Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today. He was posthumously made a member of the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

in 1984. The popularity of Hoffman's song, "

Mairzy Doats “Mairzy Doats” is a novelty song written and composed in 1943 by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston. It contains lyrics that make no sense as written, but are near homophones of meaningful phrases. The song's title, for example, i ...

", co-written with

Jerry Livingston Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist. Life and career Born in Denver, Colorado, Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he com ...

and

Milton Drake Milton Drake (August 3, 1912 - November 13, 2006) was an American lyricist and performing rights administrator. As a child, he performed in vaudevilles, in films and on radio. Later he wrote special material for theater and nightclub revues, includ ...

, was such that newspapers and magazines wrote about the craze. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine titled one article "Our Mairzy Dotage". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' simply wrote the headline, "That Song". Hoffman's songs were recorded by singers such as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

(" Close To You", "I'm Gonna Live Until I Die"),

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

(" I Apologize")

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signin ...

Papa Loves Mambo "Papa Loves Mambo" is a popular song written by Al Hoffman, Dick Manning, and Bix Reichner and published in 1954. The best-known version was recorded by Perry Como with Mitchell Ayres's orchestra in New York City on August 31, 1954. The U.S. rel ...

", "

Hot Diggity "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" is an American popular song written by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning. The song's melody is almost identical in melody and triple-time rhythm to a portion of Emmanuel Chabrier's 1883 composition, ''España''. Publi ...

"),

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

("Who Walks In When I Walk Out"),

Nat "King" Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

the Merry Macs The Merry Macs were an American close-harmony pop music quartet active from the 1920s till the 1960s and best known for the hits " Mairzy Doats", "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" and " Sentimental Journey". The group also sang on recording ...

Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song " Santa ...

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

(" Allegheny Moon") and

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

. In October, 2007, Hoffman's "I'm Gonna Live Til I Die" was the lead single from

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

's album, '' Trav'lin' Light''. Though Hoffman had apparently little connection to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, he wrote the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

fight song "

Bear Down, Chicago Bears "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" is the fight song of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. It was written in 1941 by Al Hoffman under the pseudonym Jerry Downs, though Hoffman appeared to have little connection to Chicago. The song was w ...

" in 1941 under the pseudonym Jerry Downs.

Life and career

Hoffman was born in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

(now

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

), to a Jewish family. His parents moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

when he was six. After graduating from high school in Seattle, he started his own

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

, playing the

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

, and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1928 to pursue a music career. Though he continued playing the drums in night club bands and selling bagels door-to-door on Broadway, he began writing songs, collaborating with other songwriters such as Leon Carr, Leo Corday, Mann Curtis,

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

Al Goodhart Al Goodhart (January 26, 1905 – November 30, 1955) a member of ASCAP, was born in New York City and attended DeWitt Clinton High School. During his lifetime he was a radio announcer, vaudeville pianist and special materials writer. He also owned a ...

Walter Kent Walter Kent (born Walter Maurice Kaufman, November 29, 1911 – March 2, 1994) was an American composer and conductor. Some notable compositions are: " I'll Be Home for Christmas", "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" and " (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The ...

Sammy Lerner Samuel Lerner (January 28, 1903 – December 13, 1989) was a Romanian-born songwriter for American and British musical theatre and film. Career Lerner emigrated with his parents into the United States at age seven, and the family settled in Detro ...

Al Sherman Avrum Sherman (September 7, 1897 – September 16, 1973), pen name Al Sherman, was a Russian-American songwriter and composer active during the Tin Pan Alley era in American music history. Some of his most recognizable song titles include: " Y ...

Dick Manning Dick Manning (born Samuel Medoff (Самуил Медов), June 12, 1912 – April 11, 1991) was a Russian-born American songwriter, best known for his many collaborations with Al Hoffman. Manning composed the first full-length musical to be ...

Bob Merrill Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...

, Ed Nelson, and

Maurice Sigler Maurice Sigler (November 30, 1901 – February 6, 1961) was an American banjoist and songwriter. Sigler was born in New York City but moved to Birmingham, Alabama at an early age, and received his musical tuition there. In the 1920s, Sigler w ...

. In 1934, he moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to work on stage productions and movies, co-writing the hit songs "She Shall Have Music" and "Everything Stops for Tea". He returned to the U.S. three years later. In 1984, he was inducted into the

. He has over 1,500 songs registered with A.S.C.A.P. Hoffman died in

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

, and was buried in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

Partial list of published songs

Songs written by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning

*" Allegheny Moon" (1956) *"Dennis The Menace Song" (1960) *" Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea" (1954) *"

" (1956) *" I Can't Tell A Waltz From A Tango" (1954) *"I Love Her, That's Why!" (for

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

and

Gracie Allen Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen (July 26, 1895 – August 27, 1964) was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, ...

) (1955) *" Mama, Teach Me to Dance" (1956) *"

Moon Talk Perry Como was a prolific American recording artist for the RCA Victor label between 1943 and 1987, and is credited with numerous gold records. Como had so many recordings achieve gold-record status that he refused to have many of them certified. O ...

