Irving Kahal (March 5, 1903,

Houtzdale, Pennsylvania Houtzdale is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 768 at the 2020 census. History Houtzdale is named after Dr. Daniel Houtz, the original owner of the town site. The town was built quickly in the late 1 ...

– February 7, 1942,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) was a popular American song

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 incom ...

active in the 1920s and 1930s. He is best remembered for his collaborations with

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 ...

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre ...

which started in 1926 when Kahal was working 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 ...

sketches written by Gus Edwards. Their collaboration lasted 16 years, until Kahal's death in 1942. Among many fine songs, the stand-out was " You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" on which Pierre Norman lent a hand, which was sung by

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank H ...

in the film '' The Big Pond'' (1930) effectively becoming his

signature tune A signature song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established recording artist or band is most closely identified with or best known for. This is generally differentiated from a one-hit wonder in th ...

, and featured by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

on his magisterial

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

'' Songs For Swingin' Lovers''. The Fain/Kahal catalogue also includes " Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" (1928) with Francis Wheeler, " Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine" (1929) with

Willie Raskin Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scre ...

, "

By a Waterfall "By a Waterfall" is a 1933 song with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. It was featured in an extravagant choreographic arrangement in the film ''Footlight Parade'' by Busby Berkeley that features his trademark human waterfall, with ...

" (1930), "When I Take My Sugar to Tea" (1931) with Pierre Norman, "

I Can Dream, Can't I? "I Can Dream, Can't I?," is a popular song written by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Irving Kahal that was published in 1937. It was included in a flop musical, '' Right This Way''. Tommy Dorsey released a hit recording of it the same year, but it was ...

" (1938) and " I'll Be Seeing You", which was written in 1938, but became a hit in 1943 especially among the families of servicemen sent overseas. In 1970, Irving Kahal 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 ...

External links

Irving Kahal's entry in the Songwriters' Hall of Fame
*
Irving Kahal 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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahal, Irving 1903 births 1942 deaths Songwriters from Pennsylvania Jewish American songwriters 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American Jews