Louis Wolfe Gilbert (August 31, 1886 – July 12, 1970) was a Russian Empire–born

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 ...

songwriter of Tin Pan Alley. He is best remembered as the lyricist for " Ramona" (1928), the first movie theme song ever written.

Biography

Born in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire, Gilbert moved to the United States as a young man. Gilbert began his career touring with

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing ...

and singing in a quartet at small

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

café called College Inn, where he was discovered by English producer Albert Decourville. Decourville brought him to London as part of The Ragtime Octet. Gilbert's first songwriting success came in 1912, when F. A. Mills Music Publishers published his song " Waiting For the Robert E. Lee" (melody by composer

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' ...

). Gilbert later wrote both the words and music to "

Down Yonder Down Yonder is a popular American song with music and lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert. It was first published in 1921, and was introduced in the same year at the Orpheum Theater, New Orleans. Gilbert had written the lyrics for the 1912 song " Waiting ...

", a sequel to "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee". "Down Yonder" has become something of a standard as an instrumental, though the lyrics are rarely performed. He joined

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 ...

in 1924. Gilbert moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

in 1929, and began writing for film, television, and radio (including the Eddie Cantor show). During the 1930s, Gilbert worked on Cuban songs that helped to popularize the rumba in America. Some of these hits for which he wrote English lyrics include " The Peanut Vendor", "Mama Inez", and "Maria My Own". Gilbert wrote the theme lyrics for the popular children's Television Western

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He was ...

, which first aired in 1949 on NBC. He was an innovator in his field, having been one of the first songwriters to begin publishing and promoting a catalog of his own works. He served as the director of

from 1941 to 1944, and again in 1953. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. Known as "Wolfie", Gilbert and his wife Rose lived in Beverly Hills and he and his family were members of Temple Israel of Hollywood. He died in Los Angeles, California on July 12, 1970. His original gravesite was at

Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (design ...

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

(

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

, Court of Sages, Crypt 223) but he was later reinterred at

Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City) Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), renamed from Palm Springs Mortuary & Mausoleum in 2005, is a mausoleum in Cathedral City, California near Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs. It is operated by Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries. Not ...

near Palm Springs, California.

Songs

*1912 " Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" (music by

) *1912 " Hitchy-Koo" (music by Lewis F. Muir and

Maurice Abrahams Maurice Abrahams (March 18, 1883 – April 13, 1931) was an American songwriter and music publisher, who was successful in the early years of the 20th century. Biography Abrahams was born in Odessa, Russia, and emigrated to the US as a child in ...

, recorded by Collins & Harlan) *1912 "Ragging the Baby to Sleep" (music by Lewis F. Muir) *1912 "Take Me to that Swanee Shore" (music by Lewis F. Muir) *1913 "Mammy Jinny's Mubilee" (music by Lewis F. Muir) *1914 "By Heck" (music by

S. R. Henry S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet. S may also refer to: History * an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics * Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s formerly used where "s ...

) *1914 "She's Dancing Her Heart Away" (music by

Kerry Mills Kerry Mills ''(né'' Frederick Allen Mills; 1 February 1869 in Philadelphia – 5 December 1948 in Hawthorne, California), publishing also as F.A. Mills was an American ragtime composer and music publishing executive of popular music during the Ti ...

) *1915 "My Sweet Adair" (music by Anatole Friedland) *1916 "I Miss You Miss America" (music by Lee S. Roberts) *1916 "I've Got the Army Blues" (with

Carey Morgan Carey Elmore Morgan Jr. (1884–1960) was an American composer and Vaudeville producer during the 1900s. Throughout his career, he collaborated with various songwriters and performers including, L. Wolfe Gilbert, Charles McCarron, and Arthur Mond ...

) *1916 "My Hawaiian Sunrise" (music by Carey Morgan, recorded by Henry Burr and

Albert C. Campbell Albert Charles Campbell (August 17, 1872 – January 25, 1947) was an American popular music singer who recorded between the late 1890s and the 1920s. He was best known for his many duo recordings with Henry Burr, and as a member of the Peerle ...

