William Austin Dillon (November 6, 1877 – February 10, 1966) was an American

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 ...

and

Vaudevillian 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 ...

. He is best known as the lyricist for the song " I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911), written in collaboration with

Harry Von Tilzer Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer. Early life Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...

.Clift, Gene (25 March 1962)
He Got The Girl, Just As The Song Said
''

Daytona Beach Morning Journal ''The Daytona Beach News-Journal'' is a Florida daily newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler Counties. It grew from the ''Halifax Journal'', which was started in 1883. The Davidson family purchased the newspaper in 1928 and retained control unti ...

''Dabes, Ruth
Man of a Thousand Songs
''

The Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

'' (May 1953), p. 39 It can be heard in ''

Show Business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...

'' (1944) and ''

The Jolson Story ''The Jolson Story'' is a 1946 American musical biography film which purports to tell the life story of singer Al Jolson. It stars Larry Parks as Jolson, Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson (approximating Jolson's wife, Ruby Keeler), William Demarest a ...

'' (1946). He was born in

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 17,556. The city of Cortland, near the county's western ...

and performed at some point in Vaudeville with his brothers John and Harry. He billed his own act as the "man of a thousand songs".(3 October 1908)
London Letter
''The Billboard'' Every Little Bit Added (1907)

He quit vaudeville around 1912 after injuries suffered in a car accident. Dillon died in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

on February 10, 1966. He married in 1918 to Georgia Leola Head, daughter of George and Mary (Steen) Head.(11 February 1966)
Will Dillon dies; Lyricist was 89; Wrote 'I Want a Girl' With Harry Von Tilzer in '11
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Selected songs

*"Every Little Bit Added to What You've Got Makes Just a Little Bit More" (1907, written with his brother Lawrence) *"I'd Rather Have a Girlie Than an Automobile" (1908) *"Keep Your Foot on the Soft Pedal" (1909) *" I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911, with von Tilzer) *"All Alone" (1911, with Tilzer) *"That Girl of Mine" (1916, with

Harry Tobias Harry Tobias (September 11, 1895 – December 15, 1994) was an American lyricist. Like his younger brother Charles, he is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Born in New York City, United States, but raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, ...

and

Arthur Lange Arthur Lange (April 16, 1889 – December 7, 1956) was a United States bandleader and Tin Pan Alley composer of popular music. He composed music for over 120 films, including ''Grand Canary'' and ''Woman on the Run''. Lange shared an Oscar nomin ...

) *"I'll Wed the Girl I Left Behind" (1916) *"On the Old Back Seat of the Henry Ford" (1916, with Lawrence) *"My Grandfather's Girl" (1916) *"Take Me to My Alabam" (1916) *"Keep Right on to the End of the Road" (1924, with

Harry Lauder Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...

) *"Me and My Uncle Sam" (1941)Studwell, William Emmett. hey also wrote: evaluative essays on lesser-known popular American songwriters prior to the rock era(2000)Jones, John Bus
The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music And the Home Front, 1939-1945
p. 70 (2006)

References

External links

*Sheet music fo
"Take me to my Alabam': Come back, they're calling you"
New York: M. Witmark & Sons, 1916, from th
Alabama Sheet Music Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, William Austin 1877 births 1966 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) Vaudeville performers People from Cortland, New York