My name is Chuck Prentiss. I am a Singer-Songwriter, and a member of ASCAP, who spent most of my years in Manhattan, and am now living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
All my life, I have admired the songs of Harry Warren, since I first discovered that he wrote most of the wonderful songs for the Gold Diggers movie musicals of the 1930's, for those fabulous Busby Berkeley spectacles, and for so much more. I am constantly astonished that the name of Harry Warren is so little known, especially since everybody knows so many of his songs. He is one of the most successful American songwriters of the 20th century.
It's as though, in the 19th century, everyone could sing all those great Stephen Foster songs, without ever knowing the name of the man who wrote them.
Harry Warren was so amazed at his lack of name recognition by the general public that he used to call himself "Harry Who?"
Harry Warren was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 24, 1893 -- Christmas Eve. He was a Christmas gift to the world. He was one of eleven children of Italian immigrants, and was christened Salvatore Anthony Guaragna. By the time he started attending school, his name had been changed by his older sisters to Harry Warren. He died in Los Angeles, California, on September 22, 1981 -- nearly 88 years old -- and is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
During his 88 years, Harry Warren wrote many of America's most popular songs. In fact, 42 Harry Warren songs reached the Top Ten of Your Hit Parade -- more than any other songwriter. Irving Berlin ranks a distant second, with 33 songs in the Top Ten. No one else even came that close. Warren wrote three Academy Award winning Best Songs, and a total of eleven songs that were nominated for Oscars.
As a composer of melodies, Warren collaborated with many of America's finest lyricists, including Al Dubin, Mack Gordon, Johnny Mercer, Leo Robin, Jack Brooks, Harold Adamson, Leo McCarey, Ira Gershwin, Billy Rose, Mort Dixon, Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young, Edgar Leslie, Irving Kahal, Mack David and Gus Kahn.
He wrote the music for most of Hollywood's Busby Berkeley spectacles of the 1930's. In addition, his songs were introduced or performed by such stars as Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Glenn Miller, Tex Beneke, Carmen Miranda, Betty Grable, Alice Faye, Joan Blondell, John Payne, Ruth Etting, Helen Morgan, James Melton, Joe E. Brown, Kenny Baker, Rudy Vallee, Dolores Del Rio, The Mills Brothers, Dorothy Dandridge, The Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Phil Silvers, Milton Berle, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and many others.
Glenn Miller's recording of Harry Warren's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" sold over a million copies, was the first Gold Record in History, and was Number One on Your Hit Parade on December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed.
Warren's score for the movie "42nd Street", in 1933, launched the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals, and he lived to see that 1933 movie turned into a hugely successful Broadway show in 1980, featuring more than a dozen of his songs. That 1980 musical was revived as a smash hit on Broadway several years ago -- even now in the 21st century.
The purpose of this Blog is to assemble in a single place all the different You Tube postings of Harry Warren songs, so people can experience in one place his enormous talent. As much as possible, I have tried to post the original movie presentations of the songs, so viewers can recapture the full experience of how these songs first exploded into the world.
I wish I could have found on You Tube Jimmy Cagney's amazing performance of "Shanghai Lil" in 1933 [nearly ten years before the world discovered in 1942's "Yankee Doodle Dandy" what a superb Song and Dance Man Cagney was]; -- or good video recordings of "Remember Me", "Young Folks Should Get Married", "You Gotta Know How To Dance", "Rose of the Rio Grande", "Cryin' For The Carolines", "By The River Sainte Marie", "Ooh, That Kiss" and "The Girl Friend of the Whirling Dervish".
Well, maybe in time, those clips will show up.
Yet, even where the video is nothing more than a spinning old 78 RPM recording, it's still a treat to listen to those wonderful timeless Harry Warren songs.
In the meantime -- Behold and Be Amazed. You are about to enter the world of America's Greatest Unknown Composer: Harry Warren. Harry Warren may be Unknown. But no one will ever be able to say that about his songs.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Index To Songs - 1 thru 25
