Richard A. Whiting
Encyclopedia
Richard Armstrong Whiting (November 12, 1891 – February 10, 1938) was a composer
of popular
songs including the standards, "Hooray for Hollywood
", "Ain't We Got Fun?
" & "On the Good Ship Lollipop
".
He was born in Peoria, Illinois
, and grew up in Detroit, Michigan
. He attended the Harvard Military School in Los Angeles, California
. Upon his graduation, Whiting began his career as a staff writer for various music publishers. In 1912, he became a personal manager.
In 1919, he moved to Hollywood and wrote a number of film scores. He collaborated with BG DeSylva, Ray Egan
, Johnny Mercer
, Neil Moret
, Leo Robin
, Gus Kahn
, and Sidney Clare
, to produce a number of hits (listed below).
He also wrote a number of scores for Broadway plays.
A tribute to Whiting's music along with a medley of his best-known songs formed part of the 1980 Broadway musical A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
.
He was the father of singer/actress Margaret Whiting
and actress Barbara Whiting Smith
, and the grandson of Rep. Richard H. Whiting
.
In 1938, he died from a heart attack
in Beverly Hills, California
, aged 46, at the height of his career. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1970.
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...
of popular
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
songs including the standards, "Hooray for Hollywood
Hooray for Hollywood (song)
"Hooray for Hollywood" is a song first featured in the 1937 movie Hollywood Hotel, and which has since become the staple soundtrack element of any Academy Awards ceremony. It is even frequently played during non-American movie ceremonies, e.g. the French César Awards...
", "Ain't We Got Fun?
Ain't We Got Fun?
"Ain't We Got Fun?" is a popular foxtrot published in 1921 with music by Richard A. Whiting, lyrics by Raymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn.It was first performed in 1920 in the revue Satires of 1920, then moved into vaudeville and recordings...
" & "On the Good Ship Lollipop
On the Good Ship Lollipop
"On the Good Ship Lollipop" was the trademark song of child actress Shirley Temple. Temple first sang it in the 1934 movie Bright Eyes. The "ship" in the song is an aircraft; the scene in Bright Eyes where the song appears takes place on an American Airlines Douglas DC-2 which is taxiing. In the...
".
He was born in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
, and grew up in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. He attended the Harvard Military School in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Upon his graduation, Whiting began his career as a staff writer for various music publishers. In 1912, he became a personal manager.
In 1919, he moved to Hollywood and wrote a number of film scores. He collaborated with BG DeSylva, Ray Egan
Raymond B. Egan
Raymond Blanning Egan was a songwriter. He moved to the United States in 1892 and settled in Michigan where he attended the University of Michigan. His first job was a bank clerk, but he soon moved onto be a staff writer for Ginnells Music Co...
, Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
, Neil Moret
Neil Moret
Charles N. Daniels , was a composer, occasional lyricist, and music publishing executive. He employed many pseudonyms, including Neil Moret, Jules Lemare, L'Albert, Paul Bertrand, Julian Strauss, and Sidney Carter...
, Leo Robin
Leo Robin
Leo Robin was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938.-Biography:Robin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and...
, Gus Kahn
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
, and Sidney Clare
Sidney Clare
Sidney Clare was an American comedian, dancer and composer. His best known songs include "On the Good Ship Lollipop" , "You’re My Thrill" , and "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" .In 1929, Clare wrote his...
, to produce a number of hits (listed below).
He also wrote a number of scores for Broadway plays.
A tribute to Whiting's music along with a medley of his best-known songs formed part of the 1980 Broadway musical A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine is a musical comedy consisting of two essentially independent one-act plays, with a book and lyrics by Dick Vosburgh and music by Frank Lazarus...
.
He was the father of singer/actress Margaret Whiting
Margaret Whiting
Margaret Whiting was a singer of American popular music and country music who first made her reputation during the 1940s and 1950s.-Youth:...
and actress Barbara Whiting Smith
Barbara Whiting Smith
Barbara Whiting Smith was an actress in movies and on radio and television, primarily in the 1940s and 1950s. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Background:...
