Leo Edwards (21 February 1886 – 12 July 1978) was a Broadway and

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

composer and pianist. He worked closely with Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., writing music for the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Follies of the ...

'' for over a decade. He also wrote music for

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

and collaborated with his two brothers, the composer Gus Edwards and music publisher and talent agent Ben Edwards, in addition to writing music for several New York music publishing firms.

Life and career

Born in Leo Schmelowsky in Posen, Germany, Leo Edwards was the brother of composer and vaudeville musician Gus Edwards, music publisher and talent agent Ben Edwards, and vaudeville songstress Dorothea Edwards. His brother Ben had a famous daughter, the singer and song writer Joan Edwards. In 1891 he traveled to the United States with his family on the steamship ''Spaarndam''; arriving at the Port of New York on 29 July 1891. The family settled in the

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

. Leo Edwards worked for music publishing firms as a staff composer; writing music for T. B. Harms, M. Witmark & Sons, the Gus Edwards Music Company,

Leo Feist Inc. Leopold Feist (January 3, 1869, New York City – June 21, 1930, Mount Vernon, New York), in 1897 founded and ran a music publishing firm bearing his name. In the 1920s, at the height of the golden age of popular music, his firm was among the seve ...

, and the DeSylva Publishing Company. In 1914 he was a charter member of the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

. His Broadway credits as a composer include ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to: *'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz'' ** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...

'' (1902), ''

The Blue Paradise ''The Blue Paradise'' is a musical in a prologue and two acts, with music by Edmund Eysler, Sigmund Romberg and Leo Edwards, lyrics primarily by Herbert Reynolds, and a book by Edgar Smith, based on the operetta ''Ein Tag im Paradies'' (''A D ...

'', ''The Merry Whirl'' (1911), and the

of 1912, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1921 and 1923. Edwards co-wrote the popular song "My Fantasy" with

and Jack Meskill, which is an adaptation of the Polovtsian Dances theme from the opera ''

Prince Igor ''Prince Igor'' ( rus, Князь Игорь, Knyáz Ígor ) is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the Ancient Russian epic '' The Lay of Igor's Host'', which ...

'' by

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...

. He also wrote "I'm an Indian" for

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. ...

. His other notable songs include "Isle d' Amour"; "Sweetheart, Let's Grow Old Together"; "My Fantasy"; "That's What the Rose Said to Me"; "Little Seeds of Kindness"; "So Long, Good Bye"; "If They Don't Stop Making Them So Beautiful"; "Waiting for the Dawn and You"; and "Let's Grow Old Together". Some of his other collaborators in song writing included Earl Carroll, Blanche Merrill, and Herbert Reynolds. Edwards was married to Olga Edwards who was a singer with

. She died in 1940 at the age of 46. His second wife, Gertrude Edwards, died in 1965. Edwards lived at the Olcott Hotel in New York City. He died there at the age of 92 in 1978.

References

External links

Victor Discography: Leo Edwards (composer)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Leo 1886 births 1978 deaths American musical theatre composers German emigrants to the United States Vaudeville performers