01. Harry Warren's 11 Oscar Nominated Songs Including 3 Winners
02. 1982 Academy Awards Tribute to Harry Warren - Part 1
03. 1982 Academy Awards Tribute to Harry Warren - Part 2
04. Harry Warren Tribute - Carol Burnett Show - Part 1
05. Harry Warren Tribute - Carol Burnett Show - Part 2
07. You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
08. Innamorata
09. Dormi, Dormi, Dormi
10. Shanghai Lil
11. I Wish I Knew
12. This Heart Of Mine
13. Pettin' In The Park
14. Would You Like To Take a Walk
15. Cheerful Little Earful
16. My Heart Tells Me
17. With Plenty Of Money And You
18. Dames
19. Young and Healthy
20. The More I See You
21. The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
22. Baby Doll
23. Oops!
24. I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man
25. Shoes With Wings On
02. 1982 Academy Awards Tribute to Harry Warren - Part 1
03. 1982 Academy Awards Tribute to Harry Warren - Part 2
04. Harry Warren Tribute - Carol Burnett Show - Part 1
05. Harry Warren Tribute - Carol Burnett Show - Part 2
07. You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
08. Innamorata
09. Dormi, Dormi, Dormi
10. Shanghai Lil
11. I Wish I Knew
12. This Heart Of Mine
13. Pettin' In The Park
14. Would You Like To Take a Walk
15. Cheerful Little Earful
16. My Heart Tells Me
17. With Plenty Of Money And You
18. Dames
19. Young and Healthy
20. The More I See You
21. The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
22. Baby Doll
23. Oops!
24. I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man
25. Shoes With Wings On
Song Index - 26 thru 50
26. You'd Be Hard To Replace
27. My One and Only Highland Fling
28. Swing Trot
29. If You Feel Like Singing, Sing
30. Heavenly Music
31. Friendly Star
32. You Wonderful You
33. Zing a Little Zong
34. September In The Rain
35. My Dream Is Yours
36. An Affair To Remember
37. To The Ends of the Earth
38. No Love, No Nothin'
39. You Say The Sweetest Things, Baby
40. That's Amore
41. Keep Young and Beautiful
42. "Footlight Parade" Trailer -- Shanghai Lil
43. Go Into Your Dance
44. Mammy, I'll Sing About You
45. She's a Latin From Manhattan
46. About A Quarter To Nine
47. I Found A Million Dollar Baby
48. Lullaby Of Broadway - Part 2
49. Lullaby Of Broadway - Part 1
50. Chattanooga Choo Choo - Carmen Miranda
27. My One and Only Highland Fling
28. Swing Trot
29. If You Feel Like Singing, Sing
30. Heavenly Music
31. Friendly Star
32. You Wonderful You
33. Zing a Little Zong
34. September In The Rain
35. My Dream Is Yours
36. An Affair To Remember
37. To The Ends of the Earth
38. No Love, No Nothin'
39. You Say The Sweetest Things, Baby
40. That's Amore
41. Keep Young and Beautiful
42. "Footlight Parade" Trailer -- Shanghai Lil
43. Go Into Your Dance
44. Mammy, I'll Sing About You
45. She's a Latin From Manhattan
46. About A Quarter To Nine
47. I Found A Million Dollar Baby
48. Lullaby Of Broadway - Part 2
49. Lullaby Of Broadway - Part 1
50. Chattanooga Choo Choo - Carmen Miranda
Song Index - 51 thru 75
51. I Had The Craziest Dream
52. You're My Everything
53. I'll String Along With You
54. Shadow Waltz
55. You'll Never Know
56. There Will Never Be Another You
57. On The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe
58. Down Argentine Way - The Nicholas Brothers
59. Nagasaki
60. Chica Chica Boom Chic
61. Ay Ay Ay Ay Ay I Like You Very Much - Carmen Miranda
62. I Only Have Eyes For You
63. It happened In Sun Valley
64. People Like You and Me
65. I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo
66. At Last
67. Serenade In Blue
68. I've Got To Sing a Torch Song
69. We're In The Money
70. I Know Why and So Do You
71. Chattanooga Choo Choo
72. Lulu's Back In Town
73. Jeepers Creepers
74. You're Getting To Be a Habit With Me
75. Forty Second Street
52. You're My Everything
53. I'll String Along With You
54. Shadow Waltz
55. You'll Never Know
56. There Will Never Be Another You
57. On The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe
58. Down Argentine Way - The Nicholas Brothers
59. Nagasaki
60. Chica Chica Boom Chic
61. Ay Ay Ay Ay Ay I Like You Very Much - Carmen Miranda
62. I Only Have Eyes For You
63. It happened In Sun Valley
64. People Like You and Me
65. I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo
66. At Last
67. Serenade In Blue
68. I've Got To Sing a Torch Song
69. We're In The Money
70. I Know Why and So Do You
71. Chattanooga Choo Choo
72. Lulu's Back In Town
73. Jeepers Creepers
74. You're Getting To Be a Habit With Me
75. Forty Second Street
01 Harry Warren's 11 Oscar Nominated Songs Including 3 Academy Award Best Song Winners
WINNER - Best Song 1935: GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 - "Lullaby of Broadway"
Nominated for Best Song 1937: MR. DODD TAKES THE AIR - "Remember Me"
