Gus Kahn

Gustav Gerson " Gus" Kahn ( born November 6, 1886 in Koblenz, Germany, † October 8, 1941 in Beverly Hills, California ) was an American musician, songwriter and lyricist.

Life and work

1890, the family immigrated to Chicago, Illinois in the United States. After high school he worked as a clerk in the shipping trade, before he made one of the most successful careers of Tin Pan Alley.

In his early days, Kahn wrote for vaudeville. In 1913 he began a productive partnership with the established composer Egbert van Alstyne, with whom he several notable hits of the era created as memories and, along with Tony Jackson, Pretty Baby. Later, he began writing lyrics for composer and bandleader Isham Jones. This partnership led to a well-known work of Kahn, I'll See You in My Dreams ( German: In all my dreams you are), also the title of a film about his life with Danny Thomas and Doris Day in the lead roles. In Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown starring Sean Penn in the lead role, it is one of the most distinctive songs.

Kahn married Grace leboy 1916 and had two children, Donald and Irene. Irene was later married to Arthur Marx.

In the 1920s, Kahn worked occasionally at the same time for the Broadway musicals, Holka Polka ( 1925), Kitty 's Kisses (1926 ), Artists and Models (1927 ) Whoopee! (1928 ), and Show Girl (1929) and for a number of films, mostly at MGM.

Kahn wrote the music for films such as Flying Down to Rio, Thanks a Million, Kid Millions, A Day at the Races ( German title The Marx Brothers: A Day at the Races ), Everybody Sing ( German title curtain on Judy ), One Night of Love, Three Smart Girls, Let's Sing Again, San Francisco, Naughty Marietta, and The Merry Widow ( in both he was the author additional lyrics ) and Ziegfeld Girl.

Kahn was also the librettist for the Beer and Pretzels Ted-Healy/Three-Stooges-Kurzfilm (1933 ) with music by Al Goodhart.

First and foremost, he worked with his friend Walter Donaldson Golf Sport and beyond with some of the best composers of the time such as Grace leboy Kahn ( his wife ), Richard A. Whiting, Buddy DeSylva, Al Jolson, Raymond Egan, Ted Fio Rito, Ernie Erdman, Neil Moret, Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Harry Akst, Harry M. Woods, Edward Eliscu, Victor Schertzinger, Arthur Johnston, Bronislaw Kaper, Jerome Kern, Walter Jurmann, Sigmund Romberg and Harry Warren.

An insight into Kahn's creativity and working methods gives the report of his son Donald.

Kahn died in 1941 of a heart attack, he was buried in Glendale ( California).

His life's work includes some of the most famous songs of the first half of the 20th century. In 1970, almost 30 years after his death, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

His most famous songs are It Had To Be You ( 1924) with music by Isham Jones ( Johnny Mercer as " the greatest ever written pop song " and played in over 40 films Casablanca, The City EUR Annie Hall, When Harry Met Sally ) and Makin ' Whoopee! (1928 ) with music by Walter Donaldson.

Works

• All God's Chillun Got Rhythm
• Carioca
• I Never Knew
• I'll Never Be the Same
• I'm Through With Love
• It Had to Be You
• Love Me Or Leave Me
• Makin ' Whoopee
• My Baby Just Cares for Me (Nina Simone's recognition piece, 1958 received, 1987 # 5 in the UK charts )
• My Buddy
• Nobody's Sweetheart now
• The One I Love ( Belongs To Somebody Else )
• Yes Sir, That's My Baby
• Dream a Little Dream of Me