Larry Shay ''(né'' Lawrence Fredrick Schaetzlein; 10 August 1897

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

– 22 February 1988

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

) was an American

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 ...

. Shay was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. While still young, he studied the piano at the

Bush Conservatory of Music The Bush Temple Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art was an American conservatory of music based in Chicago with branches in Dallas and Memphis. History The Conservatory was founded in 1901 by William Lincoln Bush (1861–1941), of the Chicago ...

in Chicago. He eventually moved 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 ...

to become a songwriter. His first composition was "Do You, Don't You, Will You, Won't You," published in

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

. In 1925 he joined ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), and remained a member for 63 years. In 1929 he co-authored his most famous song, " When You're Smiling" (As with many other of his songs, this was a collaboration with

Joe Goodwin Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

and Mark Fisher; see Shay, Fisher, and Goodwin). In the 1930s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hired him to become their music director and Shay and his wife Doris moved from New York to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. In that capacity, he hired Bing Crosby, who was paid $50 a day by MGM for his first picture. He published over 300 songs in his life. He died in

. He had a daughter, Dawn Russum, who is now president of the Channel Cities

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

Society in Ventura, California.

References

Biography of Larry Shay on CDBaby.com
*

External links

*
Larry Shay 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 ...

. Songwriters from Illinois 1897 births 1988 deaths Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American composers {{US-songwriter-stub