Edgar Leslie (December 31, 1885 – January 22, 1976) was an American songwriter.

Biography

Edgar Leslie was born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...

, in 1885. He studied at the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He published his first song in 1909, starting a long prolific career as a

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 ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

. He died in 1976.

Musical career

Leslie's first song, "Lonesome" (1909), was an immediate success, recorded by the Haydn Quartet and again by Byron G. Harlan. Other notable artists recorded his early works. Among them were Nat M. Wills, Julian Rose,

Belle Baker Belle Baker (December 25, 1893 in New York City – April 29, 1957 in Los Angeles) was an American singer and actress. Popular throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Baker introduced a number of ragtime and torch songs including Irving Berlin's " ...

Lew Dockstader Lew Dockstader (born George Alfred Clapp; August 7, 1856 – October 26, 1924) was an American singer, comedian, and vaudeville star, best known as a blackface minstrel show performer. Dockstader performed as a solo act and in his own popula ...

, James Barton and Joe Welch.''Tin Pan Alley: an encyclopedia of the golden age of American song'' by David A. Jasen, (New York: Routledge, 2003.) p. 248-249
/ref> A founding member of

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

in 1914. In 1927, he traveled to England and collaborated with

Horatio Nicholls Frederick Lawrence Wright (15 February 1888 – 19 May 1964) was a British songwriter, music publisher, and the founder of the music journal '' Melody Maker''. He used the ''pseudonyms'' Horatio Nicholls and Everett Lynton for his songwriting ...

on several songs, most notably " Among My Souvenirs". Leslie served as its director from 1931 to 1941 and from 1947 to 1953. His most enduring success of the era was probably 1935's " Moon Over Miami". He was inducted into 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 1972.Edgar Leslie biography.
''songwritershalloffame.org''. Retrieved: April 29, 2013. Leslie's best-known songs include " Among My Souvenirs", " Come On Papa", " For Me And My Gal", "Getting Some Fun Out of Life", " Hello, Hawaii, How Are You?", "

Girls of France "Girls of France" is a World War I era song released in 1917. Al Bryan and Edgar Leslie wrote the lyrics. Harry Ruby composed the music. The song was published by Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co. of New York, New York. Artist Albert Wilfred Barbelle ...

", and " Moon Over Miami".Edgar Leslie song catalog.
''songwritershalloffame.org''. Retrieved: April 29, 2013.

Selected works

* 1913 " He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)" (m: Maurice Abrahams) * 1915 "America, I Love You" (m:

Archie Gottler Archie Gottler (May 14, 1896 – June 24, 1959) was an American composer, screenwriter, actor, and film director. * 1915 "Cheer Up, Better Times Will Soon Be Here" with Joe Young * 1915 " Hello, Hawaii, How Are You?" with

Jean Schwartz Jean Schwartz (November 4, 1878 – November 30, 1956) was a Hungarian-born American songwriter. Schwartz was born in Budapest, Hungary. His family moved to New York City when he was 13 years old. He took various music-related jobs including dem ...

and

Bert Kalmar Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter. Biography Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early ag ...

* 1916 "Are You Prepared for the Summer" with Bert Kalmar (m: Jean Schwartz) * 1916 "Letter That Never Reached Home, The" (m: Archie Gottler) * 1917 "The Dixie Volunteers" with

Harry Ruby Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. * 1917 "Girls of America (We All Depend on You)" with Bert Kalmar (m: Harry Ruby) * 1917 "I've Got a Red Cross Rosie Going Across with Me" with Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby * 1917 " Let's All Be Americans Now" with

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

& Geo. W. Meyer * 1917 " For Me And My Gal" with

George W. Meyer George William Meyer (January 1, 1884– August 28, 1959) was an American Tin Pan Alley songwriter. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1884. He graduated from Roxbury High School, and began working in accountancy for Boston department stor ...

and E. Ray Goetz * 1918 "American Beauty" with Albert Bryan (m: M. K. Jerome) * 1918 "Big Chief Killahun" with Alfred Bryan (m: Maurice Abrahams) * 1918 "Girl He Left Behind Him Has the Hardest Fight of All, The" with Al Brayan (m:

" with Alfred Bryan & Harry Ruby * 1919 " Come on Papa" with Harry Ruby * 1919 "Come on and Play Wiz Me (My Sweet Babee)" with Bert Kalmar (m: Harry Ruby) * 1919 "Down the Lane and Home Again" with Bert Kalmar (m: M. K. Jerome) * 1921 "

Dirty Hands, Dirty Face "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face" (or "Dirty Hands! Dirty Face!") is a song from the 1921 musical '' Bombo''. The lyrics were written by Grant Clarke and Edgar Leslie; with music by James V. Monaco. Al Jolson is often credited as a lyricist; it was commo ...

" with Grant Clarke,

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

(m: James V. Monaco) * 1927 " Among My Souvenirs" (m:

) * 1935 " Moon Over Miami" (m: Joe Burke) * 1936 "Midnight Blue" * 1936 "In a Little Gypsy Tearoom" * 1936 "Were You Foolin?"

References

External links

Songwriters Hall of Fame - Edgar LeslieEdgar Leslie bio at Parlor SongsEdgar Leslie
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

.
Edgar Leslie at the Sheet Music Consortium.Edgar Leslie in July 15, 1967 edition of ''Billboard.''

Edgar Leslie 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 ...

. Streaming audio
Edgar Leslie
on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

.
Edgar Leslie
on

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important player in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by Edison's found ...

.
Edgar Leslie
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Edgar 1885 births 1976 deaths American songwriters Musicians from Stamford, Connecticut Cooper Union alumni

Biography

Musical career

Selected works

See also

References

External links