Joan Whitney Kramer (June 26, 1914 – July 12, 1990) was an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and

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 ...

Early years

Kramer was born Zoe Parenteau in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. Her early music training came while singing in the choir in her church. She attended Finch College 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 ...

Career

In 1934, while playing a showgirl in '' The Great Waltz'' on

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 ...

, she took the stage name Joan Whitney. She studied voice under Alex Kramer, who later collaborated with her on a number of songs including " Candy", Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens, and " Far Away Places". Kramer and Whitney married and had a son, Doren, while living in

Forest Hills, New York Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeas ...

Death

Whitney died on July 12, 1990, in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

, aged 76, from Alzheimer's disease.

Songs written

with Alex Kramer

*" Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" (1946) *"Behave Yourself" * "Comme Ci Comme Ca" -English lyrics by- Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer -music by- Bruno Coquatrix (1949) *"Deep as the River" (recorded by

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

in 1949) *" Far Away Places" (1948) *" High on a Windy Hill" (1940) * "I Only Saw Him (You) Once" (1947) *" Love Somebody" (1947) * "Money Is the Root of All Evil (Take It Away Take It Away Take It Away)" (1945) * "No Man Is an Island" * "That's The Way It Is" (1945) * "Why Is It?" (1940)

with
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 Alex Kramer

*" Candy" (1944) * "Come With Me My Honey (The Song Of Calypso Joe)" (fox-trot rhumba), song featured by Bob Crosby and His Band in the film ''

Meet Miss Bobby Socks ''Meet Miss Bobby Socks'' is a 1944 American musical comedy film directed by Glenn Tryon and starring Bob Crosby and Lynn Merrick. The film was released by Columbia Pictures on October 12, 1944. Cast *Bob Crosby as Don Collins *Lynn Merrick as He ...

'' (1944) *" It's Love, Love, Love" (1943)

with
Hy Zaret Hy Zaret (born Hyman Harry Zaritsky, August 21, 1907 – July 2, 2007) was an American Tin Pan Alley lyricist and composer who wrote the lyrics of the 1955 hit " Unchained Melody," one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century. Person ...
and Alex Kramer

* "I'm Not Afraid" (1952) * "It All Comes Back To Me Now" (1940) * "Got A Letter From My Kid Today" (1940) * " My Sister and I" (1941) * "So You're The One" (1940) * "The Doll With A Sawdust Heart" (1951) *"To Be Loved By You" (1952) * "You'll Never Get Away" (1952) *"Christmas Roses" (1952)

References

External links

Obituary in ''New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Joan Whitney Actresses from Pittsburgh American women singer-songwriters American musical theatre actresses Deaths from Alzheimer's disease 1914 births 1990 deaths Deaths from dementia in Connecticut Finch College alumni 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers