Leo Wood ''(aka'' Jack Wood; ''né'' Leopold Wood Lantheaume; 2 September 1882 – 2 August 1929) 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

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 ...

Career

Leo Wood was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

to Louis Ferdinand Lantheaume and Hannah Marcuse Wood ''(maiden).'' He was known professionally as Leo Wood and Jack Wood. Wood is best remembered as the songwriter of the 1920s hit "

Somebody Stole My Gal "Somebody Stole My Gal" is a popular song from 1918, written by Leo Wood. In 1924, Ted Weems & his Orchestra had a five-week run at number one with his million-selling version. Its Pee Wee Hunt and his orchestra version is also known in Japan, part ...

". He wrote lyrics for many of the top songwriters of the day, including Theodore F. Morse. Other popular songs written by Wood include the

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

jazz standard " Wang Wang Blues", " Runnin' Wild", and "Play that 'Song of India' Again", a number-one hit for five weeks for Whiteman in 1921. He also wrote "Mean Old Bed Bug Blues," under the ''pseudonym'' Jack Wood. Leo Wood died at home in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

, August 2, 1929.

Audio samples

"Mean Old Bed Bud Blues;"

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...

(vocals);

Porter Grainger Porter Grainger ( Granger; October 22, 1891 − October 30, 1948) was an American pianist, songwriter, playwright, and music publisher. Biography When Grainger was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Granger family name did not include an "i". A ...

(piano); Lincoln M. Conaway ( Sterling's brother) (guitar); Columbia (catalog no. 14250D;

matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

W144796-3); recorded September 27, 1927,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Career

Audio samples

Family

References

External links