Vincent Youmans

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vincent Youmans (born September 27, 1898 in New York , † April 5, 1946 in Denver ) was an American composer and Broadway producer. Youmans wrote the musical No, No Nanette and numerous titles that were interpreted as preferred by jazz musicians such as Billie Holiday and became jazz standards , such as the titles Tea For Two , I Want to Be Happy , I Know That You Know , Time on My Hands , Without a Song and More Than You Know .

biography

Vincent Youman's father owned a hat factory in New York. So the boy grew up in a wealthy family. From a young age he showed a great interest in music. He was able to play the piano at the age of four. After completing his schooling at private schools, he first had plans to become an engineer, but then did not take up his studies and instead started working for a realtor on Wall Street . However, he was only allowed to work there for a short time, as he was drafted into the army in 1917. He served at a naval base that had a military band led by John Philip Sousa . Youmans joined the orchestra, for which he also composed his first songs.

After the First World War ended, it was clear to Youmans that he would not return to work for his previous employer on Wall Street. During his military service, he had realized that the only job he could consider was one in which music played the main role. From 1918 to 1919 he assisted his compatriot, the operetta composer Victor Herbert , as a rehearsal pianist in rehearsing his stage works.

On 3 May 1921 he first appeared as a composer of musicals to the public: At Cohan Theater was Two Little Girls in Blue premiered. It was a respectable success for him. The breakthrough came for him two years later. His musical Wildflower was first staged on February 7, 1923 and achieved an impressive number of 477 performances; the musical song Bambalina established itself through the version by Paul Whiteman .

The year 1924 played a special role in Youmans' biography. In April of this year his musical No, No Nanette was released in Detroit . Already at the premiere it was announced that this work would be a worldwide success. Three stages toured across the United States with the piece. 17 theaters played it in South America, Asia and Europe. In London alone there were 665 performances. In 1925 the musical finally hit Broadway. In a revised version, the baptism of fire took place there on September 16 in the Globe Theater . From now on it should only be played in this version.

But Vincent Youmans was not always lucky. After the worldwide success of No, No Nanette , he felt called to greater things. Although he was able to win the respected Oscar Hammerstein as a librettist for his next work , he experienced a disaster with Rainbow in 1928 . His next work, the musical Smiles , also flopped. However, the title Time on My Hands (with lyrics by Adamson and Mack Gordon) from this musical became a widely played jazz standard ; Billie Holiday made the song world famous. His last work was for the Fred Astaire film Flying Down to Rio (1933). The dance song Carioca from this film was nominated for an oscar.

Vincent Youmans had been in poor health since his youth. In 1934 he fell ill with tuberculosis. He struggled with this disease for twelve years. In between it always seemed as if he had defeated her, but in the end the disease defeated him. He died on April 5, 1946 in Denver while he was staying in a hotel. The composer has no descendants. All royalties go to the Vincent Youmans Foundation, which he founded and which helps people suffering from tuberculosis.

Works

Musicals

  • Two Little Girls in Blue (1921)
  • Wildflower (1923)
  • Mary Jane McKane (1923)
  • Lollipop'A N (1924)
  • A Night Out (1925)
  • No, No Nanette (1925)
  • Oh Please (1926)
  • Hit the Deck (1927)
  • Rainbow (1928)
  • Great Day (1929)
  • Smiles (1930)
  • Through the Years (1932)
  • Take a Chance (1932)

Film music

  • Hit the Deck (1929)
  • No, No Nanette (1930)
  • What a window! (1930)
  • Take a Chance (1933)
  • Flying Down to Rio (1933)

title

literature

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

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Youmans, Vincent
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer and Broadway producer
DATE OF BIRTH September 27, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH new York
DATE OF DEATH April 5, 1946
Place of death Denver