Milton Drake (August 3, 1912 - November 13, 2006) 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 income ...

and performing rights administrator. As a child, he performed 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 ...

s, in

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s and on

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

. Later he wrote special material for theater and nightclub revues, including "Cotton Club Parade", "Riviera Follies", "Paradise Parade", and "Latin Quarter Revue". Drake's musical collaborators included

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian and actor. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for reco ...

, Al Hoffman,

Jerry Livingston Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist. Life and career Born in Denver, Colorado, Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he com ...

Louis Alter Louis Alter (June 18, 1902 – November 5, 1980) was an American pianist, songwriter and composer. At 13, he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Stuar ...

Ben Oakland Ben Oakland (September 24, 1907 – August 26, 1979) was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist, most active from the 1920s through the 1940s. He composed mainly for Broadway and vaudeville, though he also worked on several Hollywood scores ...

and

Con Conrad Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober, June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer. Biography Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...

, among others. Drake was a member of the American Guild of Authors and Composers for 28 years, and for 5 years was the chairman of the AGAC council. In August 1962 he resigned from AGAC in protest, criticizing the lack of progressive leadership at the organisation, and their relationship with music publishers. In 1949 Drake married the singer Adele Clark,

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

recording artist and star of ''

The Adele Clark Show ''The Adele Clark Show'' was a musical variety radio series which aired on ABC from 1945 to 1946. It was sometimes known as ''Songs by Adele Clark''. Ex- WAC Adele Clark was the host and vocalist on the 30-minute show which featured Jack Kelly a ...

''. His brother was songwriter

Ervin Drake Ervin Drake (born Ervin Maurice Druckman; April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015) was an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as " I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year". He wrote in a variety of styles and his w ...

(1919-2015).

Notable songs

Java Jive Java Jive is a song written by Ben Oakland and Milton Drake in 1940 and most famously recorded by The Ink Spots. The lyrics speak of the singer's love of coffee. The lyrics also reflect the slang of the day, including a reference to "Mr. Moto", a ...

" (1940) *"If It’s You" (1941) *"

Mairzy Doats “Mairzy Doats” is a novelty song written and composed in 1943 by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston. It contains lyrics that make no sense as written, but are near homophones of meaningful phrases. The song's title, for example, i ...

" (1943) *"Fuzzy Wuzzy" (1944) *"

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 ...

" (1952) *"She Broke My Heart in Three Places" *"My Dreams are Gone with the Wind" *"Has Hitler Made a Monkey Out of You?"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Milton 1912 births 2006 deaths Musicians from New York City American lyricists Jewish American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews