Brooks Bowman
Encyclopedia
Brooks Bowman composed the song "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
" which has become a jazz
standard.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio
, he graduated from University School
in that city, but had completed his first three years of preparatory school
at Asheville School
in Asheville, North Carolina
. He then attended Stanford University
for one year before transferring to Princeton University
as a Sophomore, in the fall of 1933. While an undergraduate student
at Princeton he wrote the songs for the Princeton Triangle Club
musical
titled Stags at Bay in 1934, including "East of the Sun" (which almost didn't make it into the play due to a copyright dispute.) Other songs he wrote for the show included "Love and a Dime" and "Will Love Find a Way?" For the Triangle Club production of 1936, he wrote What a Relief! which included the songs "Give Me a Gibson Girl," "Love Will Live On," "A Newspaper Picture of You," and "Then I Shan't Love You Anymore."
Following his graduation from Princeton with the class of 1936, Bowman moved to California where, in 1937, he briefly worked under contract as a songwriter for Selznick International Pictures
. Released from his contract in September 1937, he returned to the east where he formed a songwriting partnership, in which he would have been the lyricist, with a former Princeton classmate. A New York music publisher offered the team a contract, but before it was signed Brooks Bowman died on October 17, 1937 when a car in which he was riding crashed into a stone wall on Cat Rock Road
near Garrison, New York
. Four days later, on October 21, he would have celebrated his 24th birthday.
He is buried in the family plot at Grandview Cemetery in Salem, Ohio where his family moved while he was attending Princeton University.
link: www.tribute-to-brooks.de (in German)
East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
"East of the Sun " is a popular song written by Brooks Bowman, an undergraduate member of Princeton University's Class of 1936, for the 1934 production of the Princeton Triangle Club's production of Stags at Bay...
" which has become a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
standard.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, he graduated from University School
University School
University School, commonly referred to as US, is an all-boys K - 12 school with two campus locations in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area...
in that city, but had completed his first three years of preparatory school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
at Asheville School
Asheville School
Asheville School is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 1900, the Asheville School campus sits on in the Blue Ridge Mountains and currently enrolls 270 students in grades nine through twelve...
in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. He then attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
for one year before transferring to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
as a Sophomore, in the fall of 1933. While an undergraduate student
Undergraduate education
Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...
at Princeton he wrote the songs for the Princeton Triangle Club
Princeton Triangle Club
The Princeton Triangle Club is a theater troupe at Princeton University. Founded in 1891, it is the oldest touring collegiate musical-comedy troupe in the United States, and the only co-ed collegiate troupe that takes an original student-written musical on a national tour every year...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
titled Stags at Bay in 1934, including "East of the Sun" (which almost didn't make it into the play due to a copyright dispute.) Other songs he wrote for the show included "Love and a Dime" and "Will Love Find a Way?" For the Triangle Club production of 1936, he wrote What a Relief! which included the songs "Give Me a Gibson Girl," "Love Will Live On," "A Newspaper Picture of You," and "Then I Shan't Love You Anymore."
Following his graduation from Princeton with the class of 1936, Bowman moved to California where, in 1937, he briefly worked under contract as a songwriter for Selznick International Pictures
Selznick International Pictures
-Origin:It was founded in 1935 by producer David O. Selznick and investor John Hay "Jock" Whitney after Selznick left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and leased a section of the RKO Pictures lot in Culver City, California...
. Released from his contract in September 1937, he returned to the east where he formed a songwriting partnership, in which he would have been the lyricist, with a former Princeton classmate. A New York music publisher offered the team a contract, but before it was signed Brooks Bowman died on October 17, 1937 when a car in which he was riding crashed into a stone wall on Cat Rock Road
New York State Route 403
New York State Route 403 is a short state highway located entirely within Putnam County. It connects NY 9D in Philipstown at its northern/western end to US 9 in Graymoor, where the Appalachian Trail crosses both highways...
near Garrison, New York
Garrison, New York
Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown and is on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point...
. Four days later, on October 21, he would have celebrated his 24th birthday.
He is buried in the family plot at Grandview Cemetery in Salem, Ohio where his family moved while he was attending Princeton University.
Sources
Princeton University Archiveslink: www.tribute-to-brooks.de (in German)