Harry Tobias (September 11, 1895 – December 15, 1994) was an American

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 ...

. Like his younger brother Charles, he is an inductee 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 ...

. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, United States, but raised in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, he began writing songs in his teens. At the age of 19, he co-wrote his first successful songs, "That Girl of Mine" and "Take Me To My Alabam", with Will Dillon. After serving in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, he returned to songwriting, co-writing the 1922 novelty hit, "Oo-oo, Ernest (Are You Earnest With Me?)". He often worked with his brothers Charles and Henry, writing songs with Charles for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

show ''

Earl Carroll Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer. Early life Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fine ...

's Sketch Book'' in 1929, and writing

Rudy Vallee Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

's hit "Miss You" with both brothers the same year. In 1931, he had success with the song "At Your Command", an early success for Bing Crosby, and also co-wrote " Sweet and Lovely", a hit for

Russ Columbo Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune "You Call It Madness ...

. He wrote or co-wrote the theme songs for many films in the 1930s and 1940s, including ''

One Rainy Afternoon ''One Rainy Afternoon'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Francis Lederer and Ida Lupino, and featuring Hugh Herbert, Roland Young and Erik Rhodes. It also marked the last film appearance by actress ...

'' (1936), ''

The Young in Heart ''The Young in Heart'' is a 1938 American comedy film produced by David O. Selznick, directed by Richard Wallace, and starring Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Paulette Goddard. The supporting cast features Roland Young and Billie Bu ...

'' (1938), '' Made for Each Other'' (1939), ''If It Wasn't for The Moon'' (1940) and '' It's a Date'' (1940). His many co-writers included Gene Autry. Obituary by Dick Vosbrugh
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 2 January 1995 He died in St Louis, Missouri at age 99 on December 15, 1994. His interment was in

Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery is the largest Jewish cemetery organization in California. History Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, owned by Sinai Temple of Los Angeles, refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles metrop ...

References

External links

*Sheet music fo
"Take me to my Alabam': Come back, they're calling you"
New York: M. Witmark & Sons, 1916, from th
Alabama Sheet Music CollectionHarry Tobias recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings 1895 births 1994 deaths American male songwriters 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians {{US-songwriter-stub