Nominated for Best Song 1938: GOING PLACES - "Jeepers Creepers"
Nominated for Best Song 1940: DOWN ARGENTINE WAY - "Down Argentine Way"
Nominated for Best Song 1941: SUN VALLEY SERENADE - "Chattanooga Choo Choo"
Nominated for Best Song 1942: ORCHESTRA WIVES - "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo"
WINNER - Best Song 1943: HELLO, FRISCO, HELLO - "You'll Never Know"
WINNER - Best Song 1946: THE HARVEY GIRLS - "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"
Nominated for Best Song 1952: JUST FOR YOU - "Zing a Little Zong"
Nominated for Best Song 1953: THE CADDY - "That's Amore"
Nominated for Best Song 1957: AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER - "An Affair to Remember"
Nominated for Best Song 1937: MR. DODD TAKES THE AIR - "Remember Me"
Nominated for Best Song 1938: GOING PLACES - "Jeepers Creepers"
Nominated for Best Song 1940: DOWN ARGENTINE WAY - "Down Argentine Way"
Nominated for Best Song 1941: SUN VALLEY SERENADE - "Chattanooga Choo Choo"
Nominated for Best Song 1942: ORCHESTRA WIVES - "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo"
WINNER - Best Song 1943: HELLO, FRISCO, HELLO - "You'll Never Know"
WINNER - Best Song 1946: THE HARVEY GIRLS - "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"
Nominated for Best Song 1952: JUST FOR YOU - "Zing a Little Zong"
Nominated for Best Song 1953: THE CADDY - "That's Amore"
Nominated for Best Song 1957: AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER - "An Affair to Remember"
Saturday, December 26, 2009
07 You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
Vocals: Dean Martin; lyrics: Johnny Mercer; Introduced by Dick Powell in movie "Hard To Get" 1938
Friday, December 25, 2009
10 Shanghai Lil
Gene Kardos & Orchestra; Vocals: Dick Robertson; lyrics: Al Dubin; Introduced by James Cagney & Ruby Keeler in Movie "Footlight Parade" 1933
11 I Wish I Knew
Vocals & Trumpet; Chet Baker; lyrics: Mack Gordon; Introduced by Dick Haymes & Betty Grable in Movie "Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe" (1945)
12 This Heart of Mine
Vocals: Joni James; lyrics: Arthur Freed; Introduced by Fred Astaire & Lucille Bremer in Movie "Ziegfeld Follies (1946).
13 Pettin' In The Park
Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler; Baby Billy Barty; lyrics: Al Dubin; Busby Berkeley; Movie "Gold Diggers of 1933"
14 Would You Like To Take A Walk
Vocals: Annette Hanshaw; Movie "Out Of The Fog"; lyrics: Mort Dixon & Billy Rose; Introduced by Hannah Williams & Hal Thompson in Broadway show "Sweet and Low" (1930); also used in Billy Rose's "Crazy Quilt" (1931)
15 Cheerful Little Earful
Vocals: Chester Gaylord 1931; lyrics: Ira Gershwin & Billy Rose; Introduced by Hannah Williams in Broadway show "Sweet and Low" 1930
16 My Heart Tells Me
Vocals: Nat King Cole 1958; lyrics: Mack Gordon; Introduced by Betty Grable in Movie "Sweet Rosie O'Grady" 1943
17 With Plenty of Money and You
Vocals: Chick Bullock and Levee Loungers 1937; Lyrics: Al Dubin; Introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler in Movie "The Gold Diggers of 1937"
18 Dames
Vocals: Leslie Holmes - British (1934); lyrics: Al Dubin; Introduced by Dick Powell in Movie "Dames" (1934)
19 Young and Healthy
Ben Selvin's Knickerbockers; Vocals by either Ruth Etting or Muriel Sherman (1932); Performed by Dick Powell in Movie "Forty Second Street" (1933).
20 The More I See You
Vocals: Billy Eckstine; lyrics: Mack Gordon; Introduced by Dick Haymes & Betty Grable in Movie "Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe" 1945
21 The Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Ted Weems & Orchestra; Vocals: Elmo Tanner 1933; lyrics: Al Dubin; Performed in Movie "Moulin Rouge" (1934) by Constance Bennett, Tullio Carminati, Russ Columbo & The Boswell Sisters
22 Baby Doll
Vocals: Fred Astaire & Vera Ellen; lyrics; Johnny Mercer; Movie "The Belle Of New York" 1952
23 Oops!
Vocals: Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald; lyrics: Johnny Mercer; Introduced by Fred Astaire & Vera Ellen in Movie "The Belle Of New York" 1952
24 I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man
Vocals: Fred Astaire; lyrics; Johnny Mercer; Interviewer: Gene Kelly; Movie "The Belle Of New York" 1952
25 Shoes With Wings On
Vocal: Fred Astaire; lyric: Ira Gershwin; Movie "The Barkleys Of Broadway" 1949
26 You'd Be Hard To Replace
Vocals: Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers; lyrics: Ira Gershwin; Movie "The Barkleys Of Broadway" 1949
27 My One and Only Highland Fling
Vocals: Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers; lyrics: Ira Gershwin; Movie "The Barkleys Of Broadway" 1949
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