Harry MacGregor Woods

Harry MacGregor Woods (born November 4, 1896 in North Chelmsford , Massachusetts as Henry MacGregor Woods , † January 14, 1970 in Glendale , Arizona ) was an American musician , composer and songwriter . He wrote the song "Try a Little Tenderness".

Live and act

Woods' mother, a concert singer, taught him to play the piano at an early age. He was born without a finger on his right hand and developed a special chord touch technique. After graduating from Harvard University , Woods moved to Cape Cod and started out as a farmer. During World War I, he began writing songs while serving in the Army. After his discharge, he moved to New York and started his successful career as a songwriter. His first success was the song " I'm Goin 'South ", which he wrote with Abner Silver in 1923 ; he reached number two on the music charts in the version of Al Jolson . Also in that year was "Paddlin 'Madeleine Home", which was sung by Cliff Edwards in the 1925 musical Sunny and rose to number three on the Billboard charts.

By 1926 Harry M. Woods had established himself as a songwriter on Tin Pan Alley . His song " When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin 'Along " was also known as a hit by Paul Whiteman , "Whispering" Jack Smith , Cliff Edwards and the Ipana Troubadors . Al Jolson reached number one on the Billboard charts with this title. In 1953 the song was sung by Doris Day . In 1927 his next big hit, " I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover " with the lyrics by Mort Dixon, was released .

1929 Woods started for Hollywood - musicals such as The Vagabond Lover , A Lady's Morals , Artistic Temper , Aunt Sally , Twentieth Century , Roadhouse , Limelight , It's Love Again , Merry Go Round of 1938 and She's For Me to write. In 1934 he moved to London , where he worked for the British film studio Gaumont for three years , including the films Jack Ahoy and Evergreen . In the same year the classic "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" was created for the film Roadhouse . In 1945 Harry M. Woods withdrew largely from the music scene; he died in a car accident in 1970.

Well-known songs

Harry M. Woods wrote and composed most of his songs; but he also worked with Mort Dixon , Al Sherman , Howard Johnson, Arthur Freed , Rube Bloom and Gus Kahn . He wrote “I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover”, “I'm Goin 'South”, “Just a Butterfly that's Caught in the Rain”, “ Side by Side ”, “My Old Man”, “A Little Kiss Each Morning ”,“ Heigh-Ho, Everybody, Heigh-Ho ”,“ Man From the South ”,“ River Stay 'Way from My Door ”,“ When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain ”,“ We ​​Just Couldn't Say Goodbye "," Just and Echo in the Valley "," A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet "," You Ought to See Sally on Sunday "," Hustlin 'and Bustlin' for Baby "," What a Little Moonlight Can Do " , " Try a Little Tenderness ", "I'll Never Say 'Never Again' Again", "Over My Shoulder", "Tinkle Tinkle Tinkle", "When You've Got a Little Springtime in Your Heart". " The Man from the South " and "I Nearly Let Love Go Slipping Through My Fingers".

literature

• Ken Bloom: The American Songbook - The Singers, the Songwriters, and the Songs . New York City, Black Dog & Leventhal, 2005 ISBN 1-57912-448-8

Web links

• Harry MacGregor Woods in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Entry into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
• Harry MacGregor Woods in the database of Find a Grave (English)