" (1958) *"O Dio Mio" (1960) *" Takes Two to Tango" (1952)

Songs written by Al Hoffman, Dick Manning, and another collaborator

*" Are You Really Mine?" (1958) (with Mark Markwell) *" Make Me a Miracle" (1958) (with Mark Markwell) *"Mighty Pretty Waltz" (1950) (with

Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...

) *" Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" (1958) (with Mark Markwell) *"

" (1954) (with Bix Reichner) *" Secretly" (1958) (with Mark Markwell)

Songs written by Al Hoffman,
Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...
, and
Jerry Livingston Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist. Life and career Born in Denver, Colorado, Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he com ...

*"Close to you" (1943) *"

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (also called "The Magic Song") is a novelty song, written in 1948 by Al Hoffman, Mack David, and Jerry Livingston. Introduced in the 1950 film ''Cinderella'', and performed by actress Verna Felton, the song is about the Fairy ...

" (1948) *" Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba" (1947) *"

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is a song written and composed by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Walt Disney film ''Cinderella'' (1950). In the song, Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods) encourages her animal friends to ...

" (1949) *"Sing, Sweet Nightingale" (1950) *"So This Is Love" (1950) *"The Unbirthday Song" (1951) *"Trick or Treat for Halloween" (1952)

Songs written by Al Hoffman,
Maurice Sigler Maurice Sigler (November 30, 1901 – February 6, 1961) was an American banjoist and songwriter. Sigler was born in New York City but moved to Birmingham, Alabama at an early age, and received his musical tuition there. In the 1920s, Sigler w ...
, and
Al Goodhart Al Goodhart (January 26, 1905 – November 30, 1955) a member of ASCAP, was born in New York City and attended DeWitt Clinton High School. During his lifetime he was a radio announcer, vaudeville pianist and special materials writer. He also owned a ...

Everything Stops for Tea ''Everything Stops for Tea'' is an album by John Baldry released in May 1972. It was produced by Elton John and Rod Stewart. Elton provides vocal accompaniment on tracks 1, 3-5. Stewart provides vocal accompaniment and plays banjo on track 8. ...

" (1935) *"Everything's in Rhythm with My Heart" (1935) *"I Saw Stars" (1934) *"I’m in a Dancing Mood" (1936) *"There Isn’t Any Limit to My Love" (1936) *"Why Don’t You Practice What You Preach?" *"Where There's You There's Me"

Others

*"Apple Blossoms and Chapel Bells" *"Auf Wiedersehn, My Dear" *"

" (1941) *"Black-Eyed Susan Brown" *" Close to You" (with

and Carl Lampl) *"Don’t Stay Away Too Long" *" Fit as a Fiddle" (1932) (with

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for '' An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

and

) *"From One Minute to Another" *"Goodnight, Wherever You Are" *" Heartaches" (1931) (lyrics by John Klenner) *" I Apologize" (1931) (lyrics by

) *"

If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" is a popular song written by Al Hoffman, Bob Merrill, and Clem Watts and published in 1950. In the U.S, the best known version of the song was recorded by Eileen Barton in January 1950. Joe Lipman ...

" (1950) (with

and

Clem Watts Albert J. Trace ''(aka'' Albert Joseph Trace; ''né'' Feinberg; 25 December 1900 – 31 August 1993) was an American songwriter and orchestra leader of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. His popularity peaked in the Chicago area during the height of t ...

) *"I Must Have One More Kiss Kiss Kiss" *"I Paid For The Lie I Told You" (1939) (with

and

Enoch Light Enoch Henry Light (August 18, 1907 – July 31, 1978) was an American classically trained violinist, danceband leader, and recording engineer. As the leader of various dance bands that recorded as early as March 1927 and continuing through at ...

) *"I’m Gonna Live Till I Die" (1955) (with

and Mann Curtis) *"If You Saw What I Saw In Nassau" (1949) (with

and

) *"Little Man You’ve Had a Busy Day" (1934) ith Maurice Sigler usic by Mabel Wayne*"

" (1943) (with

and

) *"Roll Up the Carpet" (1933) (with lyrics by Raymond Klages, music by Raymond Klages,

, and Hoffman) *"She Broke My Heart in Three Places" (c. 1944) (with

and

) *"Fuzzy Wuzzy" (1944) (with

and

) *"The Story of a Starry Night" (1941) (with

and Mann Curtis) *"What’s the Good Word, Mr. Bluebird?" (1943) (with Allan Roberts and

) *" A Whale of a Tale" (1954) (with

Norman Gimbel Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist of popular songs, television and movie themes. He wrote the lyrics for songs including " Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Ready to Take a Chance Again" (both wit ...

) *"Who Walks in When I Walk Out?" (1933) (with

Ralph Freed Ralph Freed (1 May 1907, Vancouver - February 13, 1973) was a Canadian born American lyricist and television producer. Early Life Born May 1, 1907 to Max Freed and Rosie (Rosza) Grossman who met in Charleston, SC. Ralph married Grace H. Berchma ...

and

) *"Without Rhythm" *"You Meet the Nicest People in Your Dreams" (1939) (with

and Manny Kurtz)

References

External links

*
Al Hoffman recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Al 1902 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters American musical theatre composers Broadway composers and lyricists Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from prostate cancer Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American composers Jewish American songwriters Male musical theatre composers Walt Disney Animation Studios people