Irving Kahal
Encyclopedia
Irving Kahal was a popular lyricist
active in the 1920's and '30's. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer
Sammy Fain
which started in 1926 when Kahal was working in vaudeville
sketches
written by Gus Edwards
. Their collaboration lasted 17 years, until Kahal's death in 1942.
Among many fine songs, the stand-out was "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me
" on which Pierre Norman lent a hand, which was sung by Maurice Chevalier
in the film The Big Pond
(1930) effectively becoming his signature tune, and featured by Frank Sinatra
on his magisterial album
Songs For Swingin' Lovers
.
The Fain/Kahal catalogue also includes "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella
" (1928) with Francis Wheeler, "Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine
" (1929) with Willie Raskin, "By a Waterfall
" (1930), "When I Take My Sugar to Tea" (1931) with Pierre Norman, "The Night Is Young and You're So Beautiful" (1936), "I Can Dream, Can't I?
" (1938) and "I'll Be Seeing You
", which was written in 1938, but became a hit in 1943 especially among the families of servicemen sent overseas.
In 1970, Irving Kahal was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.
Lyricist
A 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:...
active in the 1920's and '30's. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer
Composer
A 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...
Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to...
which started in 1926 when Kahal was working in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
sketches
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
written by Gus Edwards
Gus Edwards (songwriter)
Gus Edwards was an American songwriter and vaudevillian. He also organised his own theatre companies and was a music publisher.-Early life:...
. Their collaboration lasted 17 years, until Kahal's death in 1942.
Among many fine songs, the stand-out was "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me
You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me
"You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" is a 1930 popular song. The credits list music and lyrics as written by Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, and Pierre Norman...
" on which Pierre Norman lent a hand, which was sung by Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
in the film The Big Pond
The Big Pond
The Big Pond is a 1930 American romantic comedy film based on a 1928 play of the same name by George Middleton and A.E. Thomas. The film was written by Garrett Fort, Robert Presnell Sr. and Preston Sturges, who provided the dialogue in his first Hollywood assignment, and was directed by Hobart...
(1930) effectively becoming his signature tune, and featured by 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...
on his magisterial album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Songs For Swingin' Lovers
Songs for Swingin' Lovers
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! is the eighth studio album recorded by the American singer Frank Sinatra for Capitol Records, it was arranged by Nelson Riddle and released in March 1956....
.
The Fain/Kahal catalogue also includes "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella
Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella
"Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" is a popular song.The music was written by Sammy Fain, the lyrics by Irving Kahal and Francis Wheeler. The song was published in 1927...
" (1928) with Francis Wheeler, "Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine
Wedding Bells Are Breaking up That Old Gang of Mine
"Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up " is a popular barbershop song, also known as just "That Old Gang Of Mine". The song laments the loss of childhood friendships when growing up into adulthood....
" (1929) with Willie Raskin, "By a Waterfall
By a Waterfall
"By a Waterfall" is a 1933 song with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. It was featured in an extravagent choreographic arrangement in the film Footlight Parade by Busby Berkeley that features his trademark human waterfall...
" (1930), "When I Take My Sugar to Tea" (1931) with Pierre Norman, "The Night Is Young and You're So Beautiful" (1936), "I Can Dream, Can't I?
I Can Dream, Can't I?
"I Can Dream, Can't I?" is a popular song written by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Irving Kahal. The song was published in 1938, included in a flop musical, Right This Way...
" (1938) and "I'll Be Seeing You
I'll Be Seeing You (song)
"I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, the song was inserted into the Broadway musical Right This Way, which closed after fifteen performances. The song is a jazz standard, and has been covered by countless musicians.The...
", which was written in 1938, but became a hit in 1943 especially among the families of servicemen sent overseas.
In 1970, Irving Kahal was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.