) *1917 "Are You From Heaven?" (music by Anatole Friedland) *1917 "Camouflage" (with Anatole Friedland) *1917 "Lily of the Valley" (music by Anatole Friedland) *1917 " Set Aside Your Tears (Till the Boys Come Marching Home)" (with Malvin Franklin and Anatole Friedland ) *1921 "

" *1924 "O, Katharina" (music by

Richard Fall Richard Fall (3 April 1882 – January 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor of Jewish descent. One of his most famous compositions is the popular ''Was machst du mit dem Knie lieber Hans''. Life Born in Jevíčko, Österreich-Ungarn, ...

) *1925 "Don't Wake Me Up, Let Me Dream" (music by

Mabel Wayne Mabel Wayne (born Mabel Wimpfheimer, July 16, 1890 – June 19, 1978) was an American songwriter, noted as "one of the first women composers to publish a hit song". Her songs included " In a Little Spanish Town", "Ramona", and "It Happened in Mo ...

) *1925 "I Miss My Swiss" (music by

Abel Baer Abel Baer (March 16, 1893 – October 5, 1976) was an American songwriter, associated with Tin Pan Alley. Biography Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Baer graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, specialising in dentistry. Baer left ...

) *1926 "Hello, Aloha, How Are You?" (music by Abel Baer) *1927 " Lucky Lindy!" (music by Abel Baer) *1928 "Are You Thinking of Me Tonight?" (music by

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

Al Bowlly with John Abriani's Six AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

) *1928 " Ramona" (music by Mabel Wayne, recorded by Whispering Jack Smith, Paul Whiteman Orchestra featuring

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

, and Gene Austin) *1928 "

Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time "Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time" is a 1928 song composed by Nathaniel Shilkret with lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert. It is the theme song of the motion picture Lilac Time, starring Gary Cooper and Colleen Moore. The song sold almost two million copi ...

" (music by

Nathaniel Shilkret Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director. Early career Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents ...

, recorded by over a hundred artists) *1928 "" (), the Yiddish version of " Sonny Boy" sung by

Pesach Burstein Pesach "Peishachke" Burstein (April 15, 1896 – April 6, 1986) was a Polish-born American comedian, singer, coupletist, and director of Yiddish vaudeville/theater. He was honored with the Itzik Manger Prize in 1986. His wife Lillian Lux, and ...

*1929 " My Mother's Eyes" (music by Abel Baer) *1931 "Marta" (music by Moises Simons, recorded by ( Arthur Tracy, The Street Singer) *1931 "Mama Inez" (music Eliseo Grenet)

Lyrics for Broadway productions

*1912 ''The Girl from Brighton'' *1912–1913 ''(From) Broadway to Paris'' *1916–1917 ''The Century Girl'' *1917 ''Doing Our Bit'' *1919 ''Oh, What A Girl!'' *1931 ''The Singing Rabbi''

Gilbert & Friedland

Gilbert & Friedland was a music publishing partnership between composer, performer, and songwriter Anatole Friedland (also sometimes spelled Anatol Friedland and Anato Friedland) and lyricist L. Wolfe Gilbert. *"Are You from Heaven?" *"

Then You Can Come Back to Me Then You Can Come Back To Me is a World War I song written and composed by Wolfe Gilbert & Anatol Friedland. The song was first published in 1918 by Gilbert & Friedland, Inc., in New York, NY. The sheet music cover depicts silhouetted soldiers mar ...

" (1918) *"

While You're Away While You're Away (Pack Up Your Cares in a Bundle of Joy) is a World War I song released in 1918. L. Wolfe Gilbert and Anatole Friedland composed the music and lyrics. It was published by Gilbert & Friedland Inc. The song was performed by Harry El ...

" (1918) *"That Beloved Cheater of Mine", from film ''

The Beloved Cheater ''The Beloved Cheater'' (originally titled ''The Pleasant Devil'') is a 1919 American silent comedy film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Lew Cody, Doris Pawn, and Eileen Percy, and was released on December 6, 1919. Plot Kingdon Challoner ...

'' *"Singapore (1918), Rector Novelty Orchestra, a ragtime song *"Shades of Gray" *"Love is a Wonderful Thing"

References

;Bibliography * *

External links

L. Wolfe Gilbert papers, 1907–1971
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming *
L. Wolfe Gilbert 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 ...