Roy Turk

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Roy Turk (born September 20, 1892 in New York , † November 30, 1934 in Hollywood ) was an American songwriter of the Tin-Pan-Alley era. His most famous songs are Are You Lonesome Tonight? , which he wrote with Lou Handman (music) in 1926 , and Mean to Me , which he wrote with Fred E. Ahlert (music) in 1928 .

Life

Roy Turk grew up in New York and attended college there . During the First World War he served in the United States Navy . After his release, he began writing lyrics for various vaudeville artists, including Nora Bayes , before working for various music publishers on Tin Pan Alley . He later went to Hollywood, where he wrote lyrics for film scores . He had his first success in 1919 with the song Oh How I Laugh When I Think How I Cried About You , his first work for the stage play Plantation Revue (1922) was unsuccessful. In 1923 he wrote two songs for a successful performance at the Earl Carroll Theater . By 1933, Turk had written several hits a year. His music was used in films such as In Gay Madrid and Children of Pleasure (both 1930). Between 1928 and 1933 he worked mainly with the composer Fred E. Ahlert, but also collaborated with other artists such as Harry Akst , George Meyer , Maceo Pinkard and J. Russel Robinson .

J. Russel Robinson / Roy Turk Aggravatin 'Papa (Don't you try to two-time me) sheet music edition 1922

Known songs

  • My Sweetie Went Away (1923, music: Lou Handman)
  • Are You Lonesome Tonight? (1926, music: Lou Handman)
  • Mean to Me (1928, music: Fred E. Ahlert)
  • I'll Get By (1928, music: Fred E. Ahlert, sung in the film Follow the Boys by Dinah Shore )
  • Walkin 'My Baby Back Home (1931, music: Harry Richmond, Fred E. Ahlert)
  • I Don't Know Why (I Love You Like Do) (1931, music: Fred E. Ahlert)
  • Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day (1931, with Bing Crosby , music: Fred E. Ahlert)
  • Love, You Funny Thing (1932, music: Fred E. Ahlert)
  • After My Laughter Came Tears (1932, music: Charles Tobias)
  • Beale Street Mama (1932, music: J. Russel Robinson)
  • Aggravatin 'Poppa (1933, music: J. Russel Robinson)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Turk, Roy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH September 20, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , USA
DATE OF DEATH November 30, 1934
Place of death Hollywood , California , USA