Don Raye

Donald "Don" Raye ( born March 16, 1909 in Washington, DC as Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., † January 29, 1985 Woodland Hills, California ) was an American songwriter. He wrote with Gene de Paul "Star Eyes" and "You Do not Know What Love Is ".

Life and work

Raye began his career as a dancer, stepped in vaudeville shows as " Song and Dance Man" and wrote for his appearances own texts. In 1935 he began working as a songwriter, where he worked with composers such as Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin, and the Jimmie Lunceford band leader and saxophonist.

Don Raye was known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters in the 1930s, such as " Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy ". He also wrote the text for the later jazz standard "You Do not Know What Love Is ", whose melody comes from Gene de Paul. For both spring also comes the classic " Star Eyes".

From Raye who also wrote the song Boogie Woogie " ( That Place ) Down the Road a Piece", which was written for the Will Bradley Orchestra (1940 ); the song was later recorded a rock and roll standard, including by The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Foghat, Amos Milburn, Harry Gibson, and many other artists. In 1940 he wrote the text for the patriotic song "This Is My Country". After his military service in the Second World War, he continued his work as a songwriter in Hollywood and worked with Gene De Paul at Universal Studios. He wrote songs for the Walt Disney's studios such as "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad " or " A Song is Born ". A major success had Raye with " Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", " Scrub Me Mamma, with a Boogie Beat," " Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four" and " Fry Me Cookie, with a Can of Lard ".