Irwin Louis Dash (December 1, 1892 – March 18, 1984) was an American songwriter, music publisher and pianist, who sometimes used the pseudonym Lewis Ilda.

Biography

He was born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and published his first composition, "Blue Ribbon Rag", a

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

piano piece, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1911. By the early 1920s, he formed a songwriting partnership in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with

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 immigrated to the United States from Sw ...

and

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

. They wrote "It's A Man, Ev'ry Time, It's A Man" (1923, recorded by Marcia Freer); and were joined by

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 18, 1894 Odessa, Ukraine – April 21, 1985) was a music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal life Mills ...

to write "Hard Boiled Rose" (1924) and " Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo?" (1925)."Songs written by Irwin Dash", ''Database of Popular Music''
Retrieved 19 November 2020 Dash worked as a songwriter for

Leo Feist Leopold Feist (January 3, 1869, New York City or Mount Verson, New York – June 21, 1930, Mount Vernon, New York) was a pioneer in the popular music publishing business. In 1897, Feist founded and ran a music publishing firm bearing his name. In ...

, and as an accompanist, and regularly worked in London as well as in New York. In the 1930s and 1940s, he published songs and dance music as the proprietor of Irwin Dash Music Co., Ltd., in

Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...

, London. It was while visiting Dash's office that singer

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

came across the song "

We'll Meet Again "We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song by English singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by English songwriters Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous of the Second World War era, resonating with ...

", written by Ross Parker and

Hughie Charles Hughie Charles (24 July 1907 – 6 October 1995), was an English songwriter and producer of musical theatre. Born Charles Hugh Owen Ferry in Manchester, he is best known for co-writing the songs "We'll Meet Again "We'll Meet Again" is a 19 ...

, which she then recorded; it became her

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

and epitomised the songs of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Dash also wrote songs under the name Lewis Ilda. One of his best remembered songs is "

I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" is a novelty song composed in 1944 (as "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts") by Fred Heatherton, a songwriting pseudonym for a collaboration of English songwriters Harold Elton Box and Desmond Cox, with Le ...

", written with English songwriters Elton Box and Desmond Cox of

Box and Cox Publications Box and Cox Publications, known as Box & Cox, was a music publisher who had offices at number 7, Denmark Street. Their greatest hit was " I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts," written with Irwin Dash under the pseudonym "Fred Heatherton." The ...

, under the collective pseudonym of Fred Heatherton,"Irwin Dash"
''Grainger.de''. Retrieved 19 November 2020 and copyrighted in 1944. The song was a hit in 1949 for

Freddy Martin Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Early life Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...

and his Orchestra, and for

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...

. The same trio of writers, this time using the collective pseudonym Jack Spade, wrote "When Mother was Bathing the Baby", also known variously as "The Mother's Lament" (as recorded by

rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

), "The Drain Song", and "Your Baby 'as Gorn Dahn the Plug'ole". Dash died in 1984, aged 91, and was buried in the Mount Hebron Cemetery in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dash, Irwin 1892 births 1984 deaths Songwriters from Maryland American music publishers (people) American male pianists Ragtime pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters Musicians from Baltimore Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City)