Al Dubin

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Alexander "Al" Dubin (born June 10, 1891 in Zurich , Switzerland , † February 11, 1945 in New York City ) was an American songwriter . He became known for his collaboration with the composer Harry Warren . Many of the classics of the Great American Songbook come from her repertoire, and several songs later became jazz standards .

Live and act

Al Dubin comes from a Jewish-Russian family who immigrated to the United States when he was two years old. He grew up in Philadelphia . After his parents' wishes Dubin should follow an academic career, however, was in 1911 expelled , after which he went to New York. There he worked as a songwriter and lyricist for various Tin Pan Alley music publishers. During the First World War he did his military service in 1917/18. In 1921 he was able to accommodate his first title in the revue Greenwich Village Follies . 1927 Dubin wrote with the composer J. Fred Coots his first full score for a Broadway - Musical .

Success came at the end of the 1920s when he left for Hollywood. There he initially worked with the composer Joe Burke ; together they wrote songs for films and film musicals, including hits like Tip Toe Through the Tulips with Me (from Gold Diggers of Broadway , 1929), Love Will Find A Way (1929) and Dancing With Tears in My Eyes (1930).

1932/33 began the collaboration with Harry Warren , which lasted until 1938; a series of songs for films and film musicals was created. Some of the best known include 42nd Street from 1933 (which includes hits like Forty-Second Street , Shuffle Off to Buffalo , Young and Healthy , You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me ) and the 1930s Gold Diggers films ( Gold diggers of 1933 , Gold Diggers of 1935 , Gold Diggers of 1937 , Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)).

Dubin and Warren wrote a variety of hits, including a .: The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money) and Shadow Waltz (1933), The Boulevard of Broken Dreams and I Only Have Eyes For You (1934), Go Into Your Dance , About a Quarter to Nine and Lulu's Back in Town (1935), With Plenty of Money and You , September in the Rain and Remember Me? (1937).

For the title Lullaby Of Broadway from the film musical Gold Diggers of 1935 , Dubin and Warren received the Oscar for best song in 1936 .

Dubin continued working for the film in the 1940s, but also texted for Broadway. He has written for compositions by James V. Monaco ( We Mustn't Say Goodbye ), Jimmy McHugh ( South American Way ), Will Grosz ( Along the Santa Fe Trail ) and Duke Ellington ( I Never Felt This Way Before ).

Dubin died at the age of 53 as a result of his dissolute lifestyle. He was married twice; The daughter Patricia Dubin comes from her first marriage.

In 1970 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame .

In 1980, producer David Merrick brought an adaptation of the 1930s musical film to Broadway: 42nd Street (musical) with great success .

literature

  • Patricia Dubin McGuire: Lullaby Of Broadway: Life and Times of Al Dubin . Citadel Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0-80-650871-9
  • David A. Jasen: Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song . Taylor & Francis, 2003. ISBN 978-0-41-593877-8

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Dubin, Al
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dubin, Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer and lyricist
DATE OF BIRTH June 10, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH February 11, 1945
Place of death New York City