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Irving Gordon | |
|---|---|
 Gordon, c. 1950 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Irving Gordon (1915-02-14)February 14, 1915 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 1, 1996(1996-12-01) (aged 81) Malibu, California, U.S |
| Occupation | Songwriter |
Irving Gordon (February 14, 1915 – December 1, 1996) was anAmerican songwriter.
Gordon was born inBrooklyn, New York City, to aJewish family, and later lived onConey Island. He was named Israel Goldener but later changed his name to Irving Gordon. As a child, he studiedviolin.
After attending public schools inNew York City, Gordon worked in theCatskill Mountains at some of the resorthotels in the area. While working there, he took to writingparody lyrics to some of the popular songs of the day. In the 1930s, he took a job with the music publishing firm headed by talent agentIrving Mills, at first writing only lyrics, but subsequently writing music as well.
After Gordon was introduced toDuke Ellington in 1937, Ellington sometimes invited him to put lyrics to his compositions. However, working with Ellington was probably one of the most difficult commissions there was, since most of the Ellington songs were really instrumental pieces whose singable potential only emerged after they had been played and recorded by one or another of the soloists in the Ellington orchestra.[1] While working as Ellington's lyricist, Gordon wrote the lyrics to "Prelude to a Kiss." For years he like many other composers worked out of theBrill Building inManhattan.
After writing "Mister and Mississippi", Gordon decided he enjoyed puns on state names and later wrote "Delaware", which was a hit forPerry Como.
His 1956 hit forPatti Page, "Mama from the Train", was written to describe the love of a mother who had been born in the old country, but although the lyrics identify her as "Pennsylvania Dutch", the shifts into and out of a minor key mark the melody as Eastern European, and it was widely perceived as a tribute to aYiddish-speaking mother.
Gordon is perhaps best known for his song "Unforgettable". He also wrote "Allentown Jail", which was played by numerous musicians and told the story of a man who stole a diamond for his girlfriend and ended up in theAllentown jail, unable to make bail, and was recorded by the French singer,Edith Piaf among others.
Late in his life, Gordon won aGrammy Award for Song of the Year whenNatalie Cole re-recorded her fatherNat "King" Cole's earlier hit of "Unforgettable." Gordon wrote both the lyrics and music for "Unforgettable."
Gordon did not care forrock music, which he said was composed not of "melodies but maladies."[2] Gordon told theLos Angeles Times that by 1960 the vogue for rhymed words and hummable melodies had passed, "So I became a tennis pro. I have many lives."[3]
Gordon's obituary claimed that he wrote theAbbott and Costello baseball comedy routine, "Who's on First?." This claim was never made by Gordon when he was alive, and others have also claimed authorship. The duo perfected the routine after they formally teamed in 1936.
Gordon is noted for his contribution to music and lyrics of theAmericana genre. For example, it was commonly thought that his song "Two Brothers" was about theAmerican Civil War.
For several years before his death, he was writing a musical aboutSigmund Freud.
Irving Gordon died ofmultiple myeloma cancer inMalibu, California. He was survived by two sons.
