, and the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

Personal life

In August 1922, Yellen married 21 year old Sylvia Stiller of Buffalo. They had two children, David and Beth. In 1944 he married his second wife, Lucille Hodgeman. Lucille was born in Minnesota in 1915 and raised in Los Angeles. As a dancer and choreographer, she worked with

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 ...

and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

under the stage name Lucille Day on over 20 films, including '' The Wizard of Oz''. The Yellens lived for many years on a farm on Mortons Corners Road in the town of

Concord, New York Concord is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 8,494 at the 2010 census. The town is believed to be named after Concord, Massachusetts, by early settlers from New England. Concord is on the southeastern border o ...

. Jack Yellen died April 17, 1991 in Concord at the age of 98. Lucille Yellen died on August 15, 2010.

Broadway musicals

Film scores

Selected songs

* " Alabama Jubilee" – 1915 * "

Are You from Dixie ('Cause I'm from Dixie Too) ''Are You From Dixie ('Cause I'm from Dixie Too)'' is a song written by lyricist Jack Yellen and composer George L. Cobb, who teamed up to create several Vaudeville-era songs celebrating the American South. It was originally recorded by Billy Mu ...

" – 1915 * "Dancing 'Round the U.S.A" - 1915 * " There's a Garden in Hawaii" with music by George B. McConnell – 1917 * "Battle Song of Liberty" - 1917. m:

* "Johnny Get Your Gun and Be a Soldier" - 1917. m: Jack Glogau * "Over the Rhine" - 1917. m: Albert Gumble * "So Long Sammy" - 1917. m: Albert Gumble * "There's a Vacant Chair in My Old Southern Home" - 1917. m: Al. Piantadosi * "When It's Circus Day Back Home" - 1917. m: Jack Glogau * "There's a Lump of Sugar Down in Dixie" - 1918. m: Albert Gumble * "We're Coming from Cody" - 1918. m: Pvt. Harry Wessel * "I'm Waiting For Ships That Never Come In" – 1919, recorded by Moon Mullican in 1958. * "Alexander's Band Is Back in Dixie" - 1919. m: Albert Gumble * "Cootie Tickle, The (Over Here It's the Shimmie Dance)" - 1919. m:

Abe Olman Abe Olman (December 20, 1887Many sources state his birth year as 1888, but this appears to be an error. – January 4, 1984), born Abraham Olshewitz, was an American songwriter and music publisher. He composed a number of successful ragtime an ...

* "Don't Put a Tax on the Beautiful Girls" - 1919 with

* " Johnny's in Town" - 1919. m: Geo. W. Meyer &

* " Down By The O-Hi-O" – 1921 * " Louisville Lou" – 1923 * "Mama Goes Where Papa Goes" – 1923 * "

Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" is a song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen, written in 1924. The song became a vocal hit for Margaret Young accompanied by Rube Bloom, and an instrumental hit for the Don Clark Orchestra. ...

" – 1924 * "Hula Lou" – 1924 * "

Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp Of Savannah) "Hard Hearted Hannah, the Vamp of Savannah" is a popular song with words by Jack Yellen, Bob Bigelow, and Charles Bates, and music by Milton Ager. The song was published in June 1924 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc., New York. ''Hard Hearted Hannah ...

" – 1924 * "

I Wonder What's Become of Sally I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

" – 1924 * "Cheatin' on Me" – 1925 * " In Your Green Hat" – 1925 * "

" – 1925 with music by

and a huge success for Sophie Tucker. * " No Man's Mama" – 1925 with music by

* " Crazy Words, Crazy Tune" – 1926 * "

" – 1927 * "

Glad Rag Doll "Glad Rag Doll" is a 1928 song composed by Milton Ager and Dan Dougherty with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was Ager and Yellen's first movie theme song, written for the motion picture of the same name (released in 1929) starring Dolores Costello. ...

" – 1929 * "

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and ...

" – 1930 * "

" – 1930 * " Are You Havin' Any Fun?" – 1939 with music by Sammy Fain * "Life Begins At Forty" – 1937 music and lyrics by Jack Yellen and

Ted Shapiro Ted Shapiro (October 31, 1899 – May 26, 1980) was a United States popular music composer, pianist, and sheet music publisher. Early life Shapiro was born on October 31, 1899 in New York City. He became a Tin Pan Alley songwriter and accompa ...

, recorded by Sophie Tucker.

Notes

References

*Laurie, Joe, Jr. ''Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace.'' New York: Henry Holt, 1953. p. 59. *Yellen, Jack: "The Songwriter and the Red Head". ''Buffalo Courier Express'' March 15–22, 1970.

External links

* *
"Alabama jubilee"
New York: Remick Music Corp., 1915, from th
Alabama Sheet Music Collection

Jack Yellen 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 ...

.
Interview with Mrs. Jack (Lucille) Yellen
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yellen, Jack 1892 births 1991 deaths American male screenwriters Polish emigrants to the United States Jewish American songwriters American people of Polish-Jewish descent Musicians from Buffalo, New York University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American musicians Songwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews