James Cavanaugh (songwriter)

Last updated

James Anthony Cavanaugh (New York City, 29 October 1892 - New York City, 18 August 1967) was an American songwriter. [1] Among his best known songs were "Mississippi Mud" (1927, made popular by Bing Crosby), "Crosstown" (1940, co-written with John Redmond), and "The Gaucho Serenade" (title track of the soundtrack to the Gene Autry 1940 movie Gaucho Serenade).

Contents

Biography

Marriage, work as chauffeur and military service during WWI

Born in 1892 in New York City, in 1917 Cavanaugh was living in Manhattan, at 511 W 130th St., was married to "Martha V. Conroy", and was working as a private chauffeur for a businessman at 43 West 55th St. also in Manhattan. [2] In October of 1918, he was drafted despite this, but luckily the armistice was signed 11/11/18 and Cavanaugh was discharged honorably in mid-December in the general demobilization. [3]

From chauffeur to professional songwriter, through a house moving and military service during WWII

James and Martha Cavanaugh would go on to raise six children. In the 1930 Census he still listed himself as a chauffeur, still living in Manhattan. In the 1940 US census, the family had moved to 316 East 184th Street in the Bronx, but Cavanaugh, despite having written successful songs for seven years by that time, still listed his occupation as "chauffeur". Finally, by 1942, when he registered for the "Old Man Draft" at the age of 50, he listed his employer as ASCAP, 30 Rockefeller Center, NYC, and he was already living in the Bronx (where he will live until his death in 1967): he had made the transition to become a professional songwriter. [4]

Songs

(Note: listing is incomplete)

Related Research Articles

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1939.

Mitchell Parish was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High School of Art and Design</span> Public high school in Manhattan, New York

The High School of Art and Design is a career and technical education high school in Manhattan, New York City, New York State, United States. Founded in 1936 as the School of Industrial Art, the school moved to 1075 Second Avenue in 1960 and more recently, its Midtown Manhattan location on 56th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, in September 2012. High School of Art and Design is operated by the New York City Department of Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Aiello</span> American actor (1933–2019)

Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including The Godfather Part II (1974), The Front (1976), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Hide in Plain Sight (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Moonstruck (1987), Harlem Nights (1989), Do the Right Thing (1989), Jacob's Ladder (1990), Hudson Hawk (1991), Ruby (1992), Léon: The Professional (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), Dinner Rush (2000), and Lucky Number Slevin (2006). He played Don Domenico Clericuzio in the miniseries The Last Don (1997).

Harold Campbell Adamson was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Troup</span> American actor and musician

Robert William Troup Jr. was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song "Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television program Emergency! in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod La Rocque</span> American actor

Roderick Ross La Rocque was an American actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter DeRose</span> American composer of jazz and pop music (1896–1953)

Peter DeRose was an American composer of jazz and pop music during the era of Tin Pan Alley.

<i>The Song Is You</i> (Frank Sinatra album) 1994 box set by Frank Sinatra

The Song Is You is a 1994 box set by American singer Frank Sinatra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan Serenade</span>

"Manhattan Serenade" was composed by Louis Alter in 1928, with lyrics by Howard Johnson. Alternate lyrics were written ca. 1942 by Harold Adamson. It was a hit record for swing era bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Moran</span> American boxer and actor (1887–1967)

Francis Charles Moran was an American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a 25-year film career.

<i>Frank Sinatra & the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra</i> 1998 compilation album by Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra & the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra is a 1998 compilation album by the American singer Frank Sinatra.

Dick Charles was an American songwriter.

"Christmas in Killarney" is an Irish-American Christmas song written by John Redmond, James Cavanaugh and Frank Weldon, copyright 1950.

Christopher Joseph Weldon was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1950 to 1977.

<i>Gaucho Serenade</i> 1940 American film

Gaucho Serenade is a 1940 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Written by Betty Burbridge and Bradford Ropes, the film is about a singing cowboy who goes up against a group of businessmen who plot to kidnap the son of a former partner so he won't testify against them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crosstown (Glenn Miller song)</span>

"Crosstown" is a 1940 song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song was written by James Cavanaugh, John Redmond, and Nat Simon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Robertson (songwriter)</span> American songwriter (1903-1979)

Dick Robertson was an American popular big band singer and songwriter of the 1930s and 1940s. He sang for many bandleaders such as Leo Reisman and Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra, and was on the artist roster at Banner Records. In fact, he was one of the most prolific New York based vocalists on scores of records from late 1928 through the mid 1930s. A series of records issued on Melotone/Perfect/Banner/Oriole/Romeo, Crown, Bluebird from 1930-1934 were issued under his name or are listed in the 2010 edition of "American Dance Bands on Record and Film (1915-1942)" by Richard J. Johnson and Bernard H. Shirley as being under his nominal leadership. His last recording session as a singer was in 1949. He also used the pseudonym Bob Richardson for some recordings on Mayfair Records.

Frank Weldon was an American songwriter. He wrote, or co-wrote, many popular songs of the 1930s and 1940s.

John Redmond was an American songwriter. He was born John Redmond Lynskey and grew up in Clinton, Massachusetts. Among his better known songs was "Christmas in Killarney", co-written with James Cavanaugh and Frank Weldon.

References

  1. ↑ Warren W. Vaché The unsung songwriters: America's masters of melodies 2000 Page 58 "James Cavanaugh was born in New York City, and he died there on August 18, 1967. Not much is known of his early career, except that he worked in vaudeville and wrote his own material"
  2. ↑ [WWI draft card claiming married exemption, 6/5/17, a month before the birth of his first son, Charles]
  3. ↑ [US WWI Draft Registration Cards]
  4. ↑ [US WW II Draft Registration Cards, 1942]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.