Alex J. Kramer (May 30, 1903 – February 10, 1998) was a Canadian songwriter. He was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. His parents were Adolph and Freda Kramer. At age 17 he was hired as a pianist in a

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Ca ...

theater in Montreal. He traveled first to

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intraco ...

, joining the Meyer Davis orchestra, and then to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...

, before returning to

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 U ...

, where he became a radio bandleader. He also worked as an accompanist in

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s and in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...

. One of his other musical activities was coaching vocalists in singing techniques, and one of his students was Joan Whitney, who eventually became both his wife and his songwriting partner. Their first hit as a songwriting team was " High on a Windy Hill," which became a No. 1 hit in 1941 for the

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peo ...

orchestra. In 1948, he and his wife started a song publishing firm. However, soon followed the end of the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

era, leading to the collapse of their publishing business. He eventually became associated with Bourne Co. Music Publishers. He also continued to lead an orchestra, conduct on the radio, and serve as an accompanist in night clubs and what remained of the vaudeville business.

Death

In 1973 he moved to

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 ...

, where he died at age 94.

Songs written

with Joan Whitney

*" Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" (1946) *"Behave Yourself" *"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 internat ...

in 1949) *"

Far Away Places "Far Away Places" is an American popular song. It was written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer and published in 1948. The recording by Bing Crosby & The Ken Darby Choir was recorded on November 25, 1948 and released by Decca Records as catalog ...

" (1948) *"High on a Windy Hill" (1940) *" Love Somebody" (1947) *"Money Is the Root of All Evil" (1945) *"No Man Is an Island"

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 Joan Whitney

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies ( Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, ...

" (1944) *"

It's Love, Love, Love "It's Love, Love, Love" is a popular song whose music was written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, with lyrics by Mack David, and published in 1943. Guy Lombardo recording The best-known recording was by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (v ...

" (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. Persona ...
and Joan Whitney

* " My Sister and I" (1941) * "The Doll With The Sawdust Heart" (1951)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Alex American male songwriters 1903 births 1998 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian songwriters Musicians from Montreal Songwriters from Quebec Writers from Montreal 20th-century American musicians 20th-century Canadian male musicians