Louis Alter (June 18, 1902 – November 5, 1980) was an American
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
,
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 ...
and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Def ...
. At 13, he began playing piano in theaters showing
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
s. He studied at the
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...
under the tutelage of Stuart Mason.
Biography
He was born on June 18, 1902, in
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...
.
Alter played in
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 ...
houses as the accompanist for the headliners
Irène Bordoni and
Nora Bayes
Nora Bayes (born Rachel Eleonora "Dora" Goldberg; October 3, 1880March 19, 1928) was an American singer and vaudeville performer who was popular internationally between the 1900s and 1920s. She is credited with co-writing the song " Shine On, Ha ...
. He appeared with Bayes from 1924 until her death in 1928, touring the United States and abroad. Since he had previously written some songs for
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
shows, Alter decided to concentrate on songwriting after her death. His first hit was "
Manhattan Serenade" (1929), originally an instrumental that later became the theme music of the ''
Easy Aces
''Easy Aces'' is an American serial radio comedy (1930–1945). It was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program, ...
'' radio program. There are numerous recordings of "Manhattan Serenade" and it was featured prominently in Nancy Groce's book, ''New York: Songs of the City'' (Watson-Guptill, 1999). Alter recalled, "I was a great fan of Whiteman when I first came down here from Boston. He was the first big name I actually followed around and met. I was having a love affair with New York when Whiteman commissioned me to write a tone poem. I walked around this city for six months absorbing the sights and sounds. And then suddenly it came to me. Once I plunged into it I finished it in two hours."
Films and Broadway
In 1929, Alter moved to
Hollywood, where he wrote songs for films, beginning with ''
The Hollywood Review of 1929''. He continued to provide piano accompaniment for various singers, including
Beatrice Lillie and
Helen Morgan. His contributions to Broadway musicals included songs in ''Sweet and Low'' (1930) and ''Ballyhoo'' (1931).
His first song hit was "Hugs and Kisses" in 1926. In 1928, he composed the music and wrote the lyrics of ''
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
''. Other top tunes by Alter include "
My Kinda Love", "
You Turned the Tables on Me", "
Nina Never Knew
"Nina Never Knew" is a popular song with music by Louis Alter and lyrics by Milton Drake, published in 1952.
Recordings that charted in 1952 were by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra on RCA Victor Records (number 13 on the Billboard charts; first ente ...
", "
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" (for the 1947 film ''
''), "Blue Shadows" and "Rainbow on the River". He wrote "A Melody from the Sky" and "Twilight on the Trail" for ''
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine'' (1936). His collaborators included
Oscar Hammerstein II, Charlotte Kent, Raymond Klages,
Sidney D. Mitchell and Jo Trent.
World War II and later years
In 1941, Alter signed on with the United States Air Force, performing for troops and also co-ordinating shows and other entertainment at West Coast air bases. As a piano soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he performed at the Hollywood Bowl. In 1942, "Manhattan Serenade" once again became a hit after
Harold Adamson
Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980) was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life
Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born and raised in ...
added lyrics.
Alter also composed large-scale pieces for piano and orchestra, including ''American Serenade'' and ''Metropolitan Nocturne''. In later years, he lived in New York and maintained a summer residence on
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.
Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...
.
Awards
Twice nominated for
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s ("Dolores", "A Melody from the Sky"), 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 ...
in 1975.
Death
He died on November 5, 1980, aged 78, of pneumonia at
Saint Clare's Hospital in
Manhattan, New York City.
Hurricane Katrina
After
Hurricane Katrina, his song "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" took on a different kind of meaning in 2005–06 and experienced a revival due to its use in various post-Katrina documentary films and TV shows. It was used for strong emotional effect in
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
's four-hour film ''
When the Levees Broke
''When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts'' is a 2006 documentary film directed by Spike Lee about the devastation of New Orleans, Louisiana following the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina. It was filmed in late August and ...
'' (2006) and an equally moving dramatic sketch by
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
on HBO's ''
Comic Relief 2006''.
Orchestral compositions
*''American Serenade''
*''Jewels from Cartier Suite''
*''Manhattan Masquerade''
*''Manhattan Moonlight''
*''Metropolitan Nocturne''
*''Side Street in Gotham''
*"Manhattan Serenade"
Songs
*"Blue Shadows"
*"Circus" (1949). Alter wrote the song with lyrics by
Bob Russell for a party for
John Ringling North, head of the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
*"Dolores"
*"
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans"
*"Give Trouble the Air" (1927)
*"Hugs and Kisses" (1926)
*"
Manhattan Serenade"
*"A Melody from the Sky"
*"
My Kinda Love"
*"
Nina Never Knew
"Nina Never Knew" is a popular song with music by Louis Alter and lyrics by Milton Drake, published in 1952.
Recordings that charted in 1952 were by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra on RCA Victor Records (number 13 on the Billboard charts; first ente ...
"
*"Rainbow on the River"
*"
You Turned The Tables On Me"
References
External links
*
*
*
Listen to
Jazz violinist John Frigo playing Louis Alter's "Nina Never Knew"Tommy Dorsey: "Manhattan Serenade"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alter, Louis
1902 births
1980 deaths
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American pianists
American male composers
American male pianists
Musicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts
People from Fire Island, New York
Songwriters from Massachusetts
Songwriters from New York (state)
Vaudeville performers
American male songwriters