James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) 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 ...

. One of the most prolific

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes 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 ...

s from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a so ...

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

, Deanna Durbin,

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 ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

Adelaide Hall Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her long career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death and she was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hal ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

, Beverly Kenney, Bill Kenny,

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

Carmen Miranda Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The Br ...

, Nina Simone,

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 ...

, and

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

Career

McHugh began his career in his hometown of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, United States, where he published about a dozen songs with local publishers. His first success was with the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

song " Keep the Love-Light Burning in the Window Till the Boys Come Marching Home", and this also came near the start of a decade-long collaboration with lyricist Jack Caddigan. After struggling in a variety of jobs, including rehearsal pianist for the Boston Opera House and pianist-

song plugger A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

for

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 ...

's publishing company. In 1921, at the age of 26, McHugh relocated 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 ...

. Eventually finding employment as a professional manager with the music publisher Jack Mills Inc., it was there that McHugh published his first real hit, "Emaline", and briefly teamed up with

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

as The Hotsy Totsy Boys to write the hit song "Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now". This songwriting partnership marked another of McHugh's many collaborations, among them Ted Koehler ("I'm Shooting High"),

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that emigrated to the United States from Swit ...

(" South American Way") and

Harold Adamson Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980) was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born and raised in ...

("It's a Most Unusual Day"). As impressive as these master lyricists were, perhaps McHugh's best symbiotic musical relationship was with the school teacher and poet Dorothy Fields. Since he had written material for many of Harlem's Cotton Club revues, it would be no coincidence that their first combined success would be the score for the all-black Broadway musical, ''

Blackbirds of 1928 ''Blackbirds of 1928'' was a hit Broadway musical revue that starred Adelaide Hall, Bill Bojangles Robinson, Tim Moore and Aida Ward, with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It contained the hit songs "Diga Diga Do", the duo's f ...

'', starring

and Bill Bojangles Robinson, which jump-started the fledgling duo's career with the songs "

I Can't Give You Anything But Love "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew ...

", "Diga Diga Doo", and "I Must Have That Man". Other hits written for the stage were soon to follow, including 1930's " On the Sunny Side of the Street" for Lew Leslie's ''International Revue'', which also contained the favorite " Exactly Like You"; "Blue Again" for ''The Vanderbilt Revue''; and in 1932, " Don't Blame Me", which was featured in the Chicago revue ''Clowns In Clover''. Some authors say that

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

was the composer of "On the Sunny Side of the Street," but sold the rights to the song. McHugh and Fields contributed title songs for films including "Cuban Love Song", " Dinner at Eight" and " Hooray for Love", as well as "I Feel a Song Comin' On" and "

I'm in the Mood for Love "I'm in the Mood for Love" is a popular song published in 1935. The music was written by Jimmy McHugh, with the lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The song was introduced by Frances Langford in the movie '' Every Night at Eight'' released that year. I ...

" from 1935's '' Every Night at Eight''. In the artistically fruitful years after they first collaborated in 1930, McHugh and Fields wrote over 30 songs for the film world. Fields and McHugh finally parted company in 1935. McHugh's longest songwriting partner was Harold Adamson. Adamson provided lyrics to McHugh's compositions. Such hits as "

Comin' In on a Wing and a Prayer "Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer" is a World War II song with lyrics by Harold Adamson and music by Jimmy McHugh, published in 1943 by Robbins Music Corp. Theme The lyrics tell of the aftermath of an Allied night aerial bombing mission over e ...

" found its way into '' Bartlett's Familiar Quotations''. For the 1948 film '' A Date with Judy'', he composed "

It's a Most Unusual Day "It's a Most Unusual Day" is a popular song composed by Jimmy McHugh, with lyrics by Harold Adamson. It is considered part of the Great American Songbook. It was introduced in the film ''A Date With Judy'', when it was sung by Jane Powell in the o ...

" for Jane Powell. It became the young singer and actress's signature tune. McHugh died in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 74.

Awards and honors

Jimmy McHugh 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 1970.

