Frank Silverstadt (September 8, 1892 – June 14, 1960), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Frank Silver, was an American songwriter, jazz drummer and

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 ...

performer. He was best known for co-writing and co-composing the popular song "

Yes! We Have No Bananas "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is an American novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn published March 23, 1923. It became a major hit in 1923 (placing No. 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Billy Murray, Arthur Hall, Irving ...

" in 1923 with

Irving Cohn Irving Cohn (21 February 1898 in London – 12 July 1961 in Fort Lee, New Jersey) was a British- American songwriter, best known for "Yes! We Have No Bananas "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is an American novelty song by Frank Silver and Irvi ...

. He wrote at least 75 songs in his career. Born in Boston, Silver grew up on the lower East Side of Manhattan. He began playing drums in a Bowery music hall's orchestra when he was 15. Early in Silver's career, he conducted orchestras in vaudeville houses and was a drummer in Loew's Metropolitan Theatre's orchestra. After those jobs, he toured with his own 12-piece band, playing one-night stands. He also performed with the ''

Hitchy-Koo ''Hitchy-Koo'' is a 1912 American popular song and a series of musical revues, inspired by the song, staged on Broadway each year from 1917 through 1920 and on tour in 1922. Described by ''Variety'' magazine as a "hit song of 1912", the song was c ...

'' traveling revue of Raymond Hitchcock and worked at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

. Other songs that Silver wrote included "Icky Wicky Woo" and "What Do We Get from Boston? (Beans, Beans, Beans)". Silver was married twice, Dora Silverstadt (born Mandelbaum) and had two sons, Robert and Arthur; Victoria Silverstadt (born Martinkus) and had a son, Frank. On June 14, 1960, Silver died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Brooklyn Jewish Hospital at age 68.

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* 1892 births 1960 deaths American jazz drummers Songwriters from Massachusetts Songwriters from New York (state) Vaudeville performers Musicians from Boston 20th-century American composers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Jazz musicians from Massachusetts 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American male songwriters {{US-songwriter-stub