William Merrigan Daly Jr. (1 September 1887 – 3 December 1936) 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 ...

, composer,

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 ...

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

, musical director and conductor.

Life and career

William Daly was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of a successful song-and-dance man. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1908. By 1911 he was a writer, editor, and eventually general manager for ''

Everybody's Magazine ''Everybody's Magazine'' was an American magazine published from 1899 to 1929. The magazine was headquartered in New York City. History and profile The magazine was founded by Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker in 1899, though he had little role ...

'' in New York. Daly left the company in 1914 to pursue a show business career. He married in 1915 settling in New York City. Daly played piano with various Broadway orchestras, and in time established himself as a songwriter, arranger, orchestrator, and music director, conducting more than twenty shows between 1915 and 1934. He met

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and Ira Gershwin in the late 1910s. Daly and George Gershwin collaborated on several Broadway scores. Both contributed songs to ''Piccadilly to Broadway'' (1920), a show which closed in Atlantic City, and ''For Goodness' Sake'' (1922). The two jointly composed the score for ''Our Nell'' in 1923. This was the beginning of a long friendship; Daly was a frequent arranger, orchestrator and conductor of Gershwin's music, and Gershwin periodically turned to him for musical advice. Gershwin dedicated his 1926 '' Preludes for Piano'' to Daly. Around 1930, Daly also became conductor and music director of the National Broadcasting Company radio orchestra. Daly died suddenly of a heart attack in December 1936.

Works

;Operetta * ''Western Stuff'', Operetta in 1 reel (1917); libretto by

James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1 ...

;Broadway musical contributions (songs and numbers) * ''Betty'' (1916) :: ''Spilling the Beans'', Fox-trot * ''Everything'' (1918) :: "You're the Very Girl I've Looked For" :: "Sunshine Alley" :: "Come to the Land of Romance" :: "Roll Along" * ''

Kissing Time ''Kissing Time'', and an earlier version titled ''The Girl Behind the Gun'', are musical comedies with music by Ivan Caryll, book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, and additional lyrics by Clifford Grey. The story is based on the 19 ...

'' (1920); earlier version staged in London :: "The Nicest Sort of Feeling" * ''For Goodness' Sake'' (1922); co-composed with Paul Lannin; additional songs by

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

:: "All to Myself" :: "When You're in Rome" :: "Every Day" :: "Twilight" :: "Greatest Team of All" :: "Oh Gee! Oh Gosh! I Love You" :: "In the Days of Wild Romance" :: "When Somebody Cares" :: "The French Pastry Walk" :: "The Whichness of the Whatness" * ''

Earl Carroll Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer. Early life Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fine ...

's Vanities of 1923'' (1923) :: "A Girl Is Like Sunshine" :: "Laugh While You're Dancing Around" * ''Our Nell'' (1923); co-composed with

:: "Gol-Durn!" :: "Innocent Ingenue Baby" :: "Old New England Home" :: "The Cooney County Fair" :: "Names I Love to Hear" :: "By-and-By" :: "Madrigal" :: "We Go to Church on Sunday" :: "Walking Home with Angeline" :: "Oh, You Lady!" :: "Little Villages" * ''Jack and Jill'' (1923) :: "Hello! Good-Bye" :: "Pretty City Girl (I Want a Pretty Girl)" ;Filmography * '' Air Mail'' as 'Tex' Lane (1932); directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

* "Could I Be in Love?", Song from the 1937 film '' Champagne Waltz'' directed by A. Edward Sutherland ;Literary * ''George Gershwin as Orchestrator'' (1933); published in the 15 January 1933 issue of

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 d ...

Notes

References

External links

* *
Schenectedy Gazette, 7 May 1930: ''Dynamic Daly – Radio's New Orchestra Leader Works Hard to Attain Good Effects''
Caricature of William Daly as conductor. {{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, William Merrigan 1887 births 1936 deaths American pianists American musical theatre composers American male conductors (music) American music arrangers 20th-century American conductors (music) Music directors Songwriters from New York (state) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Songwriters from Ohio Harvard University alumni 20th-century American composers American male pianists Classical musicians from New York (state) Classical musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists American male songwriters