Ervin Drake
Encyclopedia
Ervin Drake, born Ervin Maurice Druckman (April 3, 1919) is an American
songwriter
whose works include such American Songbook standards as "It Was a Very Good Year
". He has written in a variety of styles and his work has been recorded by musicians from all over the world in a multitude of styles. In 1983, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
.
, New York
Ervin Drake had his first song published at age 12, in 1931. The son of Max Druckman and Pearl Cohen, he attended Townsend Harris High School
in the borough of The Bronx, New York, graduating in 1935, and went on to receive a bachelor of arts
degree in social science from the City College of New York
in 1940. His elder brother, Milton, also became a songwriter, with work including "The Java Jive" and "Nina Never Knew"; and his younger brother Arnold Drake
, become a writer for DC Comics
, Marvel Comics
, and others, as well as an author and playwright.
Duke Ellington's recording of Perdido (music by Juan Tizol and lyrics by Ervin Drake) was a highlight in the young composer's career. Besides composing music and lyrics for dozens of pieces he was also a television producer and worked with performers including Jackie Gleason
and Milton Berle
. Among his best known songs is "I Believe
", introduced by Jane Froman
which became a number-one hit for Frankie Laine
in 1953 and holds the record for number of non-consecutive weeks spent at number one. It has also been recorded by over a dozen other artists including Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley.
He wrote the words and music for "It Was a Very Good Year
" in 1961, when a publisher friend told him that Bob Shane of the folk music
group the Kingston Trio would be in the publisher's office the next morning, and the publisher asked Drake to write a song for the group. The band recorded it for the album Goin' Places and other folk performers covered it. In a 2009 interview, Drake said that in 1965, Frank Sinatra
had heard the song on his car radio, and recorded it for the melancholy and introspective album September of My Years
. The Sinatra recording hit the top ten on the charts for 1966. The piece has been recorded in over 10 languages and more than 50 artists on many major labels. As lyricist, Drake, with composer Irene Higgenbothom, wrote the jazz standard "Good Morning Heartache
". It has been recorded by over 100 artists, including Diana Ross for the movie Lady Sings the Blues.
He was president of American Guild of Authors and Composers from 1973 to 1982.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
whose works include such American Songbook standards as "It Was a Very Good Year
It Was a Very Good Year
"It Was a Very Good Year" is a song composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 for and originally recorded by Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio and subsequently made famous by Frank Sinatra's version in D-minor, which won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male in 1966. Gordon Jenkins was awarded...
". He has written in a variety of styles and his work has been recorded by musicians from all over the world in a multitude of styles. In 1983, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
.
Biography
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Ervin Drake had his first song published at age 12, in 1931. The son of Max Druckman and Pearl Cohen, he attended Townsend Harris High School
Townsend Harris High School
Townsend Harris High School is a public magnet high school for the humanities in the borough of Queens in New York City. Students and alumni often refer to themselves as "Harrisites." Townsend Harris consistently ranks as among the top 100 High Schools in the United States. It currently operates as...
in the borough of The Bronx, New York, graduating in 1935, and went on to receive a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in social science from the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1940. His elder brother, Milton, also became a songwriter, with work including "The Java Jive" and "Nina Never Knew"; and his younger brother Arnold Drake
Arnold Drake
Arnold Drake was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, among others....
, become a writer for DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and others, as well as an author and playwright.
Duke Ellington's recording of Perdido (music by Juan Tizol and lyrics by Ervin Drake) was a highlight in the young composer's career. Besides composing music and lyrics for dozens of pieces he was also a television producer and worked with performers including Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
and Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
. Among his best known songs is "I Believe
I Believe (1953 song)
"I Believe" is the name of a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman in 1953.I Believe was commissioned and introduced by Jane Froman on her television show, and became the first hit song ever introduced on TV...
", introduced by Jane Froman
Jane Froman
Jane Froman was an American singer and actress. During her thirty-year career, Froman performed on stage, radio and television despite chronic injuries that she sustained from a 1943 plane crash...
which became a number-one hit for Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
in 1953 and holds the record for number of non-consecutive weeks spent at number one. It has also been recorded by over a dozen other artists including Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley.
He wrote the words and music for "It Was a Very Good Year
It Was a Very Good Year
"It Was a Very Good Year" is a song composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 for and originally recorded by Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio and subsequently made famous by Frank Sinatra's version in D-minor, which won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male in 1966. Gordon Jenkins was awarded...
" in 1961, when a publisher friend told him that Bob Shane of the folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
group the Kingston Trio would be in the publisher's office the next morning, and the publisher asked Drake to write a song for the group. The band recorded it for the album Goin' Places and other folk performers covered it. In a 2009 interview, Drake said that in 1965, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
had heard the song on his car radio, and recorded it for the melancholy and introspective album September of My Years
September of My Years
September of My Years is a 1965 studio album by the American singer Frank Sinatra, arranged by Gordon Jenkins.Sinatra was to turn 50 years old in December 1965, and the release of this album along with A Man and His Music and Strangers in the Night marked a surge of popularity in Sinatra's music...
. The Sinatra recording hit the top ten on the charts for 1966. The piece has been recorded in over 10 languages and more than 50 artists on many major labels. As lyricist, Drake, with composer Irene Higgenbothom, wrote the jazz standard "Good Morning Heartache
Good Morning Heartache
"Good Morning Heartache" is a song written by Irene Higgenbotham, Ervin Drake, and Dan Fisher. Originally recorded by jazz singer Billie Holiday on January 22, 1946.-About the songwriters:...
". It has been recorded by over 100 artists, including Diana Ross for the movie Lady Sings the Blues.
He was president of American Guild of Authors and Composers from 1973 to 1982.
Awards and honors
Ervin Drake has received several honorary doctorates and achievement awards, as well as being inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1983. http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C8Songs
- "Tico-Tico"
- "Perdido"
- "Now I Have Everything"
- "A Room without Windows"
- "Bachelor Girl"
- "I Believe"
- "Good Morning Heartache"
- "It Was A Very Good Year"
- "I Wuv A Rabbit"
- "AL DI LA"
- "Quando Quando"
- "Who Are These Strangers"
- "I am A Card Carrying Bleeding Heart Liberal"
- "One God"
- "Tic-Toc"
- "Hey Mr. Taliban"
Broadway
- Heads or Tails (1947) - playPlay (theatre)A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
- co-playwrightPlaywrightA playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder... - What Makes Sammy Run?What Makes Sammy Run?What Makes Sammy Run? is a novel by Budd Schulberg. It is a rags to riches story chronicling the rise and fall of Sammy Glick, a Jewish boy born in New York's Lower East Side who very early in his life makes up his mind to escape the ghetto and climb the ladder of success...
(1964) - musical - composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and lyricistLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:... - Her First RomanHer First RomanHer First Roman is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Ervin Drake, based on the 1898 George Bernard Shaw play Caesar and Cleopatra.-Original production:...
(1968) - composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, lyricistLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, and bookwriter - Sophisticated LadiesSophisticated LadiesSophisticated Ladies is a musical revue based on the music of Duke Ellington.After fifteen previews, the Broadway production, conceived by Donald McKayle, directed by Michael Smuin, and choreographed by McKayle, Smuin, Henry LeTang, Bruce Heath, and Mercedes Ellington, opened on March 1, 1981 at...
(1981) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- featured songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for "Perdido"