, and the grandson of Rep. Richard H. Whiting
Richard H. Whiting
Richard Henry Whiting was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. He was the uncle of Rep. Ira Clifton Copley, and the grandfather of composer Richard A...
.
In 1938, he died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, aged 46, at the height of his career. 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...
in 1970.
Film scores
- Our Dancing DaughtersOur Dancing DaughtersOur Dancing Daughters is a 1928 MGM silent drama film starring Joan Crawford and John Mack Brown , about the "loosening of youth morals" that took place during the 1920s. The film was directed by Harry Beaumont and produced by Hunt Stromberg...
(1928) - Innocents of ParisInnocents of ParisInnocents of Paris is a 1929 black and white American musical film. Directed by Richard Wallace and is based on the play Flea Market, the film was the first musical production by Paramount Pictures.-Cast:*Maurice Chevalier - Maurice Marney...
(1929) - The Dance of LifeThe Dance of LifeThe Dance of Life is the first of three film adaptations of the popular Broadway play Burlesque, the others being Swing High, Swing Low and When My Baby Smiles at Me . The Dance of Life was made with Technicolor sequences, directed by John Cromwell and A...
(1929) - Monte CarloMonte Carlo (1930 film)Monte Carlo is a 1930 American musical comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It stars Jeanette MacDonald as Countess Helene Mara. The film is also notable for the song "Beyond the Blue Horizon", which was written for the film and was performed by Jeanette MacDonald. The film was also hailed by...
(1930) - Safety in NumbersSafety in NumbersSafety in Numbers is the third studio album by American rock band Crack the Sky, released on LP in 1978 by Lifesong Records . Lead singer John Palumbo departed the band during the recording; the band pitched in to write enough songs to round out the album, and they recruited Gary Lee Chappell to...
(1930) - Paramount on ParadeParamount on ParadeParamount on Parade is a all-star revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Victor Heerman, Lothar Mendes, Otto Brower, Edwin H...
(1930) - The Playboy of Paris (1930)
- Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1932)
- One Hour With YouOne Hour with YouOne Hour with You is a 1932 American film. It was produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and written by Samson Raphaelson, from the Lothar Schmidt play Only a Dream....
(1932) - AdorableAdorable (film)Adorable is a 1933 musical comedy film starring Janet Gaynor as a princess who disguises herself to go out and have fun, falling in love with a "commoner" in the process. The movie was written by Billy Wilder, Robert Leibmann, Paul Frank, George Marion, Jr., and Jane Storm, and directed by William...
(1933) - Cowboy From BrooklynCowboy from BrooklynCowboy from Brooklyn is a 1938 American musical comedy film starring Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, Priscilla Lane, Ann Sheridan, and future US President Ronald Reagan.-Plot:...
(1933) - The Big Broadcast of 1936The Big Broadcast of 1936The Big Broadcast of 1936 is a Paramount Pictures production, directed by Norman Taurog, and is the second in the series of Big Broadcast movies...
(1936) - Varsity ShowVarsity Show (film)Varsity Show is a 1937 feature film from Warner Brothers about a group of students at "Winfield College" who butt heads with their faculty advisor while producing an annual stage show....
(1937) - Ready, Willing, and AbleReady, Willing, and Able (film)Ready, Willing, and Able is a 1937 musical film starring Ruby Keeler and Ross Alexander. It also featured Lee Dixon, Allen Jenkins, Winifred Shaw, Louise Fazenda, and Carolyn Hughes. The director was Ray Enright....
(1937) - Hollywood HotelHollywood Hotel (film)Hollywood Hotel is a 1937 American film, directed by Busby Berkeley. It stars Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, and Ted Healy. Ronald Reagan, Benny Goodman and Harry James also appear....
(1937)
Broadway show scores
- Toot Sweet
- George White's Scandals of 1919
- Take a ChanceTake a Chance (1932 musical)Take a Chance is a musical with lyrics by B. G. De Sylva and music by Nacio Herb Brown and Richard A. Whiting, and book by De Sylva and Laurence Schwab.-Background:...
