Irving Bibo (August 22, 1889 – May 2, 1962) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

Biography

Bibo was born in San Francisco. He began his career in New York in the mid 1910s as a Tin Pan Alley composer, writing tunes for the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

(including "Huggable, Kissable You", "Forever and a Day" and "Cherie"), the

Greenwich Village Follies ''The Greenwich Village Follies'' was a musical revue that played for eight seasons in New York City from 1919 to 1927. Launched by John Murray Anderson, and opening on July 15, 1919, at the newly constructed Greenwich Village Theatre near Ch ...

, and other theatrical productions. He was a staff pianist for Leo Feist (where in 1921 he gave

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainm ...

his first songwriting break by contributing music for ''Ain't Nature Grand''). In 1933 he moved to Los Angeles and scored more than 300 motion pictures, and later in life published several

fight songs A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand, these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

. Bibo was the first licensee of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

merchandise. His daughter Bobette, at the age of 12, wrote the book ''Mickey Mouse Book'', containing stories, games, and cutouts. He contributed the song ''Mickey Mouse (You Cute Little Feller)''. It was illustrated by Walt Disney Studios, and published by Bibo and Charles Lang in 1930.

Selected compositions

* ''Huggable, Kissable You'' * ''Forever and a Day'' * ''Cherie'' * ''Those Panama Mamas'' * ''Am I Wasting My Time on You'' * ''My Cutey's Due at Two-to-Two To-Day'' * ''Sweet Little You'' * ''Do You Believe in Dreams'' * ''Lo-Ki'' (1919, with

Ed Rose Ed Rose is an American sound engineer and record producer. He has worked extensively with groups in the modern emo and pop punk scenes. He also co-owns Black Lodge Recording with Rob Pope and his brother Ryan Pope, members of the emo band The ...

and Henry Bergman) * ''I've Got the Profiteering Blues'' (lyrics by Al Wilson, featuring the complaint "the more I make, the more they take") * ''Where Are You, Girl of My Dreams?'' (1932, written with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and Paul McVey, featured in the film

The Cohens And Kellys in Hollywood ''The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by John Francis Dillon and written by Howard J. Green. The film stars George Sidney, Charles Murray, June Clyde, Norman Foster, Esther Howard, and Emma ...

). * ''Letty Pepper'', a musical comedy produced by

Oliver Morosco Oliver Morosco (June 20, 1875 – August 25, 1945) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, film producer, and theater owner. He owned the Morosco Photoplay Company. He brought many of his theater actors to the screen. Frank A. Garbut ...

, a sequel to Morsco's earlier Letty productions So Long Letty, Linger Longer Letty, and Let 'Er Go, Letty, all starring Charlotte Greenwood. It was an adaptation of Charles Klein's play Maggie Pepper; Bibo contributed lyrics with Leo Wood, the music was by Werner Janssen. It ran for 32 performances in 1922 at the Vanderbilt Theatre. * ''(Once Upon) A Moonlight Night'', written with Sydney Clare * ''Where have those Old Timers Gone'' (1924, written with Howard Johnson and Henry Santly) * ''Dancing Down in Dixie Land'' (with Abe Olman) * ''Ain't Nature Grand'' (1921, lyrics by Billy Rose) * ''Old Man Atom'' (a satirical anti-nuclear song from around 1946 popularized by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, written with Vern Partlow, for which Bibo sold the rights to Alamo Music in 1950) * ''Oriental Eyes'' (with Leo Wood, an adaptation of Cesar Cui's Orientale) For schools: * ''The Stanford Scalp Song'' (1953, with Paul Yoder) * ''Sing UCLA'' * ''Fight On Michigan State''

References

External links

*
circa 1920 photo of Bibo with other Tin Pan Alley composersIrving Bibo special collection at UCLA Charles Young Research Library
1889 births 1962 deaths American male composers American composers American male songwriters Songwriters from San Francisco 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American songwriters {{US-songwriter-stub