Louis Wolfe Gilbert (August 31, 1886 – July 12, 1970) was a Russian-born American songwriter ofTin Pan Alley. He is best remembered as the lyricist for "Ramona" (1928), the first movie theme song ever written.[1][2][3]
Born inOdessa,Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire, Gilbert moved to the United States as a young man.[1][4]
Gilbert began his career touring withJohn L. Sullivan and singing in a quartet at smallConey Island café called College Inn, where he was discovered byEnglish producer Albert Decourville. Decourville brought him toLondon as part of The Ragtime Octet.
Gilbert's first songwriting success came in 1912, when F. A. Mills Music Publishers published his song "Waiting For the Robert E. Lee" (melody by composerLewis F. Muir).[4][2] Gilbert later wrote both the words and music to "Down Yonder", a sequel to "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee". "Down Yonder" has become something of a standard as an instrumental, though the lyrics are rarely performed.
Gilbert moved toHollywood in 1929, and began writing for film, television, and radio (including theEddie Cantor show).[2]
During the 1930s, Gilbert worked on Cuban songs that helped to popularize therumba in America. Some of these hits for which he wrote English lyrics include "The Peanut Vendor", "Mama Inez", and "Maria My Own".[5][6]
Gilbert wrote the theme lyrics for the popular children'sTelevision WesternHopalong Cassidy, which first aired in 1949 onNBC. He was an innovator in his field, having been one of the first songwriters to begin publishing and promoting a catalog of his own works. He served as the director ofASCAP from 1941 to 1944,[2] and again in 1953. He was inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.[citation needed]
Known as "Wolfie", Gilbert and his wife Rose lived in Beverly Hills and he and his family were members of Temple Israel of Hollywood.
Gilbert & Friedland was amusic publishing partnership between composer, performer, and songwriterAnatole Friedland (also sometimes spelled Anatol Friedland and Anato Friedland) and lyricist L. Wolfe Gilbert.[9]
^abcParker, Bernard S. (2007).World War I Sheet Music - Volume 1. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 70, 255, 321.ISBN978-0-7864-2798-7.
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