Works

;

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 ...

credits * 1928 – ''

'' (lyrics by Dorothy Fields) * 1928 – ''Hello, Daddy'' (lyrics by Fields) * 1930 – ''International Revue'' (lyrics by Fields) * 1939 – '' The Streets of Paris'' (lyrics by

) * 1940 – '' Keep Off The Grass'' (lyrics by Dubin and Howard Dietz) * 1948 – '' As the Girls Go'' (lyrics by

) A medley of his songs were included in the 1979

show '' Sugar Babies'', starring

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American retired actress and former dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood cinema musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early ...

and

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

. The songs included were "

I Can't Give You Anything but Love "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew ...

", "I'm Shooting High", "Roll Your Blues Away" and " On the Sunny Side of the Street". ; Popular songs *"

A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" is a popular song with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Harold Adamson, published in 1943. It was used in the film '' Higher and Higher'' (1944) when it was sung by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra and also The Ink Spo ...

" – June Christy (McHugh/Adamson) (Capitol/EMI) *"Blue Again" – Louis Armstrong (McHugh/Fields) (Okeh/Sony BMG) *"

" – Bing Crosby (McHugh/Adamson) (Decca/UMG) *"Cuban Love Song" – Edmundo Ros (McHugh/Stothart/Fields) (London/WMG) *"Diga Diga Doo" – The Mills Brothers w/ Duke Ellington (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) *"Doin' the New Low Down" – Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) *" Don't Blame Me" – The Everly Brothers (McHugh/Fields) (Warner Bros./WMG) *"Dream Dream Dream" – Joni James (McHugh/Parish/Melle/Mottier) (MGM/UMG) *" Exactly Like You" – Aretha Franklin (McHugh/Fields) (Columbia/Sony BMG) *"Goodbye Blues" - The Mills Brothers (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) *"Happy Times" – Hal Kemp & His Orchestra (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) *"

I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" is a 1926 popular song composed by Jimmy McHugh, with lyrics by Clarence Gaskill. More than 20 recordings were made of "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" in the 16 years following its publica ...

" – Dean Martin (McHugh/Gaskill) (Capitol/EMI) *"

" – Judy Garland (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI) *"I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG) *" I Just Found Out About Love" – Dinah Washington (McHugh/Adamson) (Mercury/UMG) *"I Love to Whistle" – Fats Waller (McHugh/Adamson) (RCA/Sony BMG) *"

" – Frances Langford (McHugh/Fields) (Regal Zonophone) *"I Must Have That Man" – Billie Holiday (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG) *"I'm Shooting High" – Ann Richards (McHugh/Koehler) (Capitol/EMI) *"It's a Most Unusual Day" – Andy Williams (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG) *"I've Got My Fingers Crossed" – Louis Armstrong (McHugh/Koehler) (Decca/UMG) *" Let's Get Lost" – Chet Baker (McHugh/Loesser) (Pacific) *"My! My!" - Tommy Dorsey w/ The Pied Pipers (McHugh/Loesser) (RCA/Sony BMG) *" On the Sunny Side of the Street" – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI) *"Say It (Over and Over Again)" - Tommy Dorsey w/ Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Loesser) (RCA/Sony BMG) *"South American Way" – The Andrews Sisters (McHugh/Dubin) (Capitol/EMI) *"Take it Easy" - Fats Waller 935*"There's Something in the Air" – Ruth Etting (McHugh/Adamson) (Decca/UNI) *"Too Young to Go Steady" – Nat King Cole (McHugh/Adamson) (Capitol/EMI) *"Warm and Willing" – Nat King Cole (McHugh/Livingston/Evans) (Capitol/EMI) *"When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" – Peggy Lee (McHugh/Austin/Mills) (Capitol/EMI) *" Where Are You?" – Johnny Mathis (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)

References

External links

* * * * * *
Jimmy McHugh 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:McHugh, Jimmy 1894 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American male composers Broadway composers and lyricists Musicians from Boston