1980s Broadway Reference
Richard Whiting was also referenced in the 1980 Broadway show a Day in Hollywood/ a Night in the Ukraine where a medley of his songs are performed in the first act. One of the actors comically portrays him during the song It All Comes Out of the Piano.Hit songs
- "(They Made it Twice as Nice as Paradise) and They Called it Dixieland"
- "Till We Meet Again"
- "Some Sunday MorningSome Sunday Morning"Some Sunday Morning" is the title of two well-known American songs. The first has music written by Richard A. Whiting with lyrics by Gus Kahn and Raymond B. Egan, and was recorded by Ada Jones and Billy Murray in 1917. The second has music by M.K...
" - "It's Tulip Time in Holland"
- "Where the Morning Glories Grow"
- "Where the Black-Eyed Susans Grow"
- "The Japanese SandmanThe Japanese SandmanThe Japanese Sandman is a song from 1920, composed by Richard A. Whiting and with lyrics by Raymond B. Egan.-Content:The song is about a sandman from Japan, who exchanges yesterdays for tomorrows...
" - "Sleepy Time Gal"
- "Ain't We Got Fun?Ain't We Got Fun?"Ain't We Got Fun?" is a popular foxtrot published in 1921 with music by Richard A. Whiting, lyrics by Raymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn.It was first performed in 1920 in the revue Satires of 1920, then moved into vaudeville and recordings...
" - "Hooray for HollywoodHooray for Hollywood (song)"Hooray for Hollywood" is a song first featured in the 1937 movie Hollywood Hotel, and which has since become the staple soundtrack element of any Academy Awards ceremony. It is even frequently played during non-American movie ceremonies, e.g. the French César Awards...
" - "HoneyHoney (Rudy Vallée song)"Honey" is a popular song written by Seymour Simons, Haven Gillespie and Richard A. Whiting. The song was a 1929 hit for Rudy Vallée & his Connecticut Yankees when it charted for eight weeks at number one. It was also featured in the 1945 film Her Highness and the Bellboy....
" - "Breezin' Along with the BreezeBreezin' Along with the Breeze"Breezin' Along with the Breeze" is a popular song.It was written by Haven Gillespie, Seymour Simons, and Richard Whiting and published in 1926.-External links:*, Missouri Jazz Band —....
" - "Horses"
- "It's a Habit of Mine"
- "Beyond the Blue HorizonBeyond the Blue HorizonBeyond the Blue Horizon is a 1971 studio album by American guitarist George Benson, released by CTI Records.- Track listing :# "So What" – 9:15# "The Gentle Rain" – 9:09...
" - "Eadie Was a Lady" (music by Whiting and Nacio Herb BrownNacio Herb BrownNacio Herb Brown was an American writer of popular songs, movie scores, and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s.-Biography:...
) - "On the Good Ship LollipopOn the Good Ship Lollipop"On the Good Ship Lollipop" was the trademark song of child actress Shirley Temple. Temple first sang it in the 1934 movie Bright Eyes. The "ship" in the song is an aircraft; the scene in Bright Eyes where the song appears takes place on an American Airlines Douglas DC-2 which is taxiing. In the...
" - "Sentimental and Melancholy" (words by Johnny Mercer)
- "Too Marvelous for WordsToo Marvelous for Words"Too Marvelous for Words" is a popular song written in 1937. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics for music composed by Richard Whiting. It was featured in the 1937 Warner Brothers film Ready, Willing and Able, as well as a production number in a musical revue on Broadway...
" (words by Johnny Mercer) - "Love Is on the Air Tonight"
- "Silhouetted in the Moonlight"
- "You've Got Something There"
- "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride"
- "She's Funny That Way" (words only; music by Neil MoretNeil MoretCharles N. Daniels , was a composer, occasional lyricist, and music publishing executive. He employed many pseudonyms, including Neil Moret, Jules Lemare, L'Albert, Paul Bertrand, Julian Strauss, and Sidney Carter...
) - "Ukulele LadyUkulele LadyUkulele Lady is a popular standard, an old evergreen song by Gus Kahn and Richard A. Whiting. Published in 1925, the song was first made famous by Vaughn De Leath....
" 1925
External links
- Big Bands Database page on Whiting
- Sheet music for "Till We Meet Again", Jerome H. Remick & Co., 1918.